Will P&O now delay announcements for future cruise pauses?

[bobstheboy]

34 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

I've requested our £250 refund, purely because we already have a cruise booked for October 2021🤞 and won't be considering another one until 2022, and who know if we will be fit enough to travel. This has taught me to start booking last minute cruises instead.

Avril

Requested a refund. I have booked a few last minute deals and although you cannot choose cabins, dinner times etc, we have always been pleased with the deal. No guarantee deals will be available in the autumn  but I wont constrain my choice to PO, plenty of other excellent lines out there. 

[terrierjohn]

40 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

I've requested our £250 refund, purely because we already have a cruise booked for October 2021🤞 and won't be considering another one until 2022, and who know if we will be fit enough to travel. This has taught me to start booking last minute cruises instead.

Avril

We cannot afford the luxury of waiting for last minute cruises, so I hope that P&O continue with their low deposits on launch offers, so we are able to secure an accessible cabin, but not lose too much when we find we are no longer fit enough to cruise.

[Purdey16]

Well that’s my Iona cruise cancelled April 24th , but still in a pickle with Arcadia going to Canada in late September that’s not cancelled, and awaiting celebrity X to cancel a Baltic cruise in June 12th , so waiting on 3 cruises for refund, but I do have hopes for my December on Arcadia to Norway going ahead, I won’t be booking any short cruises around the uk this year and I have already 3 cruises for next year so I will wait for the next lot out for the new ship for late 2023 , 

[shopaholic6]

46 minutes ago, Chrisdriving said:

Really pleased they have cancelled our July cruise, we can request a refund now, do not want FCC. 

And me!  We were booked on 15th May on Iona (which was already rearranged from October and then March) - I'd sooner just have the refund and start again from scratch!!!

[Adawn47]

8 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

We cannot afford the luxury of waiting for last minute cruises, so I hope that P&O continue with their low deposits on launch offers, so we are able to secure an accessible cabin, but not lose too much when we find we are no longer fit enough to cruise.

I understand that John, as I know you need an adapted cabin because of Pauline's wheelchair. We like to book early to choose  the cabin and dining, but as we are getting older and the odd health issues begin, I think it wiser and less stressful for us to now take a 'wait and see' approach.

Avril

[Peanut006]

40 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

We cannot afford the luxury of waiting for last minute cruises, so I hope that P&O continue with their low deposits on launch offers, so we are able to secure an accessible cabin, but not lose too much when we find we are no longer fit enough to cruise.

Me too, usually try book close to release date to get an adapted cabin. Only once have I done a late booking with MSC and got a lovely balcony cabin

Michelle

[wowzz]

32 minutes ago, Purdey16 said:

but still in a pickle with Arcadia going to Canada in late September that’s not cancelled,

I thought Canada had basically banned cruise liners for all of 2021, so the cruise cannot possibly go ahead. Or is it that P&O are just refusing to accept the reality of the situation ?

[Snow Hill]

37 minutes ago, Purdey16 said:

Well that’s my Iona cruise cancelled April 24th , but still in a pickle with Arcadia going to Canada in late September that’s not cancelled, and awaiting celebrity X to cancel a Baltic cruise in June 12th , so waiting on 3 cruises for refund, but I do have hopes for my December on Arcadia to Norway going ahead, I won’t be booking any short cruises around the uk this year and I have already 3 cruises for next year so I will wait for the next lot out for the new ship for late 2023 , 

Canada have banned Cruise ships until February 2022, so unless they change that then cruise won’t be going to Canada

 

https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Canada-Cruise-Ship-Ban-Update-ASTA-Gov-Officials-Push-for-a-Solution

[Purdey16]

4 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I thought Canada had basically banned cruise liners for all of 2021, so the cruise cannot possibly go ahead. Or is it that P&O are just refusing to accept the reality of the situation ?

Yes they are wowzz they sent us a email the other week stating they are  optimistic that it could change and not cancelling it yet , so just really hanging on to our deposit, at least this one it’s not a lot just £500 so will just have to wait till the next lot of cancelling 

[sidekick180]

I recently posted a negative comment about P&O dragging their heels with announcements of cancelled cruises. So, it's only fair that I post a positive for P&O. I received my email today stating that my April cruise on Britannia and my September cruise on Iona have now been cancelled. I immediately telephoned P&O to discuss my FCC and book a cruise for April 2022. I was on the phone for no longer than 20 minutes with an extremely helpful lady from P&O. We went through all the details of the FCC and how it would eventually show on my account. We then discussed the future booking, and I am really pleased that I have now managed to book the same cabin, on the same ship, and the same month next year. It was all very easy and to top it all, I will still have credit left over in my account for another future cruise. We also ended up with even more OBC, so it was a massive win all round. I always deal direct with P&O and always find it to be a very easy process to sort it all out. Obviously, at the moment, it takes them a little longer to answer the phone, but that is to be expected with everything that's going on. Even so, 20 minutes from start to finish and a new cruise booked, leaves me very happy. Well done P&O.

