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

[terrierjohn]

I believe April 12th has been mentioned as the date for a  travel update including cruising from the Govt. If that's the case then I think P&O might wait till then for any major announcement, apart from the odd tweak to the balance period so that no one needs to pay before then.

[Denarius]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

I believe April 12th has been mentioned as the date for a  travel update including cruising from the Govt. If that's the case then I think P&O might wait till then for any major announcement, apart from the odd tweak to the balance period so that no one needs to pay before then.

That is my understanding. That the resumption of international travel on (not before) 17 May is subject to a review to be published on 12 April, which will also specifically consider ocean cruises.

[Selbourne]

5 minutes ago, Denarius said:

That is my understanding. That the resumption of international travel on (not before) 17 May is subject to a review to be published on 12 April, which will also specifically consider ocean cruises.

I’d missed the fact that the review will include cruises. That’s good, as I was fearful that cruises would be left in limbo, with all the emphasis being on flights. However, I still don’t see why they won’t just get on and cancel the cruises due before 17th May, given that they physically can’t operate those even if they wanted to. Nothing in the 12th April review is going to change that fact. 

[terrierjohn]

2 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I’d missed the fact that the review will include cruises. That’s good, as I was fearful that cruises would be left in limbo, with all the emphasis being on flights. However, I still don’t see why they won’t just get on and cancel the cruises due before 17th May, given that they physically can’t operate those even if they wanted to. Nothing in the 12th April review is going to change that fact. 

They may be hoping that between now and April 12th  they can persuade the Govt to allow some UK only sailings before the 17th May, and they will probably be hoping to convince some passengers to switch their bookings.

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

They may be hoping that between now and April 12th  they can persuade the Govt to allow some UK only sailings before the 17th May, and they will probably be hoping to convince some passengers to switch their bookings.

Not even a remote chance of that John. Land based hotels can’t open until 17th May, so there’s no way they would allow a floating one, with thousands of guests, to operate before then. UK hoteliers would be in outrage!

[Teabelly69]

3 hours ago, No pager thank you said:

Hi Selbourne,

 

If the new brochure launches before the next cluster of cruises are cancelled, then affected passengers will not be able to trade in their 25% bonus against a potentially cheaper Winter 22/23 cruise on Arvia. 

 

If the cruises are cancelled after pre registration ends and the normal pricing kicks in, then the 25% bonus will most likely be worthless.

 

The other possibility is that the FCC policy is being redesigned to encourage more rebookings and reduce cash refunds, but I would say that this is less likely.

 

P&O promotions are like the DFS sale, but most of the experienced travellers know the deal.

Looks like FCC is being reduced to 110% for next batch. That's what other Carnival lines have done 

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, Angel57 said:

I agree that it seems odd. However I don’t think P&O worry one jot about their loyal customers fretting over their hard earned money and/or their potentially lost holidays. They are being told what to do by Carnival and have no option to rattle out the same old answers.

I have no cruises booked but feel so sorry for those who do.

I have to say I am very anxious about the short term future for Arcadia and especially Aurora....

I dont think P&O have cared about their loyal customers for a number of years long before this pandemic. Often felt like throwing up when attending Peninsular Club Party's onboard and they troll out the usual " thank you to you our loyal customers" jargon.

[wowzz]

58 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

They may be hoping that between now and April 12th  they can persuade the Govt to allow some UK only sailings before the 17th May

Even if that was possible, is that sufficient lead time to re-crew the ships?

[tring]

55 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Even if that was possible, is that sufficient lead time to re-crew the ships?

No, I had seen mention of the 3 month lead in time previously in other places.  Admittedly would be an approximation, but even if a set date were given, it would always be subject to last minute change as would be any holidays for some months to come.  I do not see cruise lines rushing to get their crew here.

[wowzz]

7 minutes ago, tring said:

No, I had seen mention of the 3 month lead in time previously in other places.  Admittedly would be an approximation, but even if a set date were given, it would always be subject to last minute change as would be any holidays for some months to come.  I do not see cruise lines rushing to get their crew here.

That would be my opinion as well. The last thing cruise lines want to do at present is spend cash unless there is a solid reason to do so.

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

That would be my opinion as well. The last thing cruise lines want to do at present is spend cash unless there is a solid reason to do so.

Given that the former crew members left around a year ago, I wonder what proportion will have found alternative permanent employment in their home countries and will not wish to return to cruising? Doubtless the cruise lines will have no difficulty replacing them, but the drop in experience levels and time taken to train new staff from scratch will surely have to be factored in. 

[wowzz]

32 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Given that the former crew members left around a year ago, I wonder what proportion will have found alternative permanent employment in their home countries and will not wish to return to cruising? Doubtless the cruise lines will have no difficulty replacing them, but the drop in experience levels and time taken to train new staff from scratch will surely have to be factored in. 

