UK staycation cruise details launched

[davecttr]

I wonder how they are going to deal with lift use given the large number of decks?

 

Is the Monday booking phone only?

 

Deposit?

 

Date of balance payment, 30 days, 90 days?

[joeecco]

55 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I have read the 1,000 limit somewhere, but wonder if that applies only to cruises departing between 17th May and 21st June, which won’t affect P&O? Under the lockdown roadmap, indoor venues such as theatres are allowed to re-open from 17th May but with a 1,000 limit. From 21st June this cap is lifted. If cruise ships departing from the UK are subject to the same rules, then that might be one of the reasons why P&O has delayed their staycation cruises until the end of June. Several P&O insiders had gone on record to say that they needed 3 months from a standing start before they could commence cruising and that would have meant May (given that the roadmap was announced in Feb), so the decision to delay until after 21st June could be so that they aren’t subject to these short term restrictions for indoor venues?

Precisely why I don’t believe these cruises will have the 1000 limit, I think someone was probably reading too much into it. 

[Manx buoy]

11 hours ago, Ardennais said:

Sounds like madness to me as early as May. No idea where they’re planning to stop in the UK but just take Holyhead as one possible port. The number of cases has shot up there and they’re even thinking of closing all schools in the area once again and possibly a local lockdown.

It’s the schools that have been the main driver here as well the children catching it then spreading to the rest of their family, still getting cases in the community that can’t be traced to any other contacts as well as so looks like we’ll be locked down for a while yet. This isn’t over by a long way yet

[Selbourne]

11 minutes ago, joeecco said:

Precisely why I don’t believe these cruises will have the 1000 limit, I think someone was probably reading too much into it. 

I don’t think it was a case of reading too much into it, unless the press reporting, following the briefing by the minister, was wrong (although that wouldn’t be a first)!  The 1,000 limit to indoor venues only applies until 21st June, so the acid test will be whether those operators sailing before that date do so with more than 1,000 passengers (if, indeed, cruise ships even count as indoor venues) but, as I say, it’s somewhat cosmetic now as P&O doesn’t sail until the end of June so this limit shouldn’t apply anyway. 

[joeecco]

1 minute ago, Selbourne said:

I don’t think it was a case of reading too much into it, unless the press reporting, following the briefing by the minister, was wrong (although that wouldn’t be a first)!  The 1,000 limit to indoor venues only applies until 21st June, so the acid test will be whether those operators sailing before that date do so with more than 1,000 passengers (if, indeed, cruise ships even count as indoor venues) but, as I say, it’s somewhat cosmetic now as P&O doesn’t sail until the end of June so this limit shouldn’t apply anyway. 

I’m simply saying that people saying cruises are limited to 1000 after the roadmap has ended are getting mixed up. I’m essentially agreeing with your verdicts and saying that these cruises most likely will have more than 1k onboard. 

[joeecco]

6 minutes ago, Manx buoy said:

It’s the schools that have been the main driver here as well the children catching it then spreading to the rest of their family, still getting cases in the community that can’t be traced to any other contacts as well as so looks like we’ll be locked down for a while yet. This isn’t over by a long way yet

The number of cases will soon become irrelevant, it’s the number of deaths that determine the future. 

[WECRUISEUK]

58 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

Everything got very expensive. This is true, and there is nothing really we can do about it these days. If you have those FCC, I would recommend you to spend them on a cruise as soon as possible as these things have an expiration date 

Dec.31st 2021 at the moment and there's every chance that it will be extended,with a much wider choice available when the 22/23 brochure is out..What i'm waiting for is a cruise around the fjords for about two weeks,no ports,which i see happening quite soon after the success of these tester cruises..............That's what i would call a proper scenic cruise.

[joeecco]

Princess have announced their ‘seacations’ go on sale next Wednesday 8am. 
 

Regal Princess from July 30 and Sky Princess from End of August until late September 

 

Princess ones are all inclusive as standard and again balcony cabins. 
3 to 7 night cruises with scenic cruises to begin with and then port stops such as Glasgow, Belfast and Liverpool, even more than P&O, seems the wrong way round for me. Surely the U.K. based line should have had the most ‘attractive’ options. 
 

prices starting from 539pp for 3 night all inc balcony scenic cruise. 

[wowzz]

17 minutes ago, WECRUISEUK said:

Dec.31st 2021 at the moment and there's every chance that it will be extended,with a much wider choice available when the 22/23 brochure is out..What i'm waiting for is a cruise around the fjords for about two weeks,no ports,which i see happening quite soon after the success of these tester cruises..............That's what i would call a proper scenic cruise.

Can't see too many takers for a 14 night non stop cruise round the fjords, especially in the winter! 

