DaisyPop32

1 hour ago, yorkshirephil said:

Your grandparents can board without your uncle and cousin, they will be able to board at their allocated boarding time. They will be able to go to their cabin once it is announced that cabins are ready.

Great news, not too worried about them when they’re on board at least as they can potter about at their leisure, just needed to get them to the port, find & lift their suitcases onto the belt for them if required and get them inside the terminal! 

59 minutes ago, david63 said:

I don't see any reason why there should be a problem as check in is effectively done on a passenger by passenger basis and not by cabin and is even less of a problem now cruise cards are waiting at the cabin and not issued at check in. I would just mention that there are only the two of them now and the others will be along later when checking in.

 

Also be aware that P&O are now strict on arrival times and if early may have to wait outside the terminal.

Thank you so much for this! I did think so but didn’t want to get there and find out we had to wait in the cold with them whilst waiting for other family members. 

Yes a pain for us to wait for an hour or so but we have done Iona a few times and they haven’t, so they’re adamant they want to be there for their check in time so they can get on board. Hoping to drop all cases off and head back to the car to stay warm! This means at least we don’t have to carry on waiting and can get on for 2pm as well. 

I am getting on Iona at Southampton next week and there are 9 of us in 4 cabins. My grandparents (80s) are staying in a cabin with my uncle and cousin - but uncle/cousin aren’t getting there for their boarding time (12:45), don’t know what time they’ll be able to get there yet and aren’t travelling in a way that is accessible for my grandparents. My grandparents will be coming with me & my partner who have a boarding time of 2pm due to this.
 

We will drive down earlier at 1pm and drop their cases off for them and wait for our boarding time but my question is can my grandparents board without my uncle & cousin if they’re in the same cabin, then my uncle/cousin embark later? Or do they have to sit with us and wait until they arrive?

They don’t require any assistance on board to confirm - it’s just getting them there and pointing them in the right direction! 

33 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Delighted it all worked out. However if it hadn't I think you were given incorrect information. The protocols are quite clear:

 

"Are you travelling with friends and family on a different booking? Link your bookings that way if one member of your group tests positive for COVID-19 and is unable to board, you’re also able to opt to cancel your booking. You’ll receive a non-refundable Future Cruise Credit (FCC) for the value of the cruise. "

We did indeed quote this to the help line and was informed that it is only applicable if someone that is boarding has tested positive - not if only one/two etc has been in contact with a positive case. I must admit we were sceptical as the lady on the phone (although very nice) had to go and ask someone else every time we had a question surrounding this predicament as the P&O website information didn’t cover it. We didn’t pry any further however as our situation had sorted itself. Just found it interesting..

Luckily the individual has had a negative test so we have no concern. Phew!

We did manage to get through to P&O and they informed us that it’s only the individual that has been in contact with a positive case that would get FCC. If you have other linked members of your party (and you live with them!), they would still be expected to go.. interesting.

Just now, jimbo1683 said:

So those 2 members of your party have been told to isolate?

No as they are both fully vaccinated so under government rules they wouldn’t have a need to unless the individual is positive and sequenced for the new strain from what I’ve read. P&O seem to have a different rule surrounding this however (as I understand it) as they won’t allow you to board if you’ve been in contact with anyone that has tested positive in the past 14 days. Just wondering what the implications was on this but Megabear2 seems to have cleared it up for me! 
 

Fingers crossed for a nasty cold instead…

32 minutes ago, john watson said:

The nub of this seems to be clarifying what the OP means by "may have been in contact with somebody who has covid".  Is the suggestion that the person who allegedly has covid might not actually have it?  or is the suggestion the 2 out of the 5 are not certain that they were actually in contact with a person with a confirmed case?  It sounds like the waiting for test results (plural) relates to the 2/5 and it is not definitively mentioned that the "person with covid" has been tested and confirmed.  Overall it does not sound good in relation to the cruise lines policy..

 

Regards John

I must apologise as even re-reading it myself it seemed very vague! 2 members of our party were in close contact with an individual that is awaiting test results to see if they have covid. Not sounding good by the looks of it… 

Just now, Manx buoy said:

Don’t ask on here ask P&O direct all you get is peoples opinions here which are usually well you can imagine the experts on here🤷‍♂️

We’ve tried this, can’t get through to P&O via phone and no answer on emails - starting to get a bit panicky so I thought I’d try my luck in case someone on here knew/experienced anything as you never know how valuable someone else’s experience could be! 

2 out of 5 members of our party may have been in contact with somebody that has covid and we’re due to travel next week (awaiting test results). What does this mean for our cruise does anyone know? If the test is positive would we be eligible for FCC or just lose our money? Would the 3 others still have to go even though the 2 that has been in contact live with them? Any help appreciated!

6 hours ago, Pencil62 said:

We're on this one too. I'd rather have an extra day in Bruges if port availability allowed for it 

This would have been my preference also as I love Bruges and haven’t yet tried Ghent!

6 hours ago, Britboys said:

To me, the point DaisyPop32 is making is that interesting, picturesque Hamburg has been replaced by dull as ditchwater Le Havre. Whilst recognising it is out of P&O's control, I'd be very disappointed too. The problem for P&O of course is that this cruise is on Iona and therefore available ports will be limited - especially if others decide to close to cruise ships too.

This is exactly the point I was trying to convey - thank you! I understand it is out of P&Os control and we’ve dealt with many itinerary changes in the past - just don’t see Le Havre as on the same level as Hamburg! 
 

I have a family member that did the same cruise on Iona in October (not advertised as Xmas market) and they also lost Hamburg with no specified reason, just got told replacement with Le Havre - so we did see it coming unfortunately 

Also booked on this cruise. Very disappointed with the swap of Le Havre from Hamburg. Not a Christmas market place and somewhere we stopped bothering getting off. May try Honfleur. Disappointed in no sea day the day after boarding now as well as we like a day to get our bearings but personal preference! 

Absolutely can’t see the ship stopping at Netherlands as they’re in a lockdown as well. Belgium & France questionable due to restrictions and can P&O consider this an Xmas markets cruise after losing so many and replacing with inferior stops or no Xmas markets at all? 
 

Looking forward to the ship a lot, but wondering if it’s possible for P&O to scrap all the stops and just do more local? Is this possible?