walkingdude

In preparation of our scheduled departure from Southampton tomorrow, I thought I'd set this thread up. We've all had our "observed" Covid LFT's and all, thankfully, are negative. Fit To Travel Certificates received within 5-10 minutes of completing the video call (good service). We then received an email from P&O advising that, "for a few days initially" (exact duration to be announced on board the ship), all pax will be required to wear masks, except when eating or drinking, exercising in the gym, or when in their cabins. I guess that means that all the crew will also have to wear their masks (so soon after having the mask mandate lifted). I intend to post at least once a day, with photos when relevant. Will be keeping an eye out for "regular room service", red dots on cabin doors, etc. A daily stroll around the aft sections of each deck will be undertaken. Any patterns or indicators will be fed back through this thread. Off to Southampton later for an overnight at West Quay, then onward to the Terminal tomorrow. Next post some time on Friday.

Phil, might see you on board

Why don’t P&O send out a copy of your booking T’s & C’s with your Booking Confirmation. Surely there’s a legal requirement to be given these, as this is what your “Contract” with P&O is based upon.

So, clause 22 of the T's & C's puts the onus of denied boarding onto the passenger, and allows P&O to debit the 100% cancellation charges. It also refers to clause 38, which states that "The Guest should ensure that their travel insurance provides sufficient cover for such eventualities as required by clause 32 above." Clause 32 states, "every Guest must have adequate and appropriate insurance. This must include cover for travel, cancellation and curtailment and full and valid medical cover for pre-existing medical conditions worldwide" But, as Megabear2 has already found, none of the Insurance Companies will cover you for "denied boarding due to a cough". Catch 22, and we are the ones caught.

Okay, got it. I'll get everything I can.

We won't be. Being honest is not worth the hassle, based upon the experiences of others.

I've been compiling some base information for a couple of weeks, so I'm probably still miles behind you, but if there's anything specific you'd like me to look at/investigate, just let me know.

As ever I'm charging in demanding a fair deal for all but truthfully I normally end up fighting the battle alone as there's a serious public aversion to "getting involved". Megabear, I'm more than happy to assist with the crusade. The P&O pax deserve better. We're on the TA crossing on Britannia next Friday. I'll try to keep everyone informed about life on Britannia during our trip. Will probably start a new "Live Report - B225" topic.

Thanks for all the useful feedback. We're on the Transatlantic crossing on 21 October. P&O require an observed LFT to be undertaken, and negative test certificate to be issued, to allow us to board. We've booked ours for the Wednesday evening prior. Sad to hear that Sindhu is closed - one of the best meals on the ship, usually. We'll be avoiding the Limelight Club (thanks), but we plan on using the Epicurean, The Glass House, and The Beach House, if they are open. Expecting about 3000+ pax on board, so pleased to hear that P&O coped with that number on your cruise. Will try to post some of our own feedback once we get on board.

wowzz, that's as I understand it too

We chose PE seats and it was added to our total fare. It was paid when the full balance became due.

We fly back from Barbados on 5 November and have received our flight details today. All good.

If it helps, we were on Iona at the end of May. The only Covid restrictions that we noticed were in the Terminal and during embarkation/disembarkation. Other than that, no requirement to wear masks. The specialty restaurants were all open when we sailed. Enjoy your holiday 🙂

We are a party of 5, going Transatlantic on Britannia in October. We received 3 separate emails (1 for each cabin) advising us that we would be getting £200 extra OBC per cabin (so £500 in total). We then received updated booking confirmations that all show the increased OBC. Credit where it's due, P&O. This was a very welcome, unexpected surprise.

We were on Iona in May, visiting Norway. The cost of the Retreat for the whole week was reduced due to "unpredictable weather". We took the chance anyway and were lucky enough to have almost 5 days of really good weather. It is all open air. Purchasing the Retreat pass did not automatically give you access to the Thermal Suite, but we managed to wrangle a freebie 2hr session. Hope that helps.