Yorkypete

Agree. I too would hope to avoid them. Unless there is a medical reason unvaccinated people put others and themselves in danger.

As has been pointed out, it is about time someone or some organisation took on the cruise lines about these type of changes and took them to court. If it was ashore then you would have a contract with the company and could demand full refunds if the company tried to change a contract after it was 'signed'.

I have no idea what a court case would decide but one fact always seems to be forgotten. When you cancel a cruise then that cruise is sold again but you appear not to have any money back! That may also be a point to consider in any court case. It is about time that ALL cruise lines were made to obey the law and act in a fair and reasonable manner. I would consider that a contract had been broken if a cruise did not take me to the places advertised and for which I had paid my money for.

Has anybody any idea what has happened with Britannia on her current cruise to the Baltic? We are going on the Sept 18th cruise but the itinery seems to be changed re the mapper app. She was due in Copenhagen tomorrow for an overnight after leaving Tallinn. She is now heading for Keil! the opposite direction. Anybody know anyone on board and I would be interested in how the cruise is going, ports etc.

Take That music was taken on board after I had booked. If the RC entertainment is anything like it was pre-C then you may notice the difference.We will make the best of it....but miss the music and theatre side.

Nowhere did I use the word rubbish referring to this music. My point was, and still is, that the Barlow music only caters to one particular choice and while he is loved by many, remember Take That were a boy band and catered to young girls at the time. All I would ask is a little variety in the music which you will not get with Take That. I should point out that a certain Gilbert O' Sullivan was the first person to take on agents and record companies. Anyway, each to their own and it will mean two extra spare seats in the theatre.

I can understand people saying they know they will hate the 'Take That' show. I too would as I would not cross the street to listen to their music. I like variety and Barlow only knows one kind.

Like you, I have cruised out of Ft Lauderdale and Port Canaveral, mostly on Caribbean or trans-Atlantic cruises. On the latter there were mostly Brits from what I could see. We have had perhaps 59 holidays in the Orlando ares as we owned a property there and went at least twice a year. I know a lot of people find the entertainment on P&O ok but watching the Jersey Boys, Grease etc done by orifessional stage actors from the actual shows is vastly different to the crew based ones on P&O. I am goint to try other companies but must admit if the Indy was based in Southampton there would only be one ship for me. I do not drink much, nor sunbathe for reasons already stated but my idea of a good cruise is a quiet period but with the choice os shuffleboard , quoits etc and a good evening show and mainly interesting ports of call. This allows me to visit interesting places in comfort. We also holiday twice a year in Malta (at least before covid) and when it is safer there we will cut down our cruises.

Well put , but there is still b'all to do on P&O especially on sea days. An observation I made is that the Brits seem to like either sunbathing or the bar. Many a time people are drinking at breakfast time and it seems that alchohol plays a massive part in a cruise. As a very light drinker (too much when I played rugby!) and one who actually avoids just sitting in the sun as I like to be doing things even in my seventies, I find the P&O a little boring. The entertainment is diabolical and the facilities are non-existence. I often wonder why people pay so much for a cruise when they can sunbathe on a river bank and visit the pub after!.

That could be mainly because on P&O ships there is b'all else to do! I for one do not lay out in the sun having had the dreaded skin cancer twice with minor ops to remove small growths. Told emphatically that lying in the sun is bad for you.

Yes. I found the RC had much better spaces and the water slides did not get in the way. My first few cruises were on RC ships and it was only about 5 years ago I tried P&O. I liked Britannia but it was not a patch on Indy which is still my favourite vessel. The crazy golf and other deck games were widely used by all ages and the sprinkles ice cream(free in 3 flavours) was brilliant. The deck space was much bigger than the P&O ships and the entertainment was by such as the Jersey Boys and Grease stage casts not crew members.Other acts came on for a couple of ports and then changed. . We are on Britannia to the Baltic shortly and apart from one in 2024 it will possibly be our last on P&O.

And pray tell what IS the alternative they are supplying? apart from crew based entertainment .Their shows and entertainment do not have the oomph of other cruise liners and their food is a little bland unless you want to pay extra.

I have to ask why the topic 'Will P&O allow unvaccinated passengers etc' has been locked? While it is about covid it is also mainly about P&O policy and does relate information to cruisers, especially those with underlying problems and those possibly planning future cruises. I am sorry to ask this on the forum but know of no other way of contacting the admins.

The following is the Nasdaq report on Carnival in July this year. Down around 88% from its all-time high and 67% off its 52-week high, Carnival faces a potential economic downturn, which may coincide with a resurgence of COVID-19. With BA.4 and BA.5 variants of Omicron threatening to cause an outbreak over the coming months, it's unlikely to be smooth sailing for the cruise lines in the second half. Even if the market finds its footing, Carnival's heavy debt load could ultimately sink it.

So if they declare a profit it must be very good accounting as their debt has increased before covid and is continuing to climb.

Oh dear. There I was thinking my Accountancy qualification may stand me in good stead. Never mind...being my own accountant in my own retail businesses counts for nothing, but it was 40 years ago!

I presume you are being sarcastic? Carnival is £25billion in debt. They will lose passengers if they are so big they cannot berth in many ports.

The only reason they are 'changing like the wind' is because at last, the countries they visit are taking note of the warming of the planet. I can see the time that Iona and such sized vessels are banned from many areas so it would not be bringing in extra revenue in the future. As usual with business they are not looking to the future but to making a quick profit in the present no matter what, and at the same time losing customers by their PR attitude.

Totally agree and we have cancelled one. Whilst some are blaming the port authorities for not telling P&O various things you would think that before scheduling Iona for Norway someone would have checked ports out. High winds, ship too big, no berthing availability etc etc but it appears they were either very lax or did not do it. Gerainger is a main point concerning all three!

I totally agree about the choice but from Southampton.....?...there is not so much choice.

.....and Bergen and the other ports Iona has missed!

I was wondering if anyone in the procurement dept. of P&O has been dismissed yet? I am asking because Moley and others have said that Iona was built for the Norway cruises. If this is the case then it is patently unsuitable for this type of cruise as it cannot visit some ports due to size/weather problems. Did anyone from P&O even test the suitability beforehand? If so it must be down to incompetence or lack of caring. In any other walk of life this would result in sackings. Perhaps P&O could swap ships around a little ...or would this be too much trouble?

If as you say, the Iona was built to serve Norway then it was a decision made by people who should be dispensed with. It is too big to go in some ports and not safe in others (weather etc). Did they ever check if it would be suitable? I think not.

'Iona and Arvia were the only ships available to order'. Does that mean you can only order what is available and not necessarily what you want? Are shipbuilers saying to cruise lines you can only order what we want to build and not what you may want?

The only problem with the size is they cannot berth at many Norwegian ports yet knowing this they still send Iona up there next year as well? Bit stupid really.