Will ships be stopped from sailing from British ports before 17th May?

[Selbourne]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

Same with pressing lift buttons,  especially when you see some people using the end of their walking sticks to press the call  buttons! Just gross. 

I saw someone do that once. He was very proud as he did so and some other passengers in the lift thought that it was amusing. As we left the lift my wife reminded me that the bottom of that stick had probably been on the floor by a urinal a few minutes earlier 🤢

[showingdiva]

3 hours ago, Angel57 said:

Agree. I always use my knuckle to press the button......

 

Elbow (or a key).   Most people can't sub-consciously touch their faces with an elbow afterwards.

[jeanlyon]

It would be interesting to know how many colds there were this year.  Nobody I know has had a cold.  We don't tend to get them anyway, but would be interesting.

[Dermotsgirl]

2 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

It would be interesting to know how many colds there were this year.  Nobody I know has had a cold.  We don't tend to get them anyway, but would be interesting.

Since I stopped work six years ago, I’ve just had 3 colds. All of them on winter cruises.

[Selbourne]

13 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

It would be interesting to know how many colds there were this year.  Nobody I know has had a cold.  We don't tend to get them anyway, but would be interesting.

Incidents of flu are tiny this winter compared to usual and I suspect that colds are the same due to social distancing, masks, hand hygiene and people not being in busy offices. I used to have at least one cold a year when I was working but haven’t had one since I retired almost 2 years ago. Some people are advocating the continued use of face masks etc to keep things this way but, frankly, I’d rather have a cold once a year than have to wear those things a moment longer than necessary 😂 

[alija1960]

35 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I saw someone do that once. He was very proud as he did so and some other passengers in the lift thought that it was amusing. As we left the lift my wife reminded me that the bottom of that stick had probably been on the floor by a urinal a few minutes earlier 🤢

Cannot bring myself to use lift buttons, atm machines, pedestrian crossings etc. so will always use the stairs - healthier too after all that food multiple times a day  😃

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, alija1960 said:

Cannot bring myself to use lift buttons, atm machines, pedestrian crossings etc. so will always use the stairs - healthier too after all that food multiple times a day  😃

To be fair, we only use the lifts for going "Up" and only if more than 6 decks or so, depending on how we feel.

I must admit, that as we live in a single storey property, we are a little out of condition, when it comes to using stairs!  

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, alija1960 said:

Cannot bring myself to use lift buttons, atm machines, pedestrian crossings etc. so will always use the stairs - healthier too after all that food multiple times a day  😃

I make a rule on a cruise ship of always using the stairs unless I am going up more than 4 decks in one go, but nine times out of ten 10 I am with my wife and the stairs are a bit of a drag when pushing her wheelchair!

[jeanlyon]

Agree.  We hardly ever use the lifts, always walk unless it's 6 decks up.  Always walk down.

Edited February 24, 2021 by jeanlyon

[purplesea]

If I’m on my own I use the stairs.

[zap99]

11 hours ago, Aulanis said:

I try never to hold the rail unless its really rocky -  think of all the unwashed hands that have been holding on to it.  I have noticed that a few years back there seemed to be someone  cleaning the rails all the time but recently they have been few and far between. Cost saving perhaps regardless of the consequences.

Little children are a bit more unstable than you ,or I and can be quite fragile when they fall. In industry there is a rule. Three points of contact. Slips trips and falls are the major cause of injury. Personally I keep a paper towel in my pocket, use it to hold onto the rail and then bin it and get another.

Edited February 24, 2021 by zap99

[jeanlyon]

Having fallen down the stairs at home, I do now always hold the rail.  So easy to trip.

[comcox]

23 hours ago, comcox said:

Here is the actual government website Road Map.  Pages 41-42 directly address International Travel.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963491/COVID-19_Response_-_Spring_2021.pdf

 

Also see this chart for summary:  Report does not directly address cruising specifically so still vague.  My sense is that we will have to wait for more clarification, perhaps at the April 12th announcement.

 

[Denarius]

5 hours ago, comcox said:

Also see this chart for summary:  Report does not directly address cruising specifically so still vague.  My sense is that we will have to wait for more clarification, perhaps at the April 12th announcement.

