SARASOTA – Even though the coronavirus is spreading, that’s not stopping people from cruising. A Sarasota Travel agency takes about 60 people on a cruise to the Caribbean.
“Everybody who signed up for this cruise came on this cruise,” Cruise Planner Franchisee, Marc Bokoff, said. “Nobody cancelled as a result of concern of the coronavirus.”
Cruise Planner Franchisee, Marc Bokoff, took about 60 people on a seven-day cruise to places in the Caribbean.
They embarked on a Norwegian Cruise line, Saturday, from Miami to go to Belize, Honduras and Mexico.
Bokoff says they weren’t concerned about getting on the ship, knowing the stricter screening Norwegian has placed on passengers.
“The boarding process was significantly longer than normal, with additional questionnaire, additional screening, additional review of passports to ensure people’s previous travel did not take them to or through affected areas,” Bokoff said.
The Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) announced Tuesday, the extra measures they’re taking to keep passengers safe. It includes stricter screenings and denying people with travel history to places with a coronavirus risk, within 14 days of embarkation.
Those places include South Korea, Iran, China, and places in Italy under quarantine.
Epidemiologist, Dr. Manuel Gordillo, says most travel is doable as long as people take the necessary precautions.
“That includes hand-hygiene, coughing etiquette, coughing on your sleeve, coughing with a tissue, dispose of the tissue properly,” Epidemiologist, Dr. Manuel Gordillo, said.
Bokoff says people know it’s an issue and people are protecting themselves.
“The passengers are being a lot more diligent about using the hand sanitizer, washing hands frequently or more frequently than normal,” Bokoff said.
Dr. Gordillo says the best way to protect yourself from the coronavirus when traveling is to:
“Stay informed, it’s very important. Follow all the recommendations that we’ve been giving every year for respiratory virus season,” Dr. Gordillo said.
If you are concerned about traveling and plan to cancel or reschedule, Bokoff says it all depends on the trip, location, and who you booked with. He says he encourages everyone to just follow protocol when traveling.
