Staycation.. What if UK regulations change whilst on board?

[zap99]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

Unfortunately, no evening turn down and no wine waiters was already introduced/trialled before covid, so I doubt they will return. 

I expect mask wearing will soon become optional rather than scrapped, I will still be wearing mine but have no issues if the guidelines are loosened and others don't. 

Andy 

 

If there is nobody to turn down our bed in the evening, how do we get in. I bet due to cost saving Gary won't sing to DW at nightime. At least I won't be sent out for a while to get a takeaway cocoa.🤣

[jaydee6969]

43 minutes ago, Hobscheshire said:

 For those of you who have already been on the Staycation cruise, was there a gala evening? Also I'm sure I saw somewhere that there is free WiFi, is that correct? Thanks very much. 

 

Not been yet, booked on the 22nd, but yes there will be a 'Gala' night but now called 'Celebration' night.  If you check in the my.pocruises site, you can check which evening it is on in the 'Your Itinerary' section.

 

And no there is not free WiFi for normal usage, but access to P&O webpages to use the web based My Holiday planner.

 

You can purchase WiFi packages, but a lot of people reporting were able to get the land based 4G when close to  land.

[lindylooellalouise]

1 hour ago, Hobscheshire said:

Thanks all for your responses and some very helpful info. We've now booked for the 18th, we know the experience won't be the same as usual but we're really looking forward to the break.   For those of you who have already been on the Staycation cruise, was there a gala evening? Also I'm sure I saw somewhere that there is free WiFi, is that correct? Thanks very much. 

Hi we were bumped off our July 4th cruise so rebooked for July 18th really looking forward to it all,still waiting for our cabin allocation but can’t wait restrictions and all to be back onboard.

[Hobscheshire]

Great, thanks for clarifying. Can't wait now 😊

[smollett]

I think the cruise lines might remain quite conservative when it comes to mask wearing. 

 

I've just this morning disembarked from the 3 day Britannia staycation cruise. All staff members were wearing masks throughout - and passengers wore masks when not sat in restaurants/bars/on deck. I felt very safe throughout.

 

Let's face it, for the cruise line, the biggest risk they probably face is amongst their crew members, most of whom are likely to be unvaccinated not from guest to guest. If an infection broke out below decks it would be much more likely to spread compared to amongst the double-vaxxed passengers. P&O absolutely need to avoid this as it could shut a ship down... so I think they might keep the mask ordinances in place to protect them from the guests.

 

Second thing I'd say is that for someone worried about infection - use decent PPE grade masks! There's no shortage now amongst medical staff - so you're not denying a nurse a mask by buying these better ones yourself. I only wear 3M brand FFP2 or FFP3 masks in situations where I think the risk is higher - and on this cruise I judged that to be in the lifts and theatre. An FFP2 or FFP3 mask won't just protect someone from you - it'll protect you!

 

[terrierjohn]

 

3 hours ago, Eddie99 said:

I’m sorry your experience wasn’t the greatest

 

i think the loss of wine waiters started pre-Covid.  I hate to sound a Philistine but, personally, I’m happy to order food and wine from one waiter and, in my experience, to be sitting relaxing with a glass of wine rather than looking left, right, ahead and behind to try to attract the attention of a dedicated wine waiter, is a better start to a meal.    I believe there is at least one expert sommelier per dining room,  to whom specific questions can be directed

I accept that wine waiters were being phased out pre covid, so really they are not a covid protocol issue but the ones that bother me are.

Like Denarius we also like the socialising especially over dinner, so only being allowed to dine with our own party will disappoint us.

As a glasses wearer I find they steam up pretty often, so the sooner we are allowed to dispense with them the better. 

My wife is a wheelchair user so we need to use the lifts, I assume that the maximum of 4 passengers must lead to large queues, which will be even worse once passenger numbers increase.

The one way system sounds as though it  will be problematic for the the able bodied, but one wrong turn for a wheelchair user, could become a nightmare.

Consequently once the govt say we can drop the restrictions I hope the cruise lines follow suit.

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by terrierjohn

[Chrish2]

7 hours ago, wowzz said:

Agreed. If the experts say masks are no longer needed, I will follow their advice, as I have done for the last 15 months.

Sadly given the rush for headline grabbing news currently been hyped up I've not got much trust that "the experts" and "the government" are one and the same at the moment ... they will need to re-earn that trust.

 

1 hour ago, smollett said:

I think the cruise lines might remain quite conservative when it comes to mask wearing. 

Agree, their reputation is on the line. Remember some of the initial outbreaks on ships did cause international headlines and the close quarters nature of ships already presents infection control risks.

 

59 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

As a glasses wearer I find they steam up pretty often, so the sooner we are allowed to dispense with them the better. 

I was very surprised this weekend when wearing sunglasses and a mask together for the first time. The fogging quickly stopped after correctly adjusting the strip. Maybe optical lenses have a different finish that makes this more difficult or conditions were optimal. 

 

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Chrish2 said:

I was very surprised this weekend when wearing sunglasses and a mask together for the first time. The fogging quickly stopped after correctly adjusting the strip. Maybe optical lenses have a different finish that makes this more difficult or conditions were optimal. 

 

You obviously have never worn glasses and a mask in the winter months, when entering a shop from the outside leads to instant misting up of your glasses! 

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, davecttr said:

Plus 14.5 million little and not so little germ/virus factories out there potentially breeding nice new variants or infecting you. I am no longer overly concerned about dying of the thing but I AM CONCERNED about my plans for my future cruises being disrupted. Press reports say the chance of serious disease is reduced by over 90% against the delta variant. True but what about the chance of infection? Latest reports from PHE etc indicate the AZ vaccine is 'only' 60% effective against the Delta variant. So you are double jabbed and catch it in the run up to your cruise. Great, just a heavy cold for a week or two but you don't get to go on that cruise.

