Cruising in International Waters from UK

[Linconian]

Foreign Office advice against international cruising is on track to be lifted at the end of this month, according to the chief executive of Saga Travel.

Speaking at the naming ceremony of new ship Spirit of Adventure in Portsmouth, Nick Stace said the industry had met demands made by government to allow cruising in international waters.

Stace, who has worked closely with Clia in its negotiations with ministers, said he believed those commitments would lead to a positive decision in a key meeting this week.

Stace told Travel Weekly: “Firstly, government wanted a memorandum of understanding signed, that if there is a future pandemic, or this pandemic goes on for some time, that all the repatriation will come at the cost of the cruise sector.

“This is what we did anyway, but they wanted an MOU signed and that happened last week. So that was one of the hurdles.”

[Heidi13]

I'm having difficulty understanding why you posted this in the Viking Boards.

 

The Spirit of Adventure is a new ship owned by Saga Cruises and I believe Nick Stace is an executive of that cruise line. You also mentioned CLIA (Cruise Line International Association), but Viking, as an independent company, is not even a member.

 

UK Territorial Seas extend for 12 miles offshore, so Viking ships completing UK voyages have already sailed outside UK Waters on a UK only cruise.

 

I suspect that FCO is advising against "Long/Short International Voyages" which is completely different from departing UK Territorial Waters. You can depart UK Territorial Waters and still sail on a domestic voyage.

[NeilP57]

I think the reference to International waters is lifted from sloppy reporting by Travel Weekly. The topic is an important one for UK customers of Viking as you are likely aware it is currently against FCO (Government) advice to undertake cruises other than domestic UK only round trip cruises, which as you correctly say do deviate into International waters as they travel around the UK. 
 

This is completely separate to the Green/Amber traffic light designation which determines steps to be taken on return to the UK. 
 

Viking has been selling fly cruises in the UK to both Iceland and Malta (to both Croatia and Greece) for July and August departures. This has caused a lot of issues for UK passengers especially in obtaining adequate insurance when travelling. 
 

The lifting of the FCO advise against International (ie non domestic) cruising would certainly be welcome. If it is lifted at the end of this month that would be perfect for my 31 July departure to Iceland. However, I personally would be surprised if the FCO moved that quickly following the meeting discussed in the article. 
 

It is also unclear whether it will be a complete removal of the advice against any International cruising or will be modified to permit UK residents to board ships in the UK and cruise to other European destinations before returning to the UK. 
 

Linconian - not sure if you can do this but perhaps amend the title of the thread to something like “International Cruising for UK customers”  

[les37b]

Spot on Neil.

 

Gutted it couldn't have been lifted before Saturday so I could get back on the Malta sailing I had to cancel for not being able to get insurance.

 

I have seen 31st July mentioned a couple of times now and while the intentions for the restriction can be claimed to be for the right reasons, the fact you can travel and mix with with as many locals and other tourists as you like now in an amber country, a cruise ship that tests daily and only visits a green country is considered unsafe. The reality couldn't be further from the facts.  I guess you do need to look beyond that though. Viking are IMHO doing a fantastic job / probably the best of any CL in respect of tests etc. (I believe they are the only line with a PCR lab on board?)....... but not all CL are equal and deal with things differently. Most have bubble tours only, where some allow DIY tours. All will be grouped as "cruises" for this purpose. None of the other lines do PCR tests daily. Round of applause to Viking - who get my vote for "Covid safe cruise line".  👍

[tabatha1]

Thanks very much for this info. Hopefully 

this will be resolved quickly and we can go on our cruise to the Canaries from Southampton in Oct and get insurance🤞. 

[Geoffa30]

Thank you for posting this Linconian. Ignore what the first response said above. This is relevant to Viking as others have said. Sometimes people need to remember there other countries besides the US.

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, Geoffa30 said:

Sometimes people need to remember there other countries besides the US.

He's from Canada.

[les37b]

18 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

He's from Canada.

 

He's a she! 🤣

[chengkp75]

51 minutes ago, les37b said:

 

He's a she! 🤣

Actually, Heidi13 is a retired ship Captain named Andy.

[les37b]

2 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Actually, Heidi13 is a retired ship Captain named Andy.

 

Oh well....  it was meant to be light hearted hence the emoji  - not a point scoring exercise.

[Heidi13]

6 hours ago, Geoffa30 said:

Thank you for posting this Linconian. Ignore what the first response said above. This is relevant to Viking as others have said. Sometimes people need to remember there other countries besides the US.

 

British Columbia isn't in the US.

 

Although I reside in Canada, I still have a UK Passport and a UK residence. Also spent 40 yrs at sea, starting with Red/Blue Ensigns, so know a little about International/Territorial Waters.

 

Thanks to Neil for the explanation, as the thread title didn't make sense to this mariner.

[Geoffa30]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

British Columbia isn't in the US.

 

Although I reside in Canada, I still have a UK Passport and a UK residence. Also spent 40 yrs at sea, starting with Red/Blue Ensigns, so know a little about International/Territorial Waters.

 

Thanks to Neil for the explanation, as the thread title didn't make sense to this mariner.

My bad. Apologies. I just thought your response was a bit shirty.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, Geoffa30 said:

My bad. Apologies. I just thought your response was a bit shirty.

 

No worries, sorry you took it that way.

 

Just trying to question and provide facts based on the topic title. I believe Neil has explained that it has nothing to do with International Waters. The references to Saga and CLIA also don't normally come up on the Viking Board.

