Whether by boat or by plane, cautious passengers still travelling
TAMPA, Fla. - Coronavirus is also bringing an entire cruise line to a full stop and causing world travel to slow down dramatically.
Carnival made the announcement this morning that they are suspending all Princess Cruise Line operations for two months in the hope of containing COVID-19. That means 18 of their ships will be sidelined for weeks.
Cruise passengers headed from Tampa to Cozumel on Royal Caribbean said they’re not panicking.
“[I’m] a little nervous. But I think it’ll be OK,” Lenora Alson laughed. “It’s a lot of people, especially with the coronavirus, and everything, so I think one of the things we have to do is follow the precautions that they gave us -- washing our hands.”
Angela Labella planned her cruise over a month ago and she’s going.
“Going to Cozumel. It’s fine. I’m young and I’m healthy so, not that worried about it,” she said.
Cleaning at the port
Crews at the cruise terminal wiped down and sanitized as often as they could. It was the same thing this morning at Tampa international Airport.
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Yesterday, President Trump announced the United States would ban all travel from Europe -- where the virus has spread -- for 30 days beginning Friday at midnight.
Travelers at TPA thought that was a good idea.
“We have to contain and we would have less control over people who came from foreign countries and depending on where they come from, they might they might have more exposure even than we have,” Mary McClendon offered.
Renee Aguila, traveling with her entire family, said she’ll take precautions, but life goes on.
“It’s scary but I think the travel ban is good. It helps to contain a virus,” she said. “I’m traveling today with my kids to my husband and five families out to Colorado. Can’t say I’m not nervous, but we’re going to continue on with our plans. You can’t stop life.”