3rd Sept. Itinerary change?

[LadyL1]

This morning we had an email cancelling the only excursion we had booked, which was from Holyhead. Looking at the Cunard website, it appears we could be going to Belfast instead! Is this not one of the highest rated COVID areas in UK?😬

Edited August 27, 2021 by LadyL1

[BigMac1953]

...then you're okay, as neither Belfast nor Holyhead are in England!

[LadyL1]

Now edited! Might as well be correct about things.😂

[sogne]

still got Holyhead  for 14th Sept

[Host Hattie]

That's a shame, wasn't it due to be a maiden call ?

Hopefully the September and October scheduled calls can still happen. It would be nice to see a Cunarder in Wales.

[LadyL1]

Sogne

if you look at this, sadly no Cunard ships appear. 

https://holyheadport.co.uk/images/Holyhead_Cruise_2021.pdf

 

[LadyL1]

5 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

That's a shame, wasn't it due to be a maiden call ?

Hopefully the September and October scheduled calls can still happen. It would be nice to see a Cunarder in Wales.

Yes, it should have been a maiden call. We were very much looking forward to viewing the bridge, as my husband is very interested in historical engineering. 

[sogne]

56 minutes ago, LadyL1 said:

Sogne

if you look at this, sadly no Cunard ships appear. 

https://holyheadport.co.uk/images/Holyhead_Cruise_2021.pdf

 

Yes seen it but no change yet on VP

[RJChatsworth]

Could it be that Holyhead appears to be an anchor port and they are concerned about social distancing on tenders?  Thus cancellation of Holyhead. We are supposed to be going there on 1st October voyage and was looking forward to going up Snowdon.

[majortom10]

We have called at Holyhead in the past with another cruise line and unless you had an excursion planned I am afraid Holyhead is not very exciting at all. We were also delayed half a day in docking due to winds. If you are changed to Belfast and they will allow you off independently which is still up in the air at the moment then I think it is a good move to go to Belfast.

[RJChatsworth]

Already going to Belfast on 1st October cruise so where would we go instead of Holyhead if you discount Southern Ireland?  Perhaps St Peter Port in Guernsey but so far have never been able to get in there for one reason or another!

[sogne]

49 minutes ago, RJChatsworth said:

Could it be that Holyhead appears to be an anchor port and they are concerned about social distancing on tenders?  Thus cancellation of Holyhead. We are supposed to be going there on 1st October voyage and was looking forward to going up Snowdon.

Train only going to Clogwyn half way all facilities at summit closed.

[RJChatsworth]

Sogne - That was clear on booking form but supposed to be 3/4 of way up.  The top station is apparently closed for sometime.

[Yaldi]

17 hours ago, RJChatsworth said:

Already going to Belfast on 1st October cruise so where would we go instead of Holyhead if you discount Southern Ireland?  Perhaps St Peter Port in Guernsey but so far have never been able to get in there for one reason or another!

Appears St. Peter Port will remain elusive.

http://www.harbours.gg/article/153967/Schedule

 

Looking at your itinerary an overnight call in Liverpool is a possible alternative but loses its attraction if you can’t get off independently. 

[RJChatsworth]

Ahh… thanks.  Guernsey is obviously orf!!

[LadyL1]

I think Cunard have let themselves down here! I do not mind the change of itinerary, but an email notification, perhaps with explanation (of why), would have been appreciated!

Just to return the funds from a pre-booked excursion, is certainly letting themselves down on PR. At this time I think they should be very upfront and seem to be customer friendly; the bean-counters are going to want a lot of new bookings in the near future to fill the ships!

I only found out the new destination by looking at their website. Perhaps some people on this cruise will still be unaware of the deviation! From looking at the port authority website of Holyhead, I fear this is not the only Cunard voyage change.

 

[Matelot70]

We are on the voyage that is due to call at Holyhead on 22 September. I have just received  a specific Cunard email which although it quotes my personal voyage details is more of a marketing exercise. One link is to saver fares for the voyage (rather odd to try to sell me the voyage I am on and which the email is supposed to be about) and Holyhead is still listed as a port of call. I still have a shore excursion booked! I await developments.

Edited August 28, 2021 by Matelot70

[RJChatsworth]

With all this speculation, I think Cunard should come clean about Holyhead immediately.  There are several voyages arranged to go there and I suspect they know already whether they will be going there.  If we are they should refute the rumours.  They don’t need to wait for alternatives to be arranged, they can just say they are being sought.  Simples!

[pompeycruiser]

Am also on the Oct 1 cruise due to make a call at Holyhead but was also on Viking Star that made a call there last Monday. We used tenders to get in but as there were only about 300 passengers on the ship this wasnt too much of a problem. However the local guide did point out the long jetty which was originally used by RTZ in its mining operations but is now to be used by large cruise vessels. This however is currently under repair so it could be that Cunard is keeping its options open re future cruises this year in the hope that the jetty will be open sooner  rather than later. Just my own specualtion. I don't know when the work is due to be finished but there was plenty of activity on the site, vans, lorries etc.   

[sogne]

Google maps show a large cruise ship possibly RC or Celebrity alongside the RTZ jetty.

[Matelot70]

On 8/28/2021 at 3:52 PM, LadyL1 said:

I think Cunard have let themselves down here! I do not mind the change of itinerary, but an email notification, perhaps with explanation (of why), would have been appreciated!

Just to return the funds from a pre-booked excursion, is certainly letting themselves down on PR. At this time I think they should be very upfront and seem to be customer friendly; the bean-counters are going to want a lot of new bookings in the near future to fill the ships!

I only found out the new destination by looking at their website. Perhaps some people on this cruise will still be unaware of the deviation! From looking at the port authority website of Holyhead, I fear this is not the only Cunard voyage change.

 

I have now received this morning this notification for our cruise departing next Tuesday 14 September.

 

Unfortunately your shore experience is no longer available

Dear Dear Mr. Xxxxxxx

Sadly the experience(s) ashore that you purchased will no longer be operating during your holiday with us. We’re sorry for the disappointment this may cause. Please visit the Shore Experiences page on My Cunard to find and book another great

experience. Your refund has been issued and the full details are shown below.

 

This is for the Holyhead call and when I check my voyage personaliser it shows we are now on scenic Scottish Isles voyage so I can hardly book another 

great experience.

 

I think this is very poor of Cunard even in these difficult times to leave notification so late especially as they seem to have known for some time.

[LadyL1]

We never found out why Holyhead was cancelled for our now completed cruise. However, the change to Belfast was very well received, with some great excursions for the area.

[tim2go]

For the 14th Sept cruise we're already calling at Belfast, Liverpool and Glasgow (Greenock) so I guess there's not too many options for a replacement for Holyhead. Disappointing, but after the previous cancellation not entirely unexpected. Let's hope for some nice weather for the scenic cruising!

[sogne]

1 hour ago, LadyL1 said:

We never found out why Holyhead was cancelled for our now completed cruise. However, the change to Belfast was very well received, with some great excursions for the area.

the old RTZ jetty which has been used by larger cruise ships  was being repaired and is apparently not completed QE is probably too big to safely anchor in the outer harbour which in any case is exposed to  strong winds from west through to north  the harbour was severely damaged some years ago by a sudden storm form the NE which destroyed the marina and sank or damaged many yachts and work boats 

[Host Hattie]

What a shame they couldn't substitute Fishguard, Pembrokeshire has had a few cruise ship visits in the last few weeks.