WACO TX — Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, many with travel plans are thinking twice before leaving.
Having booked a cruise months ago, Alexandria Perez is suppose to leave in two weeks for a large bachelorette party at sea.
"We started planning back in October, November, so before corona, like, before the word even existed, we had booked this already," Perez said.
But now due to the spread of COVID-19, the women are rethinking their festivities.
Perez said her personal worries aren't directly about the virus, but instead the potential of being quarantined.
Monday, the State Department and CDC urged Americans to avoid travel via cruise ship because of the coronavirus.
After the governments warning, Perez, only weeks away from her trip, decided to not go.
"As of this morning two of us have decided we're not going," said Perez.
According to Perez, Royal Caribbean, the cruise line she booked with, is not offering refunds. They are just offering vouchers.
"They're just offering a voucher which is really disappointing for us because we, combined, have put almost $5,000 into this trip, and now we're just going to get vouchers, and she doesn't get a bachelorette party. Like if this is canceled, and they don't give us any money...we're not taking a trip anymore," said Perez.
She said she understands the cruise lines are negatively impacted by the outbreak, but she still wishes Royal Caribbean would partially refund their bachelorette party travel.
The government's warning isn't scaring all cruisers away, though.
Tracey Trevino is scheduled to set sail out of Galveston in early May, and she doesn't have any intention to reschedule.
"We said the only way we're canceling is if the ship doesn't sail," she laughed. "Its so much fun--we're excited," said Trevino.
With nearly half a million U.S. jobs dependent on the cruise line industry, the full economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak has yet to be determined.
