P&O delays their cruising to Pacific Islands

[NSWP]

Maybe it is time pax should present a doctors certificate at checkin to get clearance.  These tick and flick policies are a waste of time.  If your GP does not clear you to cruise, then tough luck.

[Chiliburn]

4 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Maybe it is time pax should present a doctors certificate at checkin to get clearance.  These tick and flick policies are a waste of time.  If your GP does not clear you to cruise, then tough luck.

After my experience with P&O’s casual screening.

I‘m thinking all we just need a  Incident to shut the whole industry down again.

[Aus Traveller]

18 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Maybe it is time pax should present a doctors certificate at checkin to get clearance.  These tick and flick policies are a waste of time.  If your GP does not clear you to cruise, then tough luck.

 Are you suggesting that all passengers (even interstate passengers) go to a doctor the day before the cruise   to 'get clearance'? Does the doctor send them to a pathology lab for a PCR test also? The major problem I see is that the passenger could pick up COVID in the doctor's waiting room (or on their interstate flight), but not show symptoms or test positive for two days. I can't see how having a doctor's certificate would help.

 

The suggestion of a supervised RAT test has a slight advantage over at-home RATs, but all it would do is prevent people deliberately lying about the result of their at-home RAT.

[arxcards]

25 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Maybe it is time pax should present a doctors certificate at checkin to get clearance.  These tick and flick policies are a waste of time.  If your GP does not clear you to cruise, then tough luck.

I would have to make an appointment a month ahead, and hope it isn't his golf day.

 

If someone in your travel party catches it before boarding, odds are you will catch it too, regardless of what you do.  Otherwise, it is all about protecting yourself, and doing what the health experts have been telling us to do for well over 2 years - wear a mask when distancing is not possible, and keep your hands clean. The same healthy habits that have protected you from cruise flu and noro over all these years will go a long way to keeping you protected from covid or any other bug going around.

[arxcards]

22 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

After my experience with P&O’s casual screening.

I‘m thinking all we just need a  Incident to shut the whole industry down again.

Ahh, that is why they only have short cruises.

 

It is the NSW/QLD/VIC governments that have signed off on casual screening, and relying on passengers telling the truth.

[Chiliburn]

18 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Ahh, that is why they only have short cruises.

 

It is the NSW/QLD/VIC governments that have signed off on casual screening, and relying on passengers telling the truth.

They are going to get away with it with short cruises.

But all you need is one person to say I don’t care and we have another Ruby.

[arxcards]

24 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

They are going to get away with it with short cruises.

But all you need is one person to say I don’t care and we have another Ruby.

How so?

Nobody knew how to handle this when Diamond & Ruby Princess happened. Vaccinations didn't exist, and the initial strains were nastier.

[SinbadThePorter]

On 6/10/2022 at 8:13 PM, Kiwi_cruiser said:

 

No, PNG is not open yet!, and from what I have heard covid is very bad over there.

 

There are two Princess cruises out of Sydney in August and September to the Conflict Islands that have got me flummoxed.

 

I can't see how they are going to take place. Or if they do, I can't see what would replace the Conflicts.

[OzKiwiJJ]

20 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

There are two Princess cruises out of Sydney in August and September to the Conflict Islands that have got me flummoxed.

 

I can't see how they are going to take place. Or if they do, I can't see what would replace the Conflicts.

I imagine Princess has special permission to bring Coral to one fairly isolated island. They are not going to any of the mainland PNG ports.

 

And if that port stop gets cancelled we'll just get another lovely sea day.

Edited June 13, 2022 by OzKiwiJJ

[NSWP]

21 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

There are two Princess cruises out of Sydney in August and September to the Conflict Islands that have got me flummoxed.

 

I can't see how they are going to take place. Or if they do, I can't see what would replace the Conflicts.

In view of the situation in PNG they might just circle the Conflict Island and not land. Although the islands are part of PNG, they are actually privately owned. ThIf they get to the islands then they can open up the duty free shops on board and sell heaps of booze, ciggies, perfumes, etc.

Edited June 13, 2022 by NSWP

[NSWP]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Ahh, that is why they only have short cruises.

 

It is the NSW/QLD/VIC governments that have signed off on casual screening, and relying on passengers telling the truth.

Those three governments have erred, more like chucked the towel in. Some of the government hierarchy live in fantasyland.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

Those three governments have erred, more like chucked the towel in. Some of the government hierarchy live in fantasyland.

These 3 health departments have used their tentacles to have a grip on our test.... for two years. They haven't chucked the towel in - not while there are free testing & vaccinations. Ships will still be parked, schools will still be closed, workplaces will still be shut down - IF there is uncontrolled spread of the bug. There is still a pretty strict set of rules in place that would have been unheard of before 2020.

 

[Cruisegroover]

4 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

There are two Princess cruises out of Sydney in August and September to the Conflict Islands that have got me flummoxed.

 

I can't see how they are going to take place. Or if they do, I can't see what would replace the Conflicts.

Princess is still scheduled to go to PNG in November to ports such as Rabaul. I am booked on this cruise and have been since 2020. I wish Princess would do something one way or the other as I simply don't see the situation there dramatically improving (3.67% of the population vaccinated at the moment).

[Ondine]

5 hours ago, NSWP said:

Those three governments have erred, more like chucked the towel in. Some of the government hierarchy live in fantasyland.

 

We have an election here in Victoria in November so Dan is on his very best behavior.   Even dismissing calls by epidemiologists to bring back masks.

[bazzaw]

If anybody is thinking of going to my local GP clinic to get some kind of Covid certificate to go to a party/cruise  - then forget it!!! The clinic is full to the rafters of sick people - the Doctors don't have the time for such things and as I said , the place is currently FULL of SICK people . 

