Cancelling Cruises because of the C word

[tring]

20 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I’m confused. P&O is NOT saying that over 70’s or those with underlying health issues cannot cruise. They are saying that over 70’s and those with underlying health issues CAN still cruise with them, providing that these passengers acknowledge that they are still prepared to do so in spite of govt advice. Exact wording is;

 

If you’d like to keep your existing booking, your ship and crew will be ready and waiting to welcome you, however you will be asked to confirm you have chosen to sail having read the latest government guidance.

 

Many on here are saying that if any over 70’s or those with underling health issues cruise then their insurance won’t be valid, yet P&O ask all passengers to have travel insurance. So are P&O really encouraging ‘high risk’ passengers to travel with no insurance? I would doubt it, so is it an absolute fact that these passengers won’t be covered by their insurance? 

 

Yes it is a standard exclusion on insurance policies if you travel against FCO or WHO advice.  More then that I know AXA have altered their policies so anyone booking a cruise now will not be covered for cancellation or disruption cover due to Coronavirus and suspect others will, or have already followed.  Given they are talking about the possibility of a second wave and on going problems we will not be booking a holiday, or transferring to another one, until a vaccine is developed.  Luckily we have a couple in the pipeline.

[staygulf]

5 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I’m not doubting you, but I’m struggling to get my head around it because it just doesn’t add up. Is the FCO wording ‘advise against’ enough to invalidate insurance? If yes, why on earth are P&O not just automatically cancelling bookings made by all over 70’s? Could it be the same reason as the new cancellation policy I.e. trying to keep money in the business via future cruise credit, rather than refunding? Also, if the FCO wording is sufficient to invalidate insurance, surely P&O has an obligation to flag to those customers over 70 who still decide to go ahead with their cruise that they will be doing so with no insurance cover?  I’m surprised that I am the only person to have picked this up as it seems a major issue to me. The only other possible explanation is that the assumption that insurance is invalid is incorrect. 

You’re not the only one to have picked it up. I mentioned it earlier in the thread. And P and O are sort of inferring that by requiring such passengers to sign a disclaimer 

[tring]

10 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I’m not doubting you, but I’m struggling to get my head around it because it just doesn’t add up. Is the FCO wording ‘advise against’ enough to invalidate insurance? If yes, why on earth are P&O not just automatically cancelling bookings made by all over 70’s? Could it be the same reason as the new cancellation policy I.e. trying to keep money in the business via future cruise credit, rather than refunding? Also, if the FCO wording is sufficient to invalidate insurance, surely P&O has an obligation to flag to those customers over 70 who still decide to go ahead with their cruise that they will be doing so with no insurance cover?  I’m surprised that I am the only person to have picked this up as it seems a major issue to me. The only other possible explanation is that the assumption that insurance is invalid is incorrect. 

 

Read your policy, then you will have no doubt.  I was looking at the Sri Lankan Trip Advisor forum after the bombs last year and some people had found specialist insurance policies which did cover for some aspects and went ahead with them, but they were not the sort of cover you would want, especially as most of us are "of a certain age".

 

Does seem very strange since cruise companies are usually so insistent passengers are insured - does sound pretty desperate if that is what is happening.

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by tring

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, staygulf said:

Looks like you’ll be stuck in your hotel then. Cyprus have announced that all UK nationals arriving in Cyprus must self quarantine for 14 days. Sorry. 

Thought that was Malta.

That's awful if Cyprus is the same.

 

[staygulf]

2 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Thought that was Malta.

That's awful if Cyprus is the same.

 

 

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, davemorton said:

May not help many, but is saving me £350 that I had paid out towards my cancelled cruise.  Just had an email from LNER saying you can cancel your rail travel. 

We had Flybe flights back to Newcastle April 3rd and going through credit card chargeback.

We then booked the Trainline back to Durham £169 which they now say is non refundable.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, davemorton said:

Someone mentioned P&O doing round the UK cruises.  I dont think this is a bad idea.  They could do hop on- hop off sort of thing, so people dont have to travel to Southampton for a cruise, and they could port every day, so anyone who gets ill would not be far from medical help. 

Me 🇬🇧😇

[Presto2]

27 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Perhaps someone should invent a website and forum called Trip Advisor 🙂

 

Would not have the same familiar company over there though, must admit.  Will be a lot of posts disappearing from here, but I won't tell. 

 

 

Ha ha --- I was going to say the same. That is where I am looking now. :-)

 

Head spinning --------- could do with that heat wave now please !!!!!!!!! 

[Selbourne]

7 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Read your policy, then you will have no doubt.  I was looking at the Sri Lankan Trip Advisor forum after the bombs last year and some people had found specialist insurance policies which did cover for some aspects and went ahead with them, but they were not the sort of cover you would want, especially as most of us are "of a certain age".

 

Does seem very strange since cruise companies are usually so insistent passengers are insured - does sound pretty desperate if that is what is happening.

 

We are both under 70, so not affected by that aspect, but I am staggered that P&O are effectively encouraging those in vulnerable age groups to go on a high risk holiday with no insurance cover. You couldn’t make this stuff up. 
 

As it happens, my wife is disabled with a serious underlying health issue, but it is not specifically listed in the FCO release. We may still be able to get a full refund (we have paid in full as the cruise is in May) but our daughters are coming with us. I made their booking (and paid for it) but as it is a different booking reference I’m not sure that I would be able to get a full refund for them as well (they wouldn’t want to go without us and we are not interested in being tied to future cruise credit). It’s probably a cosmetic issue, as I’m increasingly of the view that the cruise will be cancelled (as will most) and we will get an automatic full cash refund. 

