No more staff masks required!

[Wonky]

I possibly missed this elsewhere but a couple of days ago protocol changed for staff on board. No longer mandatory but still can if they want to. Don’t know if this is worldwide but we are on Ventura. Always a surprise when someone you see everyday has a moustache that you weren’t expecting 🤣

[emam]

Britannia as well.

[kalos]

28 minutes ago, Wonky said:

I possibly missed this elsewhere but a couple of days ago protocol changed for staff on board. No longer mandatory but still can if they want to. Don’t know if this is worldwide but we are on Ventura. Always a surprise when someone you see everyday has a moustache that you weren’t expecting 🤣

Various posts have mentioned this over the last few days ,Wowzz regarding Princess terrier john who is away on the Iona 

[Grandad John]

Very pleased for the crew as I personally find it discomforting to wear a mask for any length of time let alone for an entire working day. It also enables people like myself who suffer from hearing difficulties to enjoy having a much better rapport with the waiters etc.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, kalos said:

Various posts have mentioned this over the last few days ,Wowzz regarding Princess terrier john who is away on the Iona 

Most staff were wearing them on Britannia this morning, not sure if all were.  The highwaymen in the motorway services weren't.  £8 for 2 coffees.  Just like being back in St Tropez.

[Cj hanlon]

Pleased for the crew. Must have been unbearable to have to wear a almost air tight mask for 12 or more hours a day. 

[Harry Peterson]

3 minutes ago, Cj hanlon said:

Pleased for the crew. Must have been unbearable to have to wear a almost air tight mask for 12 or more hours a day. 

 

It will be interesting to see what effect, if any it has on crew infection rates - if the masks were air tight and of suitable quality they will have been providing considerable protection against infection for the crew.

[wowzz]

The crew on the cruises I have been on, were wearing the high quality KN95 (or similar) masks, so pretty effective.

Personally, I always felt that requiring crew to wear masks when cleaning empty cabins, or serving drinks on outside decks was unnecessary. 

However,  if I was a crew member working in an environment that entailed face to face interaction (customer services, bar staff with customers sitting at the bar), I think I would be inclined to carry on wearing them. 

[molecrochip]

Initial feedback is that crew are pleased its now in their own hands and they can decide based upon what/where they are.

[JeanieC,Aston]

When does this start,left Britannia this morning and ALL staff were wearing masks 100% of the time.

[FangedRose]

4 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

 

It will be interesting to see what effect, if any it has on crew infection rates - if the masks were air tight and of suitable quality they will have been providing considerable protection against infection for the crew.

Very little I would imagine. I doubt they were wearing masks off duty, when they were interacting with each other behind the scenes.

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

When does this start,left Britannia this morning and ALL staff were wearing masks 100% of the time.

Now!

[Dermotsgirl]

11 hours ago, FangedRose said:

Very little I would imagine. I doubt they were wearing masks off duty, when they were interacting with each other behind the scenes.

It gave some protection against the passengers though

[terrierjohn]

19 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

 

It will be interesting to see what effect, if any it has on crew infection rates - if the masks were air tight and of suitable quality they will have been providing considerable protection against infection for the crew.

The majority were wearing blue surgical masks before mask wearing was made optional, so not much protection for the wearer, but they should have helped reduce the spread among the crew, although I guess masks were not compulsory while they were off duty.

[s&gsjollies]

On 10/16/2022 at 12:06 PM, Wonky said:

I possibly missed this elsewhere but a couple of days ago protocol changed for staff on board. No longer mandatory but still can if they want to. Don’t know if this is worldwide but we are on Ventura. Always a surprise when someone you see everyday has a moustache that you weren’t expecting 🤣

Im guessing you were on the cruise from Southampton with the great itinerary down past Spain and Portugal? I hope you had a great time and the weather was kind. We booked very late, then read about the recent Covid outbreaks on here, and decided not to go due to health issues and lost our money

Have to say though that I think this is madness by P&O to reduce mask wearing, as well as stop requiring the need to provide negative PCR tests before boarding, when there is no doubt cases are increasing noticeably across the country. Surely they have a responsibility to keep passengers safe? But instead they seem to be going out of their way to pretend that everything is fine and dandy and leave it up to everyone else to sort it out!