That is of course true, but I think it is generally the case that the wages earnt at sea, whilst not necessarily brilliant by European standards, are much better than can be earnt in the sub continent. 

Given the chance, I think the vast majority of previous crew members will want to rejoin.

[Esprit]

With some Princess ships already in Manila harbour I wonder if crew could be brought aboard after being tested, then quarantined for two weeks whilst they sail to the Mediterranean or even the UK in time for cruise resumption.

 

As P&O have Grand and Royal class ships the safety training could be carried out prior to re embarking on those ships.

 

I’d be happy to cruise on ships despite the crew not being vaccinated too. Most likely I would have been vaccinated by July anyway!

[boogybaby]

I know it’s really annoying, P&O know we can’t sail until May17th at the earliest and yet they expect us to pay a balance which can be thousands or loose our deposit. I wonder how the court would see it if we did take action, janice

[cruisenewbie1976]

11 minutes ago, boogybaby said:

I know it’s really annoying, P&O know we can’t sail until May17th at the earliest and yet they expect us to pay a balance which can be thousands or loose our deposit. I wonder how the court would see it if we did take action, janice

They'd have to tell you that you need to pay your balance first, which clearly isn't going to happen as they'll announce the next cancellations soon. No point getting worked up about something that hasn't happened. 

[MX-Drew]

OK, time for some fun to lighten all our moods.

Bets on for an announcement on Tuesday 2nd at 10am?

[cruisenewbie1976]

Just now, MX-Drew said:

OK, time for some fun to lighten all our moods.

Bets on for an announcement on Tuesday 2nd at 10am?

£20! 

[MX-Drew]

Just now, cruisenewbie1976 said:

£20! 

That's a virtual £20 of course. 😉

[sidekick180]

5 minutes ago, MX-Drew said:

OK, time for some fun to lighten all our moods.

Bets on for an announcement on Tuesday 2nd at 10am?

I will bet a virtual tenner that they don't make an announcement next Tuesday!

[No pager thank you]

We have booked another holiday now for when our cruise is supposed to go.

 

I'm sure that we will have just as much enjoyment about a third of the cost.

 

My view is that I won't be paying them any balance "owed" no matter how late the cruise is cancelled.

 

If I remember correctly, P&O did refund balances for passengers who defaulted on their payments when the cruise was subsequently cancelled.

 

Just another timely reminder that you can't rely on fair customer service from P&O anymore.  It's the on board experience which keeps people keen.

[No pager thank you]

8 minutes ago, MX-Drew said:

That's a virtual £20 of course. 😉

Or £22 in FCC...😂

[MX-Drew]

16 minutes ago, No pager thank you said:

Or £22 in FCC...😂

Or do you mean VFCC

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, sidekick180 said:

I am absolutely livid with P&O right now. What the hell are they playing at with this pause on new bookings, but no cancellations on cruises before 17th May??

I have a cruise booked on Britannia for 25th April. I knew it wasn't going to sail, but I have been hanging on for them to cancel so I could take advantage of the 125% FCC. Apparently, I only have up to 26th March to be able to transfer the booking free of charge to another cruise next year. I would happily transfer my booking, but the cost of the one I am looking at, for less nights, is much higher, so I really needed the FCC to be able to afford it.

The cruise I have booked for this year is a replacement for the one that was cancelled in April 2020. I didn't get the FCC that time due to a massive ***** up by P&O.

As far as I am concerned, the cruise for this April can not go ahead, otherwise they will be breaking the law, so, by default, this cruise is cancelled and they should be offering the chance to get a refund or FCC. I am fuming at the moment!!!

We moved our cruise on Britannia in May months ago knowing it was either not going to sail or be full of restrictions. Although we got no FCC bonus I am glad we did because the cruise we have booked as already increased more than 25% since we booked it. I am afraid you would have been better off moving your cruise and transferring your deposit rather than hang on for a 25% bonus which is worthless because you would have still been paying more than 25% extra in most cases than if you cancelled and moved it 2-3 months ago.

[joeecco]

47 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

We moved our cruise on Britannia in May months ago knowing it was either not going to sail or be full of restrictions. Although we got no FCC bonus I am glad we did because the cruise we have booked as already increased more than 25% since we booked it. I am afraid you would have been better off moving your cruise and transferring your deposit rather than hang on for a 25% bonus which is worthless because you would have still been paying more than 25% extra in most cases than if you cancelled and moved it 2-3 months ago.

Unless you want to book the new launch, the FCC will be worth it then. 

[Jennizor]

We are booked on Azura on 13th May to the Eastern Med. Quite some time ago I decided to book a similar cruise for September as I didn’t think the May one would go ahead. Admittedly it is more expensive but we got a better cabin and more OBC. I will use the FCC from the May one as part/all of the deposit for a cruise late 22. For me, I just want to get back to cruising as soon as it is safe.