Compulsory offshore excursions due to Covid with P&O

[ace2542]

21 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Have you not considered that the coaches will still be available, and there will always be someone willing to undertake a  contract with a  cruise line, whether here in the UK for transporting passengers to and from the ship, or abroad at ports to provide shore excursions.

But they might not be the same ones and they might not have the same reach.

[ScratchTheRat]

48 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

We are on a linked booking, but there are still only 3 of us.  19 nights of our own conversation would be very boring indeed.  Hey ho.  Not going to lose much if we cancel.  We booked on board in October 2019.

 

Do you not like your family or something? lol

 

For me, the idea of having to socialise with strangers fills me with dread! I'm going on holiday with the people I love and want to spend my life with, not to get away from them.

 

One of the reasons Im going on IONA is freedom dining, the idea of eating with strangers is bizarre to me.

 

[yorkshirephil]

12 minutes ago, ScratchTheRat said:

 

One of the reasons Im going on IONA is freedom dining, the idea of eating with strangers is bizarre to me.

 

Have you tried it?

[ScratchTheRat]

Just now, yorkshirephil said:

Have you tried it?

Yes I have! Not an experience I enjoyed. I'm not anti-social or anything like that. Quite the opposite, but I like to choose who I am social with, when, where and for how long.

 

Mandatory social obligation is not something that appeals to me. Saying that, Im totally social and chatty around the ship in short bursts! 😄

 

I just like to be spending time with the people I love thats all!

[molecrochip]

5 hours ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

At the time of paying the balance it should be pointed out what the NEW cruise conditions will be ref masks, buffets, not mixing groups while dining, no independent shore trips etc, and then be given the choice of pay the balance, move the deposit to another cruise or get repaid the deposit. People shouldn't have to lose the deposit if the NEW cruise rules aren't what they want, imagine booking to stay in a hotel and being told that you can't leave it except when to go on an organised tour.

Some of these restrictions such as wearing masks are changes to everyday life so dont need pointing out / wouldn't be a reason to cancel. At present, nobody knows what national restrictions will be in place at restart and therefore nobody knows the exact restrictions on board. All P&O have published is what is likely.

 

4 hours ago, joeecco said:

They have already said they will release more, cheaper tours 8 weeks before the sail date. 

Correct. This is once they know what tours they can run locally. It may also mean changes to existing pre-booked excursions.

 

2 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

I've probably missed it, but I mentioned the other day, that if people are allowed to cruise, then they are allowed to go on holiday to Spain, France etc and therefore will be meeting and mingling normally, so can't see why that should be different on a cruise.

The fact that you can't just call an Ambulance if a group of people getting seriously ill. You have a higher chance of overwhelming the ship's medical facilities than a hotel does overwhelming its local hospital.

 

2 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

Some better news, have heard locally that Carnival in Southampton are starting to re employ some staff that they made redundant last year. 

They must be confident of things improving soon. 

Andy 

 

This is correct. The have released a number of roles since the beginning of December, the start of their financial year. No guarantee that they go to the people who had the role previously.

 

1 hour ago, bee-ess said:

If you want to eat and drink with anyone else on your cruise I believe your bookings have to be linked. We always cruise with another couple and have had to make sure that our bookings are linked

This is what P&O call family groups - even if they are not family. The exact restrictions on sitting together have yet to be confirmed. It may operate on a track and trace principle. It rather depends upon what the national restrictions at the time. 

[ScratchTheRat]

In all honesty, the cost of the excursions is pretty good. I have only sailed on Carnival and there excursions are double the price of P&O!

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, ace2542 said:

But they might not be the same ones and they might not have the same reach.

But they might even be nicer!

[Harry Peterson]

10 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

The fact that you can't just call an Ambulance if a group of people getting seriously ill. You have a higher chance of overwhelming the ship's medical facilities than a hotel does overwhelming its local hospital.

I think you may have hit the nail on the head there as to why a lot of people don’t yet feel able to return to cruising.

 

Those memories of what were described at the time as plague ships take a long time to be erased. The thought of being stranded on a ship with overwhelmed medical facilities fills concerned passengers with horror.

[Son of Anarchy]

2 hours ago, AnnieC said:

Hear hear. I was just about to raise the same point. Paying for a fortnight's solitary confinement is not my idea of a holiday, nor, from what I've read, is it for any of the other solos on here.

