Will P&O now delay announcements for future cruise pauses?

[pete14]

8 minutes ago, wowzz said:

In the current situation, I would be pleased just to be on a cruise, rather than worrying about compensation!

I am not worrying about compensation if our cruise on Aurora became a cruise on Azura. Like you I would be delighted just to get away. All I was saying is that I paid a higher price for my cruise because Aurora cruises are more expensive than Azura. If I wasn’t offered a reduction, I would still be delighted and grateful to be going on a cruise to a country I really like.

[wowzz]

Sorry if I came over a little terse. It's just that when you hear about people having their wedding plans destroyed, the concern about differences in pricing between cruises seems less important.  

I understand your concerns, and hopefully P&O will look after you.

 

 

[terrierjohn]

16 minutes ago, pete14 said:

I am not worrying about compensation if our cruise on Aurora became a cruise on Azura. Like you I would be delighted just to get away. All I was saying is that I paid a higher price for my cruise because Aurora cruises are more expensive than Azura. If I wasn’t offered a reduction, I would still be delighted and grateful to be going on a cruise to a country I really like.

I agree about the pricing differential, and would be very surprised if an equivalent length and itinerary cruise on Azura was not at a lower price.

[tring]

3 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I agree about the pricing differential, and would be very surprised if an equivalent length and itinerary cruise on Azura was not at a lower price.

Or perhaps offered as an upgraded cabin.  The prices are normally quite different, so would not expect a straight swop to an equivalent grade cabin.

 

[davecttr]

14 hours ago, Manx buoy said:

I’m not sure if it’s been asked before but are P&O  going to insist on pax having the vaccine before being allowed to travel 

There is a lively discussion on this here

 

[wowzz]

But isn't the problem with the whole question of cruises (or indeed any other form of activity) requiring people to be vaccinated, is that for the immediate future you can only get the vaccine depending on where you stand in the priority queue.

 A healthy 45 year old  in the UK will be unlikely to receive a vaccine before the end of next year, so in reality, the idea that cruises will only go ahead if all pax are immunised, is just pie in the sky. If cruise lines do insist on proof of vaccination, they are basically reducing their customer base to a small, predominantly elderly, proportion of the population.  

[Cathygh]

It won't just be down to cruise companies, the countries being visited could insist on pax being vaccinated, or only allowed off the ship in bubbles. More likely to get tourism going countries will insist on a negative test as a minimum. Even if you have been vaccinated you could potentially still catch covid and  show symptoms or be asymptomatic. 

Cathy

[yorkshirephil]

44 minutes ago, wowzz said:

 If cruise lines do insist on proof of vaccination, they are basically reducing their customer base to a small, predominantly elderly, proportion of the population.  

True, plus P&O strategy over the last few years seem to be aiming for younger customers and families. Even when/if everyone has been vaccinated Covid won't just disappear. You can imagine the furore the media will whip up when Covid hits a cruise, it can be bad enough with Noro.

[terrierjohn]

51 minutes ago, wowzz said:

But isn't the problem with the whole question of cruises (or indeed any other form of activity) requiring people to be vaccinated, is that for the immediate future you can only get the vaccine depending on where you stand in the priority queue.

 A healthy 45 year old  in the UK will be unlikely to receive a vaccine before the end of next year, so in reality, the idea that cruises will only go ahead if all pax are immunised, is just pie in the sky. If cruise lines do insist on proof of vaccination, they are basically reducing their customer base to a small, predominantly elderly, proportion of the population.  

If the AZ/Oxford vaccine is approved then I would expect that everyone on the UK list will have received a vaccination by Mid 2021.  So I hope that your forecast is a bit too pessimistic wowzz.

Of course how that impacts on cruising from the UK will be dependant on a whole lot of other factors as well, but the demand from the tourist industry by the end of Q1 for restrictions to be lifted will be so great that the govt. will have to start being pro-active or risk ruining the economy even further.

[wowzz]

27 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

If the AZ/Oxford vaccine is approved then I would expect that everyone on the UK list will have received a vaccination by Mid 2021.  So I hope that your forecast is a bit too pessimistic wowzz.

