On Iona now 28th Sept

[picsa]

7 minutes ago, smokey01 said:

We go on Iona this Saturday, on the current cruise I believe you don’t need to fill in a Spanish locater form, what about for Lisbon (I know you need a test and excursion)?

No forms or tests needed for Spain. 
 

As you mention, Lisbon is excursion only at the moment and paid tests required to take part - I haven’t heard anyone muttering about paperwork so assume P&O is taking care of it. 

[picsa]

13 minutes ago, Britboys said:

They have my sympathy, as someone who sometimes struggles doing new things online and hates having to do so on the phone...

And the crazy thing is all these people are fretting and cursing over filling the form in and if Border Force is at Southampton next Saturday with the 100 plus staff needed to check everyone has filled it in - well I will eat my hat. 

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, picsa said:

And the crazy thing is all these people are fretting and cursing over filling the form in and if Border Force is at Southampton next Saturday with the 100 plus staff needed to check everyone has filled it in - well I will eat my hat. 

Interesting to note that on Regal Princess, all the PL forms, are being checked  off by the cabin stewards. I assume that the paperwork will be passed  on to Border Control. 

[jake 26]

1 hour ago, picsa said:

And the crazy thing is all these people are fretting and cursing over filling the form in and if Border Force is at Southampton next Saturday with the 100 plus staff needed to check everyone has filled it in - well I will eat my hat. 

Surely if everyone has to complete the PLFs on line then Border Force will have access to them, and they could be checked against the P&O passenger manifest, before disembarkation.

[Ardennais]

4 hours ago, picsa said:

A lack of internet doesn’t seem to be the problem.

 

It is simply those seeking help have no idea how their smartphone works, and if they do manage to get to the form, don’t understand the questions on the PLF.

The world can be a very bewildering place for many elderly people. Have a little compassion, 

[Britboys]

5 hours ago, picsa said:

No forms or tests needed for Spain. ...

So you need to complete a Health Control form when arriving in Spain by air or ferry but not when on a cruise then...🤔

[Interestedcruisefan]

I've got a question about the skydome on Iona

 

Is it like the domes at Center Parcs and do passengers wear shorts and bikini whilst lounging by the pools even in cold weather? 

 

 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

So you need to complete a Health Control form when arriving in Spain by air or ferry but not when on a cruise then...🤔

We fly to Menorca on Friday, so will do our Spanish health forms in the morning and print the QR codes.🤞

[picsa]

10 hours ago, Ardennais said:

The world can be a very bewildering place for many elderly people. Have a little compassion, 

I have compassion, but little sympathy for those (like the couple I was speaking to yesterday) who had ignored the instruction by P&O to register for a PLF account before they left the UK and now instead of just completing the form had to go through the registration process. 

[picsa]

12 hours ago, jake 26 said:

Surely if everyone has to complete the PLFs on line then Border Force will have access to them, and they could be checked against the P&O passenger manifest, before disembarkation.

The same could be said for every flight landing in the UK, so why are Border Force checking them at the airports. 

[wowzz]

37 minutes ago, picsa said:

The same could be said for every flight landing in the UK, so why are Border Force checking them at the airports. 

Because checking in advance against the API data base is far too logical and sensible !

Edited October 6, 2021 by wowzz

[jake 26]

29 minutes ago, picsa said:

The same could be said for every flight landing in the UK, so why are Border Force checking them at the airports. 

I would think it's because the airlines won't supply the passenger manifest for every landing flight (lot of flights every hour and last minute changes) whereas the passenger manifest on a cruise ship docking at Southampton can be done days in advance.

[Guest]

10 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I've got a question about the skydome on Iona

 

Is it like the domes at Center Parcs and do passengers wear shorts and bikini whilst lounging by the pools even in cold weather? 

 

 

When I was on the sky dome was kept quite cold. There are no sun loungers, just upright chairs so no one was lying around. Just people sat around reading with hardly anyone in the pool! I do think it’s a very odd set up during the day. 

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, jake 26 said:

I would think it's because the airlines won't supply the passenger manifest for every landing flight (lot of flights every hour and last minute changes

The API has to be submitted to Border Control for every flight, and in this day and age, the API data could be checked against the PL data in a matter of seconds.  You only need to match the passport details. 

[Ardennais]

47 minutes ago, picsa said:

I have compassion, but little sympathy for those (like the couple I was speaking to yesterday) who had ignored the instruction by P&O to register for a PLF account before they left the UK and now instead of just completing the form had to go through the registration process. 

Fair enough in that particular case. But your previous comment was quite harsh. Who knows, some of those passengers might have bought a smartphone recently due to the increasing trend of using smart technology  for bookings, travel regs etc. Age is a protected characteristic and something I feel very strongly about. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, if you’ve worked outdoors all your life (like a huge proportion of the population around here), you are unlikely to have used any technology. So many of us in our professions over the years were introduced to technology gradually and so became proficient. 

[Son of Anarchy]

1 hour ago, jake 26 said:

I would think it's because the airlines won't supply the passenger manifest for every landing flight (lot of flights every hour and last minute changes) whereas the passenger manifest on a cruise ship docking at Southampton can be done days in advance.

 

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

The API has to be submitted to Border Control for every flight, and in this day and age, the API data could be checked against the PL data in a matter of seconds.  You only need to match the passport details. 

Additionally, once the airbridge or stairs are set up, one of the first things the aircrew do is hand over a hard copy of the manifest.

[jake 26]

3 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

 

Additionally, once the airbridge or stairs are set up, one of the first things the aircrew do is hand over a hard copy of the manifest.

So in that case it makes sense for Border Force to check all passports and associated documents as the pax are then disembarking at that time.