Dear old Mum travelled for decades as solo and pretty much always dined on her own (her choice).

 

But on her only PandO cruise (Ventura) she was on a table for eight.  All also solo travellers.  Mum loved every bit of it!

[terrierjohn]

2 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

I think you may have hit the nail on the head there as to why a lot of people don’t yet feel able to return to cruising.

 

Those memories of what were described at the time as plague ships take a long time to be erased. The thought of being stranded on a ship with overwhelmed medical facilities fills concerned passengers with horror.

Since P&O will mainly have Brits on board, and most vulnerable Brits will have been vaccinated by early spring, I think you are all labouring under a false assumption. Even if covid does manage to get on board, it is hardly likely to create major medical problems, the elderly and vulnerable have protection, and the younger ones have a sniffle, where is the plague ship problem on that?

[Dorset cruise fan]

The cruise we have booked this summer is to the fjords and I'm really hoping it goes ahead. If the restrictions on board are similar to those that we had when we first came out of lockdown (mask wearing, social distancing etc) then I can live with that. There are some nice looking excursions which we were thinking of signing up for anyway so if we also have to pay for a cheap walking tour of Stavanger just to be allowed off the ship then that's a price I'm willing to pay. Assuming we get to the fjords then alot of the attraction is the grandeur of the scenery as you sail in and out so the ports in themselves are only part of the appeal. I guess we would think harder about a med cruise for instance where it's all about the ports but I'm just really hoping that our cruise goes ahead. With the Government showing more signs of caution about holidays abroad this summer then I'm not counting my chickens yet.

As to solo travellers, I would imagine that P&O would out in place some kind of table "bubble" but I guess all that is still to be worked out.

[mercury7289]

Just now, terrierjohn said:

Since P&O will mainly have Brits on board, and most vulnerable Brits will have been vaccinated by early spring, I think you are all labouring under a false assumption. Even if covid does manage to get on board, it is hardly likely to create major medical problems, the elderly and vulnerable have protection, and the younger ones have a sniffle, where is the plague ship problem on that?

With respect, mainly and most does not mean all and everyone!

[joeecco]

23 minutes ago, ScratchTheRat said:

In all honesty, the cost of the excursions is pretty good. I have only sailed on Carnival and there excursions are double the price of P&O!

Yes, a cinque terre excursion with P&O was 76pp, with princess it was £142pp! 

[ScratchTheRat]

Just now, joeecco said:

Yes, a cinque terre excursion with P&O was 76pp, with princess it was £142pp! 

I'll be booking with P&O either way, means I dont have to worry about anything!

[joeecco]

Just now, ScratchTheRat said:

I'll be booking with P&O either way, means I dont have to worry about anything!

Us too, we’ve booked excursions for every one of our ports. If the rules change and we can ‘do it alone’ then we may cancel the odd one to do our own thing but otherwise we are excited! 

[ScratchTheRat]

Just now, joeecco said:

Us too, we’ve booked excursions for every one of our ports. If the rules change and we can ‘do it alone’ then we may cancel the odd one to do our own thing but otherwise we are excited! 

The only one I was going to do on my own is Rotterdam but if we need to book one we will 🙂

[joeecco]

2 minutes ago, ScratchTheRat said:

The only one I was going to do on my own is Rotterdam but if we need to book one we will 🙂

Or you could enjoy the ship. Sometimes it best (that’s a port we wouldn’t bother getting off at now) 

[wowzz]

56 minutes ago, ScratchTheRat said:

I'm going on holiday with the people I love and want to spend my life with, not to get away from them

Having eaten three meals a day for the last  year with each other, both Mrs W and I would both like to eat with someone else! 

[ScratchTheRat]

Just now, wowzz said:

Having eaten three meals a day for the last  year with each other, both Mrs W and I would both like to eat with someone else! 

Haha! 

 

I respect that everyone is different, we all like different things don't we? We all holiday for different things too!

[nosapphire]

I would think that all cruise lines will be doing similar (restricted excursions, "bubbles", etc.), just that some have actually highlighted it in their terms, others are waiting till much, much closer to sailing.

