UK staycation cruise details launched

[mercury7289]

NYK Cruises cancel the Spring Hiwata weekend cruise, sailing tomorrow, 19th after crew member tested positive for Covid, this after having 3 PCR tests before leaving his home country all being negative.

Report on ships Crew News

 

Also on there is a report that Dream Cruise line, having received there 100,000 passenger, since opening up on the 20th November around Singapore

Just for balance!

Edited March 18, 2021 by mercury7289

[zap99]

32 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

You are ever the optimist Zap, however which cruise line are you hoping to cruise with.  P&O, Princess, and Celebrity/RCI are doing UK passenger only cruises from the UK, and Costa and MSC who are doing Med Cruises are limited to EU nationals only.

But I do hope that things do change in your favour.

NCL have some interesting itineraries from Athens and Barcelona. Athens is the most likely, but in 4/5 months, who knows 🤣

[joeecco]

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

Edited March 18, 2021 by joeecco

[seapals2]

12 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

If you, and all other vaccinated passengers boarding, are not infectious when you board, and the crew similarly will have been tested to prove they don't have the virus; just who is going to infect these 15% of passengers?

A test prior to boarding will only be good for that day ..,in a hypothetical world the passenger could have got infected travelling to the ship.  Would not show positive for a day or so.  Probably the reason the cruises are only of short duration to begin.  Then before leaving the ship the passenger could have infected crew ... who would not test positive until a couple of days into the next short cruise but able to infect others.  There can be no guarantees. P&O are just cutting down the risks as much as they possibly can by asking passengers to be fully vaccinated. 

[Ardennais]

1 hour 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

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.

[wowzz]

1 hour 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

Well, at least the anti-vaxxers on the P&O social media page will be pleased. Reading some of their comments makes me question how they can be intelligent enough to find their way to Southampton,  let alone earn a living!

[Snow Hill]

Just now, wowzz said:

Well, at least the anti-vaxxers on the P&O social media page will be pleased. Reading some of their comments makes me question how they can be intelligent enough to find their way to Southampton,  let alone earn a living!

I have seen those to, the vitriol on those pages is unbelievable. Claims of discrimination, human rights breaches, you name it seems to be there.

[terrierjohn]

46 minutes ago, seapals2 said:

A test prior to boarding will only be good for that day ..,in a hypothetical world the passenger could have got infected travelling to the ship.  Would not show positive for a day or so.  Probably the reason the cruises are only of short duration to begin.  Then before leaving the ship the passenger could have infected crew ... who would not test positive until a couple of days into the next short cruise but able to infect others.  There can be no guarantees. P&O are just cutting down the risks as much as they possibly can by asking passengers to be fully vaccinated. 

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

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

I have seen those to, the vitriol on those pages is unbelievable. Claims of discrimination, human rights breaches, you name it seems to be there.

Plus of course, those who believe that CV19 itself is a hoax.

To be honest,  with those sort of people about, I hope P&O keep their compulsory vaccination policy in place, at least for adults.  At least the dregs of society would be denied boarding.

[Dermotsgirl]

29 minutes 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.

Yes, it has got the potential to go wrong. 
 

Which would set back the whole U.K. cruise industry 

 

 

[terrierjohn]

14 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Yes, it has got the potential to go wrong. 
 

Which would set back the whole U.K. cruise industry 

 

 

Maybe P&O would like that, especially if theirs run smoothly.

[Ardennais]

5 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Maybe P&O would like that, especially if theirs run smoothly.

Well I think that P&Os approach is far more sensible!

[Snow Hill]

52 minutes 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.

Chris Whitty said today it was too early to gauge the effect of schools reopening, I guess that will come out just around Easter.

[ann141]

47 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

I have seen those to, the vitriol on those pages is unbelievable. Claims of discrimination, human rights breaches, you name it seems to be there.

I had to stop reading because I thought my BP would rise to dangerous levels! Its worrying that people (some of whom claim to have a medical background)have such views!

[sweep2907]

2 hours ago, ann141 said:

I had to stop reading because I thought my BP would rise to dangerous levels! Its worrying that people (some of whom claim to have a medical background)have such views!

I got trolls on my twitter when i replied to P&O announcement saying they were doing well under a barage of abuse. I commented that they can only be guided by protocul laid down by UK Government and replies I got were I was "Supporting medical apartheid I see, Shameful." This was the clean one I posted! What sort of people are P&O attracting now for goodness sake? As P&O pointed out this is a temporary measure just for their short summer UK coastal sailings and all other sailings currently do not specify vaccine is required and do not ban kids.

