Coronavirus fears putting a damper on cruise bookings

Some local travel agencies are reporting a decline in cruise vacation bookings and an increase in cancellations over fears caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Katherine Le, president of Ottawa-based Eastview Travel, said about 15 per cent of her cruise vacation bookings have been cancelled or postponed in the past three weeks.

They worry about getting infected with the coronavirus.- Katherine Le, Eastview Travel

"People are worried about what's going on if they go on a cruise ship," Le said. "They worry about getting infected with the coronavirus."

The outbreak originated in Wuhan, China, and has since infected over 74,000 people in that country and another 924 worldwide, according to an update Wednesday from the World Health Organization (WHO).

That includes passengers who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in the Japanese port of Yokohama.

The decline in cruise ship bookings comes as Canadian airlines have cancelled most flights to China and the government has issued a travel warning for the country, exacerbating the situation for travel agents like Le who focus on Asia.

Diamond Princess outbreak

A total of 621 passengers from the Diamond Princess are now infected, including 57 Canadians. It's the largest cluster of cases outside China, the WHO has said.

Passengers who tested negative for coronavirus began to disembark Wednesday after a two-week quarantine that infectious disease experts have criticized for doing more harm than good.

Le said her customers have expressed fears of being caught in a similar situation.

"When you get on a cruise ship that means you get trapped in there, and you cannot leave," Le said.

In another case, the MS Westerdam sailed from port to port in Asia seeking to offload passengers, only to be denied at each one.

Finally, the government of Cambodia allowed it to dock in Sihanoukville.

One passenger who disembarked tested positive for the respiratory illness caused by the virus, which is officially known as COVID-19.

Not just Asian cruises

Wen Jin, sales manager at Midearth Travel, which specializes in all-inclusive packages to China, said anxiety among potential cruise-goers extends beyond those travelling to Asia.

Jin also organizes flight and cruise packages to the Caribbean in partnership with Sunwing Airlines. She said she hasn't received any new bookings for cruises since Jan. 15.

Instead, Jin said she's been dealing mainly with cancellations and refunds, which has been eating into her commission.

"I work double," Jin said. "One time it's to buy the cruise, the other time it's to refund the cruise. So I work two hours, but I get nothing."

Jin said one family who had a cruise booked for Feb. 8 leaving from Miami, Fla., cancelled after they heard about an incident on a New Jersey cruise ship.

In that case, the Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas was delayed at its departure port over fears that four people had coronavirus.

While the people later tested negative, the scare was enough for the family to decide the risk wasn't worth it, Jin said.

"They are afraid off being stopped inside of the ship, so they cancelled the trip," she said.

Jin said other families were forced to cancel and refund their trips when some cruise lines adopted policies barring people with Chinese, Hong Kong or Macau passports from their ships.

Not all agencies affected

The situation is not the same at all agencies.

Mohinder Hona, general manager of Honda Travel, said his cruise vacation business has not been impacted so far.

"Obviously, that is a concern right now, but it hasn't really stopped people from booking cruises because everyone knows that this is not something that is going to last forever," Honda said.

Honda pointed out that people often book cruises months, if not years in advance.

A spokesperson for the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies said the industry group is in the process of surveying its members to assess trends in light of the coronavirus outbreak, but won't have results until next week.