Jennizor

Our 87 year old neighbour has his first vaccination two weeks ago. On the morning of his appointment he had sniffles so he rang the doctor to check if he should still go. The doctor said yes. At the vaccination centre, after he had been given the jab, he was told to get a COVID test done. This came back positive. He has just finished his isolation. Previously he had been in almost total isolation. We do his shopping and the only time he had been out was for a blood test a few days earlier. He was there for quite a time and thinks he must have up the virus there. 

I received this message from P & O  this morning relating to our September cruise to the Med on Azura.  Currently none of this affects us however. Fingers crossed that we will be able to go on this cruise.

Nothing said about our May cruise though.

  *Important information - Pre existing medical requirements*
We are following all latest guidance to evolve our enhanced protocols to
protect the health and well-being of guests, crew and the communities we visit
once we begin sailing again. Unfortunately when we return we will be unable to accept guests who have the following medical requirements: Supplementary oxygen (including via oxygen concentrator), Mechanical ventilatory support (except for overnight CPAP for sleep apnoea), Dialysis. Within the 14 days prior to the
cruise: Have been unwell with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, have been in close contact with someone with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, have been advised to self isolate under a government Test and Trace system.
We are so sorry to have to make this change, but we need to follow new industry procedures for the protection of everyone on board. Any guest that is impacted by the requirement for supplementary oxygen, mechanical ventilatory support or dialysis will be given a full refund of monies paid to date for their bookings.

Happy Christmas to you Hollyjess..Like you, I am hoping cruising resumes next year. After having had two cancelled we are hoping our May one will go ahead. Trying to be optimistic. 

We have two cruises booked from Malta, the first 13th May. I booked a second in September as I was not sure if the May one would go. Still waiting to hear. Crazy times. 

I presume you all received this message earlier today. I was hopeful there would be something of substance but it didn’t really tell us anything  that we didn’t already know. Maybe a new year message will be more optimistic (or is this me trying to be optimistic?).

We are just going up the road to see my daughter, son-in-law and 3 grandsons. I am part of their bubble to help with school while they are at work. There will be no hugging or kissing. Have not had any since March except occasionally from the middle grandson who has autism. He just surprises me with a kiss at the school gates then runs off. We have tried explaining that he shouldn’t do this but either he doesn’t or doesn’t want to understand. I was very disappointed this morning to see lots of young people in London, Liverpool and York all out for a good time last night, not much in the way of social distancing and not a mask in site. All three areas have seen an increase in COVID cases and are likely to be in Tier 3 next week. 

Only started my tree today. These are my 3 favourites, Las Vegas, Hawaii and Maine. My computer skills are limited so not sure this will work!

We are also booked on the 19th Feb 22 cruise. Look forward to the roll call. 

In my case I don’t think it was a bad TA but P&O not communicating correctly. We have had some brilliant deals with our Scottish TA and would not hesitate using them again. 

I had a similar experience. I had an email from P&O a couple of months ago saying that our February cruise on Iona had been cancelled and that we could have a refund of our deposit or FCC credit. I took the FCC and booked the same cruise for Feb 22. Last week I had a phone call from our TA saying that unless I paid the balance for 21 that day I would likely lose the cruise. They were quite taken aback when I told them the cruise was cancelled. 

We were on Britannia in the Caribbean from 29 Feb to 14 March this year. It was the last P & O cruise there. The people who were due to be on the one following flew out but were told at dinner that night that they would be sailing straight back to Southampton after we disembarked. Since then had our Baltic cruise in June and our Canaries cruise on Iona next February  cancelled. We are booked on Azura in May going to the Eastern Med but think it will also be cancelled. Have booked September 21, same cruise with a slightly different itinerary. We hope that this will go ahead. Also booked Iona for Feb 22 going to the Canaries. 

On Sunday 25th, I booked a cruise to the Canaries on Iona for Feb 2022, to replace the one P & O cancelled, the same two week period. The FCC was automatically included as part of the deposit so I just needed to pay the remainder. The only thing I couldn’t do was book the coach travel, plenty of time to sort that though.