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

 

I think the CDC might just ignore Rogers views, I would be very surprised if US based cruises restart with full passenger capacity.  

Surely not - Roger has his finger on the pulse!

[Selbourne]

5 minutes ago, WECRUISEUK said:

Dec.31st 2021 at the moment and there's every chance that it will be extended,with a much wider choice available when the 22/23 brochure is out..What i'm waiting for is a cruise around the fjords for about two weeks,no ports,which i see happening quite soon after the success of these tester cruises..............That's what i would call a proper scenic cruise.

That’s very similar to our view. We don’t particularly like sea days, especially in cooler climates as the ships always feel busy, but we are keen to see Iona so could be tempted by a 7 night cruise (max) if it was the proper (and very long) Norwegian Fjords such as Flaam, Olden & Geiranger. The cruise up and down the fjords is the highlight for us, but much of it is often missed due to it being early morning or evening, so if they were timed so that the transit was during the daytime we could enjoy the views from our balcony and venture out to the various select dining venues for lunches. 
 

We have some FCC but will probably redeem it in the autumn launch for something in 2023. A few people have said that if you don’t redeem it against a cruise by 31st December then P&O has to refund it, but I’m not certain if that’s been confirmed. I guess they won’t advertise that fact, even if it is true! 

[WECRUISEUK]

7 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Can't see too many takers for a 14 night non stop cruise round the fjords, especially in the winter! 

10 nights should do it and i was thinking more about sept.,the whole place is made for times like this.

[bobstheboy]

29 minutes ago, joeecco said:

Princess have announced their ‘seacations’ go on sale next Wednesday 8am. 
 

Regal Princess from July 30 and Sky Princess from End of August until late September 

 

Princess ones are all inclusive as standard and again balcony cabins. 
3 to 7 night cruises with scenic cruises to begin with and then port stops such as Glasgow, Belfast and Liverpool, even more than P&O, seems the wrong way round for me. Surely the U.K. based line should have had the most ‘attractive’ options. 
 

prices starting from 539pp for 3 night all inc balcony scenic cruise. 

They are not AI as standard, it is an optional extra costing £30 pppd for drinks, wifi and grats.

[Selbourne]

18 minutes ago, joeecco said:

Surely the U.K. based line should have had the most ‘attractive’ options. 

It’s very odd isn’t it. P&O seems to have nailed its flag to the mast of ‘chasing the sun’ cruises, with no port calls (bar Liverpool on the last Britannia one) and not scenic (other than, possibly, the Iona Scottish Isles), which is a big risk given our unpredictable summers. I guess they would struggle to change that now, especially on Britannia with just 3 or 4 night cruises.
 

Although we have only ever cruised with P&O, if we were tempted to do one of these start-up cruises I think we would probably try a new (to us) ship with a different operator that called at places like Liverpool and Belfast. That would appeal to us far more than what P&O is offering, especially as it would be a lower cost way of experiencing a new cruise line. 

[joeecco]

1 minute ago, bobstheboy said:

They are not AI as standard, it is an optional extra costing £30 pppd for drinks, wifi and grats.

Incorrect, These U.K. only sailings are all inclusive. The emails clearly state that they are all all inclusive. 

[joeecco]

3 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

It’s very odd isn’t it. P&O seems to have nailed its flag to the mast of ‘chasing the sun’ cruises, with no port calls (bar Liverpool on the last Britannia one) and not scenic (other than, possibly, the Iona Scottish Isles), which is a big risk given our unpredictable summers. I guess they would struggle to change that now, especially on Britannia with just 3 or 4 night cruises.
 

Although we have only ever cruised with P&O, if we were tempted to do one of these start-up cruises I think we would probably try a new (to us) ship with a different operator that called at places like Liverpool and Belfast. That would appeal to us far more than what P&O is offering, especially as it would be a lower cost way of experiencing a new cruise line. 

I agree yes. They’ve missed the mark again it seems. 

[bobstheboy]

6 minutes ago, joeecco said:

Incorrect, These U.K. only sailings are all inclusive. The emails clearly state that they are all all inclusive. 

I don't want to argue but my email from a UK agent clearly show prices without the AI option and states it is £30 optional extra. Your prices do include the optional extra.

[joeecco]

3 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

I don't want to argue but my email from a UK agent clearly show prices without the AI option and states it is £30 optional extra. Your prices do include the optional extra.

Can you show me where please? 
 

Because after the last 12 months, I don’t trust any TA communications, only the direct information from the cruise line themselves. 
 

The princess email makes no comment about detaching the Princess Plus package. 