 

Advice for me - self isolate as much as possible for at least 2 or 3 weeks before going on the cruise.

 

PS - this reply is relevant to cruising, including P&O cruising so please do not delete it.

I think that's a pretty fair summation. CV19 is not going to disappear,  but is something that we can learn to live with. However,  if cruise lines continue to require negative tests for the foreseeable future, it is going to make embarkation day even more stressful than previously.  

[davecttr]

7 hours ago, Snow Hill said:

Both Ryanair TUI and EasyJet have said mask wearing will be a condition of travelling with them, Eurostar have done the same, nothing stopping P&O or any cruise line retaining the current rules past the 19th July as a condition of travel. 

And also nothing stopping P&O maintaining their compulsory vaccination policy as well.

 

I have a Ventura cruise booked for November but will likely cancel as unvaccinated children will be allowed and the destinations are not inspiring. Also wanting final payment 90 days before is not attractive. Come to think of it I am underwhelmed by Ventura apart from the excellent Glass House, and that will only remain excellent while they keep the casual dress code on formal nights.

[emam]

14 minutes ago, davecttr said:

And also nothing stopping P&O maintaining their compulsory vaccination policy as well.

 

I have a Ventura cruise booked for November but will likely cancel as unvaccinated children will be allowed and the destinations are not inspiring. Also wanting final payment 90 days before is not attractive. Come to think of it I am underwhelmed by Ventura apart from the excellent Glass House, and that will only remain excellent while they keep the casual dress code on formal nights.

 

I can't see there being many children on a cruise in November, they just return after half term on the 1st.  Also with missing a lot school over the last year, I would think they would need a very good reason to keep them off (the parents have to request the time off and pay a fee).

[yorkshirephil]

9 hours ago, Snow Hill said:

nothing stopping P&O or any cruise line retaining the current rules past the 19th July as a condition of travel. 

The problem is with P&O is that they will swap and change the rules as they see fit, one minute they state they are following government guidance then they do what ever they want. A good example is how they have changed the 7 day policy for having the second jab to a 14 day policy. They may say that they are keeping masks wait until people who are happy with that book their cruise then do another U turn to get people who don't want masks to book.

[zap99]

26 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

The problem is with P&O is that they will swap and change the rules as they see fit, one minute they state they are following government guidance then they do what ever they want. A good example is how they have changed the 7 day policy for having the second jab to a 14 day policy. They may say that they are keeping masks wait until people who are happy with that book their cruise then do another U turn to get people who don't want masks to book.

I had 2 emails from them yesterday regarding our  staycation on 22nd. First one said 14 days, next one 7 days. 🤔

[Snow Hill]

27 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I had 2 emails from them yesterday regarding our  staycation on 22nd. First one said 14 days, next one 7 days. 🤔

Cunard part of Carnival Group have 14 days on their website, but Princess have 7 days, seems Carnival don’t have one policy across the board, hence the confusion. 
 

 

 

Edited July 6, 2021 by Snow Hill

[yorkshirephil]

12 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

Cunard part of Carnival Group have 14 days on their website, but Princess have 7 days, seems Carnival don’t have one policy across the board, hence the confusion. 
 

 

 

You would think that for something so basic Carnival as a group would set a time limit across the group to avoid confusion. 

[Snow Hill]

MSC, Royal Caribbean and Virgin Voyages all state 14 days, so P&O appear to be an outlier in this respect and now seem to becoming into line with other cruise lines. 

[Bobblehat71]

I wonder if they have extended this to 14 days with a view to stopping the preboarding tests. Now they have increased the passenger numbers they will have to carry out up to 1800 tests in around 4 hours. That would be a challenge for the NHS let alone a cruise company!   If they increased passenger numbers any further then its just not going to feasible. 

 

Personally I'd like to see them dropped. Not knowing if your actually going to be able to board until you get to the terminal is pretty stressful.

[davecttr]

Iona starts cruising in august and if the gov allow it could have up to 5000 passengers. No way they could process that many tests?

 

5000 tests in 6 hours - 834 tests per hour - say 10 tests per hour per tester. They need 84 testers plus spares

[Eglesbrech]

I have had a quick scan through the framework and the testing regime does not appear to be a requirement.
 

They need to medically screen for covid but on a quick look it doesn’t seem that actual physical testing is mandatory. That would tie in with the fact that the cruise lines are all doing something slightly different in terms of the test they are using and when they are done.

 

RCI / Celebrity for example are getting everyone to get a PCR test 72 hours before travel and only test unvaccinated minors at the port. Perhaps P&O will move towards a system like this or they may just drop testing completely, who knows.

 

 

[davecttr]

3 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

I have had a quick scan through the framework and the testing regime does not appear to be a requirement.
 

They need to medically screen for covid but on a quick look it doesn’t seem that actual physical testing is mandatory. That would tie in with the fact that the cruise lines are all doing something slightly different in terms of the test they are using and when they are done.

 

RCI / Celebrity for example are getting everyone to get a PCR test 72 hours before travel and only test unvaccinated minors at the port. Perhaps P&O will move towards a system like this or they may just drop testing completely, who knows.

 

 

It could cause confusion if P&O changed the procedure and method of testing mid staycation cruises season so maybe better to drop it altogether or stick with the 'professionally' administered lateral flow test at the terminal.   

 

If they adopt a PCR test before travel that leaves the passengers with the hassle and worry, for example what if it comes back invalid and you have to do it again?

 

edit - it appears where I live you can only guarantee a same day result if you pay for a test

Edited July 6, 2021 by davecttr

[smollett]

They're not doing PCR tests - just lateral flow... and the sampling method was pretty half hearted. I don't think it's an immense amount of work frankly.