New Cunard Announcements

[lissie]

1 hour ago, Lanky Lad said:

As Cunard only have three ships, it is possible P&O and Princess are allowing Cunard to go first and see how it works. Just a thought.

And doesn't Cunard have all their ships sitting offshore the UK at the moment? That must make it easier to  restart too - assuming they can get the crew back from Asia though. 

[majortom10]

13 hours ago, lissie said:

And doesn't Cunard have all their ships sitting offshore the UK at the moment? That must make it easier to  restart too - assuming they can get the crew back from Asia though. 

That is the biggest problem of any cruise line is getting staff from Asia trained and ready to sail but as already been said by Cunard a while back is getting the crew vaccinated. Even though cruising has been given permission to start after May 17th it is with regulations and will not be starting for a while after that date July/August at the earliest. Initial cruises will only be with UK residents from Southampton.

 

Edited March 10, 2021 by majortom10

[Lanky Lad]

At least there is a date now for when things can start so gives the lines a target to aim for.

[DWhit]

1 hour ago, Lanky Lad said:

At least there is a date now for when things can start so gives the lines a target to aim for.

And I am sure there is very stong financial incentive  to get going as soon as they can.

[oskidunker]

You know that once cruising starts Someone  will test positive for covid, likely someone who has been vaccinated. The question then is what are the ramifications and how do they get off the ship. 

Edited March 10, 2021 by oskidunker

[Ray66]

5 hours ago, Lanky Lad said:

At least there is a date now for when things can start so gives the lines a target to aim for.

 

P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said: "We are delighted that the government has acknowledged that UK domestic cruise holidays can begin from 17 May.

"While it will take some weeks after this date for us to restart our operations, we are very much looking forward to welcoming guests on board this summer".

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56336787

 

Just waiting for Cunard to say something.

 

[mcloaked]

What is confusing about being  told not to book 'foreign' holidays, but that UK holidays may well be fine? A cruise that would call at any port outside of the UK would be a foreign holiday and therefore may well come under restrictions for passengers, depending on how the virus cases look at the time the ship calls there - and nobody knows what that would be like some month in the future.   A cruise that only calls at UK ports would be subject to UK measures only - and if the prevalence of covid in the UK is kept low and transmission is low with a large fraction of the UK population vaccinated, then it would seem much more likely that a UK only cruise would be sensible and generally safe later in the year.  Of course at the same time, nobody, no matter how intelligent or knowledgeable, could possibly guarantee 100% that new variants or people going bananas with  the wrong behaviour might lead to a resurgence,  of cases - but in the meantime planning on the basis of the way things are looking right not is not unreasonable. So the government will also be planning on what looks reasonable, but of course cannot say that they would never change the rules, since the virus could outsmart all the planning that has been done to now! If that was the case then the government would have no option but to change the rules in order to keep people safe!

[majortom10]

11 hours ago, Ray66 said:

 

P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said: "We are delighted that the government has acknowledged that UK domestic cruise holidays can begin from 17 May.

"While it will take some weeks after this date for us to restart our operations, we are very much looking forward to welcoming guests on board this summer".

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56336787

 

Just waiting for Cunard to say something.

 

Arent we all but all we get is silence.

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, Sixfielder said:

We are not holding our breath.  The government messages are equally contradictory as just yesterday Shapps stated that Brits shouldn't book foreign summer holidays.  ***** is that supposed to mean?

The holidays that P&O/Princess are planning are not foreign holidays because they will leave Southampton sail "UK coastal waters" and then return to Southampton. They will then wait to see if that is successful before giving permission for cruises to international countries and also depends on other countries allowing ships to dock there.

[Ray66]

Maybe Cunard are waiting until the Global Travel Taskforce Report on 12th April.

 

As regards UK coastal waters crusing, if Cunard as well as P&O and Princess all do this, it's going to get a bit congested round there.

[brucepen]

An update from Cunard president, Simon Palethorpe:

 

Sailings on Queen Victoria are now cancelled for departures up to and including 27 August 2021.

Queen Elizabeth’s summer Mediterranean fly cruise season and all departures up to and including 11 October 2021 are cancelled. 

Queen Mary 2’s current programme of departures up to and including 12 November 2021 are cancelled.

The new UK staycation voyages on board Queen Elizabeth will be on sale later in March.

[Ray66]

Just got the email from Cunard myself.

 

we are heartened by the pace at which vaccines for Covid-19 are being rolled out across the world, and the role these will play in the gradual easing of restrictions in our daily lives and for travel.

The UK Government has recently confirmed that travel will be opened up for domestic holidays at first, and over time we’ll gradually see the return of international travel.

However, with international ports opening up later than hoped, unfortunately we will be extending our pause in operations.

Sailings on Queen Victoria are now cancelled for departures up to and including 27 August 2021.

With many of Queen Elizabeth’s UK summer itineraries also visiting international ports, and with cruises departing outside of the UK being unlikely for some time further, we are cancelling Queen Elizabeth’s summer Mediterranean fly-cruise season and all departures up to and including 11 October 2021.

For Queen Mary 2 there are a number of factors affecting her current programme and after careful consideration, we are cancelling all departures up to and including 12 November this year.

We know how much everyone is looking forward to longed-for holidays and so we are truly sorry that we have had to cancel your itinerary.

In terms of our return to sailing, with the lifting of restrictions for UK domestic holidays, we will imminently be announcing a series of new itineraries for UK residents looking for a staycation in Cunard luxury. These will be on board Queen Elizabeth, sailing from Southampton around the UK and will make the very most of the summer sunshine.

[lindylooellalouise]

I’ve just had confirmation my next three cruises are now cancelled so now I know  knew it was coming but still disappointing 

[TheOldBear]

Have to talk with the folks at $UNNAMED_TRAVEL_AGENCY to see how the credit/refund process is handled - and get insurance held for new booking

[Ray66]

There's a form on Cunard's website if you want a refund.  You can use this whether you booked direct or through a travel agent.

[Host Hattie]

Now we have a formal announcement, I'll close this thread.

Please continue your discussion here

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2774239-cunard-cancellations-update-11th-march/?tab=comments#comment-60869818