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All aboard the S.S. Denial.
The U.S. State Department has warned travelers — and the elderly and those with underlying health issues in particular — to avoid cruises during the coronavirus outbreak. And the news has been flooded with cautionary tales of passengers quarantined on ships such as the Carnival-owned CCL, -10.66% Diamond Princess and Grand Princess after passengers became sick with the novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 illness.
But that hasn’t discouraged some people from charging full speed ahead toward the cruises on which they’d booked passage before the outbreak went global — including a few who spoke to the Daily Beast. And one set of parents has left Twitter TWTR, -11.53% reeling.
James and Kim Simon said that they are not pulling the plug on their college daughter’s plans to sail away on a Royal Caribbean RCL, -16.26% cruise with a dozen friends for spring break this week. And here’s their stated reasoning, per the Daily Beast’s reporting:
‘I asked her if she was at all worried. She thought if she just kept enough alcohol in her system it would ward off any germs. So I got her some Lysol wipes and the all you can drink package.’
Not to be a buzzkill, but boozing up is not an effective means to prevent the spread or contraction of the coronavirus. In fact, 44 people have died of methanol poisoning in Iran in the mistaken belief that consumption of bootleg alcohol would ward off COVID-19.
What’s more, knocking back too many alcoholic beverages invites a host of other medical problems, including liver disease or a fatal overdose from alcohol or alcohol mixed with other drugs.
Related: The number of Americans drinking themselves to death has more than doubled
Many people on Twitter were quick to point this out.
The CDC answers common questions and misconceptions about the coronavirus here.
Other intrepid travelers interviewed by the Daily Beast admitted that recent deals on cruise packages have just been too good to pass up as the cruise industry founders amid coronavirus fears.
Kenny Human, a 33-year-old lawyer from Kentucky, reportedly told the publication that he paid just $400 per ticket, including taxes and cancellation insurance, for a Carnival cruise leaving New Orleans in May that will sail through the western Caribbean.
“I just have this natural inclination to buy low on things,” he said. “My girlfriend does think I’m crazy, but she is reluctantly on board, no pun intended.”
