Friday, February 7, 2020

Japan turns away Carnival Corp.’s Westerdam cruise ship for fear of coronavirus



The Westerdam is the ship I was to travel to on February 15 (see article below).  I was originally scheduled to fly to Shanghai, but all flights were later changed to Yokohama, Japan.  I'm glad I cancelled!

"The Japanese government will not allow a cruise ship operated by Miami-based Carnival Corporation to visit the country as scheduled for fear of coronavirus contamination.
"The Holland America Line Westerdam ship was scheduled to visit several Japanese cities and pick up new passengers in Yokohama, outside Tokyo, on Feb. 15. The cruise originally departed from Hong Kong on Feb. 1."

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article240040568.html#storylink=cpy

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article240040568.html 

Update:  The February 15 cruise segment has been cancelled. I hope the HAL folks are able to find a port in which to disembark the guests on the Westerdam soon.  They've been sailing around since the Philippines wouldn't allow them to visit earlier this month.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

China trip cancelled due to Coronavirus...

With the closing of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City to tourists, I decided to cancel my trip to China.  I cancelled it on Friday, January 24.  It seems that this Friday (1/28), the travel folks have rerouted most trips to Japan.

Well, I now hope to do this trip in 2021!