 

A special travel report in todays paper stated that cruises were regarded as a special issue and would be covered by the 12 April review. If given the go ahead it would take  6 weeks approx. for ships to be made ready to recieve passengers, giving an optimistic restart date of late May if ports of call were willing to accept cruise ship visits.

[wowzz]

19 minutes ago, Denarius said:

A special travel report in todays paper stated that cruises were regarded as a special issue and would be covered by the 12 April review. If given the go ahead it would take  6 weeks approx. for ships to be made ready to recieve passengers, giving an optimistic restart date of late May if ports of call were willing to accept cruise ship visits.

As I just said in the Saga thread, I don't think P&O could restart in 6 weeks, and it certainly wouldn't be able to restart every cruise simultaneously. 

I'm assuming that Arcadia and Aurora would be the last to re-commence. Anyone want to guess as to the likely order in which the ships will start ? And would you begin or end the roll out with Iona? 

[Bloodaxe]

Azamara have cancelled all sailings before 30th June, even that is likely to be extended in my opinion.

Edited February 24, 2021 by Bloodaxe

[zap99]

40 minutes ago, wowzz said:

As I just said in the Saga thread, I don't think P&O could restart in 6 weeks, and it certainly wouldn't be able to restart every cruise simultaneously. 

I'm assuming that Arcadia and Aurora would be the last to re-commence. Anyone want to guess as to the likely order in which the ships will start ? And would you begin or end the roll out with Iona? 

I think they are gearing up to ensure that Iona has a cruise, or two under her belt so that the end of August fjords cruise isn't the first sailing. Guess which one we are on.🤣

[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

Azamara have cancelled all sailings before 30th June, even that is likely to be extended in my opinion.

Given the uncertainty with regards to the loosening of lockdown elsewhere in Europe ( more so than in the UK) I don't think they had much choice.

[Britboys]

My (purely) guess is Britannia, Ventura, Azura, Iona, Arcadia, Aurora.

[ann141]

I seem to remember Molecrochip saying he didn't think P and O would want to risk 'testing' their flagship Britannia or Iona for the first cruise and that Aurora and Arcadia would probably sail last so perhaps Azura or Ventura first followed by Iona or Britannia.No doubt we shall find out eventually.

[Snow Hill]

47 minutes ago, ann141 said:

I seem to remember Molecrochip saying he didn't think P and O would want to risk 'testing' their flagship Britannia or Iona for the first cruise and that Aurora and Arcadia would probably sail last so perhaps Azura or Ventura first followed by Iona or Britannia.No doubt we shall find out eventually.

I thought Azura need a dry dock inspection before it could take passengers, sure Inread that on one of the threads somewhere.

[ann141]

3 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

I thought Azura need a dry dock inspection before it could take passengers, sure Inread that on one of the threads somewhere.

I think you may be correct.Perhaps Ventura will sail first?

[joeecco]

1 hour ago, Snow Hill said:

I thought Azura need a dry dock inspection before it could take passengers, sure Inread that on one of the threads somewhere.

This is scheduled for the end of Feb I think I recall Moley saying. Maybe she’ll start moving in the next few days. She was only booked into Newcastle until the end of Feb too I believe. 

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, Britboys said:

My (purely) guess is Britannia, Ventura, Azura, Iona, Arcadia, Aurora.

Seems reasonable. 

I can't imagine the P&O marketing team allowing the newest flag ship to go first. If anything goes wrong,  it would be a PR disaster.

But,  letting the second best ship lead the way seems reasonable. Good publicity,  but an old ship, so no damage to the brand, if things go Pete Tong.   

[Selbourne]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

Good publicity,  but an old ship, so no damage to the brand, if things go Pete Tong.   

Given that the UK press has had no choice but to reluctantly concede that the vaccine rollout has been a huge success, I should think that they will be like hawks waiting to report on any ex-UK cruise that develops problems, regardless of which ship it is! That’s why I think it’s a brave move for whichever operator decides to be the first to depart from our shores, certainly until they have vaccinated all the crew and insist on all passengers having proof of being vaccinated.