I agree that if the booking was made prior to the pandemic, then it could be considered a pretty substantial change, but anyone who booked (including those who rolled over a booking) during the pandemic could be considered as having been aware of the risk that the cruise and excursions may be very restricted.

Although with brochures still being issued highlighting the social mingling aspects of a cruise.....🤔

 

[SarahHben]

13 minutes ago, joeecco said:

Us too, we’ve booked excursions for every one of our ports. If the rules change and we can ‘do it alone’ then we may cancel the odd one to do our own thing but otherwise we are excited! 

We had P & O excursions booked for our cancelled 2020 cruise and the money was refunded to us as on board spend for our replacement cruise this summer which we are happy with and will use for drinks etc on board. We haven't booked any excursions yet for our June 2021 because if this one gets cancelled too we may end up with more onboard spend for 2022 than we can use. As soon as details are released about how the June '21 cruise will proceed we'll try to book our preferred excursions then.

Edited February 3, 2021 by SarahHben

[joeecco]

2 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

We had P & O excursions booked for our cancelled 2020 which was refunded to us as on board spend for our replacement cruise which we are happy with and will use for drinks etc on board. We haven't booked any excursions yet for our June 2021 because if this one gets cancelled too we may end up with more onboard spend for 2022 than we can use. As soon as details are released about how the June '21 cruise will proceed we'll try to book our preferred excursions then.

Worst case scenario, they will refund your excursions cost into your bank. If you want the June cruise to go ahead it may be worth having a look at what’s on offer before certain trips get booked up. 

[Selbourne]

3 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

I've probably missed it, but I mentioned the other day, that if people are allowed to cruise, then they are allowed to go on holiday to Spain, France etc and therefore will be meeting and mingling normally, so can't see why that should be different on a cruise.

I think the problem is that cruise ships are known to be vectors for the spread of viruses in a way that other forms of holidays aren’t. This obviously doesn’t just apply to Coronvirus. Just consider the number of people who go down with Norovirus on cruise ships or develop coughs and colds during longer cruises. These viruses happen on land but not in such concentrated ways. This was all put into sharp focus at the start of this pandemic. Even Molecrochip, who is in the industry and naturally very supportive of P&O, described cruise ships as akin to nursing homes in terms of viral spread and we all know what has happened in those.
 

Of course, with the UK vaccination programme progressing at such a phenomenal rate, a large proportion of P&O customers will be vaccinated by the time cruising resumes, which is great. The problems will be that it’s unlikely to be 100% and as for the situation with staff we don’t know. The solution would be when companies like P&O can buy vaccines privately, but that’s not an option at present, but could be once all vulnerable groups are vaccinated. If P&O went the same way as Saga and insisted that all passengers had to be vaccinated to board and they could sort out the crew, then I would think that a cruise ship should present no more risk to an overseas destination than any other type of holiday. However, there is a perception challenge when thousands of people all descend on a small port in one hit and that’s a difficult one to overcome, even if the facts mean that it shouldn’t be an issue. 
 

As for the possible restrictions, some would be OK for us. Less passengers - tick. Having to dine alone - not a show stopper. Scenic cruise - ok if fjords (as that’s the only scenic cruise that’s possible). However, having to wear masks on board and not being able to go ashore independently are show stoppers for us. Appreciate that for many these are minor issues, but we would rather do land based holidays until these restrictions are lifted and then, when they are, we shall happily return. 

Edited February 3, 2021 by Selbourne

[SarahHben]

1 minute ago, joeecco said:

Worst case scenario, they will refund your excursions cost into your bank. If you want the June cruise to go ahead it may be worth having a look at what’s on offer before certain trips get booked up. 

We didn't have the option of a refund into our bank account last year which is why we haven't booked any for this June yet. If it was just my husband and me if wouldn't matter so much, but we are travelling with my parents who want to do the same excursions that we do and they can't afford to pay out twice with no guarantee of a refund to their bank.

[joeecco]

3 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

We didn't have the option of a refund into our bank account last year which is why we haven't booked any for this June yet. If it was just my husband and me if wouldn't matter so much, but we are travelling with my parents who want to do the same excursions that we do and they can't afford to pay out twice with no guarantee of a refund to their bank.

Fair enough. Should you wish to book though, this is a screenshot showing they will refund you that you can use as proof.