We were married on my 50th birthday in 2000. We had just spent 3 years renovating our first house and with that and the cost of the wedding and honeymoon in Italy, we thought we would have to wait a while before another holiday. Ian got a backdated bonus of £7k from work in the early autumn so we decided to spend it on an exciting holiday. We finished up booking an Hawaiian island cruise in January 2001 on the Crown Princess (the older one). We had a brilliant two days in Honolulu before boarding the ship. As soon as we boarded we were hooked. We met a couple from Yorkshire and did lots of trips out with them. One of them finished up in a church where you could renew your wedding vows. We were persuaded to join in and everyone thought it was hilarious as we had only been married 7 months. We loved that holiday and from then on we cruised as often as we could. Since retiring we have been doing a couple a year. Only done one this year in Feb/Mar and got back just before lockdown. Our June cruise to the Baltic was cancelled  as was  our cruise on Iona for Feb 21. Hoping we might get to the Eastern med in June,

One of my funniest and memorable moments was on a Princess cruise from Canada, down the east coast of America. There were lots of American passengers and they were always lovely and very amusing. One day at lunch on a table for eight, I said to my husband that the gentleman across from me was staring at me and I just knew he was going to say something. Sure enough he said to a Ian, excuse me sir but could I say something to your wife?  Ian looked at me and said yes. The gentleman turned to me and said ‘Ma’am you look just like Doris Day did 10 years ago’ I thanked him and said that was very kind especially as my mother was always being told she looked like her. Later on I looked up how old Doris Day was , she was at that time 94 - I was 66!!!!! I was still happy with the compliment though as my mother had died a few months earlier and it gave us a laugh and cheered me up. 

Cruisenewbie, in the email I received from P & O it says that Caribbean cruises are cancelled up to the end of January. You may be going, if that’s what you want. Our Iona cruise in February is cancelled.

We have two cruises booked for next year. Iona in February and Azura in June. Still not decided if we will go on either at the moment. If P&O continue to hike up the prices, I suspect those who are not sure about cruising will have their minds made up for them. Thankfully, if we decide to go on our 2 cruises, we will only be paying the price at launch.

With the refund from our June cruise and cancelled annual holiday to Portugal in September, we are investing in a new patio. Previously had wooden decking but after 10 years it was very tired. We decided on composite decking this time. We live on the edge of a wood with farmland beyond and have suffered with moss settling on the wooden decking, making it very slippery. Work starting next week and have bought all new garden furniture. Nearly as excited as if we were going on a cruise.

As time goes on I am beginning to wonder if our Canaries cruise on Iona on 20th of Feb may be her maiden cruise. Would love to think so but hey ho, any safe cruise will do!

Our Iona cruise is booked for February 2021. Will I be able to cruise though? I have just turned 70 and it seems that puts me in a vulnerable sector. 

It doesn’t sound very hopeful for our two 2021 cruises- Iona to the Canaries in February and Azura to the eastern Med in June. Should be in Helsinki today on Azura, boo hoo. Never mind at least we have our refund and are using it for a new patio. Luckily we back on to a small wood and farmers fields so we can pretend we are on holiday.

Received an e-mail from P & O saying that our refund had been processed in full and is on its way. Applied for refund on 25 April for our Baltic cruise on 14 June, 48 days. Very happy but would much rather have had our cruise.

I’m not being complacent in this very difficult time but Jean has had a positive result from her insurance company as we have had. I know February 2021 is a long way off but it is a feel good factor to be able to think we may actually be able to cruise again. Especially as we are missing our much anticipated cruise to the Baltic planned for June 14th to celebrate my 70th and our 20th wedding anniversary.

My husband received an e-mail from his insurance company saying that, as there are not likely to be any holidays for some time, they had extended his cover for a further 3 months. This means that our Iona cruise in February 2021 will be covered. He rang them this morning to check if he was covered for Covid19. They said that as he had taken out the policy before 13 March, he would be. 

Apologies in advance if this question has been asked before. Is there any evidence that no fly cruises have been refunded quicker fly cruises? Hearing that some June cruises had been refunded when others hadn’t made me wonder about this. 
 

Our February Caribbean cruise cost over £5000. It was the last one Britannia did before they were curtailed. Our June cruise to the Baltic is from Southampton and cost £3200. We are up to day 33 so not expecting a refund anytime soon. The cynic in me makes me wonder if they have decided to refund the cheaper cruises first, to help their cash flow and increase the number of people they can say have been refunded. Just a thought.

Good question Purdey16. I had not thought about this. I used my Tesco vouchers a couple of years ago and am now saving them for a future cruise when it would benefit us. I am sure there is someone on this forum who can advise you, and me.