adam7392

11 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

Have you ever been to Europe and are you aware of the geography?

Well said. Can't see any reason why cruises in the Med, Canaries, UK and Ireland, Norway, Iceland, Southern Baltic would be affected. 

17 minutes ago, dritan said:

I would definitely seek to cancel  if we just get overnights  in Stockholm or Copenhagen as I've already got extended pre and post visits there.

In the UK we have less "rights" around cancelling cruises on deposit and this is further complicated in that I am using a voucher from Cruising with Confidence already ( so have paid £900 toward the final price rather than the lower deposit).  Does anyone know what my rights would be if we wanted to cancel?  

In same boat, literally as you, based in UK and booked 31 july on Voyager and have 2 nights in Stockholm pre cruise and 1 night in Copenhagen post cruise so any overnighting doesn't do me any favours.  I'm assuming as the cruise is sold as 'Scandanavia and Russia'  (and that is on my invoice) that dropping Russia is a significant change and RC would be bound by UK consumer law to refund on the basis that the goods are not as advertised and any T&C's allowing port changes would not be valid.  Had it been sold as just 'Baltic' then they would get away with it.  I'm not legally trained so just opinion but I might be tempted to raise a claim at the small claim court.  For the £300 deposit I have that only costs £35 to make an online claim rising to £115 if it gets to the full cruise cost.  Best part is I can't see RC turning up to the local county court to counter it so you'd get an automatic judgement in your favour.

Hi, Did this sailing last week (Feb 12th - 19th).  I'm from the UK and flew directly to Dubai but there will be little difference in the details for you.  We had to get a PCR test done within 48 hours of departure time, some countries are 72 hours - check the Emirates website for the US.

In Dubai airport follow the signs and MSC people to the free PCR testing area.  We were concerned in case this came back positive.  However the testers barely put the swap up our nostrils so we were fairly confident of a -ve result.  MSC say you need to show this result to board but that wasn't the case, we just showed our UK PCR result along with vaccination certificate and insurance specifically mentioning covid cover (ours didn't but we had an email from insurance company confirming this).  Once on board we received a text message confirming the Dubai test was -ve but we didn't have to show or report this.  Likewise while in the various ports many places asked to see vaccine certs and PCR results but all accepted the UK results.  No idea what would happen if the Dubai test was +ve.  BTW at the cruise terminal be ready for long and frustrating queues.  All documentation was checked in a 'pre-check in' which took about 1 hour.  Then you are given a number and sit arund for ages with many others with the same number before going to the check in desk where all the paperwork is checked again.

In Qatar you are right, an MSC tour is required, we did the 3 hour panoramic tour which was well worth it - around £32 ($40).  We were allowed off with a guide at several places so its more than just a drive around and was almost 4 hours.  Suggest you book soon as many people took this and I heard reports on other sailings that all places were sold.  Regards the website, Etheraz, I did register and uploaded test results, vaccine certs and cruise tickets before leaving and got the approval bar code.  However it is not required, you can just show your documentation at the start of the excursion, no one even asked to see the Etheraz bar code.

For return, UK requires no tests to enter now and there are no Dubai exit requirements so all depends on what the US require.  On the ship the sports hall is set up on departure day to do testing so that should be easy for you if any are needed.

So apart for the upfront hassle with tests and it taking about 4 hours from landing at Dubai  to finally getting on board, it was all worth it.  Our frst MSC cruise, thought the food was better than others have said, ship wasn't crowded and waiters/bar staff excellent.

Currently on virtuosa round trip Dubai, leave ship this Saturday.  You need PCR no more than 48 hours from UK departure time.  On arrival to Dubai another PCR is done for free.  No PCR for return.  For Doha u need to book a ship tour.  We did the 3 hour panaramic tour of Doha, £38 each and well worth it.

Hi

Just got our -ve pcr tests so ready to fly out tomorrow and join the ship on Saturday so thanks for your info.  Hope you had a great time.

When were the elegant/dress up nights and did people make an effort ?- have DJ packed so hope so!

Also where there any other theme events, think white event was managed but wondered if I we should fling anything else into the luggage.

Will be boarding on 12th Feb so will be following.  Hope test is negative and cruise goes well.

We fly to Dubai in 11 days and have our PCR test in 10 days.  We both had covid over Xmas/New Year and therefore potentially our PCR test may come out positive.  If I was you I'd look to delay as long as possible if your destination and/or the cruise line require a PCR.

My guess is that cabins on the bulge out part are slightly larger and therefore attract a premum by being classed as deluxe balconies

I'm flying from Heathrow on Fri 12th Feb so plan to get a test on Thurs 11th, probably have to drive to a test centre at  Heathrow.  I'm hoping with our covid cases dropping in the UK that UAE will drop us back into the 72 hour before departure category just to give the option of testing on the Wednesday before departure.