[Little Mell]

Interestingly,  Aurora actually looks to be headed in the direction of Aberdeen on cruisemapper. Wonder if a round Britain deal has been done for that trip?

[doog442]

1 hour ago, fishnchips said:

Maybe p&o should be shutting down like the rest of the cruise lines for 60 days like everybody else !!!

 

Just announced by all cruise lines 

 

Still selling cruises to Italy leaving in 9 days

 

Unbelievable 

[Adawn47]

They're too busy trying prevent a meltdown to bother with updating the Web pages.

Avril 

[showingdiva]

18 minutes ago, Little Mell said:

Interestingly,  Aurora actually looks to be headed in the direction of Aberdeen on cruisemapper. Wonder if a round Britain deal has been done for that trip?

 

Not currently showing on the list of Aberdeen Harbour arrivals.

However, of note is that Aurora's draught is 7.9m and Aberdeen Harbour's is 7.5m

[happy v]

On a lighter note for Andy and Wozz.

I went to B&Q today and piled up in the doorway were..........Toilet rolls!!!

Edited March 13, 2020 by happy v

[wowzz]

40 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

Ha ha --- I was going to say the same. That is where I am looking now. 🙂

 

Head spinning --------- could do with that heat wave now please !!!!!!!!! 

There was a thread about alternatives to cruises.  Cleethorpes and Frinton were my suggestions. The thread has now been moved to "The Pub" section, probably correctly, as it was not really anything to do with P&O. 

[Presto2]

I'll move over … just worried about not being in touch with my CCcruise buddies.

 

Am trying to think how to link P&O to Cornwall or Devon but am failing …..

 

[wowzz]

36 minutes ago, doog442 said:

 

Still selling cruises to Italy leaving in 9 days

 

Unbelievable 

I really don't understand why P&O haven't announced a suspension of cruises. The world and his wife knows  that virtually every country have banned cruise ships, so why pretend that cruises will be happening for at least 3 months ?

[happy v]

1 hour ago, Adawn47 said:

 My friend is on  Britannia's TA from Barbados at the end of March so I've been checking the Caribbean for any port closures. I couldn't find any, so that got me thinking. Couldn't P&O do round trips to some of the islands as most of them are virus free? I think I'd give it a try. At a very reasonable price of course.

Avril 

Well they could change my Med trip (it's closed!) and consolidate a few cruises and take us to the Caribbean, under 70 only. 😉😃

[davecttr]

4 hours ago, davemorton said:

Someone mentioned P&O doing round the UK cruises.  I dont think this is a bad idea.  They could do hop on- hop off sort of thing, so people dont have to travel to Southampton for a cruise, and they could port every day, so anyone who gets ill would not be far from medical help. 

As the situation worsens I doubt people could be persuaded to join a floating hotel for a few days with the guarantee you will enhance your chance of getting COVID-19

[Sheilacarr]

I have just seen on a different site that Britannia transatlantic is cancelled. The ship will be sailing back tonight. I wonder when P&O where going to inform us? 

[P&O SUE]

I’ve just seen that too. This will be a nightmare! I’m supposed to be on the first one when she gets back, just a 2 nighter over Easter! 

[Burgmeister]

Sorry if this has been asked or spoken about but there has been a major flurry of posts since I last read this thread.

 

We are due to sail on Ventura on 28th March (having cancelled a trip to Hong Kong in February to avoid covid-19  ). My wife is covered by the FCO list  as she is taking medication to suppress her immune system but I am not sure what P&O mean by this "your refund will be subject to providing proof of your underlying medical condition" . I don't want to contribute to swamping P&O's phone lines if someone has already asked them the question. 

 

The exact wording on the FCO website "weakened immune system due to drug treatment or disease". Would a prescription be sufficient evidence in this case or would they require a letter from her doctor?

 

If they require a letter then we may not be able to get one to them before our departure date as the NHS down here isn't very quick and I can't imagine its getting any quicker given the current situation!

 

Stay safe everyone.

[AndyMichelle]

1 minute ago, Burgmeister said:

Sorry if this has been asked or spoken about but there has been a major flurry of posts since I last read this thread.

 

We are due to sail on Ventura on 28th March (having cancelled a trip to Hong Kong in February to avoid covid-19  ). My wife is covered by the FCO list  as she is taking medication to suppress her immune system but I am not sure what P&O mean by this "your refund will be subject to providing proof of your underlying medical condition" . I don't want to contribute to swamping P&O's phone lines if someone has already asked them the question. 

 

The exact wording on the FCO website "weakened immune system due to drug treatment or disease". Would a prescription be sufficient evidence in this case or would they require a letter from her doctor?

 

If they require a letter then we may not be able to get one to them before our departure date as the NHS down here isn't very quick and I can't imagine its getting any quicker given the current situation!

 

Stay safe everyone.

Definitely needs a letter at the moment, but I would expect all cruises will be cancelled in the next few days. 

Good luck and stay safe... 

Andy 

[AndyMichelle]

Every time I hear Covid 19, why do I expect the next line to be West Ham nil... 😊

Andy 

[Burgmeister]

Thanks Andy

 

Our cruise goes to the exotic ports of Rotterdam, Zeebrugge and Cherbourg. I'm just wondering when the 3 countries involved will join others and ban visitors (or, at least, require 14 day isolation).

 

Hopefully P&O will suspend all cruises soon and that would make things easier.