P&O cruise cancelled, double the price next year

[P&O SUE]

6 hours ago, zap99 said:

Brilliant thinking, perhaps even late August. I wonder if Gary is still available.😁

Your obsession with Gary does make me laugh 😆 

[P&O SUE]

7 hours ago, wowzz said:

Zap  - have you not any of the replies to your other posts ? P&O cruises are finished until mid October at the earliest.

I think you’ll find Zap’s post is with tongue firmly in cheek!

[brian1]

5 hours ago, mercury7289 said:

Quite an insite by a newbie, where can we book?

Maybe Zap99 can help?

Where is Gary going!

Gary's rehearsing with Barry.

[AndyMichelle]

8 hours ago, zap99 said:

Brilliant thinking, perhaps even late August. I wonder if Gary is still available.😁

Oh Zapp... You do make me laugh. 

When will these nay sayers realise you are just winding them up... 😊

Or perhaps you really believe Gary will be popping round for tea as he is not busy in August now... 😂😂

Andy 

[Son of Anarchy]

8 hours ago, cruisenewbie1976 said:

All the current scheduled cruises have been cancelled until mid October. What's to stop them adding in a couple of UK only test cruises in September or beginning of October? 🤔 if that was something they were planning they'd have had to cancel the original cruises anyway 😉

Even if the ship didn't leave the quayside or went off to Weymouth anchorage we'd consider a couple of nights.  CMV do/did one nighters where the ship never left the quay.  

[Tikka234]

We changed our med cruise as soon as ours was cancelled for May to July next year same ship 1 port less,got it cheaper than last cruise so with FCC got almost enough FCC for a week cruise happy with that but see the price is now £700 more for same cabin but would still be covered if we booked now with the 125FC C . Have you looked at different dates 

[zap99]

5 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

Oh Zapp... You do make me laugh. 

When will these nay sayers realise you are just winding them up... 😊

Or perhaps you really believe Gary will be popping round for tea as he is not busy in August now... 😂😂

Andy 

Wind up?. Moi.🤔. I had to edit. Spellcheck changed Moi to Moo. I'm sure some would have thought that rude.

Edited June 4, 2020 by zap99
Spellcheck

[Selbourne]

5 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Even if the ship didn't leave the quayside or went off to Weymouth anchorage we'd consider a couple of nights.  CMV do/did one nighters where the ship never left the quay.  

 

Yes, we have done those on two different CMV ships, Marco Polo and Magellan. Quite enjoyed them. Many years ago we also did one on Oriana, which was our first time in a suite! Haven’t seen P&O do them since. 

[besberry]

I'm waiting for my TA to get back to me about changing a 2020 cruise to the equvalent in 2021.  At the moment the same cabin is cheaper and more OBC.  They did tell me it could take up to three weeks to get back to me, so who knows, it may well go up in price by then.

[Denarius]

16 hours ago, cruisenewbie1976 said:

All the current scheduled cruises have been cancelled until mid October. What's to stop them adding in a couple of UK only test cruises in September or beginning of October? 🤔 if that was something they were planning they'd have had to cancel the original cruises anyway 😉

Many things, not least the fact that the crews have been laid off and the ships effectively mothballed. P&O are unlikely to recommission ships and recruit new staff for a couple of test cruises.

[cruisenewbie1976]

6 minutes ago, Denarius said:

Many things, not least the fact that the crews have been laid off and the ships effectively mothballed. P&O are unlikely to recommission ships and recruit new staff for a couple of test cruises.

Clearly it would only be viable if they were planning to restart cruises in mid October after the current pause. They'd need to get the staff back and a ship/s up and running again and would make sense that they'd want a test run to get up to speed before a "proper" cruise. 

[jeanlyon]

I have 2 booked in 2021 and both are massively more expensive than when we booked on launch.  I expect the 2022 cruises will be the same, cheaper on launch and then rising.

[happy v]

3 hours ago, besberry said:

I'm waiting for my TA to get back to me about changing a 2020 cruise to the equvalent in 2021.  At the moment the same cabin is cheaper and more OBC.  They did tell me it could take up to three weeks to get back to me, so who knows, it may well go up in price by then.

Can't you just phone P&O?

[No pager thank you]

23 hours ago, Smifkin said:

Thanks for everyone taking the time to respond, we have until 30th November to decide if we want a full refund or FCC. I think we will just wait and see what happens x

Hello, personally, I agree with those suggesting that you should opt for a refund, particularly with it being a substantial amount and the poor/negative value of a Future Cruise Credit.  It will most likely take 2-3 months to receive your money back if you do choose this.

