Parents on Britannia now and can't get help with PLF

[ducati266]

My parents due to fly home 17th they were told before going they could go to customer services and they would help them with PLF as they do not have a smart phone and only a very old android tablet that they have trouble connecting to wi-fi. They have been told that p&o will not print the form out for them. They are stressed and worried and cruise has been ruined. We are very worried also how they will get home, my dad is in his seventies, also how they will connect the new PCR test. Any advice is appreciated, feel lost to how to help. Have sent a message to p&o and a twitter message but doubt they will get back in time to me.

[Interestedcruisefan]

This is surely a misunderstanding and P and O will help them on board?

[wowzz]

In reality, I don't think your parents will have a problem. P&O are responsible for the paperwork of their passengers.  

I know it will not be easy, but tell your parents not to worry.    Once P&O know the documentation is incomplete, they should help out.

 

[ducati266]

I installed messenger only on their tablet before they left, they phoned via that last night to say they had explained it all to p&o and all the lady said she would hand them a tablet to borrow for them to fill out the form themselves. They were both upset with it all and they have there PCR today. we tried attaching the PLF form to messenger but it wouldn't open and also there emails are not loading. Do not know what to do to help

[JessicaB97]

1 hour ago, ducati266 said:

I installed messenger only on their tablet before they left, they phoned via that last night to say they had explained it all to p&o and all the lady said she would hand them a tablet to borrow for them to fill out the form themselves. They were both upset with it all and they have there PCR today. we tried attaching the PLF form to messenger but it wouldn't open and also there emails are not loading. Do not know what to do to help

Perhaps someone will help them at the airport on their return if they are unable to get help onboard. It’s a government requirement for the form to be filled out before returning to the UK but they have clearly tried their best. Unfortunately these online forms etc are not suitable for everyone, especially elderly. Even if they don’t get help onboard you could help them when they get home? I don’t know if these forms are checked on arrival to the UK? My form certainly wasn’t checked at Southampton docks & I don’t think the government can actually keep track of who has submitted their form and who hasn’t, i think its purely for collating data if they need it to trace back people who may have been in contact with certain variants. Try not to panic! 

[Converted to cruising]

I was on the Britannia when the new rules came in a couple of weeks ago. Although P and O were unhelpful when it came to ordering the PCR tests whilst onboard ( we all had LFT tests ordered) they organised tablets for people who needed them in the Crows Nest and officers there to help with completing the PLF forms.  We then just took a picture of the completed form page with the code on. When we returned to Manchester nobody checked it at passport control, only our passports were checked. I think it’s all linked to your passport. Hope that helps a bit. It really is frustrating when there is unhelpful staff on the reception desk that causes un needed stress to passengers. Hope they manage to sort it out. 

[ellie1145]

26 minutes ago, JessicaB97 said:

Perhaps someone will help them at the airport on their return if they are unable to get help onboard. It’s a government requirement for the form to be filled out before returning to the UK but they have clearly tried their best. Unfortunately these online forms etc are not suitable for everyone, especially elderly. Even if they don’t get help onboard you could help them when they get home? I don’t know if these forms are checked on arrival to the UK? My form certainly wasn’t checked at Southampton docks & I don’t think the government can actually keep track of who has submitted their form and who hasn’t, i think its purely for collating data if they need it to trace back people who may have been in contact with certain variants. Try not to panic! 

Friends who were unable to fill in their PLF when returning from Spain recently, were denied boarding at the airport. They had to book an overnight hotel and a new flight at considerable cost to them as nobody would assist them, and their flight closed. Once at the hotel they had to get help from their son back in the U.K. who talked them through the procedure. Of course, their travel insurance did not cover these extra costs.

 

it is quite a tricky form and the first time we did it on a ship even our highly IT competent son found it took ages. If he had not been with us it would have been very difficult. One word of advice is NOT to choose the ‘register’ option as this requires a code coming in to your phone and we were on maritime at the time.

 

So whether or not the PLF is actually checked in the U.K. really doesn’t matter as it WILL be checked by your airline, who will deny you boarding without it.  Two of our cruises in October required flights and both times our PLF WAS checked.

