Proposal for cruising to return in the U.K.

[clo]

I've skimmed this but don't see what dates one would recommend. I happen to love cold, rainy weather but could you fill even a small ship in poopy weather?

[Malleykatt]

16 hours ago, clo said:

WOW! When things settle down, I'd recommend getting in your car and checking out all the wonderful places and people so close to home.

 

 Well we would still be interested in a cruise. There is a 14 day next year on Island Princess or  hubby said we could by a campervan and the dog could come too. We had looked to buy a holiday home in Murcia Spain but Brexit hit that idea on the head so the travel bug is still there.

Edited June 5, 2020 by Malleykatt
Edit

[Malleykatt]

7 hours ago, clo said:

I've skimmed this but don't see what dates one would recommend. I happen to love cold, rainy weather but could you fill even a small ship in poopy weather?

 

Cold, rainy .......could describe any month in the UK. However since lockdown in March we've had warm sunny weather and here in Buckinghamshire hardly any rain. It has meant that being at home has been made better by being able to sit in the garden. Didn't have the usual April ☔ showers.

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, Malleykatt said:

 

Cold, rainy .......could describe any month in the UK. However since lockdown in March we've had warm sunny weather and here in Buckinghamshire hardly any rain. It has meant that being at home has been made better by being able to sit in the garden. Didn't have the usual April ☔ showers.

We did a British Isles cruise one year in August. We stayed a day before in London and it rained. And embarkation day was rough. It seems we caught the aftermath or tail end of a hurricane. Who thinks of hurricanes when there cruise is not the Caribbean of Bermuda? 

[Heidi13]

16 hours ago, jocap said:

Now that is very interesting news...

 

Here is a link to an article

 

https://shipmonk.co.uk/2020/06/02/viking-confirms-it-is-testing-the-waters-for-round-britain-cruises-this-summer/

[jocap]

7 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Here is a link to an article

 

https://shipmonk.co.uk/2020/06/02/viking-confirms-it-is-testing-the-waters-for-round-britain-cruises-this-summer/

Amazing news... and I see from the same source that Saga is trying to do the same thing.

Probably Fred Olsen, being owned by a Norwegian family, will be looking at the results.

Thank you!

[getting older slowly]

The OP idea is good... closed loop cruising.... visit one country and only have people on from that country

 

I am hoping this is what will happen in Australia...... Finger crossed

 

Also it would be nice to base a couple of ships full time  here.... but i will not hold my breath..

 

Cheers Don

[navybankerteacher]

On 6/5/2020 at 7:24 AM, ontheweb said:

We did a British Isles cruise one year in August. We stayed a day before in London and it rained. And embarkation day was rough. It seems we caught the aftermath or tail end of a hurricane. Who thinks of hurricanes when there cruise is not the Caribbean of Bermuda? 

How about anyone familiar with  the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, the Southeast US, or New England?

Edited June 6, 2020 by navybankerteacher

[ontheweb]

Just now, navybankerteacher said:

How about anyone living along the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, the Southeast US, or New England?

You are right, my bad. I should know better having lived through "Super Storm Sandy".

 

[navybankerteacher]

10 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

The OP idea is good... closed loop cruising.... visit one country and only have people on from that country

 

I am hoping this is what will happen in Australia...... Finger crossed

 

Also it would be nice to base a couple of ships full time  here.... but i will not hold my breath..

 

Cheers Don

I’m surprised there are not any ships based in Australia year round — perhaps not the population which supports the numbers sailing from Florida ports, but surely a fairly decent sized market - judging by all the posters hers.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

I’m surprised there are not any ships based in Australia year round — perhaps not the population which supports the numbers sailing from Florida ports, but surely a fairly decent sized market - judging by all the posters hers.

 

They have the P&O Australia fleet of 5 ships and Princess have at least the 3 Sun Class operating year round from Australia. Probably a few others as well. They don't sail to only Australian ports, but the are based there year round.

 

Some of the ships operate World Cruises or Grand Voyages during the winter, but still are based in Australian ports. 

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

They have the P&O Australia fleet of 5 ships and Princess have at least the 3 Sun Class operating year round from Australia. Probably a few others as well. They don't sail to only Australian ports, but the are based there year round.

 

Some of the ships operate World Cruises or Grand Voyages during the winter, but still are based in Australian ports. 

I was replying to an Aussie who seemed to lament the lack of ships based in Australia.   It did seem unlikely.

[Rocky of London]

Well, I thought a good way to start cruising to get going again....especially now there is a 14 day quarantine if you travel abroad....

[crazyank]

8 hours ago, Rocky of London said:

.especially now there is a 14 day quarantine if you travel abroad....

Yep,  the UK is closed for business thanks to this stupidity.  Hopefully the legal challenge currently being mounted by the airlines,  travel agencies,  and many other tourist industry related businesses can get the 14 day requirement removed.

[nosapphire]

Removing the 14 day requirement makes no difference to UK passengers unless the FCO advice is also changed, otherwise most travel insurances will be invalid.

In my opinion, the 14 day quarantine is an attempt to try and stop people flocking abroad for holidays. There are still some people who have not yet managed to be repatriated from the initial lockdown. The WHO have already warned countries that nobody knows whether or not there will be a second big surge of infections, so all countries should be ready to act at short notice - i.e, a second surge could mean a second lockdown.

A second lockdown = another lock of people stuck outside of their home countries, many of whom will immediately start bleating about their governments are not making arrangements to get them home (I understand that Germany has already warned that they will not be arranging repatriation in the event of another lockdown).

ANYWAY... back to the original question.

Going by the adverts, there are quite a few cruise lines considering round-UK cruises next year. By then the FCO advice about "people over 70 should not take cruises" may have been lifted.

The biggest problem would be that many of the interesting UK ports are not really geared up for large/many cruise ships, so there will either have to be a lot of tendering or a lot of coaches.

I can see the interest for cruise lines - the UK was one of the countries which kept airports open during the lockdown in order to allow crew to be repatriated.

[K32682]

It would make little sense for UK residents to take a cruise around their own country and increase their potential exposure to COVID-19 when the entire country is easily drivable with good motorways and available lodgings. 

 

Among the earliest and most severe outbreaks were on cruise ships.  It would in the absence of a vaccine seem idiotic to in a nation with a higher than average infection rate cram yourself in with thousands of complete strangers on a boat when the easy alternative is a private car and lodgings where social distancing is possible.

 

The other concern should be the risk of an outbreak. Your jolly holiday cruising the home isles could become a two-week quarantine onboard if someone else on the boat tests positive.  

 

[John Bull]

Cunard have today announced that their ships will not cruise until at least November - two from 1st Nov & the third from mid-month - at the earliest.

This comes on top of P&O (UK) not cruising until mid-October at the earliest.

 

JB 

[crazyank]

On 6/8/2020 at 11:54 AM, nosapphire said:

(I understand that Germany has already warned that they will not be arranging repatriation in the event of another lockdown).

Nope,  all travel warnings by the German government are to be canceled as of 1July. 

[clo]

On 6/7/2020 at 10:59 PM, crazyank said:

this stupidity.

What is that?