 

[s&gsjollies]

On 10/16/2022 at 2:01 PM, zap99 said:

Most staff were wearing them on Britannia this morning, not sure if all were.  The highwaymen in the motorway services weren't.  £8 for 2 coffees.  Just like being back in St Tropez.

Cheaper than most in Rhodes - not a bargain (but lovely!)

[redrich103]

We are thinking of a 5 night from Southampton on Ventura in November, not been with P&O before so reading through this forum and saw some posts about masks were enforced on some recent cruises.

 

Am i correct in presuming that at the start of each cruise no masks are required and this would only be enforced if there was an outbreak on that cruise

 

Thanks

[s&gsjollies]

50 minutes ago, redrich103 said:

We are thinking of a 5 night from Southampton on Ventura in November, not been with P&O before so reading through this forum and saw some posts about masks were enforced on some recent cruises.

 

Am i correct in presuming that at the start of each cruise no masks are required and this would only be enforced if there was an outbreak on that cruise

 

Thanks

We asked P&O directly about this on the phone as there were problems on the ship when we actually booked and we hadn't been informed that there were now covid issues on some cruises. First they denied there were any issues but when we quoted the letter that people had been given on a cruise four days before we'd booked they eventually admitted that yes, there had been an outbreak of Covid and masks had been required. But they assured us that because between everyone disembarking and new people starting the next cruise the ship would be thoroughly cleaned so there was no issue. And it was up to passengers whether they wore masks or not and from what I've read today it sounds like most don't. We didn't go

[FangedRose]

2 hours ago, s&gsjollies said:

I think this is madness by P&O to reduce mask wearing, as well as stop requiring the need to provide negative PCR tests before boarding,

PCR testing before my cruise in July didn't stop some 300 passengers being isolated in their cabins. And those who were the ones who admitted to having symptoms,  and submitted to testing. Total numbers were probably double that. Testing was a waste of time and money, and added stress. 

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, FangedRose said:

PCR testing

I thought PCR testing had ended before July and was by then LFT.  Where were you travelling to/from to have a PCR - I assume a long cruise to Canada or something?

[Wonky]

3 hours ago, s&gsjollies said:

Im guessing you were on the cruise from Southampton with the great itinerary down past Spain and Portugal? I hope you had a great time and the weather was kind. We booked very late, then read about the recent Covid outbreaks on here, and decided not to go due to health issues and lost our money

Have to say though that I think this is madness by P&O to reduce mask wearing, as well as stop requiring the need to provide negative PCR tests before boarding, when there is no doubt cases are increasing noticeably across the country. Surely they have a responsibility to keep passengers safe? But instead they seem to be going out of their way to pretend that everything is fine and dandy and leave it up to everyone else to sort it out!

 

I guess we are now in a position where the customers have to take their own responsibility. There are no rules that you cannot wear a mask. In fact I’m surprised mask wearing carried on for this long (although I suspect the CDC had a great deal to do with it). Buses and trains haven’t required them for some time and they are much more confined spaces. 

[Wonky]

4 hours ago, s&gsjollies said:

Im guessing you were on the cruise from Southampton with the great itinerary down past Spain and Portugal? I hope you had a great time and the weather was kind. We booked very late, then read about the recent Covid outbreaks on here, and decided not to go due to health issues and lost our money

Have to say though that I think this is madness by P&O to reduce mask wearing, as well as stop requiring the need to provide negative PCR tests before boarding, when there is no doubt cases are increasing noticeably across the country. Surely they have a responsibility to keep passengers safe? But instead they seem to be going out of their way to pretend that everything is fine and dandy and leave it up to everyone else to sort it out!

 

And yes thank you we were incredibly lucky with the weather, no covid and no red dots observed either!

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Wonky said:

(although I suspect the CDC had a great deal to do with it)

CDC have no jurisdiction with regards to P&O. 

[Wonky]

16 minutes ago, wowzz said:

CDC have no jurisdiction with regards to P&O. 

Not directly but most of the protocols would have come from the parent company (US) and the CLIA (US).

[FangedRose]

16 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

I thought PCR testing had ended before July and was by then LFT.  Where were you travelling to/from to have a PCR - I assume a long cruise to Canada or something?

No you are right it was an lft.