Compulsory offshore excursions due to Covid with P&O

[terrierjohn]

7 minutes ago, mercury7289 said:

Sorry, totally disagree. each guest should be dealt with on there merit, not viewed as a small part on the whole.It is not a cost issue in MHO cost equals choice. Cruising is paused officially until 26th April ,final balance though TA shortly becoming due, for cruises after that date, so issue is very relevant at this time, is it a cruise to no where for these guests? If so no choice! Answers needed!

I think we all expect a further tranche of cancellations after Boris's announcement on Monday, probably up to at least June, so your decision is most likely to be made for you well before you need to pay the balance.  

Then over the next the next 3 months the easing of lockdown restrictions will be underway, and I would expect that discussions between the cruise lines and Govt. depts. will escalate, that will enable a clearer picture of how and when cruising can restart.  During this period the cruise lines will have a much clearer idea of the minimum govt protocols, and they can then start to reflect this in the itineraries, and provide more detail for passengers.

Whether they will allow passengers to cancel without penalty is still doubtful, but I would expect that transfer to future, unbooked, cruises will still be available.

 

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Eddie99 said:

I’m sure you won’t be the only one to eschew cruising for practical reasons Selbourne, as well as aesthetic ones

The new procedures, as far as we know them, together with memories of less than hygienic habits from other guests, will prevent us booking for the foreseeable future.

We might even save our cruising pennies for one ‘meaningful’ cruise per year and go for one of the 6* lines.  However, they are almost exclusively fly-cruises and the leisurely, stress free, start from Southampton (or another southern port) is a big plus

Although obviously not a 6* line, have you considered Saga, who exclusively sail from Southampton or Dover?

[Eddie99]

Yes

When I mistakenly thought we might be up & running later this year I was quite keen on the 18 or 19 nights to Turkey.  All in all it seemed reasonable value

So, I’ll keep an eye on them for the future

[tring]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

Strange how we are all different, I quite enjoy the drive down to Southampton, makes a change from the short journeys we normally do from home.  But we always stay overnight in or near Southampton to avoid any stress that motorway delays might create. Similarly we quite enjoy the first 2 or 3 sea days, which lets us relax into our cruise, which we try to ensure is at least 12 nights to make it worthwhile, but I do agree that this is much better if the weather is warm and sunny, I guess it's just as well that we don't mind travelling to Southampton, because we can no longer fly.

 

 

I think it also depends on why individuals continue to book cruises.  I mean is it for the cruise experience (which I think is common for many on here) or is it to explore interesting places, which is still very much why we travel.

 

We have very rarely been to the Med on a cruise, but for instance we did in October 2019 when we saw an Azamara offer for an outside cabin that could not be refused.  It was also our chance to try them and with our subsequent successful upgrade bid we in total paid about £1,160pppn for a balcony cabin, and Azamara include all normal drinks/tips.  It did mean we needed to book budget flights, which we do not normally do, but with the appropriate seat bookings it was not too bad as we had priority boarding etc. and we always use fast track and airport lounges. We were also able to book two nights pre/post cruise in each of Barcelona and Rome.  Hence, as we were in port every day and visited some very interesting small ports, we got a lot of travelling out of that short holiday.  Doubt we will get a deal like that again, but always worth keeping our eyes open.  Beyond that our travels have taken us to Spitzbergen, Greenland, a full two weeks up the Amazon, some remote Canadian ports and down the East coast of Africa with some rarely visited ports, as well as similar travel to the Far East and India.  How cruising looks after all this settles down and our age/health at the time, may make us much happier to just be in  Mediterranean beach hotel/resort or to sit on a ship whilst gazing out to sea with the odd port call, but at least we can look back at some very interesting travels we have managed to do so far.

 

If we do take to just cruising for the cruise experience, Azamara or one of the up market lines would have a big pull, likely tempting us to pay appropriately.  The leisurely room service breakfasts on Azamara, with good quality balcony furniture and the waiter who turned up and set it all out on the table, starting with laying the white table cloth, did spoil us somewhat 🙂

 

We are looking forward to some leisurely driving holidays in the UK this year as well, though mostly travelling on quieter roads with frequent stops, rather than slogging down motorways to Hampshire, which had been a regular for us as my in laws were in the Portsmouth area.  One thing we have decided to do this year is stay a while in the Portsmouth area, but having the time to relax and see the tourist sites as well as hopefully meet up again with DH's old school friends and my cousins in Southampton.  As I have recently mentioned on another thread, this year has focussed our minds on the vast variety of places we have been missing in all parts of the UK, especially the more remote areas.