[DaveSJ711]

17 hours ago, Geoffa30 said:

Thank you for posting this Linconian. Ignore what the first response said above. This is relevant to Viking as others have said. Sometimes people need to remember there other countries besides the US.

I can't say what amused me more: your assumption that our Canadian friend was from the U.S., or the mutual apologies once his U.K. bona fides became known. Plus, I learned that "shirty" is actually a word. Good work!

[arlowood]

It might not be particularly helpful to those UK based passengers who are currently in a form of "limbo" due to the existing FCO advice against International Cruises.

 

There is at least one potential route to get insurance cover and that is via the Travel Pack product offered by one of the major UK banks. (I have left the name out of my post as I'm not sure if the rules permit me to disclose the name of the bank). As this is only available to customers of this bank it could have limited value to others. However if you are prepared to switch banks or take out a separate account then this travel insurance would be available for your cruises.

 

In some recent guidance to policy holders the bank has stated that you would be covered if you wanted to cancel a holiday due to FCO advising against travel. Also if you cannot rearrange travel and still wish to travel, you will have the benefit of your insurance so long as you comply with the advice and the local authorities in the areas you are staying. However if you do travel against FCO advice you will not be covered if you choose to return early.

 

It's not obviously a belt and braces cover but at least it would appear to some protection.

 

I believe also from reading elsewhere that one of the other major banks also offers a similar product.

[les37b]

19 hours ago, arlowood said:

It might not be particularly helpful to those UK based passengers who are currently in a form of "limbo" due to the existing FCO advice against International Cruises.

 

There is at least one potential route to get insurance cover and that is via the Travel Pack product offered by one of the major UK banks. (I have left the name out of my post as I'm not sure if the rules permit me to disclose the name of the bank). As this is only available to customers of this bank it could have limited value to others. However if you are prepared to switch banks or take out a separate account then this travel insurance would be available for your cruises.

 

In some recent guidance to policy holders the bank has stated that you would be covered if you wanted to cancel a holiday due to FCO advising against travel. Also if you cannot rearrange travel and still wish to travel, you will have the benefit of your insurance so long as you comply with the advice and the local authorities in the areas you are staying. However if you do travel against FCO advice you will not be covered if you choose to return early.

 

It's not obviously a belt and braces cover but at least it would appear to some protection.

 

I believe also from reading elsewhere that one of the other major banks also offers a similar product.

 

I don't think it would be a problem mentioning the bank. Someone had mentioned theirs (Lloyds) which he got covered for under his legacy policy which enables him to travel - but no new people will get that. My own (First Direct) amended their policy late last year I think to introduce covid related restrictions and this one most definitely doesn't give cover.

 

The issue, is getting cover to travel. I suspect the cancellation aspect you mention above, would only be valid if the booking was made prior to the FCO advisory added.

 

But.... Hopefully this cruising in international waters advisory (as described on the government website - and not to be confused with 12 miles from coast) will be lifted shortly. I hope so anyway, else Brits will be forever sailing around the UK and nowhere else!

 

[arlowood]

36 minutes ago, les37b said:

 

I don't think it would be a problem mentioning the bank. Someone had mentioned theirs (Lloyds) which he got covered for under his legacy policy which enables him to travel - but no new people will get that. My own (First Direct) amended their policy late last year I think to introduce covid related restrictions and this one most definitely doesn't give cover.

 

The issue, is getting cover to travel. I suspect the cancellation aspect you mention above, would only be valid if the booking was made prior to the FCO advisory added.

 

But.... Hopefully this cruising in international waters advisory (as described on the government website - and not to be confused with 12 miles from coast) will be lifted shortly. I hope so anyway, else Brits will be forever sailing around the UK and nowhere else!

 

Hi les37b

 

Thanks for the heads up. FYI and for others who may be interested, the bank in question is Barclays - if you hadn't already guessed. We have been customers for many years and switched to their Travel Pack Plus policy a couple of years back when my travel insurance company indicated that my annual policy would not be renewed since I had reached the age of 75. The Barclays policy will give my wife and I annual cover until we are 80. Thereafter I think we will be on single trip policies if we can find any at a reasonable price.

[Jammy Bun]

5 hours ago, arlowood said:

... my travel insurance company indicated that my annual policy would not be renewed since I had reached the age of 75. The Barclays policy will give my wife and I annual cover until we are 80. Thereafter I think we will be on single trip policies if we can find any at a reasonable price.

Similar here, we keep a bank account open purely because it came with travel insurance up to age 80.  Not Barclays.  I haven't checked whether we would be covered if we travelled against FCO advice as we have no cruises booked for 2021.  I do think the vast majority of cruisers aren't aware there might be a problem.  I was talking this morning to a friend who is going on RCI next month, and she thought all was fine now that many European countries are letting us in!

Saga is slightly tempting me at the moment - their included insurance is a definite bonus in the current climate.

[arlowood]

2 hours ago, Jammy Bun said:

 

Saga is slightly tempting me at the moment - their included insurance is a definite bonus in the current climate.

Yes - we reckon we'll be looking at Saga once we pass the 80 milestone.

 

We've done a Nile  cruise with Saga quite a few years ago and that was fabulous. However we've never done any sea cruises with Saga so next June we're on the Spirit of Adventure doing a round Britain cruise just to get a feel for how they compare with Viking.