[bazzaw]

2 hours ago, Cruisegroover said:

Princess is still scheduled to go to PNG in November to ports such as Rabaul. I am booked on this cruise and have been since 2020. I wish Princess would do something one way or the other as I simply don't see the situation there dramatically improving (3.67% of the population vaccinated at the moment).

They are still operating from the same playbook that they used in 2020 - if they cancel the cruise, then they owe you - better for you to cancel the cruise and then you owe them!!! 

[NSWP]

10 hours ago, bazzaw said:

They are still operating from the same playbook that they used in 2020 - if they cancel the cruise, then they owe you - better for you to cancel the cruise and then you owe them!!! 

You have me confused Barry.

[bazzaw]

2 hours ago, NSWP said:

You have me confused Barry.

They were delaying cancelling the cruises until the last minute even though it was plainly obvious that the cruises would not be proceeding. If they cancelled the cruise, then they were obliged to refund you - but if YOU cancel the cruise, read up your cruise contract as to your obligations. The same situation applies now with the planned cruises to PNG.

[arxcards]

25 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

They were delaying cancelling the cruises until the last minute even though it was plainly obvious that the cruises would not be proceeding. If they cancelled the cruise, then they were obliged to refund you - but if YOU cancel the cruise, read up your cruise contract as to your obligations. The same situation applies now with the planned cruises to PNG.

They have been pretty good across all of the lines. Every one of our cruises was cancelled from under us prior to requiring final payment. Yes, they left it to the last possible opportunity, which is fair, as they were still committed to having a ship until the date of the ban was officially moved. In a couple of cases, they deferred the final payment date when it got a bit close.

 

I would be highly cynical of them if they waited until after you made final payment to cancel the cruise, but that wasn't the case for any of ours. Rather than refund, we just moved our deposits onto later cruises and claimed some bonus OBC's for the inconvenience.

[bazzaw]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

They have been pretty good across all of the lines. Every one of our cruises was cancelled from under us prior to requiring final payment. Yes, they left it to the last possible opportunity, which is fair, as they were still committed to having a ship until the date of the ban was officially moved. In a couple of cases, they deferred the final payment date when it got a bit close.

 

I would be highly cynical of them if they waited until after you made final payment to cancel the cruise, but that wasn't the case for any of ours. Rather than refund, we just moved our deposits onto later cruises and claimed some bonus OBC's for the inconvenience.

We were very badly burned over our fully paid up cruises early 2020 ( totalling $30,000) . Took a LONG time to receive refunds and also for a long time during 2020 they were indeed asking for final payments for upcoming cruises which it was obvious were not going to happen. I am VERY cynical of the cruiselines and have come to  believe/understand that their complete system is nothing more than a giant Ponzi scheme. We will cruise again - but our cynicism compels us to wait and see how their current "plans" pan out. 

[Aus Traveller]

We have been treated well by Princess and P&O for cruises that were cancelled. We opted for refunds for the 2020 cruises and didn't have significant delay. For the 2022 cruises booked, we had the option of a refund or shift to another cruise.

[Sparky74]

16 hours ago, bazzaw said:

If anybody is thinking of going to my local GP clinic to get some kind of Covid certificate to go to a party/cruise  - then forget it!!! The clinic is full to the rafters of sick people - the Doctors don't have the time for such things and as I said , the place is currently FULL of SICK people . 

You can’t get in to see a doctor here if you are sick. They don’t want you in their waiting room if you might spread something to someone else. It’s extremely frustrating but they refuse to make an appointment for you if you have even the mildest of symptoms. 🤷‍♂️ 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, bazzaw said:

We were very badly burned over our fully paid up cruises early 2020 ( totalling $30,000) . Took a LONG time to receive refunds and also for a long time during 2020 they were indeed asking for final payments for upcoming cruises which it was obvious were not going to happen. I am VERY cynical of the cruiselines and have come to  believe/understand that their complete system is nothing more than a giant Ponzi scheme. We will cruise again - but our cynicism compels us to wait and see how their current "plans" pan out. 

Sorry you got caught out. Yes, refunds were slow, as I would shudder at the numbers that had to be refunded or rebooked around the world, also with staff working from home in lockdowns. I don't think there was ever an intent to keep anyone's money. In the early days, the talk of voluntary pauses was only moved month by month, and if you look at the earlier media, it wasn't just the cruise lines that thought it would pass in weeks (even a world leader quoted as saying it was all going to be over by Easter 2020). 

 

As our closed ports began to be extended in 3 month lots, it was only then that the cruise lines were in sync with our government, and they began to extend their own pauses beyond the government ban dates. We waited for an initial refund for a big cruise booked prior to the pandemic, and chose not to book anything until 18 months later, and those cruises were all booked on $1, $49 or $99 deposits.

[Jean C]

We were very happy with our experience with Princess cancellations. We had just paid in full for our cruise when it was cancelled. We opted for the full refund with 25% bonus FCC. Money came through about a month later. Can't say the same about our experience with our Air NZ flight from LA to Auckland. Air NZ said no refund as flight was booked in NZ so US rules didn't apply and some other excuse. I queried it with the relevant US authority, got an apology from Air NZ and a refund. Their covid cancellation advice now clearly and correctly says refunds apply in that particular scenario.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Jean C

[Aus Traveller]

The only refusal to refund that I got was from a hotel in London where I had booked a five-night stay. They simply said that my booking was on a non-refundable basis. Luckily I had booked through QANTAS hotels and they refunded immediately. The same applied to QANTAS airfares I had booked through Princess EZair.