 

Hope you have happy holidays, wherever they are and however they are spent,

 

Barbara 

[Bloodaxe]

Tring,, you were very lucky to find a Azamara cruise at that price, over the years we have had some great cruises with them at reasonable prices when you consider the total experience.

That said in recent times they have not been such good value has prices have got silly,

Who knows what the future holds now that they are no longer part of Royal Caribbean.

If they are still has good and within our price range we would chose them again

That's if we decide that cruising is still for us under the changed world circumstances,

Far to many things are uncertain at this time in my opinion.

 

 

[Bazrat]

After reading the headline on this post I have visions of crew members trying to drag me off the ship to go on a compulsory trip

[tring]

2 hours ago, Bloodaxe said:

Tring,, you were very lucky to find a Azamara cruise at that price, over the years we have had some great cruises with them at reasonable prices when you consider the total experience.

That said in recent times they have not been such good value has prices have got silly,

Who knows what the future holds now that they are no longer part of Royal Caribbean.

If they are still has good and within our price range we would chose them again

That's if we decide that cruising is still for us under the changed world circumstances,

Far to many things are uncertain at this time in my opinion.

 

 

 

True, but it did make us consider trying them and the upgrade has made us think we may well splash out for a balcony cabin another time.

 

Our original booking was for £937pp for an outside, though only one cabin available and they only had outsides available from time to time (non at all within about 5-6 weeks of sailing for any of the Med cruises).  We booked about 3 months out, so flights cost us more than they would have done earlier.  The price did include an extra agent discount and was advertised at that price.  It was also the cheapest of the October Med cruises, but not by much, so not a lot different on the Az site if outsides were available (very few and tended to just be seen occasionally, so would need to check daily).  The upgrade bid was quite risky as there is no come back if you get a badly placed cabin, but for a week with so much port time we risked it.  Our cabin was towards the front, but not too bad and it was absolutely fine during the cruise.  Our upgrade bid was for £170pp, so was cheaper overall than I had mentioned, though of course at a cheaper time of year to cruise the Northern Med coast - we did have one day of torrential rain and it was not really warm until we reached Rome.  The price for balcony cabins on the Med cruises at the time varied between about £1,550 - £1,650 on the Az site, depending on the cruise.

 

Molecrochip did say after the sale that Azamara were not on a bad way, but that RC benefited from the cash at the time.  Yes, will be interesting to see how they, and indeed all cruise lines, go after this difficult time and if any covid restrictions persist for a while, but we are resigned to the fact that we will need to pay more for what we had become used to, even without offers.

Edited February 20, 2021 by tring

[fragilek]

Was just thinking of booking P&O for the first time so was having a look through the board to get a final idea of  what to expect when came across this.   Are all cruise lines doing this?  I was looking at Caribbean from Barbados and have the choice of P&O , TUI or Royal Caribbean.  I did not see anything on the other lines about this.  In fact with TUI I could book a week on shore pre cruise. I will ask on the other lines board to check but this could be the deciding factor for us.  

[yorkshirephil]

23 minutes ago, fragilek said:

Was just thinking of booking P&O for the first time so was having a look through the board to get a final idea of  what to expect when came across this.   Are all cruise lines doing this?  I was looking at Caribbean from Barbados and have the choice of P&O , TUI or Royal Caribbean.  I did not see anything on the other lines about this.  In fact with TUI I could book a week on shore pre cruise. I will ask on the other lines board to check but this could be the deciding factor for us.  

You need to bear in mind that what people say on the boards are not necessarily fact, we still cannot be sure how things will pan out or what the cruise lines will put in place to mitigate the risks. It depends when you want to go and what you are willing to put up with. Things can change rather quickly as I am sure you are aware, the old adage you pay your money and take your chances springs to mind. Whatever you chose good luck and I hope you enjoy.

