On Monday, her excitement about an upcoming cruise was dampened by the prospect of catching swine flu during a port call in Cozumel, Mexico.
Her fears were further confirmed when the U.S. Department of State warned against non-essential travel to Mexico.
Harris attempted to cancel her trip through Carnival Cruise, but the Miami-based company would not return the $842 she had shelled out in February for the trip.
On Tuesday, Carnival informed Harris that her ship would be skipping all the stops in Mexico and remain out at sea for the four-day cruise.
It's a better choice than losing her hard-earned money.
"I'm still going to go," said Harris, of Brooksville. "I don't have much of an option."
Harris isn't alone. Five cruise lines including Carnival have canceled their stops in Mexico. Some are extending sea stays, while others on the West Coast are making alternate stateside port calls.
Carnival said in a statement that there are no cases of swine flu on Carnival ships or in its normal ports of call in Mexico. Nonetheless, the cruise line is altering its itinerary to avoid stops in Mexico; anyone already booked who doesn't want a change can re-schedule their cruise for a later date.
With more swine flu cases cropping up in the United States every day, Harris isn't convinced that avoiding Mexico is going to do much good anyway. Florida's two interstate road systems, ports and airports channeled an estimated 82 million visitors in 2008.
Tampa is the home port of four ships from three cruise lines, several of which make stops in Cozumel and Cancun.
After this incident, Harris has learned the belated lesson of buying traveler's insurance. She chalks it up to experience.
"You learn every day in life," she said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment