Advice Needed

[clarets]

Whilst on a caribbean cruise  in jan 2020 p@o offered a deal on the new ship iona to the norwegian fjords for which we put a deposit.

 

June last year got cancelled putting it back to june this year but my problem is they are now asking for full payment and we are now not

sure we want to go or not, the reasons are mainly due to coronavirus, will it go ahead in june( our chosen and preferred month)

will we have to wear masks most of the time, something i do everyday now but would not like to have to wear on ship/holiday and would

we be allowed off ship, there are other worries but these are our main ones.

My question is would you switch to a completely different cruise taking it forward to 2022 as i hope things even worldwide should be sorted by then.

 

 

[Teabelly69]

Hi, P&O have changed their final payment dates to 30 days before so you have a bit of time to decide

[terrierjohn]

7 minutes ago, clarets said:

Whilst on a caribbean cruise  in jan 2020 p@o offered a deal on the new ship iona to the norwegian fjords for which we put a deposit.

 

June last year got cancelled putting it back to june this year but my problem is they are now asking for full payment and we are now not

sure we want to go or not, the reasons are mainly due to coronavirus, will it go ahead in june( our chosen and preferred month)

will we have to wear masks most of the time, something i do everyday now but would not like to have to wear on ship/holiday and would

we be allowed off ship, there are other worries but these are our main ones.

My question is would you switch to a completely different cruise taking it forward to 2022 as i hope things even worldwide should be sorted by then.

 

 

Your final balance has now been changed to one month prior to your cruise, so payment is not now required until May. You should altready have had an e-mail from P&O, if not contact them.

[Dermotsgirl]

I thought that P&O had changed the balance due date to 30 days before the cruise, so they shouldn’t be asking for the final payment just yet.

 

at the moment, it looks unlikely that the cruise will go ahead. 
 

If it did go ahead, all the restrictions currently in force on land would apply at sea, so yes, mask wearing and social distancing would be a thing, and probably lots of other restrictions too, such as only being allowed ashore on P&O tours.

 

I have already switched my two 2021 cruises to 2022 and felt a lot better when this had been done. At least there’s a chance that things will be better next year, and I don’t have to keep waiting and  wondering if my 2021 cruises will proceed.

 

None of us knows what it will be like next year and there still may be difficult decisions to take about my cruises, but it’s out of the way for now. 

, 

[yorkshirephil]

10 minutes ago, clarets said:

Whilst on a caribbean cruise  in jan 2020 p@o offered a deal on the new ship iona to the norwegian fjords for which we put a deposit.

 

June last year got cancelled putting it back to june this year but my problem is they are now asking for full payment and we are now not

sure we want to go or not, the reasons are mainly due to coronavirus, will it go ahead in june( our chosen and preferred month)

will we have to wear masks most of the time, something i do everyday now but would not like to have to wear on ship/holiday and would

we be allowed off ship, there are other worries but these are our main ones.

My question is would you switch to a completely different cruise taking it forward to 2022 as i hope things even worldwide should be sorted by then.

 

 

No one should be asking for full payment at this stage. For a June cruise you should only need to pay the balance 30 days before the cruise sails. If the cruise was transferred to a travel agent which it sounds like it was they may add a few days on. I would look at the T&C on the P&O site and quote them to your travel agent as they may be trying to pull a fast one to get your money. It is highly likely that June cruises will be cancelled, an announcement is due from P&O.

[tring]

As others have said the cruise is not really likely to go ahead at all and certainly not with calls at the ports on the itinerary.  To be honest my advice at this stage is to hang on until it is cancelled and ask for a refund of the deposit.  Any small extra % on a small deposit is not going to be worthwhile on a transferred booking, as the prices are very high at present.  Such a small amount of extra that may be gained on a FCC would not be worth the incentive to re book at all either, considering we do not know when (and if) all the cruise restrictions will be lifted.  After all we are constantly reminded by the experts that this is not going to go away entirely in the next couple of years, despite Boris's optimism, sadly.

 

Just my opinion and there may even be some good deals around when cruises/holidays start to become a reality again.

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by tring

[clarets]

Very depressing reading, will we ever cruise normally again because i certainly don't fancy

masks and the rest of it whilst on holiday!

[wowzz]

24 minutes ago, clarets said:

Very depressing reading, will we ever cruise normally again because i certainly don't fancy

masks and the rest of it whilst on holiday!

It's not cruises. I think you'll find that hotels will be insisting on masks, social distancing etc as well, for the foreseeable future.

[tring]

34 minutes ago, clarets said:

Very depressing reading, will we ever cruise normally again because i certainly don't fancy

masks and the rest of it whilst on holiday!

 

I apologise since my post in particular can be looked upon as depressing and I did not mean to cause upset.  I was referring to the fact there may be some of the restrictions that linger a while, rather than all staying in place  completely, in the long term.  I was also thinking about the next couple of years, since that is the period that is bookable at present.  Just seems better to me to book when it becomes clearer what in reality is actually being booked.  As I said just my opinion, but others may think differently.

 

Whatever happens to your current booking, I hope you manage to have future holidays which you enjoy.  I think all of us have at least some  slight reservations on what cruises leaving in this summer will be like, even those who will want to go ahead with their booking.