[Denarius]

7 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

You need to bear in mind that what people say on the boards are not necessarily fact, we still cannot be sure how things will pan out or what the cruise lines will put in place to mitigate the risks. It depends when you want to go and what you are willing to put up with. Things can change rather quickly as I am sure you are aware, the old adage you pay your money and take your chances springs to mind. Whatever you chose good luck and I hope you enjoy.

Very true. I do not think anyone knows how the land will lie in 6 months time, it is all guesswork. But I would expect ports of call to want tourists, including cruise ship passengers, to get back to normal as soon as possible; they want us in their shops, restaurants and bars spending money.

[bobstheboy]

Our next cruise is in Feb 22 to the Canaries. I am optimistically hopeful that we will be able to go ashore as normal, but who knows ?

[NSWP]

On 2/3/2021 at 11:41 PM, Splice the mainbrace said:

I won't miss the self service buffets where I go to get a healthy low calorie salad and end up with battered fish, chicken curry, chilli con carne, rice, mashed potatoes and gravy all on my plate!!

Whilst on the buffet and shorex issues in the new dawn...pax will not be able to make their bacon butties at the buffet, nor purloin the pastries to take on their P&O Shorex. !! Not that I do it, but seen plenty do it. Likewise on disembarkation day on the coach transfers out of Southampton to London, LHR, Gatwick etc, people bring half the brekkie buffet with them, lol.   If they did that at an Australian or NZ Port they would be hit with a big fine, the dogs soon sniff the bacon out, lol.

 

Re P&O Shorex only or no get off, I thought that was a requirement now? 

Edited April 7, 2021 by NSWP

[joeecco]

About to book Britannia for the Caribbean this November. 
 

Flying in and out of Castries, can anyone tell us the process from landing to boarding the ship in St Lucia?

 

Also, which ‘London’ airport do P&O use for the flights? 
 

thanks all

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, joeecco said:

Also, which ‘London’ airport do P&O use for the flights? 

Normally Gatwick.

[ShelaghL]

Just seen on the P&O website that from 25 September shore excursions are no longer a requirement to go ashore - we can 'explore independently'.  Very relieved.

[gandalf1]

1 hour ago, ShelaghL said:

Just seen on the P&O website that from 25 September shore excursions are no longer a requirement to go ashore - we can 'explore independently'.  Very relieved.

Can you provide a link as this is great news for all.

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, gandalf1 said:

Can you provide a link as this is great news for all.

There is a current thread already in existence about this issue

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2801013-po-to-allow-independent-exploration-in-ports-from-25th/

 

[gandalf1]

Below statement from  p and o website in FAQ IF YOU CAN GO ON SHORE INDEPENDENTLY 

 

Until 25 September, you will only be able to go ashore through our new range of organised and vetted shore experiences. Port transfer and shore experience operators will be subject to new policies and procedures to reflect the latest approved guidance in line with our on-board protocols. On top of that, we’ve a whole wealth of brand new shore experiences available with options to suit every budget and every traveller. We know how much our guests love to get under the skin of each destination and so we’re introducing a new range of affordable options to make sure you have the opportunity to still experience the best of each exciting stop. Our new experiences will help you get to the heart of each port and you can be reassured knowing your well-being is protected. 

 

From 25 September, guests will be able to go ashore independently but must adhere to the specific COVID-19 protocols in each destination. However, as restrictions in each destination are changeable, and some destinations may only allow cruise line organised experiences ashore, we highly recommend you purchase P&O Cruises shore experiences prior to travel to ensure you always have the option to explore each destination.

[Technoman2]

This was in the document Important information received 5 days ago from P&O

 

We also organise testing which will be required to disembark the ship in Southampton, per UK government requirements, and testing that may also be required to go ashore in various destinations on your itinerary. These tests will be available to purchase on board, at a cost of £18 per antigen test per person and £25 per PCR test per person. Currently, the majority of ports we visit this year do not require entry testing. However all guests disembarking in the UK are currently required to take a re-entry antigen test. All requirements are subject to change. During your holiday, destinations on your itinerary may have various documentation requirements. You are responsible for meeting the entry requirements of each destination but we will be happy to guide you through all testing and documentation needs on board. P&O Cruises cannot accept responsibility if you are denied entry to a country because you do not meet its entry requirements.