Of course how that impacts on cruising from the UK will be dependant on a whole lot of other factors as well, but the demand from the tourist industry by the end of Q1 for restrictions to be lifted will be so great that the govt. will have to start being pro-active or risk ruining the economy even further.

Excluding children, 55 million people will require two injections, so 110 million injections in total. So to achieve your target of mid 2021, we are looking at vaccinating 4 million people per week.  

Perhaps I am pessimistic, but I can't see that figure being achieved.

[AnnieC]

8 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Excluding children, 55 million people will require two injections, so 110 million injections in total. So to achieve your target of mid 2021, we are looking at vaccinating 4 million people per week.  

Perhaps I am pessimistic, but I can't see that figure being achieved.

Neither can I, plus at present we only have enough vaccine for 400,000 people and that may well remain the case until the end of the year. I hope we're wrong.

 

ETA: Quel surprise, they have an IT problem...https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-vaccine-rollout-may-be-delayed-with-it-system-failing-constantly-12164829

Edited December 17, 2020 by AnnieC

[Dermotsgirl]

Did anyone see the briefing yesterday from Downing Street?
 

One  of the questions from a member of the public asked whether we’d still need masks and social distancing after people had been vaccinated.

 

in reply, Whitty confirmed that we would and went on to say that the oldest people and the most clinically vulnerable should receive their jabs by about Easter time. He went on to say that masks and distancing will still be required and there would still be people at risk due to their age but still not vaccinated.

 

I take this to mean that that only the very oldest groups and younger people with significant health vulnerabilities would be vaccinated by Easter.

 

So might  leave all the people in their 60s still unvaccinated, not to mention most younger people.

 

As a healthy 60 year old I didn’t expect my vaccination until summer, I’ve now revised this to ‘late summer’.

 

Therefore in the immediate future, I don’t think there’s any way P&O can insist on a vaccination, as vaccinations are not available privately. Everyone just has to wait their turn. If they do insist on vaccinations, then their potential cruising customer base will be very small.

 

Of course, if other countries insist on vaccination before entry, then the port list may be very short! 
 

Please don’t start going on about negativity I’m just going by what Whitty said 

[tring]

26 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Did anyone see the briefing yesterday from Downing Street?
 

One  of the questions from a member of the public asked whether we’d still need masks and social distancing after people had been vaccinated.

 

in reply, Whitty confirmed that we would and went on to say that the oldest people and the most clinically vulnerable should receive their jabs by about Easter time. He went on to say that masks and distancing will still be required and there would still be people at risk due to their age but still not vaccinated.

 

I take this to mean that that only the very oldest groups and younger people with significant health vulnerabilities would be vaccinated by Easter.

 

So might  leave all the people in their 60s still unvaccinated, not to mention most younger people.

 

As a healthy 60 year old I didn’t expect my vaccination until summer, I’ve now revised this to ‘late summer’.

 

Therefore in the immediate future, I don’t think there’s any way P&O can insist on a vaccination, as vaccinations are not available privately. Everyone just has to wait their turn. If they do insist on vaccinations, then their potential cruising customer base will be very small.

 

Of course, if other countries insist on vaccination before entry, then the port list may be very short! 
 

Please don’t start going on about negativity I’m just going by what Whitty said 

 

The groups they talk about as most vulnerable are the over 50's as per the list which has been published so far.  Regards masks etc.  the question was about early next year, so before Easter.  He also said Astro Zenaca approval will possibly be early next year.  If not there are other Vaccines.  No one can promise they will be available by any particular time, but as we know it is looking good so far.

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by tring

[terrierjohn]

22 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Did anyone see the briefing yesterday from Downing Street?
 

One  of the questions from a member of the public asked whether we’d still need masks and social distancing after people had been vaccinated.

 

in reply, Whitty confirmed that we would and went on to say that the oldest people and the most clinically vulnerable should receive their jabs by about Easter time. He went on to say that masks and distancing will still be required and there would still be people at risk due to their age but still not vaccinated.

 

I take this to mean that that only the very oldest groups and younger people with significant health vulnerabilities would be vaccinated by Easter.

 

So might  leave all the people in their 60s still unvaccinated, not to mention most younger people.

 

As a healthy 60 year old I didn’t expect my vaccination until summer, I’ve now revised this to ‘late summer’.

