Uk cruises - will they continue after September?

[ToxM]

8 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Unfortunately, I think you may be right. The Med cruise was booked in 2019, as well as the one cancelled last year. The deposit from that was moved to a June  2021 Fjords cruise, also cancelled, so added it to the end of our Med cruise. We haven't made a decision yet if our B2B is cancelled. I've looked through the cruises for 2022 and there are some we would be interested in, but there is still that big ? about Arcadia and Aurora so I can't seem to drum up much enthusiasm at the moment. It's out of our hands now.

Avril

 

I’ve joked to hubby that my cruise savings plan is growing in size…it really is the only way to look at it now. 

 

The Delta variant (and potentially the Thailand and Nepalese variants) are going to cause us problems we are only just beginning to realise the severity of. P&O and the other lines doing staycations will be very lucky if they happen even with fully vaccinated crew and passengers. 

 

Sorry if the above is doom and gloom, but it’s a realistic viewpoint. 

[tring]

51 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

I don't  see why disembarkation of a passenger to nearest land based hospital is a big deal . Just need the covid safe protocols to be agreed beforehand.  If cruise lines don't have a plan B , but just hope for everything to go green, they will have a very non profitable winter if things don't go green.

 

Ports where any ill pax can be disembarked is part of the cruising protocols that were agreed in draft months ago.  Links were given to those documents then.  Would have to have arrangement for that in place before sailing.

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by tring

[Britboys]

4 hours ago, ToxM said:

Last cruise I was on was mid November 2019 which was a 7 day cruise to Rotterdam, Bruges and Cherbourg. I was expecting the weather to be awful, but it was surprisingly good, I wouldn’t object to my trip to the Fjords being changed to a staycation cruise to nowhere. Windsurfboy is correct at this point any cruise would be preferable to no cruise. I was tempted to book the summer staycations but they are on the big ships and I don’t like those. 

 

I just want to cruise on a mid size ship. I just can’t see it happening this year even. 

 

The safety of passengers is paramount but we also have to factor in that any cruise line that has a case of COVID puts their business in dire jeopardy and the whole cruise business in danger as well, they HAVE to get it right every time, or else it’s pretty much game over. 

 

More haste less speed is very true here I think. 

Cunard, Fred Olsen and Marella are all offering UK cruises on mid-size ships...

[Windsurfboy]

53 minutes ago, zap99 said:

How many  fully  vaccinated folk are geting ill

 

Almost none, and if they are tested before they board even less

[ToxM]

17 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Cunard, Fred Olsen and Marella are all offering UK cruises on mid-size ships...

 

I had one staycation cancelled on me from Cunard, and felt their next offering was a tad too expensive. Fred seemed overly expensive and Marella doesn’t appeal. 

 

I know .. I am very picky 😉

[amfc_lenny]

1 hour ago, ToxM said:

 

I had one staycation cancelled on me from Cunard, and felt their next offering was a tad too expensive. Fred seemed overly expensive and Marella doesn’t appeal. 

 

I know .. I am very picky 😉

Agreed if Cunard, celebrity or Marella had been more reasonably priced think we’d have tried elsewhere for a change. 

[Britboys]

2 hours ago, ToxM said:

 

I had one staycation cancelled on me from Cunard, and felt their next offering was a tad too expensive. Fred seemed overly expensive and Marella doesn’t appeal. 

 

I know .. I am very picky 😉

Fred has some slightly better deals at the moment. Both inclusive drinks and gratuities included.

[majortom10]

3 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

I don't  see why disembarkation of a passenger to nearest land based hospital is a big deal . Just need the covid safe protocols to be agreed beforehand.  If cruise lines don't have a plan B , but just hope for everything to go green, they will have a very non profitable winter if things don't go green.

Might not be for the cruise line but would be for the person disembarked to a hospital and for relatives and where they would stay and how would they get home.

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, ToxM said:

 

I had one staycation cancelled on me from Cunard, and felt their next offering was a tad too expensive. Fred seemed overly expensive and Marella doesn’t appeal. 

 

I know .. I am very picky 😉

Dont know about being expensive but I have a Staycation cruise booked on QE with Cunard for 7nts in August and paid £599pp for highest grade balcony cabin. Nobody can say that is expensive.

[molecrochip]

There are multiple options available to cruise lines however the broad consensus is that the European vaccine rollout is going a lot slower than planned.

 

There is also a general feeling that there is not the demand for U.K. staycations beyond September.

 

That leaves the cruise lines stuck between a rock and a hard place. Having fully crewed a ship back into service, there is no desire for it to be laid up again.

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, ToxM said:

 

I had one staycation cancelled on me from Cunard, and felt their next offering was a tad too expensive. Fred seemed overly expensive and Marella doesn’t appeal. 

 

I know .. I am very picky 😉

Did you consider Princess? 

You should! 

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Dont know about being expensive but I have a Staycation cruise booked on QE with Cunard for 7nts in August and paid £599pp for highest grade balcony cabin. Nobody can say that is expensive.

That is a great price.

Unfortunately,  as we like a drink, the overall cost would be over £1000pp , so not such a good deal!

[Eddie99]

8 hours ago, molecrochip said:

There are multiple options available to cruise lines however the broad consensus is that the European vaccine rollout is going a lot slower than planned.

 

There is also a general feeling that there is not the demand for U.K. staycations beyond September.

 

That leaves the cruise lines stuck between a rock and a hard place. Having fully crewed a ship back into service, there is no desire for it to be laid up again.

