October onwards cruisers…

[molecrochip]

Just now, Son of Anarchy said:

I appreciate that you may not be able to post details of it, but is there a plan to "re-invent" planned cruises in the event that there are major changes to scheduled itineries?  Or is the plan to simply pause operations over the winter in the event of major schedule changes?

You don't plan to restart to stop again. You have a ship full of crew and stock. Yes, if necessary you adapt.

 

I would suggest that the uncertainty is why you don't have more restart dates yet. I still think it will be Easter next year before the full fleet is back in service.

[Eddie99]

10/10 for candour

 

Sorry for your situation

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, molecrochip said:

You don't plan to restart to stop again. You have a ship full of crew and stock. Yes, if necessary you adapt.

 

I would suggest that the uncertainty is why you don't have more restart dates yet. I still think it will be Easter next year before the full fleet is back in service.

Candid, thank you.

If I was booked on a Caribbean cruise this autumn/winter, I would be feeling pretty pessimistic right now.

[ToxM]

1 hour ago, molecrochip said:

You don't plan to restart to stop again. You have a ship full of crew and stock. Yes, if necessary you adapt.

 

I would suggest that the uncertainty is why you don't have more restart dates yet. I still think it will be Easter next year before the full fleet is back in service.

 

I appreciate your words very much. 

 

Honestly I think P&O are doing the very best they can in an almost impossible situation. To have managed to be as agile as they have been during what must be a situation that at times can change by the hour is quite the logistical gymnastics.

 

Que sera sera for October Fjords, I hope IF Arcadia is able to be in service but not do our cruise that passengers from those itins that are affected get first dibs on the replacing itins. 

 

If the payment dates are changed then, we have a possible clue to what is going on, and that’s how this thread will be useful.  

 

 

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, molecrochip said:

You don't plan to restart to stop again. You have a ship full of crew and stock. Yes, if necessary you adapt.

 

I would suggest that the uncertainty is why you don't have more restart dates yet. I still think it will be Easter next year before the full fleet is back in service.

I think that is very realistic.

 

All of the ships and their schedules can’t suddenly pop up again as if nothing has happened.

 

I do hope that by the end of the year that some stability can return so that the cruise companies and the travel industry in general can plan ahead . 

[Dermotsgirl]

26 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Candid, thank you.

If I was booked on a Caribbean cruise this autumn/winter, I would be feeling pretty pessimistic right now.

I don’t think people should be pessimistic, it’s time to accept the reality.

 

I have been accused of being pessimistic - I call it being realistic, so I’m completely unsurprised at the thought that the P&O fleet may not be fully sailing again until next Easter.

 

I moved my October 2021 and January 2022 cruises about 8 months ago as I felt they had little chance of sailing as scheduled or in a way that I would find acceptable when I would be paying large sums of money.

 

I would no doubt have been subject to derision in certain quarters for my decision - but nothing has happened since to make me regret my choice.  

[Son of Anarchy]

3 hours ago, molecrochip said:

You don't plan to restart to stop again. You have a ship full of crew and stock. Yes, if necessary you adapt.

 

I would suggest that the uncertainty is why you don't have more restart dates yet. I still think it will be Easter next year before the full fleet is back in service.

Thank you for the insight.

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, molecrochip said:

You don't plan to restart to stop again. You have a ship full of crew and stock. Yes, if necessary you adapt.

 

I would suggest that the uncertainty is why you don't have more restart dates yet. I still think it will be Easter next year before the full fleet is back in service.

Are you suggesting that Britannia and Iona are more likely to undertake their scheduled cruises than the other ships?

[wowzz]

7 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Are you suggesting that Britannia and Iona are more likely to undertake their scheduled cruises than the other ships?

That would make sense, but I can't see Britannia going to the Caribbean. 

[Dermotsgirl]

45 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Are you suggesting that Britannia and Iona are more likely to undertake their scheduled cruises than the other ships?

I took it to mean that those ships would be more likely to do some sort of cruise, not necessarily the scheduled cruises 

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

That would make sense, but I can't see Britannia going to the Caribbean. 

But the next scheduled cruise after our Oct 9th one is the T/A to Barbados. It would be a major change for her to undertake something else, unless they stay with the Seacations, which would then probably put the 2 med cruises in doubt.

[wowzz]

52 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

But the next scheduled cruise after our Oct 9th one is the T/A to Barbados. It would be a major change for her to undertake something else, unless they stay with the Seacations, which would then probably put the 2 med cruises in doubt.