I am also looking forward to the announcements later this month for the British Isles cruises. I might have to think about using my remaining credit to book one of those. Things are definitely looking up.

On the flip side. I have every sympathy for those people that had cruises cancelled, which were for special occasions, such as weddings, and I really hope that they all manage to sort someting out to still be able to make their occasions very special.

[No pager thank you]

This is a "double take out" for us - May and August, now only two cruises left we booked before the pandemic struck.

 

I can only assume that the reasoning for Iona and Britannia being laid up for longer is the issue of fuel/size for the ports. 

 

It's an interesting, slightly ironic, anomaly that P&O will be relying on her older ships to make the first tentative steps towards a UK restart!  This was not what was predicted and it appears that P&O have "fed back" to Miami that going to 110% FCC was not a good idea.

 

The unanswered questions are:

 

1) When will UK cruise ships be allowed?  Is this part of the May restart and what are the protocols for vaccination of ship's company?

 

2) Will cruise ship holidays in the UK be restricted to vaccinated passengers?

 

3) How many of these cruises will be "booze cruises" to a single port/no where and how many are "real" holidays?

 

4) P&O will be forced in to a new pricing strategy for these UK cruises - let's see what they do and how will affect the 22/23 launch?

 

Sorry for those who had bad news today.

 

[wowzz]

11 minutes ago, sidekick180 said:

I am also looking forward to the announcements later this month for the British Isles cruises. I might have to think about using my remaining credit to book one of those.

As I posted in the other thread, it appears these will just be cruises to nowhere - no ports of call.

[Britboys]

15 minutes ago, No pager thank you said:

This is a "double take out" for us - May and August, now only two cruises left we booked before the pandemic struck.

 

I can only assume that the reasoning for Iona and Britannia being laid up for longer is the issue of fuel/size for the ports. 

 

It's an interesting, slightly ironic, anomaly that P&O will be relying on her older ships to make the first tentative steps towards a UK restart!  This was not what was predicted and it appears that P&O have "fed back" to Miami that going to 110% FCC was not a good idea.

 

The unanswered questions are:

 

1) When will UK cruise ships be allowed?  Is this part of the May restart and what are the protocols for vaccination of ship's company?

 

2) Will cruise ship holidays in the UK be restricted to vaccinated passengers?

 

3) How many of these cruises will be "booze cruises" to a single port/no where and how many are "real" holidays?

 

4) P&O will be forced in to a new pricing strategy for these UK cruises - let's see what they do and how will affect the 22/23 launch?

 

Sorry for those who had bad news today.

 

1 - personally, I doubt the first sailing will be before 1st June at the earliest, maybe even July. A number of folks will maybe not want to go until they have had both Covid jabs - I am 60 and not due for my second until 20th May.

2 - interesting point.

3 - Someone has posted on the other thread about this that their TA has told them these cruises will not call at any ports.

4 - Yes, it will be very interesting...

 

They are maybe including the older ships as more potential pax who prefer Aurora & Arcadia will have been vaccinated.

Edited March 3, 2021 by Britboys

[shopaholic6]

11 minutes ago, wowzz said:

As I posted in the other thread, it appears these will just be cruises to nowhere - no ports of call.

Why would they cruise around the UK if that was the case? They could go anywhere?

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, shopaholic6 said:

Why would they cruise around the UK if that was the case? They could go anywhere?

Thats true, but I get the feeling that the cruises will only be for a maximum of 7 days, so they probably wouldn't want to spend 4 of those days in the BoB.

Doesn't give them too much choice.3 days up the North Sea and back!

Edited March 3, 2021 by wowzz

[shopaholic6]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Thats true, but I get the feeling that the cruises will only be for a maximum of 7 days, so they probably wouldn't want to spend 4 of those days in the BoB.

Doesn't give them too much choice.3 days up the North Sea and back!

Ah yes good point ha ha 😁

[Selbourne]

27 minutes ago, No pager thank you said:

It's an interesting, slightly ironic, anomaly that P&O will be relying on her older ships to make the first tentative steps towards a UK restart!  This was not what was predicted

Yes, the complete opposite to what Molecrochip suggested would happen, I believe.
 

