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They do, but if it is a self-test it proves nothing as it is rather easy to fake a positive or negative self-test.

It certainly used to be possible in Europe before Brexit but even then it was a lot more paperwork for the cruise line if you did. Post-Brexit or for non-EU destinations I suspect the answer is ‘no chance’. But then if someone was travelling light and just left with their luggage and didn’t get back on, then what are they going to do, and is it any different from being late back and missing the ship.

Unless the destination requires tests, then the only way you going to test positive during the cruise is if you test yourself or volunteer to be tested. You might, many won’t.

My policy says - COVID-19: What am I covered for? Your HSBC Premier Travel Insurance will provide cover for events relating to COVID-19, such as: • emergency medical expenses abroad, cancelling or coming home early if you fall ill with COVID-19. • cancelling or coming home early if you have to self-isolate or quarantine before you travel or while on your trip due to COVID-19 (please be aware, this doesn’t include having to self-isolate or quarantine when you return from your trip). • cancelling or coming home early due to an FCDO advisory notice being in place advising against all or all but essential travel to your destination or, the FCDO are advising British citizens to leave the area in which you are staying. Cover for cancellation is only available if the advice is in place during the 31 days before your departure date. If you have suffered with COVID-19 and needed medical treatment, then as with other medical conditions you may need to tell us about this. We will then screen it and tell you if this affects your cover. So cancellation because you have tested positive is covered under the first bullet point - you have fallen ill with COVID-19. Then in the ‘making a claim’ section it says - For medical claims, we will send a medical certificate for completion by the patient’s doctor to confirm the reason for your claim • Evidence of your booking and the cancellation So again fine, as although I am certain my doctor would not wish to see me if I had tested positive for COVID-19, I would of course contact them to tell them and why I was telling them. Now you might not find that sufficient given you are on an expensive cruise, but on the ‘bargain bucket’ cruise I am on then I am perfectly satisfied.

If you have optional tests and people don’t opt to test then they are not concealing anything - ‘have you tested positive’ - then ‘no’ is a truthful answer if you have not opted to test. An as my cruise is a ‘bargain bucket’ cruise then it isn’t required, but is optional. Will I opt to take a test before the cruise - probably not. No I have not checked with my insurance company because the wording is clear and straightforward. And as for how it is spreading so quickly - we’ll stick a few thousand people into close quarters and irrespective of any measures you take it will spread. But these days with vaccinations and anti-virals, and all the other treatments, then it’s not the same situation as March 2020 for most - and for the few where it is serious, well I am not sure I would be choosing to go into close quarters with a few thousand others.

My insurance policy (Aviva through HSBC) has no such requirements. As for the health questionnaire, I suspect 99.999% of people approach it in the same way that they answer the security questions about their suitcase when checking in for a flight - they of course say yes and no in the right places otherwise the bag doesn’t travel.

As testing before boarding is now optional, then it isn’t a question of people boarding knowing they are positive, but people boarding and truthfully ticking the box ‘I have not tested positive in the last 10 days’ because they haven’t had a positive result because they haven’t tested themselves.

So next time she won't tell the truth and neither will any of the people she tells about being denied boarding.

The change to no FCC for quarantine onboard is interesting - I can foresee many people not testing themselves during the voyage as they won't want to quarantine if they get an adverse result. And unless P&O drag everyone with a cough or a temperature to the sick bay and hold them down whilst they perform a test, how will P&O know if anyone is sick or not if they don't volunteer the information.

Thus some (but not all) people will not take a test before travelling as it is voluntary because you don't want to know the result - and the impact will be more COVID on the ship. And that's before you get to those who do know they have it but travel anyway - has there ever been a case of anyone ticking one of the 'don't let me on board' boxes on the health declaration.

The most absurd example of the lack choice was on my last cruise. My wife wanted an Aperol Spritz but it wasn’t on the drinks menu in the Planet Bar, but we could see the bar had all the ingredients and after all the Planet Bar is promoted as a bar that specialises in cocktails. ”No” said the waiter, “we can’t do it because it isn’t on the till menu so we can’t charge for it”. A polite discussion with the bar manager did get them to agree to make it and ring it through as an equivalent drink, but really, should it be this hard to give P&O money.

It is certainly not cheap, but to be honest doesn't seem that expensive, and I know plenty of men who would pay more than that for a haircut back in the UK.

The answer is here - Cruise FAQs | Top Cruise Questions Answered | P&O Cruises (pocruises.com) Do you offer shore excursions for children? Yes we do, some shore excursions have a minimum age to participate, which is either set out in the tour description or will be made known to you when booking. Child prices are for those aged 3 to 12 inclusively. Passengers over the age of 12 will require an adult ticket. Infants aged 2 and under (on the date of sailing) can travel on the excursion free of charge, as long as they are seated on your lap. Please note there may be occasions when this is not possible and this will be detailed on the Shore Excursion description. Please ensure that you book a tour ticket for your infant. Note that all minors (those under 18) must be accompanied by an adult on shore excursions. We ask parents and guardians to note that children under 16 must not be left unaccompanied on the ship whilst the ship is in port. There is no facility offered on-board to look after your children if you go ashore. You are welcome to bring your own safety seat since these are not provided due to different laws being applicable in other countries. If you are bringing a car seat for an infant (aged 2 or under) you cannot purchase a seat when booking your excursions. This is because infants are not charged. You will need to speak to the Shore Excursion Team once you are on-board to advise you are bringing an infant and a car seat. Please be aware that the size and safety fittings of coach seats may vary between excursions and we cannot guarantee that safety seats will fit in all coaches. In some instances we are unaware what coach is provided until on the day of the shore excursion.