I agree, but in the current environment would you want to have  ships based in the Caribbean,  if you have an outbreak of coronavirus on board? 

[Windsurfboy]

 

25 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I agree, but in the current environment would you want to have  ships based in the Caribbean,  if you have an outbreak of coronavirus on board? 

 

But the odds of a case on board are very low.

[terrierjohn]

40 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I agree, but in the current environment would you want to have  ships based in the Caribbean,  if you have an outbreak of coronavirus on board? 

I agree with Windsurfboy, it's a low risk especially with all adults having been double jabbed by autumn. The main concern for P&O is how the govt are handling the traffic light system, and if passengers could be asked to quarantine on their return.

[Windsurfboy]

8 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I agree with Windsurfboy, it's a low risk especially with all adults having been double jabbed by autumn. The main concern for P&O is how the govt are handling the traffic light system, and if passengers could be asked to quarantine on their return.

 

The question is would a 11 day journey back mean you hadn't  been in Amber or red country for 10 days so exempt  from quarantine.  Is the ship counted as being in UK or abroad 

[molecrochip]

Running the planned cruises will always be the preferable and convenient first choice. But I would say that Britannia and Iona will be used for alternative itineraries if necessary rather than lay them up and bring a different (smaller) ship back into service.

 

By the start of the school term, you have three months before unvaccinated children will be on board (with exception of half term week on Iona) so all passengers should be vaccinated unless they’ve opted out.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

The question is would a 11 day journey back mean you hadn't  been in Amber or red country for 10 days so exempt  from quarantine.  Is the ship counted as being in UK or abroad 

I was thinking about fly cruises, where you certainly would need to quarantine if you have visited an amber list country at present.

[downsmead]

10 hours ago, molecrochip said:

My understanding is that if the cruise line is not comfortable that the sailing will proceed as scheduled (with minimal changes) then the payment date will be moved back.

 

Whilst some people do pay early, there is a desire to avoid having many refunds again. Carnival had to recruit additional staff to clear the refunds in the end.

Our SIL has been paying the balance of their November sailing this past year (we booked around Xmas 2019). He has obviously stopped now but if we pull the plug before FP, he will (should 🤞) have this repaid and just lose the deposit.

[Harry Peterson]

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

 

But the odds of a case on board are very low.

The odds may be low......but the consequences for the reputation of cruising (and for the people onboard) could be very substantial indeed. 

[ToxM]

8 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

The odds may be low......but the consequences for the reputation of cruising (and for the people onboard) could be very substantial indeed. 

 

Very very bad consequences if there is a case on board I agree. 

[terrierjohn]

8 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

The odds may be low......but the consequences for the reputation of cruising (and for the people onboard) could be very substantial indeed. 

There are arrangements, protocols, in place which should allow the cruise to continue whilst protecting the rest of the passengers on board, and enable any really ill passenger to be taken to the nearest hospital. This should safeguard the cruise lines reputation as well as the safety of passengers.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

There are arrangements, protocols, in place which should allow the cruise to continue whilst protecting the rest of the passengers on board, and enable any really ill passenger to be taken to the nearest hospital. This should safeguard the cruise lines reputation as well as the safety of passengers.

My point is that if Barbados became a red destination during the course of a cruise, the logistics of getting everyone back to the UK,  and having to go into hotel quarantine would be horrendous.  Similar issues if just one single person contracts CV19. 

Whilst still an issue, cruises to the Med or the Canaries would pose less logistical problems.

[Bazrat]

We have a T/A booked in October after reading some of the comments on here will it be safe for us to go for a meal tonight at the pub, onboard ship every passenger must be vaccinated and the crew will be taking precautions, after last night I doubt it’s any safer being on land seeing all the people ambling around the restaurant without face masks on

[jeanlyon]

Interesting thread to follow.  We were on the Med cruise on Aurora October 9th, but moved it to Easter time next year.  It was too complicated with having to buy travel insurance and losing more money on that.  At least if we buy the insurance in December, it will cover both cruises we have booked for 2022.

[ToxM]

3 hours ago, Bazrat said:

We have a T/A booked in October after reading some of the comments on here will it be safe for us to go for a meal tonight at the pub, onboard ship every passenger must be vaccinated and the crew will be taking precautions, after last night I doubt it’s any safer being on land seeing all the people ambling around the restaurant without face masks on

 

I think the lead up to the time when cruises are supposed to go back to normal is what the issue is. Staycations within an enclosed bubble are very different from cruises going to different countries - especially with the Delta variant making things so uncertain at this point.