Makes sense though. I think these cruises will only appeal to ‘traditional’ cruisers who;

1) are desperate to get back on a cruise ship, regardless of the itinerary / on board restrictions, and

2) tend to prefer the smaller ships.

 

I can’t see many ‘new to cruising’ types (that P&O has targeted with the bigger ships) being remotely interested in floating around the UK in a small ship, with old fashioned cabins and limited facilities, in a climate where, even in the summer, it is probably too cold to be sunbathing on deck whilst at sea. I should think that these people will take a flight abroad to sunnier climes this year (if at all) and reconsider cruising in subsequent years when things return to normal. 

[MX-Drew]

A quote from Paul Ludlow.

"we want guests to be able to enjoy a proper summer holiday at sea with the best in relaxation, entertainment and dining choice."

"

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, MX-Drew said:

A quote from Paul Ludlow.

"we want guests to be able to enjoy a proper summer holiday at sea with the best in relaxation, entertainment and dining choice."

"

Note he doesn’t mention weather 😂 

[MX-Drew]

2 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Note he doesn’t mention weather 😂 

🤣

He says that is what they want the guests to have, but he has not said what they will get.🤣

Edited March 3, 2021 by MX-Drew

[wowzz]

Sharon - there is quite a lot of duplication on this thread with the

"P&O Cruises Cancels All International Summer Sailings, Adds Round-Britain Cruises" thread.

Could they be combined?

Thanks 

 

 

 

 

[No pager thank you]

20 minutes ago, Britboys said:

1 - personally, I doubt the first sailing will be before 1st June at the earliest, maybe even July. A number of folks will maybe not want to go until they have had both Covid jabs - I am 60 and not due for my second until 20th May.

2 - interesting point.

3 - Someone has posted on the other thread about this that their TA has told them these cruises will not call at any ports.

4 - Yes, it will be very interesting...

 

They are maybe including the older ships as more potential pax who prefer Aurora & Arcadia will have been vaccinated.

We will have both Covid-19 jabs by May - however I would still be dubious of going if ship's company and the passengers were also not vaccinated.

 

We would want to 100% sure that we are not locked in if there is a Covid-19 outbreak.  Self isolation yes (at home), but not in a government sponsored Holiday Inn at £110 a night, or on basic rations in an inside cabin with mechanical ventilation - no deal!

 

I can't see the point of a cruise to nowhere to be frank, particularly for a week.  Surely if self catering accommodation and hotels are open in the UK, and there are abilities to travel by car for leisure, then cruise ships should be able to call at UK ports - including possibly the Channel Islands, Belfast, Isle of Man (tender) and/or the Hebrides etc.

 

If it is a cruise to nowhere, then P&O will have to jack up the price as there will be no bubble excursions to flog and most of its clientele will keep itself to coffee, water, and maybe a beer/glass of wine at dinner. 

 

Social distancing will also take out some of the fee paying on board restaurants, another on board spend opportunity gone. 

 

[arlowood]

Well the emails arrived as anticipated and our May and August cruises on Aurora are now toast. Have requested refunds on both since the deposits paid were small and made the FCC enhancement somewhat less attractive.

This whole pandemic has forced us to rethink our holiday strategy and we have decided to stick to one cruise per year. Consequently we are exploring the option of a SAGA cruise next June, just to see how they compare. I think we will end up paying a bit more in the end but it will be interesting to do the comparisons.

With P&O we normally take the free parking but that involves a hotel stop the night before departure and the fuel costs. With SAGA they will transport us to the port as part of the package. With P&O we normally have a wine package for evening meals and also eat at Sindhu or equivalent a couple of times. SAGA is all inclusive (though I don't know what wine options are on offer at meal times) SAGA include 4 excursions in the price. P&O charge for excursions. WiFi is free on SAGA - you have to sell your first grandchild to pay for the WiFi on P&O.

It will be interesting anyway. We may not like it but that is the point of the exercise - to try out some other cruise options

[Eddie99]

I think there may be a few cruisers who will follow that plan.  One cruise a year - make it a good ‘un!

 

But really - who knows?  Who anticipated this a year ago?

[yorkshirephil]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

I thought Canada had basically banned cruise liners for all of 2021, so the cruise cannot possibly go ahead. Or is it that P&O are just refusing to accept the reality of the situation ?

They have banned them, I saw a piece in the news recently as to how they could get around the ban, I can't find the original piece but found this, this may be why P&O haven't cancelled the Canada cruise (yet)

Updated: Congress proposes solutions to Canada’s big-ship cruise ban: Travel Weekly