Edited March 19, 2021 by joeecco

[WECRUISEUK]

17 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

That’s very similar to our view. We don’t particularly like sea days, especially in cooler climates as the ships always feel busy, but we are keen to see Iona so could be tempted by a 7 night cruise (max) if it was the proper (and very long) Norwegian Fjords such as Flaam, Olden & Geiranger. The cruise up and down the fjords is the highlight for us, but much of it is often missed due to it being early morning or evening, so if they were timed so that the transit was during the daytime we could enjoy the views from our balcony and venture out to the various select dining venues for lunches. 
 

We have some FCC but will probably redeem it in the autumn launch for something in 2023. A few people have said that if you don’t redeem it against a cruise by 31st December then P&O has to refund it, but I’m not certain if that’s been confirmed. I guess they won’t advertise that fact, even if it is true! 

One advantage of this type of cruise would be to stop at certain points such as "bridal veil falls",which i nearly missed going in to geiranger.Had to get up early,6am,and just got on top deck as we we're going past,no problem on leaving though.That was the summer of 2015 on Aurora all the way up to honninsvag,with the cruise i'm suggesting it's just the lower end.

Not sure on the fcc ruling,they could even extend the expiry into next year but i'm confident ours will be used by then.

[sallybunny]

13 hours ago, joeecco said:

P&O execs are not going to be pleased... MSC are sailing from UK for UK guests from May 20th with short coastal sailings and then leading to 7 night sailings stopping at UK ports and multiple embarkation ports. 
 

NO vaccines required - just a negative test 72hrs prior. 
 

This is how MSC have successfully been sailing last year and right now in the Med. 

 

Everyone’s opinions differ but for me, this is far more superior to P&Os attempts of trying to have better PR but falling through the cracks. 
 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24593-msc-to-cruise-the-uk-from-may-20-no-vaccination-required.html

Going back a bit but for me MSC have missed the mark. Unvaccinated guests and children on board would leave me feeling very unsafe along with ports of call where people could pick up the infection. I'm more than happy with the P&O approach of being cautious and taking it all slowly and building in caveats for the ever changing nature of this situation. It's how this needs to be approached. 

 

Plus, it gives me an excuse for a few days away from the kids!

[amajaa]

We had an e-mail this morning about Princess as well

Regal Princess  31st July to 23rd September 

Sky Princess   30th  August to. 28th September

 

On sale from 24th March. UK vaccinated guests only. Slightly more expensive than P & O but I think the prices quoted include the drinks package and internet.

 

I think I will wait and see how the P & O ones pan out.

Edited March 19, 2021 by amajaa

[zap99]

11 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

How many shooters do you think were on the grassy knoll???🤣

It was a serious point. It will only take a single infected monkey to cause an outbreak. Just ask Justin Hoffman, he knows.🐵

[joeecco]

5 minutes ago, sallybunny said:

Going back a bit but for me MSC have missed the mark. Unvaccinated guests and children on board would leave me feeling very unsafe along with ports of call where people could pick up the infection. I'm more than happy with the P&O approach of being cautious and taking it all slowly and building in caveats for the ever changing nature of this situation. It's how this needs to be approached. 

 

Plus, it gives me an excuse for a few days away from the kids!

MSC have been using this models since August last year very successfully stopping at more than 1 country in the Med. I think they’ve got it spot on. 
 

Yes they had a small amount of cases but P&O will too, every line will just like every workplace etc will. 
 

MSC have become a leading cruise line since this pandemic with their approach and innovation with the air filtering etc. Whereas P&O have been very quiet about what upgrades they have done, if any, to their air systems. 

Edited March 19, 2021 by joeecco

[joeecco]

4 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

Well believe Princess, it's on their web site, either a basic fare or a Plus fare at £30 a day.  Stop arguing and believe people.

You’re talking about all the normal princess cruises, which yes it is an add on. 
 

im talking about these specific coastal cruises which Princess have said directly are all all inclusive. 
 

I asked to see what your email said but I’m still waiting, I’m not arguing with you. Simply saying you shouldn’t believe a TA about a cruise lines policy when they are saying different themselves. 
 

Don’t say ‘believe people’ when you’re not believing me, how ironic 😂😂😂

[luv2cruzuk]

So excited to get back on a ship, I need the sea air and sea views!

 

Looking to book with P&O and with Princess. I would book one with MSC, however not on the Magnifica, I'm also not sure about port stops just yet. Scenic cruise sounds perfect for me right now. I wish they (MSC) would have sent a better ship to homeport here. I would book their Seaside class (Yacht Club) in a heart beat.

 

I wish P&O would have done Norwegian Fjords scenic cruising, especially on the 7 night Iona cruises. If MSC can do it, I don't understand why P&O can't.