For a ship docking at Southampton there is ample time for the PLFs (done on line) to be checked against the manifest, sent on line, before disembarkation.

I can't see picsa's argument that 100 Border Force officers would be required at Southampton in order to check that everyone had submitted a PLF. Given that currently you cannot board an aircraft to return to the UK without proof of a PLC submission I can't see that diligent checks will be waived on returning cruise pax. So I would suspect that such checks will be done without mobilising an army of Border Force officers.

[picsa]

29 minutes ago, jake 26 said:

For a ship docking at Southampton there is ample time for the PLFs (done on line) to be checked against the manifest, sent on line, before disembarkation.

 

The PLF doesn’t have to be done any set time before disembarkation, and after today in Lisbon cannot be completed until docking in Southampton so could be completed whilst waiting for your disembarkation group to be called and then you are off through the baggage collection two minutes later. Zero time for any checks.

 

So now you need to identify those ‘late submitters’ but unless Border Force provide a list of such passengers to P&O before docking (hint: they don’t) to get security to prevent them disembarking (that would be fun), then Border Force need to stop every single person disembarking and scan the QR code on their PLF and check against their ID.

 

Now how many Border Force staff would it take to do this - well it isn’t going to be any quicker per person than check in, and likely a lot longer, but has to be completed in the same overall time to allow the ship to be cleaned and cleared ready for embarkation. So finger in the air, roughly 100 Border Force staff would be needed to cover everything from the first checks, to individual interviews with those who haven’t filled in the form or not filled it in correctly.

 

But the chance of Border Force finding 100 staff on a Saturday morning - zero.

[wowzz]

51 minutes ago, picsa said:

The PLF doesn’t have to be done any set time before disembarkation, and after today in Lisbon cannot be completed until docking in Southampton so could be completed whilst waiting for your disembarkation group to be called and then you are off through the baggage collection two minutes later. Zero time for any checks.

 

So now you need to identify those ‘late submitters’ but unless Border Force provide a list of such passengers to P&O before docking (hint: they don’t) to get security to prevent them disembarking (that would be fun), then Border Force need to stop every single person disembarking and scan the QR code on their PLF and check against their ID.

 

Now how many Border Force staff would it take to do this - well it isn’t going to be any quicker per person than check in, and likely a lot longer, but has to be completed in the same overall time to allow the ship to be cleaned and cleared ready for embarkation. So finger in the air, roughly 100 Border Force staff would be needed to cover everything from the first checks, to individual interviews with those who haven’t filled in the form or not filled it in correctly.

 

But the chance of Border Force finding 100 staff on a Saturday morning - zero.

Which is why Princess are checking that everyone has filled in their PLFs before arrival at the port, so that there is no need for Border Control checks. If Princess  can do it, surely so can P&O. 

[picsa]

8 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Which is why Princess are checking that everyone has filled in their PLFs before arrival at the port, so that there is no need for Border Control checks. If Princess  can do it, surely so can P&O. 

If Princess are insisting that the PLF is completed prior to Southampton then either they have written this into their T&Cs (P&O hasn’t) or are providing free WiFi to allow people to do so (P&O hasn’t), as many people without roaming data or the technical knowledge to use free WiFi in a port somewhere will be waiting until they reach Southampton.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, picsa said:

If Princess are insisting that the PLF is completed prior to Southampton then either they have written this into their T&Cs (P&O hasn’t) or are providing free WiFi to allow people to do so (P&O hasn’t), as many people without roaming data or the technical knowledge to use free WiFi in a port somewhere will be waiting until they reach Southampton.

The vast majority of Princess passengers will have bought Princess Plus,  so have wifi and will be able to complete the PLFs on board. For those that are unable to do so,  Princess are doing it for them.

Of course, as you can now complete the PLFs up to 19 days in advance, for the majority of cruises you can now sort all the documentation out at home, prior to the cruise. 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, picsa said:

The PLF doesn’t have to be done any set time before disembarkation, and after today in Lisbon cannot be completed until docking in Southampton so could be completed whilst waiting for your disembarkation group to be called and then you are off through the baggage collection two minutes later. Zero time for any checks.

 

So now you need to identify those ‘late submitters’ but unless Border Force provide a list of such passengers to P&O before docking (hint: they don’t) to get security to prevent them disembarking (that would be fun), then Border Force need to stop every single person disembarking and scan the QR code on their PLF and check against their ID.

 

Now how many Border Force staff would it take to do this - well it isn’t going to be any quicker per person than check in, and likely a lot longer, but has to be completed in the same overall time to allow the ship to be cleaned and cleared ready for embarkation. So finger in the air, roughly 100 Border Force staff would be needed to cover everything from the first checks, to individual interviews with those who haven’t filled in the form or not filled it in correctly.

 

But the chance of Border Force finding 100 staff on a Saturday morning - zero.

My BiL and SiL passed through Gatwick last week. The queue was getting a bit long so they were waved through without their PLF's being checked at all.

[picsa]

28 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The vast majority of Princess passengers will have bought Princess Plus,  so have wifi and will be able to complete the PLFs on board.

 

So you have asked and answered your own question - P&O cannot do it because they do not increase their fares to include WiFi like Princess do.

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, picsa said:

So you have asked and answered your own question - P&O cannot do it because they do not increase their fares to include WiFi like Princess do.

£30 a day for wifi, drinks and tips. Absolute bargain.

[picsa]

5 minutes ago, wowzz said:

£30 a day for wifi, drinks and tips. Absolute bargain.

Only if you are an alcoholic - 6 pints a day, every day is a bit excessive. Tips are zero on P&O and WiFi is irrelevant for most.

 

And then you have the base price of the cruise, do Princess cruises start at under £43 per person per day?