 

Therefore in the immediate future, I don’t think there’s any way P&O can insist on a vaccination, as vaccinations are not available privately. Everyone just has to wait their turn. If they do insist on vaccinations, then their potential cruising customer base will be very small.

 

Of course, if other countries insist on vaccination before entry, then the port list may be very short! 
 

Please don’t start going on about negativity I’m just going by what Whitty said 

You must have been watching a different briefing to me, I thought Whitty was more upbeat about the vaccination  especially once the AZ vaccine was approved. Also the information from the NHS was similarly much more positive about the  increasing roll out of centres once the AZ one can be offered.

I suppose it depends on whether one is a glass half or half empty type.

[Dermotsgirl]

1 minute ago, tring said:

The groups they talk about as most vulnerable are the over 50's as per the list which has been published so far.  Regards masks etc.  the question was about early next year, so before Easter.  He also said Astro Zenaca approval will possibly be early next year.  If not there are other Vaccines.  No one can promise they will be available by any particular time, but as we know it is looking good so far.

 

Whitty made a point of saying that there would still be people at risk due to their age who would not be vaccinated by Easter.

 

[Dermotsgirl]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

You must have been watching a different briefing to me, I thought Whitty was more upbeat about the vaccination  especially once the AZ vaccine was approved. Also the information from the NHS was similarly much more positive about the  increasing roll out of centres once the AZ one can be offered.

I suppose it depends on whether one is a glass half or half empty type.

I think you need to re-watch the briefing 

i suppose it depends on whether you can face reality or not 

[davecttr]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

But isn't the problem with the whole question of cruises (or indeed any other form of activity) requiring people to be vaccinated, is that for the immediate future you can only get the vaccine depending on where you stand in the priority queue.

 A healthy 45 year old  in the UK will be unlikely to receive a vaccine before the end of next year, so in reality, the idea that cruises will only go ahead if all pax are immunised, is just pie in the sky. If cruise lines do insist on proof of vaccination, they are basically reducing their customer base to a small, predominantly elderly, proportion of the population.  

over 20 million people over the age of 54 in the UK, over 30% of the population, and Saga are probably happy about their age policy

[tring]

54 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Whitty made a point of saying that there would still be people at risk due to their age who would not be vaccinated by Easter.

 

I suggest you search the briefing online and watch it again, then you could report what was actually said.  That comment was about the early stages of the vaccine delivery and Easter was not mentioned then.

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by tring

[Dermotsgirl]

18 minutes ago, tring said:

I suggest you search the briefing online and watch it again, then you could report what was actually said.  That comment was about the early stages of the vaccine delivery and Easter was not mentioned then.

 

I’m sorry, I don’t need to watch it again

 

He alluded to there still being many people still being unvaccinated and at risk due to age after the first months of the year.

 

the first months of the year are January, February and March.

 

Easter Sunday is 4th April in 2021.

 

Therefore it would be correct to say that many people will still be unvaccinated and at risk at Easter. 
 

I particularly noted this comment as it added realism, rather than false promises.

[tring]

53 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I’m sorry, I don’t need to watch it again

 

He alluded to there still being many people still being unvaccinated and at risk due to age after the first months of the year.

 

the first months of the year are January, February and March.

 

Easter Sunday is 4th April in 2021.

 

Therefore it would be correct to say that many people will still be unvaccinated and at risk at Easter. 
 

I particularly noted this comment as it added realism, rather than false promises.

 

Your second paragraph should read IN the first months of the year, not AFTER.  We find the best way to watch the briefings is to record them or find a recording on line, then it is easy to scroll back a bit to clarify what was said.  If we watch it when transmitted, we still record it for that reason.  It is difficult at times since the reporters will ask two or more questions and they are answered in the same "mini speech".

 

Overall they did stress more than once that they were not putting a firm date on anything, but neither was anything said that is different to what has been said all along as yet.  As we know things are going to plan at present, apart from the slightly later care home residents jabs, which have now started.

 

Do you not think it strange that only you are reporting hearing what you think you did?  A re-viewing would put your mind at rest, since you are clearly very wound up about it, but it is only you who can clarify that, so no point continuing this.

