Passenger numbers

[lindylooellalouise]

Hi Dermotsgirl we are also booked on the Iona 6th March and our ta has just contacted us for the balance we are very reluctant to pay as really can’t see this cruise happening and if we had booked direct P&O would have wanted payment on 6th December giving us more time to decide.

[cruisenewbie1976]

7 minutes ago, lindylooellalouise said:

Hi Dermotsgirl we are also booked on the Iona 6th March and our ta has just contacted us for the balance we are very reluctant to pay as really can’t see this cruise happening and if we had booked direct P&O would have wanted payment on 6th December giving us more time to decide.

You never know if they get a wriggle on with rolling this vaccine out. Whoop!!! 

[Dermotsgirl]

4 minutes ago, lindylooellalouise said:

Hi Dermotsgirl we are also booked on the Iona 6th March and our ta has just contacted us for the balance we are very reluctant to pay as really can’t see this cruise happening and if we had booked direct P&O would have wanted payment on 6th December giving us more time to decide.

That’s exactly how we feel.

If P&O still haven’t cancelled the cruise by 6th December, we would transfer our balance to a later cruise, but don’t want to feel like we are being pushed into making the decision too early.

 

After all this is over, I will probably book direct, to prevent this situation arising again. 

[Dermotsgirl]

34 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Think the breaking news of availability of a vaccine is good news for cruising and certainly green shoots for the cruise companies.

It’s very good news, and has lifted my mood today.

 

[lindylooellalouise]

Would really love to be going on this cruise but already have 6 booked for 2021 and 2 in 2022 so we would have to take a refund, will from now on always book direct as the 2 ta we use have been so unhelpful even cancelling 2 of our cruise then rebooking so they gained the commission again and we lost our FCC so it’s direct for us from now on.

[cruisenewbie1976]

2 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

It’s very good news, and has lifted my mood today.

 

Good news for 6th March? 😉 I do think it'll be tight for any major impact by then. It's a nightmare knowing what to do for the best. We're going for my friends 40th (was originally booked on one in May this year) so we can't really transfer unless they decide to. 

[Britboys]

15 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

That’s exactly how we feel.

If P&O still haven’t cancelled the cruise by 6th December, we would transfer our balance to a later cruise, but don’t want to feel like we are being pushed into making the decision too early.

 

After all this is over, I will probably book direct, to prevent this situation arising again. 

Not all TA's request balances that early. The one I use is usually 7 days ahead of the Cruise Line date.

[Selbourne]

5 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I agree more cruise line cancellations now seem inevitable, but I have my fingers firmly crossed that a vaccine will be available early next year, thus saving my July cruise from cancellation.

Am I being too optimistic?

I hope not John. Sounds like good news today. Obviously the issue will be the roll out timescales, but thank goodness for some encouraging news. We certainly needed it.

[majortom10]

Paul Ludlow stated the following on November 3rd with regards to any further cancellations-  He didn’t technically have to make a call on whether to cancel cruises from March onwards until the New Year, but said: “If we do have to move it further out, I’d want to make that decision before the end of the year.”

 

He also said that they could maintain social distancing throughout ships with 85% capacity but they could start with a lower capacity than that.

Edited November 9, 2020 by majortom10

[zap99]

5 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I agree more cruise line cancellations now seem inevitable, but I have my fingers firmly crossed that a vaccine will be available early next year, thus saving my July cruise from cancellation.

Am I being too optimistic?

I hope not. We are off to Canada and Alaska in June and Iona to Norway in August. It would be nice to get another one in next year as well. We always hope for the best, but have a plan B&C just in case.

[ToxM]

I cannot comment on the passenger load rates for P&O BUT I have heard that the head of NCL has mentioned that initially load capacities on board their ships will be around 50% upon resuming (this was before any vaccine news being released - that probably changes things a little at the very least).

 

It’s possibly worth looking at the sqm space per passenger on individual ships on normal occupancy to get some idea of what would be acceptable levels to enable proper social distancing. 

[terrierjohn]

7 hours ago, Britboys said:

Not all TA's request balances that early. The one I use is usually 7 days ahead of the Cruise Line date.

And if it's the same one I use they will also defer payment until the day before P&O want payment for regular clients if they have a good reason, which I am sure the current situation would qualify.

[Britboys]

On 11/9/2020 at 9:55 PM, terrierjohn said:

And if it's the same one I use they will also defer payment until the day before P&O want payment for regular clients if they have a good reason, which I am sure the current situation would qualify.

There's a small castle nearby and the former MP had the reputation of being a bit of a beast...😄

[zap99]

24 minutes ago, Britboys said:

There's a small castle nearby and the former MP had the reputation of being a bit of a beast...😄

Is it Blair witch, or perhaps May Towers. We use the goat with the spotty nose.🤔

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

There's a small castle nearby and the former MP had the reputation of being a bit of a beast...😄

Correct.

[zap99]

8 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Correct.

Got it. Do I win a prize?

[pete14]

7 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Got it. Do I win a prize?

Probably not, but watch t’s & c’s about hints to naming agents. 😷🤐

Edited November 11, 2020 by pete14

[zap99]

2 minutes ago, pete14 said:

Probably not, but watch t’s & c’s about hints to naming agents. 😷🤐

I did mention one a good while ago, but as they own cruise critic I got away with it.🚣

[jaydee6969]

On 11/8/2020 at 7:01 PM, joeecco said:

I can’t find where I read it again but I read last week on the P&O website that next years sailings have already been capped and that some cabins are not on sale. For example, our wedding cruise in July is looking pretty full when you look at available cabins but a percentage of those aren’t occupied and won’t be sold until restrictions are lifted so I think that’s well handled (so far I admit!)

 

I found the quote you were looking for, it's when you log in through my.pocruises.  This is what is stated when I log into our B108 April 2021 cruise:-

 

While we want to ensure you have the P&O Cruises holiday you've dreamed of, please be aware that we will be significantly reducing the number of guests on our first cruises following the pause in operations to better enable a smooth return to sailing. We have reduced the number of available cabins on these cruises accordingly.