 

If you would prefer to wait, then a way you might get better value for money is to wait for the brochure launch for Summer 2022, the date is not known yet, but may be around September i.e. before you have to choose.  No one knows how keen the prices will be for the new brochure launch, but your extra 25pc might go further in 2022 than it will in 2021, as there are fewer Future Cruise Credit customers seeking to redeem.

 

Hope this helps you.

[wowzz]

6 hours ago, cruisenewbie1976 said:

Clearly it would only be viable if they were planning to restart cruises in mid October after the current pause. They'd need to get the staff back and a ship/s up and running again and would make sense that they'd want a test run to get up to speed before a "proper" cruise. 

As an exercise, when do we think P&O have to make the final "go" decision to resume some cruises from mid October. (They obviously won't be able to start them all simultaneously)

Once the "go" decision is made, supplies have to purchased (not easy, as the supply chain is empty), crew have to be hired, flown to the UK and trained as necessary, entertainers etc booked, and so on. And, from the moment the "go" button is pushed,  money starts flowing out of P&O. And in the current environment,  no one wants to spend money unless they are absolutely certain that cruises are sure to go ahead. 

Personally, I would say 6 weeks would be a minimum,  so September 1st for decision day. Any ideas about a "shakedown " cruise seem irrational - you either cruise with crew and food on board,  or you stay in port. No different to being "almost" pregnant. 

The nub of the question is, will anyone be brave enough to push the button on September 1st, when so much can still happen in the following 6 weeks that could once again require cruises to be cancelled? 

[cruisenewbie1976]

18 minutes ago, wowzz said:

As an exercise, when do we think P&O have to make the final "go" decision to resume some cruises from mid October. (They obviously won't be able to start them all simultaneously)

Once the "go" decision is made, supplies have to purchased (not easy, as the supply chain is empty), crew have to be hired, flown to the UK and trained as necessary, entertainers etc booked, and so on. And, from the moment the "go" button is pushed,  money starts flowing out of P&O. And in the current environment,  no one wants to spend money unless they are absolutely certain that cruises are sure to go ahead. 

Personally, I would say 6 weeks would be a minimum,  so September 1st for decision day. Any ideas about a "shakedown " cruise seem irrational - you either cruise with crew and food on board,  or you stay in port. No different to being "almost" pregnant. 

The nub of the question is, will anyone be brave enough to push the button on September 1st, when so much can still happen in the following 6 weeks that could once again require cruises to be cancelled? 

Probably ties in with the CEO of Carnival saying that he expects the picture to be much clearer in the next 6 - 8 weeks (or around that, can't remember exactly). So you'd hope they'd be able to plan by mid to late August with some degree of certainty. Given that the situation appears to be calming down across Europe then I think there's good reason for cautious optimism. It'll all depend on whether we, or any other country gets a second wave in the next few weeks but there's been no sign of anything major in those places that have eased lockdown. The supply chain is a relatively minor issue. Most goods for P&O are routed via one distribution company and they'll be glad to have the business back. They're used to dealing with the huge volumes that the cruise ships need. Obviously only time will tell, but fingers crossed we're in a more stable state, sooner rather than later. 

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, cruisenewbie1976 said:

The supply chain is a relatively minor issue. Most goods for P&O are routed via one distribution company and they'll be glad to have the business back. They're used to dealing with the huge volumes that the cruise ships need

I would agree with you apart from your analysis about the supply chain. Yes, P&O will have one distribution link, but that distributor has to source products from hundred of individual companies,  all of which will have their own issues. 

Previously these companies would have had regular scheduled orders, and would produce and pack according to schedule. Now they will suddenly have to start from scratch.

Not too difficult for long life goods, but suddenly having to supply, say 100,000 fresh eggs is  not easy. If my local Tesco keeps running out of  eggs,  how do you suppose the P&O distributor will get them? Same applies to butter, cheese, even vegetables. You can't just turn the tap on and off for short life products.

[cruisenewbie1976]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I would agree with you apart from your analysis about the supply chain. Yes, P&O will have one distribution link, but that distributor has to source products from hundred of individual companies,  all of which will have their own issues. 

Previously these companies would have had regular scheduled orders, and would produce and pack according to schedule. Now they will suddenly have to start from scratch.

Not too difficult for long life goods, but suddenly having to supply, say 100,000 fresh eggs is  not easy. If my local Tesco keeps running out of  eggs,  how do you suppose the P&O distributor will get them? Same applies to butter, cheese, even vegetables. You can't just turn the tap on and off for short life products.

