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How Cruise Companies Are Dealing With Swine Flu

On second thought, let's not go to Mexico. That seems to be the prevailing mood among cruise ships with ports south of the border as concerns about the swine flu increase with each passing day. The cruise industry has often been dogged by the specter of health scares like the Norwalk virus, so maybe the inconvenience to passengers is secondary public health fears... but we're not so sure.

Travel maverick Chris Elliott contacted Princess Cruises to see about a refund for a cruisegoer who was supposed to be headed to the Mexican Riviera but will now be hangin' out in Catalina and San Diego, and the bad news is, without travel insurance she's basically stuck on the slow boat to nowhere.

Then Princess flipped and as a "goodwill gesture" offered a 50 percent credit good through April 2011 for passengers on three of its boats (two already departed, one leaving tomorrow) which have been forced to alter their itineraries. It's not a refund, but at least it's an acknowledgment that the substitute isn't really an even exchange.

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