 

I do hope that these passengers get some help from P&O. Maybe if they borrowed an iPad they could get help from the IT team onboard. To just say no to helping them seems pretty poor service from P&O.

 

I do hope they get help and can return safely.

 

 

[sagaris]

I had the same problem on a recent Marella Caribbean cruise. The staff on reception helped me to fill out the PLF for myself and Chris on tablets, but my phone wouldn't connect to the ships wifi. Immigration in Barbados stuck a sticker on our passports to say PLF checked ok, nothing was checked at Birmingham airport, but I did have a rotten panicky last day. I must say though that there were lots of passengers having problems.

 

Molly

Edited December 16, 2021 by sagaris
missing info

[sagaris]

ignore, - duplicate post

[ducati266]

Thank you everyone, I also quickly joined a couple of Britannia groups on facebook, who have said p&o will provide a ipad but you have to fill it out yourself, my parents have never used a ipad only saw one when my son goes for a sleepover, just wish someone would say I will help you out don't worry... Other people have said the PLF wasn't checked at the airport as it is linked to passport, just a worry as know it's not the easiest of things to fill out. When we were in Greece on Oct it was checked at the airport, ours was easier to fill out as didn't have to put in all the islands visited like the cruise. Such a shame so many people are having issues 

[jeanlyon]

Surely they can ask someone to help.  A young person will do it in no time.

[JessicaB97]

4 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

Friends who were unable to fill in their PLF when returning from Spain recently, were denied boarding at the airport. They had to book an overnight hotel and a new flight at considerable cost to them as nobody would assist them, and their flight closed. Once at the hotel they had to get help from their son back in the U.K. who talked them through the procedure. Of course, their travel insurance did not cover these extra costs.

 

it is quite a tricky form and the first time we did it on a ship even our highly IT competent son found it took ages. If he had not been with us it would have been very difficult. One word of advice is NOT to choose the ‘register’ option as this requires a code coming in to your phone and we were on maritime at the time.

 

So whether or not the PLF is actually checked in the U.K. really doesn’t matter as it WILL be checked by your airline, who will deny you boarding without it.  Two of our cruises in October required flights and both times our PLF WAS checked.

 

I do hope that these passengers get some help from P&O. Maybe if they borrowed an iPad they could get help from the IT team onboard. To just say no to helping them seems pretty poor service from P&O.

 

I do hope they get help and can return safely.

 

 

Omg!! 

[JessicaB97]

2 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Surely they can ask someone to help.  A young person will do it in no time.

Yeah that’s the other thing they could do… kindly ask a member of the public, I work on computers all day everyday and was able to fill out the form quite quickly, I hope there is a Good Samaritan that can help them. It is pretty shocking p&o are not helping. On the regal Princess they had scheduled time in on the cruise compass for passengers to go to walk in sessions for help with their forms, it was great.

[Camberley]

Oh my word: eventually managed to fill in the PLR for our cruise this Saturday: today being the soonest we can do it. What a palava……it had lost the bits we filled in before so we had to restart, it then kept crashing, there were some unclear questions (we’ll probably not that unclear but when you want to get it 100% right….). Not all qu were the same as the P and O exemplar one (which was actually quite useful to be fair), it refused to scan vaccine QR code or accept photo….and a few other gems…..honestly, this made P and O’s IT seem a joy in comparison 🤣

 

But we rang the freephone number our travel agent recommended - 0800 678 1767 - and we went through most questions on the phone with a very helpful person as we typed in our info as she guided us.

 

A massive thanks to her who restored my sanity….somewhat! But a large G and T is calling me

Edited December 16, 2021 by Camberley

[Harry Peterson]

3 hours ago, ducati266 said:

Thank you everyone, I also quickly joined a couple of Britannia groups on facebook, who have said p&o will provide a ipad but you have to fill it out yourself, my parents have never used a ipad only saw one when my son goes for a sleepover, just wish someone would say I will help you out don't worry... Other people have said the PLF wasn't checked at the airport as it is linked to passport, just a worry as know it's not the easiest of things to fill out. When we were in Greece on Oct it was checked at the airport, ours was easier to fill out as didn't have to put in all the islands visited like the cruise. Such a shame so many people are having issues 

I'm pretty sure that P&O staff will lend a practical hand in your parents' special situation, being older and unused to using an iPad.  They clearly aren't permitted to complete the forms, for obvious reasons, but there's a big difference between completing a form and facilitating its completion in these unusual circumstances.