Excellent , I will be an avid reader!

Note that UAE currently require UK residents to have PCR test taken no more than 48 hours before departure.

Also looks like for Qatar you'll need to be on a ship excursion to get off.

I'm on the week following you. If you get a chance while aboard, could you post what happens in Dubai, particularly about the free test you get at Dubai airport. 

When are you planning to get your pre departure test done in order to get into Dubai ?

Hope it goes ahead for you.  At least there is no pre departure test for arrival back into the UK now.

Recently booked 12th feb roundtrip Dubai.  Note Qatar have now put UK and UAE on their red list meaning anyone travelling from those countries needs 2 days quarantine in Qatar.  Therefore affects every passenger as everyone will have visited Dubai.  Obviously lots can change from now to Feb but expect that if this situation remains Qatar can't possibly be a stop.

hi  - did u find the answer to your question.  I'm looking at an aft cabin on deck 11 on Virtuosa which has similar layout and was hoping for easy access to buffet and to the aft pool on the deck above the buffet.

22 minutes ago, spyro1952 said:

Where are you getting that data from?

On effectiveness:

following states effectiveness of first dose is 72% rising to 86% for 2nd dose (this will be mixture of Asta Zeneca and Pfizer which are being used in the UK).  For over 80's figures are 57% and 85%.  Note in the UK policy is to get first vaccination into as many people as possible and leave 2nd dose until 11-12 weeks later.  Hence currently we are at 35% vaccination level but most of those have only a first dose  -  22.5m to 1.1m people

https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2021/02/23/covid-19-analysing-first-vaccine-effectiveness-in-the-uk/

On refusals:

following shows 67% of Britons likely to take vaccine, 21% unlikely and 12% dont know.  So far in the UK uptake in older people has been very high but markedly less in non white populations.  Worryingly a large percentage of health workers who are in the first phase have refused.  Percentages refusing vaccination seem to increase as age decreases 

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/health/articles-reports/2020/11/16/how-many-britons-are-willing-take-coronavirus-vacc

On under 18's not being vaccinated by July:

The UK govt target is all over 18's to be offered first dose by 31st july as indicated in the following BBC article.  As yet no vaccine is approved for under 16's in the UK.   There may be some 16-18 year olds who are clinically vulnerable who will be vaccinated by then but the vast majority of under 18's will not receive a vaccination by July

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55045639

Just now, wowzz said:

And your point is?

Just pointing out that your point is, in my opinion, not correct with some reasoning behind it  why it may not be correct.  

34 minutes ago, wowzz said:

5 hours ago, amajaa said:

They haven’t confirmed yet if being vaccinated also means you can’t still spread the virus

Probably irrelevant,  as everyone should be vaccinated in the UK by July.

Totally relevant - 10-20% of people who get the vaccine won't gain immunity from it, 10-20% of people will refuse the vaccine.  Under 18's will not be vaccinated by July.   In addition new strains will arise which may cause minor illness so it will be vital that vaccines can at least reduce transmission of these variant strains even if they still cause some illness.

price for 2022 Baltic on Enchanted is much higher than for identical 2020 itinary on Sky both end July .  We did book the Sky cruise in December 2019 so 7 months out whereas the Enchanted one is 18 months out so hoping prices will drop by next Christmas to similar level.

Prices for balcony including gratuity, drinks, wifi, tax, fees per person:

Sky end July 2020-  £1715   (booked Dec 26th 2019)

Discovery end July 2022 - £2485  (as at 13/01/2021)

only a 45% price increase!!

Hi

I live in the UK and am booked on the Jul 25th B.Isles cruise that includes Portland.  I would  prefer if it was Orkney mainly because I've not been to that part of Scotland before and I live in the South of England not far from Portland so Orkney would be more novel to me than Portland.  Having said that not too sure what I would do there other than a bit of a wander.

If visiting stonehenge then including a visit to nearby Salisbury should be considered - I notice that option is included in the Princess tours.  Having said that as interesting as Stonehenge is it can be a bit underwhelming.  Avebury Ring is a larger set of stones about 40 min drive from Stonehenge and you can freely wander around them and still see the ancient fortification ditches.  Note all these places are probably closer to Southampton than Portland so you could hire a car from Souhampton pre or post cruise and do Salisbury/Stonehenge/Avebury easily and cheaply - or hire  a car from Portland/Weymouth.

None of the other excursions from Portland look particularly inspiring except maybe the tour to the Stone Giant of Cerne Abbas (http://www.stone-circles.org.uk/stone/cerne.htm) which is actually a cutting made in a chalk hillside of a man with a particulary striking feature .  Tour also includes Athelhampton House whch is a Tudor manor and worth a visit.

There is  a train station in Weymouth that will get you to Dorchester in 12 mins which is an ancient market town with loads of interest and well worth a walk around.  Weymouth station is a 15 min taxi drive from the cruise port.