I'm sure it won't be easy but with a few weeks notice it shouldn't be impossible. 

The egg situation wasn't caused by us suddenly eating more eggs, just that their consumption quickly became via supermarkets in the main and it was a huge and sudden change in the routing of the supply chain. The eggs were still out there but were in the wrong place. As we've seen, that can be solved with time and in another 2 months will be moving back to where it was before, with consumption via many different routes, once restaurants etc open again. The same for many other goods that were seemingly in short supply during that sudden change. 

[P&O SUE]

I’m a very happy bunny this morning. Unlike me to book so far ahead (due to work) but now I have a new employer the holiday situation is a bit different. Anyway in February I booked a 14 night med cruise for September 2021 because I could see the price for this year for similar cruises was so much higher. 
Anyway I just booked an inside cabin knowing I could change it nearer the time or even move it if work didn’t allow. This morning I phoned P&0 and used my cancelled cruise deposit to upgrade the cabin to a balcony. More money than I’ve ever paid for a cruise but if I add up the ones I have had cancelled it’s still less! 
Also as they use the price at the time it’s over £100 each cheaper than now and I also get £140 each OBC when it was nil for an inside! Interesting she gave me 125% on the deposit which I wasn’t expecting on a deposit!

Edited June 5, 2020 by P&O SUE

[wowzz]

11 hours ago, cruisenewbie1976 said:

I'm sure it won't be easy but with a few weeks notice it shouldn't be impossible. 

The egg situation wasn't caused by us suddenly eating more eggs, just that their consumption quickly became via supermarkets in the main and it was a huge and sudden change in the routing of the supply chain. The eggs were still out there but were in the wrong place. As we've seen, that can be solved with time and in another 2 months will be moving back to where it was before, with consumption via many different routes, once restaurants etc open again. The same for many other goods that were seemingly in short supply during that sudden change. 

Yes, I'd agree with that. My point still remains that there will be a lead time involved  - you just can't pick up the phone and re-provision a ship like Britannia from scratch in a week.

[cruisenewbie1976]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Yes, I'd agree with that. My point still remains that there will be a lead time involved  - you just can't pick up the phone and re-provision a ship like Britannia from scratch in a week.

Agree - you also couldn't get staff with a weeks notice. That's why it will have to be planned a few weeks ahead, as I said. But hopefully the conditions will be such by then that they'll have the confidence to do so. Latest ONS figures suggest that the number of infections has dropped by 50% since the previous update, so all heading the right way. 

[Eddie99]

Not heading the right way in the SW apparently, following good weather, premature announcement of lockdown easing, Cummings-gate, Durdle Door and other idiot invasions ...

 

We had the lowest incidence.  Older population round these parts heeded advice, stayed home.  Now look 👀 

 

https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2020-06-05/new-statistics-suggest-the-south-west-is-only-region-in-uk-projected-to-have-a-rise-in-covid-19-cases/

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Eddie99 said:

Not heading the right way in the SW apparently, following good weather, premature announcement of lockdown easing, Cummings-gate, Durdle Door and other idiot invasions ...

 

We had the lowest incidence.  Older population round these parts heeded advice, stayed home.  Now look 👀 

 

https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2020-06-05/new-statistics-suggest-the-south-west-is-only-region-in-uk-projected-to-have-a-rise-in-covid-19-cases/

Which suggests that when social distancing rules are not obeyed, cases increase. Makes it ever more difficult for cruise lines to restart operations, unless the number of pax on board are severely reduced in numbers.

[Eddie99]

Indeed

It’s a sad and depressing thought, when we all really, really NEED something to hold on to to look forward.

 

There are so many aspects of cruising where distancing feels impossible and even when possible feels like it will take away much of the essence of cruising versus other sorts of holiday

 

And then there’s the problem that other countries might just not think we’re worth the risk, notwithstanding that they’d love our holiday £s

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, Eddie99 said:

And then there’s the problem that other countries might just not think we’re worth the risk, notwithstanding that they’d love our holiday £s

Although cruisers in many cases do not bring that much income to the ports. Yes, I know many of us eat and drink ashore, but the majority seem to scurry back  to the ship, with the "I've paid for my meals, so I'm going to eat them" attitude.

In the current environment I think many countries,  like Portugal has done, will think the risk of  importing CV19 outweighs the financial benefit, and will ban cruise ship passengers for a while yet.