 

If you're still worried, it is possible to contact the ship (at some cost) and speak to someone on reception to check the position and ask for help.

 

Telephoning the ship

If any of your family or friends need to contact you while you are on board, they can do so by phoning: 0800 917 1584 (from the UK only) – they will need to provide their credit card details. They will then be prompted to provide the ship name, as well as your name and cabin number. Their call will then be directed to your cabin. Only upon connection with the ship will charges commence. Calls are a standard £3.00 per minute. If calling from outside of the UK, they should dial 001 732 3353264 (the same procedure will apply). There will be an American call charge for this number in addition to the £3.00 per minute call charge. If you are not in your cabin at the time of the call, a message will be taken and delivered to your cabin. 

[free from work]

4 hours ago, JessicaB97 said:

Yeah that’s the other thing they could do… kindly ask a member of the public, I work on computers all day everyday and was able to fill out the form quite quickly, I hope there is a Good Samaritan that can help them. It is pretty shocking p&o are not helping. On the regal Princess they had scheduled time in on the cruise compass for passengers to go to walk in sessions for help with their forms, it was great.

We were on N125 Southampton /Canaries RT when everything went pear shaped. P&o made PC's available but no It support. I helped 1 passenger link their phone to the PLF system as they had no idea what to do. P&o distinctly Awol. 

 

J

[brian1]

I couldn't upload the vaccine QR code when we returned from Europe last year.You can show it at the airport on your phone or paper certificates,as long as you declare that on the PLF.That section can be a bit confusing though.

[brian1]

31 minutes ago, brian1 said:

I couldn't upload the vaccine QR code when we returned from Europe last year.You can show it at the airport on your phone or paper certificates,as long as you declare that on the PLF.That section can be a bit confusing though.

Sorry,correction,October this year.

[WECRUISEUK]

On IONA recently and had similar issues,asked staff at reception who reasured us they will help out.Lots of passengers in similar situation and they allocated a large area of the crows nest with lots of staff to assist in the plf form filling,plus they gave us a printout.Excellant first rate service from P&O,great ship and very helpful staff.Let us know how Britannia staff did with this situation,was the issue resolved?

[ducati266]

just had a quick message to say it took them 3 hours to do, I am unclear whether that was due to waiting for assistance or the form in general, once they are home tomorrow I will let you know what happened better to be prepared. I do know that the pcr results were being given out in paper form under the cabin doors.

[ellie1145]

10 hours ago, ducati266 said:

just had a quick message to say it took them 3 hours to do, I am unclear whether that was due to waiting for assistance or the form in general, once they are home tomorrow I will let you know what happened better to be prepared. I do know that the pcr results were being given out in paper form under the cabin doors.

So glad to hear they managed to complete it. Hope they have a safe journey home. 

[Son of Anarchy]

Prior to check in for Ventura on 05 December staff were reminding passengers of the need to complete a PLF, and were handing out blank hard copies to those who requested one.

 

Procedures for pre-departure tests prior to returning to Southampton were announced later in the cruise.  Ended up being foc and well organised.

[jimbo1683]

Im sorry but its time to stop resisting technology which is designed to make your life simpler. If you're going to travel beyond your garden gate it makes no sense not to carry a smartphone in 2021 and know how to use it. There are so many classes - paid for and charitable - aimed at helping older people to use technology. Passenger locator forms have been around for a while now and yes they do take some time and effort to complete but this could have been explored before leaving home. Whilst Im sure cruise staff can and will help, it's really not their job to do that is it. This is extra admin which has been imposed by the government and it every traveller's responsibility to sort it out for themselves.

[jimbo1683]

On 12/16/2021 at 3:29 PM, JessicaB97 said:

Omg!! 

All airlines make it very clear this will happen if you dont have the correct paperwork

[wowzz]

Whilst Jimbo may have gone over the top a little, I do think that everyone has to take on a certain amount of responsibility. 

Having said that, kudos to Saga for their handling of testing and paperwork.  Sometimes it is worth paying the extra !