Moley, I am really sorry for you and all whose livelihoods depend on cruising.  I agree that, at present, the industry is indeed between a very large rock and a super-hard place.

 

Moods and news change.  Sometimes I feel a little optimistic but others, like just now, I despair at the ups and downs (that’s general, not just holidays)

 

Then I found this yesterday.  If accurate (I have no reason to think it’s not.  The source is the FT, apparently) it feels like we should all take a long hard look at our holiday habits, for the sake of our children and grandchildren

 

 

[terrierjohn]

9 hours ago, molecrochip said:

There are multiple options available to cruise lines however the broad consensus is that the European vaccine rollout is going a lot slower than planned.

 

There is also a general feeling that there is not the demand for U.K. staycations beyond September.

 

That leaves the cruise lines stuck between a rock and a hard place. Having fully crewed a ship back into service, there is no desire for it to be laid up again.

For those of us booked, back in 2019, on the early "normal" itinerary cruises we will need answers soon unless P&O reduce their balance payment period.

A cruise to the sun with few or no ports might be acceptable, but we need info to help us make a reasoned decision.

[MX-Drew]

1 hour ago, Eddie99 said:

Moley, I am really sorry for you and all whose livelihoods depend on cruising.  I agree that, at present, the industry is indeed between a very large rock and a super-hard place.

 

Moods and news change.  Sometimes I feel a little optimistic but others, like just now, I despair at the ups and downs (that’s general, not just holidays)

 

Then I found this yesterday.  If accurate (I have no reason to think it’s not.  The source is the FT, apparently) it feels like we should all take a long hard look at our holiday habits, for the sake of our children and grandchildren

 

 

But those figures are not on a new generation ship powered by LNG like Iona.

[ToxM]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

Did you consider Princess? 

You should! 

 

Spent the morning looking at different lines in case Norway goes South (excuse the pun) and I had never really looked at Princess tbh. They look ok actually. 

[Eddie99]

@ MX-drew

Yes, I realise that 

 

I knew cruise ships were “filthy” but I was shocked at that graphic

Doesn’t look good for the smaller, older vessels does it?  I can envisage the more environmentally aware countries being very reluctant to accept them (although there’s tourist $, £ and € to be made of course.)

Edited June 6, 2021 by Eddie99

[wowzz]

48 minutes ago, ToxM said:

 

Spent the morning looking at different lines in case Norway goes South (excuse the pun) and I had never really looked at Princess tbh. They look ok actually. 

Princess are of a higher quality than P&O, so more than OK!

[ToxM]

11 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Princess are of a higher quality than P&O, so more than OK!

 

Their TA prices are very good for this year. P&O would also take a leaf out of their book with their equivalent of select pricing… 

 

Under normal circumstances I would be snapping at those TA prices… 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, ToxM said:

 

Spent the morning looking at different lines in case Norway goes South (excuse the pun) and I had never really looked at Princess tbh. They look ok actually. 

We have never been on Princess. Some folk extol the virtues of various cruise lines, but it transpired they have never been on the one they praise. If the right cruise comes along at the right price we will try it. Some on here have said they never have, or never will go on a P&O cruise. Makes you wonder.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Eddie99 said:

@ MX-drew

Yes, I realise that 

 

I knew cruise ships were “filthy” but I was shocked at that graphic

Doesn’t look good for the smaller, older vessels does it?  I can envisage the more environmentally aware countries being very reluctant to accept them (although there’s tourist $, £ and € to be made of course.)

Unfortunately you couldn't drill into the detail in that report. For instance did the Tuscan villa cited have the air con switched on, or off. How did they travel, what did they cook on, chlorine in the pool ?.

[ToxM]

5 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We have never been on Princess. Some folk extol the virtues of various cruise lines, but it transpired they have never been on the one they praise. If the right cruise comes along at the right price we will try it. Some on here have said they never have, or never will go on a P&O cruise. Makes you wonder.

 

As a compulsive due diligencer I like to do lots of research, P&O is my line of choice ex UK, as its a known quantity, but agree with you - if the right it in came up and I was happy with my research I would try Princess. 

 

The lines doing staycations have missed a trick not marketing at least partly as taster cruises to try and poach passengers imo. 

[zap99]

7 minutes ago, ToxM said:

 

As a compulsive due diligencer I like to do lots of research, P&O is my line of choice ex UK, as its a known quantity, but agree with you - if the right it in came up and I was happy with my research I would try Princess. 

 

The lines doing staycations have missed a trick not marketing at least partly as taster cruises to try and poach passengers imo. 

In the last few years we have sailed with P&O, RC,Celebrity,NCL and will be on P&O next, then hopefully off to Alaska with X, then somewhere else with...........could be anyone. 🤣

[zap99]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Princess are of a higher quality than P&O, so more than OK!

What parts of your Princess cruises did you find of higher quality than P&O.?

[Adawn47]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

For those of us booked, back in 2019, on the early "normal" itinerary cruises we will need answers soon unless P&O reduce their balance payment period.

A cruise to the sun with few or no ports might be acceptable, but we need info to help us make a reasoned decision.

I completely agree with you John. In 2019 we booked two 19 nights cruises, one for 2020 -cancelled, and one for this October - looking iffy. It's just over 4 weeks before our £5,000 balance is due and I know you and I are not the only ones that really need to know what's happening. I can appreciate P&O's dilemma, but I think it's very bad form to leave their customers in the dark like this. 

Avril