[wowzz]

4 hours ago, sweep2907 said:

I got trolls on my twitter when i replied to P&O announcement saying they were doing well under a barage of abuse. I commented that they can only be guided by protocul laid down by UK Government and replies I got were I was "Supporting medical apartheid I see, Shameful." This was the clean one I posted! What sort of people are P&O attracting now for goodness sake? As P&O pointed out this is a temporary measure just for their short summer UK coastal sailings and all other sailings currently do not specify vaccine is required and do not ban kids.

My concern is that P&O do not appear to actively moderate their social media pages. Yes, they pander to those who actively support them (eg "Thanks for your kind words, can't wait to see you on board again soon"), but they do not remove ignorant, ill informed and downright dangerous comments. 

Mind you, a lot of the anti-vaxxers do tend to have trouble with both basic grammar and spelling - it does tend to reduce the impact of their stupidity. 

[wowzz]

Couldn't resist another peak at the P&O media page!

Seemingly,  it is a well known "fact" that the outbreak of CV19 on Princess last year, was, in fact, radiation sickness caused by the electromagnetic waves used in the onboard medallionNet system ! Naturally,  according to the poster, this has all been hushed up by the authorities!

Unbelievable! 

[cruisenewbie1976]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Couldn't resist another peak at the P&O media page!

Seemingly,  it is a well known "fact" that the outbreak of CV19 on Princess last year, was, in fact, radiation sickness caused by the electromagnetic waves used in the onboard medallionNet system ! Naturally,  according to the poster, this has all been hushed up by the authorities!

Unbelievable! 

Its utterly bizarre, isn't it? I know they're probably a very tiny (but very vocal) minority, but it's really quite disturbing that people can believe such rubbish! 

[Angel57]

I’ve been looking at comments posted on a well known page and am appalled at the vitriol posted by people who cannot cruise because they or their kids are not vaccinated. Yes, of course it is disappointing, but it is not the end of civilisation just cos you cannot cruise up and down the English Channel for a few days......

[joeecco]

23 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

I’ve been looking at comments posted on a well known page and am appalled at the vitriol posted by people who cannot cruise because they or their kids are not vaccinated. Yes, of course it is disappointing, but it is not the end of civilisation just cos you cannot cruise up and down the English Channel for a few days......

There is no denying that P&O have handled the PR with ‘welcoming families’ massively wrong. 

[davecttr]

MSC running cruises for UK as well. Great, that will remove some of the pressure from the P&O cruises especially as MSC can have the hassle of dealing with the unjabbed and the kids., 1,000 passengers on Iona kind of appeals to me.

[Angel57]

6 minutes ago, joeecco said:

There is no denying that P&O have handled the PR with ‘welcoming families’ massively wrong. 

Couldn’t agree with your comment more Joeecco...... So unusual for them.....🤣

[joeecco]

34 minutes ago, davecttr said:

MSC running cruises for UK as well. Great, that will remove some of the pressure from the P&O cruises especially as MSC can have the hassle of dealing with the unjabbed and the kids., 1,000 passengers on Iona kind of appeals to me.

This 1000 passenger load is just a small rumour, I’ll be very surprised if it is that low for such a huge ship with an array of different bars and restaurants. 
 

There are around 1500 balconies, whilst some Will be reserved for quarantine, I doubt they’ll only use a third of them. 
 

When MsC resumed last year, successfully, they started at 70% capacity according to reports. The ship can handle nearly 5k like Iona. 

Edited March 19, 2021 by joeecco

[Selbourne]

13 minutes ago, joeecco said:

This 1000 passenger load is just a small rumour, I’ll be very surprised if it is that low for such a huge ship with an array of different bars and restaurants. 

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?

[Beckett]

Good morning all. Although I haven't posted much this week, I've been lurking and reading. What an interesting week it's been - so much going on! 

 

After the disappointment of the cancelled Cunard and the vaccinated- only UK waters cruises from P&O (which I fully support by the way), the total non-availability of cottages anywhere in the school holidays, I decided to do something else to make it up to my grandaughters. So I've booked a 5 night stay in a lovely hotel overlooking the seafront in Lowestoft. Our room has an uninterrupted view of the beautiful beach and a balcony. They're thrilled to be staying in a hotel, I'm happy to sit on a balcony, all that remains will be the weather to be kind to us.

 

I still have a £500-odd FCC with Cunard so may go alone on one of their UK Waters when they release them.

 

I hope you're all well and can’t wait to see who books on P&O next week. Be well everyone and take care. Best wishes. Jane.x