Consider the weather as well, a rainy day in Orkney will reduce your options considerably, in Portland you'd have more options.   Portland harbour is well protected, I'm surprised docking was prevented, must have been very severe weather,.

Personally for Portland I may just hire some bikes and cycle around Portland or walk along Chesil Beach to Weymouth which is a popular seaside town with a large sandy beach, small fort and pier.

If the British papers are to be believed the Oxford/Astra Zeneca  (OAZ) vaccine will be approved by the UK regulatory authority early next week - probably tue 29th dec/wed 30th.  We have 4 million doses waiting to be injected with almost 100 million more to be produced in the UK in the coming weeks.  A million + have already been vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine and that continues.  I've read that health professionals are hopeful that end Feb will see all the vulnerable and 50 years + will be vaccinated at which point restrictions can be eased.  Seems a little optimistic to me but end March should see significant inroads into the vaccination programme here.   The OAZ vaccine has the benefit of storage at normal fridge temperatures rather than the -60 degrees of the Pfizer vaccine so lots of talk of opening up sports stadiums, car parks etc to offer mass vaccinations.  The vaccination programme is quite clearly the primary focus of the government so I would not rule out cruising come May.

As it is over £100 - assuming you purchased both together - then I'd fire it off to your credit card provider as a chargeback.  They will want a copy / web link to the t&c's for Princess FCC along with any other documentation you have but you should eventually get the cash back.

Regards the credit card, have you received a new credit card from your provider, i.e. replacement for lost or the old one expired?  If so you get a new card number, however Princess charging to the old number should get sorted out by the card provider to the new number so shouldn't cause an issue.

Recently booked Sky Princess British Isles for end July 2021.  Will definitely cancel if options are book a tour (ships or 3rd party) or remain on board.  Being British and living in Britain I don't feel the need to be herded around at my great expense .  To be fair if I was on any cruise any where else I'd also feel the same with a few exceptions such as St Petersburg.

Had cruise last year from Rome.  Flew into Verona and spent a couple of days with hire car to Florence then Sienna.  Bologna would also be a good choice as its not far from Florence

OP hear - thanks for continuing comments - all useful.

Regards what experience I'm looking for, the following would be priority:

1 - Itinary - Both similar but note Brian1's comments with the Stockholm/Gothenburg difference.  I too would prefer the P&O option of Strasbourg (I believe it is in the centre not Nyansham port so a great sail in/out)  so tick for P&O.  But Carnival Legend remains in Warenmunde til v.late so giving opportunity for Berlin trip whereas P&O leaves early evening -  tick Carnival.

2- Food/Service - want to feel like I'm getting a food experience but not at expense of having to go to speciality restaraunts to get it.  We like the Princess food/service in the MDR and buffet has been good, the afternoon teas are also great and I see P&O do that in the MDR.  We also like the level of formality on Princess formal nights - i.e. seems most people make an effort and DJ's are not out of place.   I haven't got a great feel for which line has the better food experience, always a personal thing I know.  I feel P&O may have a better formal night experience.

3- Entertainment - Decent headline shows, good comedians.  Definitely seems like headline shows Carnival smashes P&O, however for comedians I would imagine Carnival would provide mainly American comedians and my experience is they just aren't funny to me so expect P&O would win out on that.

4-Overall ship ambience.  One thing we love on Princess are the MUTS (movies under the stars) the large cinema screens on the pool deck.  Great to get some buffet food and lay back to watch a movie.  Unfortunately both ships don't seem to have a pool deck cinema.  Also in this category would be the general vibe on the ship, ability to get sun loungers etc on sea days, passenger mix etc.  Difficult area to pin down but I'm leaning more towards Carnival on this.

At least both are part of Carnival Inc so I'd get shareholder OBC either way!

Hope that gives a better idea of what we want.  I'm sure if Princess were sailing the Baltic out of UK next year we'd opt for that or if we could be more sure around the COVID situation we would risk flying to Copenhagen for the Sky Princess Baltic cruise as we had booked for this Summer.

Thanks Purdey16 - would consider that sailing but its just outside school hol so no good for us.

Some great comments from others, appreciate them all in helping me to choose.

Ardennais - see what you mean about Legend being garish.  Have watched a couple of you tube videos on Legend and it looks like it was designed by a pimp with unusually bad taste.  Have been to Graceland and the ship makes that place looks like a discreet model of interior decor. What gives with all those urns/vases all over the place ?

Thanks both for comments so far.  Agree with you JimmyTheSaint, though I am English, when going on hol I prefer to get away from reminders of home and have enjoyed chats with Americans, Australians and others on Princess cruises and was wondering if P&O would just be too English/British.

So far the comments on the Carnival board are more positive for Legend than the comments I am getting for the same post on the P&O board for Ventura.