 

We are booked on Iona departing the 26th June and until the last few days, we were still looking forward to it, even if it became a scenic cruising only cruise without any port stops at all.  However, we have now decided that a cancellation would at least give a firm decision and we could then move forward and make other plans, whereas whilst the cruise is still in place we would still be wondering if it would go ahead and if problems may arise.

Edited February 16, 2021 by tring

[wowzz]

We currently have 3 cruises booked.

October 21 - reckon about 50% chance of it taking place 

March 22 - about 80% likelihood 

September 22 - 100% likelihood 

If the March cruise is cancelled, I would fear for the future of the cruuse industry,  as we previously knew it. 

. 

 

[tring]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

 

If the March cruise is cancelled, I would fear for the future of the cruuse industry,  as we previously knew it. 

.

 

 

That is also my view, though I am not so sure we need to wait until next year to be aware things are going to be very different to what they were in the past.  The ships we would have called small have already gone, apart from Azamara, and the future of what P&O call "small" must surely be in doubt very soon of not already.  Though I think we all accept it is only a matter of time for those P&O ships anyway.

 

The luxury lines for an occasional cruise to an area where we really want to visit a number of ports, and land holidays at other times are more or less what is in our minds at present.  We are just so pleased we have travelled while we were able to, since at our age there is not a lot of time for things to recover and for us to go off to the sort of less developed parts of the world we have really enjoyed in recent years.

Edited February 16, 2021 by tring

[clarets]

tring, sorry if you  thought it was your post that got me down a little, its the thought of things taking

longer to get back to normal ( if ever ) not your post.

You are booked 26th of june and that is also our booking or was but you never know!

[jeanlyon]

22 hours ago, wowzz said:

We currently have 3 cruises booked.

October 21 - reckon about 50% chance of it taking place 

March 22 - about 80% likelihood 

September 22 - 100% likelihood 

If the March cruise is cancelled, I would fear for the future of the cruuse industry,  as we previously knew it. 

. 

 

Don't know which one you are on in October, but I am going to guess that my 19 nighter will turn into a 7 day British Isles or similar in which case I will be due a refund of deposit.

[wowzz]

19 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Don't know which one you are on in October, but I am going to guess that my 19 nighter will turn into a 7 day British Isles or similar in which case I will be due a refund of deposit.

Sky Princess to Med and back from Southampton.  

[zap99]

23 hours ago, wowzz said:

It's not cruises. I think you'll find that hotels will be insisting on masks, social distancing etc as well, for the foreseeable future.

We stayed in 2 different hotels last summer. Both required masks when not sitting in public areas. Not an issue for us at all. The alternative was not to go.

[jeanlyon]

We went away in October.  Had to wear a mask while walking through the hotel, but then not in the breakfast room.  Went out to pubs.  In with the mask on and then off at the table.   I don't mind that.  The ship would be a different matter.  You would have the mask on most of the time.  Doesn't appeal.

[zap99]

22 hours ago, wowzz said:

We currently have 3 cruises booked.

October 21 - reckon about 50% chance of it taking place 

March 22 - about 80% likelihood 

September 22 - 100% likelihood 

If the March cruise is cancelled, I would fear for the future of the cruuse industry,  as we previously knew it. 

. 

 

Now that we have cancelled our Alaska cruise for this June, the only cruise that we still have booked is Iona at the end of August. Still hopeful for that one. We won't be booking any more until things are a bit clearer, but the wish list for 2022 is getting quite long. Perhaps a last minute booking for late 2021.

[wowzz]

17 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Now that we have cancelled our Alaska cruise for this June, the only cruise that we still have booked is Iona at the end of August. Still hopeful for that one. We won't be booking any more until things are a bit clearer, but the wish list for 2022 is getting quite long. Perhaps a last minute booking for late 2021.

The Sky Princess cruise is a "snip", and at only £50 pp deposit, might be worth consideration. 

[zap99]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

The Sky Princess cruise is a "snip", and at only £50 pp deposit, might be worth consideration. 

Thank, I'll have a look. We have never sailed with Princess, no real reason.

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Thank, I'll have a look. We have never sailed with Princess, no real reason.

We like Princess, but buy the drinks package if you like a beer or two!

[ann141]

16 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Thank, I'll have a look. We have never sailed with Princess, no real reason.

There are a few on this P and O forum who have booked.As Wowzz said the price for a balcony is good and with a £50pp deposit its something to look forward to.

[majortom10]

Not sure about this particular cruise with Princess in October but I have been monitoring others and they have increased in cost by quite a bit in the last 7 days.

[tring]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

Not sure about this particular cruise with Princess in October but I have been monitoring others and they have increased in cost by quite a bit in the last 7 days.

I did notice some increase of the cruise mentioned since we booked it when I looked last week, but not a lot at that stage.  I think the balconies were costing more and not at the same price as some other cabins.

 

The package for tips, drinks etc. Was the same.

Edited February 17, 2021 by tring

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, tring said:

 

The package for tips, drinks etc. Was the same.

The £35 pppd charge for drinks, wifi and tips is fixed, and is constant for all cruises from the UK.  Only the cabin prices alter, depending on demand.

[tring]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

The £35 pppd charge for drinks, wifi and tips is fixed, and is constant for all cruises from the UK.  Only the cabin prices alter, depending on demand.

Cost of cruise has gone up though.  Insides still from £999,  balconies from £1,249,  so gone up £250 since we booked it.

 

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by tring