 

Enjoy the rest of your day 🙂

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by tring

[jeanlyon]

Perhaps if you have been vaccinated, you are allowed to go ashore independently? 

[yorkshirephil]

21 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Perhaps if you have been vaccinated, you are allowed to go ashore independently? 

That will depend on cruise line policy and the regulations of the ports docked in. Call me an old cynic but I would imagine that the cruise lines will want people to take organised trips as it adds up to more money for them. It is just too early to tell, we have had a couple of setbacks with vaccine testing which have pushed them back. We will have to keep our fingers crossed.

[jeanlyon]

I tend to agree, was just being hopeful.  If those restrictions are still in place by July for October, we won't be going.  I see BA have just cancelled 15 routes.  They must be struggling quite badly.

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, tring said:

 

Your second paragraph should read IN the first months of the year, not AFTER.  We find the best way to watch the briefings is to record them or find a recording on line, then it is easy to scroll back a bit to clarify what was said.  If we watch it when transmitted, we still record it for that reason.  It is difficult at times since the reporters will ask two or more questions and they are answered in the same "mini speech".

 

Overall they did stress more than once that they were not putting a firm date on anything, but neither was anything said that is different to what has been said all along as yet.  As we know things are going to plan at present, apart from the slightly later care home residents jabs, which have now started.

 

Do you not think it strange that only you are reporting hearing what you think you did?  A re-viewing would put your mind at rest, since you are clearly very wound up about it, but it is only you who can clarify that, so no point continuing this.

 

Enjoy the rest of your day 🙂

 

 

 

Firstly, please do not worry about my state of mind, as I cope by by being realistic and not indulging over optimistic hopes.

 

Secondly, I am not wound up about my understanding of the Covid situation, but I'm rather tired of being jumped on by a certain group of people who seem to want to keep the conversation within their own narrative and attempt to supress anybody who challenges their world view.

 

Thirdly, I did take your advice, and re-watched the relevant part of of yesterday's briefing.

 

Part of the viewer question was 'will social distancing end once all the vulnerable are vaccinated.

 

Johnson said the hoped enough vulnerable people would be vaccinated to consider non pharma interventions to be dropped between now and Easter.

 

Johnson then handed over to Whitty.

 

At the very end of his answer Whitty said that 'over the next three months we need to get those very vulnerable people vaccinated'.

 

This sounds to me that they are only expecting to get the most vulnerable groups vaccinated by mid March (Easter is just over two weeks later).

 

So I therefore conclude there is nothing wrong with my understanding of what he said.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by Dermotsgirl

[Ardennais]

1 hour ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Firstly, please do not worry about my state of mind, as I cope by by being realistic and not indulging over optimistic hopes.

 

Secondly, I am not wound up about my understanding of the Covid situation, but I'm rather tired of being jumped on by a certain group of people who seem to want to keep the conversation within their own narrative and attempt to supress anybody who challenges their world view.

 

Thirdly, I did take your advice, and re-watched the relevant part of of yesterday's briefing.

 

Part of the viewer question was 'will social distancing end once all the vulnerable are vaccinated.

 

Johnson said the hoped enough vulnerable people would be vaccinated to consider non pharma interventions to be dropped between now and Easter.

 

Johnson then handed over to Whitty.

 

At the very end of his answer Whitty said that 'over the next three months we need to get those very vulnerable people vaccinated'.

 

This sounds to me that they are only expecting to get the most vulnerable groups vaccinated by mid March (Easter is just over two weeks later).

 

So I therefore conclude there is nothing wrong with my understanding of what he said.

 

 

 

 

Well things aren’t looking good around here and the vaccination programme hasn’t got into its stride yet, so I too can’t believe that all vulnerable groups will have been vaccinated by the end of March which after all is only 3 months away. My father is just over 80 and only managed to get his flu jab In the last days on Nov.  Our population is small but dispersed and with patchy public transport and few large facilities it will be difficult to reach everyone. No point sending txts or emails to many people as they don’t have coverage so that again slows things down. People can easily travel up to 20 miles to see their GP as it is.  Up to now, it’s been a mild winter, but we only need a spell of bad weather in Jan/Feb to further delay the programme. I’m on the cusp of groups 8 and 9 and I don’t expect to be vaccinated before late summer and that might be optimistic.