You could say that about anything else people spend their money on. Do people get £65 a day per person value from the small bit of outside space that a balcony offers? Do people get £30 a day per person value from a window? Well plenty of people seem to value those things quite highly, so perhaps paying a similar amount so you don't have to think about ordering drinks has a similar value to them.

From that article - "He said the summer season exceeded expectations, with ships being 85% full, when they had anticipated a rate of about 75%" Perhaps the massive discounting that took place during the summer had some impact... I was on one of the school holiday time cruises this summer that P&O were operating out of Malta, and where P&O were offering a week's fly cruise for £499 including the flights. Almost everyone I spoke to on board had never been on a cruise before and every single one of them had only booked because of the bargain basement pricing. And again, every single one of those people was very impressed by the whole cruise experience, but have no doubt, increase the prices and those customers won't be back.

When I sailed on Iona last year I had one of these cabins (15514) and although you could describe it as 'overlooked' I wouldn't do so, and I would describe it as a superb balcony for the user but a terrible balcony for everyone else. As mentioned, the balcony is crazy long and is the same length as the cabin itself - you could get 20 people out there and it wouldn't be full. As for being overlooked, then sure if you head down to the end of the balcony then you will be overlooked - but more importantly for everyone else in the cabins heading towards the back of the ship from 15516 (15517), then you are directly overlooking them - and this isn't a peering around the side of a divider overlooking them, but directly looking at their balcony whilst you are sat in your chair enjoying the sun. And the worst is the cabin next door, 15516 (or all the others in the same position such as 15517, 15314, 15315, 15244, 15255, and the same on every other deck), that when you are walking back from the end of your balcony to your cabin then the interior of the cabin next door is on full view - *never ever* book one of those cabins. We tried to be sensitive averting our gaze as we walked back from the end of the balcony, but still the neighbours spent a fortnight with their curtains drawn and rarely using their balcony. However if you want privacy then with the long balcony of then just move the chairs back towards the cabin behind the divider from the next door cabin and you are back to full privacy. These corner balcony cabins are also great because you can choose from sun or shade by moving out to the end of the balcony beyond the overhang if you want sun (all the other cabins from 15516 (and 15517) are completely shaded by the massive overhang of the deck above. In summary, these are great cabins for the occupants, but terrible for those nearby - along with lots else on Iona and Arvia - a very poor design feature.

With the utmost respect that part of the discussion was about P&O requesting (highly recommended) that those who are fully vaccinated (including boosters) still take a lateral flow covid test before embarking to confirm they are negative and how they would ask about that *test* and the result, and thus your vacation sticker is irrelevant to that point.

But the question and comments were about the suggested covid test, not the booster jab?

You get a sticker when you do a home COVID test?

Based on my last experience of the updated menu in Sindu I don’t think you will find much Indian food (or even British versions of Indian food) in there. It might claim to to be Indian, but it has been made so bland as to be little more than meat that once sat near some spices in the same kitchen.

As it is a recommendation not a requirement then I doubt they will specifically ask whether you took a test, but instead will simply add a question onto the health check form you must complete, along the lines of ‘have you tested positive for COVID in the last 48 hours’. With it only being a recommendation, if they have the staff asking if you took a test, then unfortunately there would invariably be a few unpleasant people who would take the opportunity to ‘have a go’ at the member of staff asking the question.

The safety regulations don't require the exit row seats to be occupied, but an individual airline may have a policy to do so (if only to avoid the inevitable bunfight that would occur after take-off).

Similar when I travelled back in June on an early morning flight. There are roadworks at the exit of the airport where they are building a new overpass, so the bus has to take a bit of a circuitous route out and then doubling back which adds slightly to the time. As for the evening flights, yes some were very late arriving, but that was likely to the general airport disruption at the time. The 'muster drill' when we joined the ship was - watch the video playing in your cabin (or say you had as nobody checked) and then go to the muster point to confirm that - that was all.

P&O organised flight or your own independent flights? If P&O then if it is a charter your main suitcases will be taken to the airport for you after you leave them outside the cabin door the night before and the next you will see is on the carousel at the UK airport and if a scheduled flight organised by P&O then the cases will be kept on the quayside securely under cover for you to identify and get loaded onto the coach that will take you to the airport. For hand luggage you can leave it in the Playhouse (they give you half a raffle ticket to identify your bag for security) until 4.30pm - all the coaches for the P&O flights leave before 4.30. For independent flights you organised - well you could possibly just leave them on the quayside, but I would check and if that isn’t acceptable then I am sure there must be some business offering left luggage facilities nearby.

Not aware of any venues that 'require' formal dress that are passenger transit areas. The central atrium certainly isn't a 'required' area even when the Captain's party is on, although those in formal dress certainly seem to believe all the public areas are 'formal required' on formal nights. The required areas are only a MDR or two and a bar or two, but the vast majority of the public space on formal nights are 'whatever'.