Ventura a worrying review

[Britboys]

16 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

Hotel General Manager is a relatively recent title. They used to be Executive Pursers.

Indeed Sharon. P&O wouldn't want any of those traditional job titles that were one of things that made a cruise different to a land holiday.... I suppose they will be responsible for all venues - left, right, front & back of the boat...🙄😀

[Bazrat]

On 12/1/2022 at 10:22 PM, Snow Hill said:

Trustpilot reviews are a heck of a lot worse.

I wish I had read those reviews and not gone on our cruise and had a brilliant time

[Chrish2]

On 12/4/2022 at 6:28 AM, Tablelamp said:

It’s very difficult for a sole traveller to ask for a table for one in the MDR.   How long would I expect to queue for breakfast should I go about 8 - 8.30am.  No. buffet for me

 

From what I have seen Virgin Voyages was happy to seat people for a table for 1. I guess the only difference is nearly all your restaurant tables are booked ahead of time.

[Chrish2]

On 11/29/2022 at 8:41 PM, 9265359 said:

Then you have the COVID issue that if you share a table and they come down with it then you will be locked in your cabin as ‘close contacts’ for a few days or more.

 

Is this the current regulations onboard P&O ships?

[Selbourne]

9 hours ago, Chrish2 said:

 

Is this the current regulations onboard P&O ships?

You raise an interesting question. P&O have been (and remain) somewhat ‘cloak and dagger’ about their on board Covid policies. The scenario described by @9265359 certainly was the case, and is undoubtedly why the demand for tables for 2 has risen. We used to enjoy a mix of sharing and tables for 2, but we wouldn’t risk sharing anymore now for fear of this happening to us.
 

The same mystery surrounds the thorny subject of quarantine cabins, where ‘zones’ of cabins were (are?) reserved for those who succumb to the virus and report it. This approach resulted in people having their pre-booked cabins moved (or even their cruise cancelled) a matter of weeks before their cruise. I have no idea whether or not this still happens, whether people now isolate in their own cabin or indeed if it’s now like everywhere else and no isolation is needed at all. 

 

I haven’t been convinced that just because people haven’t fallen foul of any of this themselves whilst on a cruise that some, or all, of these rather draconian rules aren’t still in place, or are available as an option should there be a Covid flare up on board. I know that we aren’t the only ones who have been hesitant about making a booking whilst there is still some uncertainty about these issues. Perhaps @molecrochip could shed some light on what the current situation is?

[BouncingWheel]

P&O have sent me a long list of "rules" for my segment of the January 2023 World cruise. Indeed, close contacts are a concern still. The grey area is what determines a close contact. To me, for this cruise, it is how we were about 9 months ago and they are probably covering all bases by stating the highest restrictions in place for countries that P&O visit. 

Close contacts of guests who test positive while on board are required by local government guidance protocols to follow these requirements for seven (7) days on board (or for the entire cruise if it is less than 7 nights in duration):

• Perform daily rapid antigen testing. We will provide you with seven rapid antigen tests (RATs) and kindly ask that you test yourself daily and let us know the result
• You are required to wear your face mask at all times when outside your cabin
• You are required to have your meals and drinks in your cabin

Any instances of positive cases on board will be managed by our on-board medical teams in conjunction with the local authorities, to determine the best course of action. The framework of protocols for cruise ships can differ slightly to those on land and to other forms of travel. Some ports may require guests and their close contacts who test positive on board to disembark in port and continue their period of isolation ashore.

The on-board isolation period is subject to change by the relevant state health departments.

[Selbourne]

21 minutes ago, BouncingWheel said:

P&O have sent me a long list of "rules" for my segment of the January 2023 World cruise. Indeed, close contacts are a concern still. The grey area is what determines a close contact. To me, for this cruise, it is how we were about 9 months ago and they are probably covering all bases by stating the highest restrictions in place for countries that P&O visit. 

Close contacts of guests who test positive while on board are required by local government guidance protocols to follow these requirements for seven (7) days on board (or for the entire cruise if it is less than 7 nights in duration):

• Perform daily rapid antigen testing. We will provide you with seven rapid antigen tests (RATs) and kindly ask that you test yourself daily and let us know the result
• You are required to wear your face mask at all times when outside your cabin
• You are required to have your meals and drinks in your cabin

Any instances of positive cases on board will be managed by our on-board medical teams in conjunction with the local authorities, to determine the best course of action. The framework of protocols for cruise ships can differ slightly to those on land and to other forms of travel. Some ports may require guests and their close contacts who test positive on board to disembark in port and continue their period of isolation ashore.

The on-board isolation period is subject to change by the relevant state health departments.

Interesting and this, of course, is where the problems arise. Many who may have Covid symptoms won’t test or report it, but will continue to enjoy their cruise, hopefully being sensible and not dining with other passengers or sitting close to others, just as you would do at home or on any other holiday for that matter. However, if you dine with other passengers who report symptoms, not only is their cruise ruined, but yours is too. 

[Host Sharon]

You cannot post that cruise lines are lying without clear evidence. It is potentially libellous.

[Bazrat]

On 12/14/2022 at 10:26 AM, Selbourne said:

Interesting and this, of course, is where the problems arise. Many who may have Covid symptoms won’t test or report it, but will continue to enjoy their cruise, hopefully being sensible and not dining with other passengers or sitting close to others, just as you would do at home or on any other holiday for that matter. However, if you dine with other passengers who report symptoms, not only is their cruise ruined, but yours is too. 

The same can be said precovid you would have passengers lie on the health declaration form about health issues 

[Selbourne]

35 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

The same can be said precovid you would have passengers lie on the health declaration form about health issues 

I wasn’t actually referring to the pre-boarding health declarations, although I accept that people lied on these pre Covid and will probably do so even more now! I was thinking more about people catching it on board, which is arguably more likely.
 

Either way, the issue is the same though, in that procedures pre Covid were entirely different. If someone came on board with a virus, or caught it on board, and was selfish enough to share a table (as somebody once did with us), then you might have caught it, but you could carry on with your cruise as normal (albeit feeling rough). With Covid on the scene, if you shared a table with someone who the next day reported Covid symptoms and then tested positive, you could be classed as a close contact and be told that you had to be quarantined in your cabin, which would ruin your cruise. As I say, an entirely different approach. 
 

I have lost track with what the current approach is though. Do people still have to quarantine if they test positive on board? If so, do they quarantine in their booked cabin or are there still quarantine zones? Does anyone know for certain?

[Bazrat]

13 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I wasn’t actually referring to the pre-boarding health declarations, although I accept that people lied on these pre Covid and will probably do so even more now! I was thinking more about people catching it on board, which is arguably more likely.
 

Either way, the issue is the same though, in that procedures pre Covid were entirely different. If someone came on board with a virus, or caught it on board, and was selfish enough to share a table (as somebody once did with us), then you might have caught it, but you could carry on with your cruise as normal (albeit feeling rough). With Covid on the scene, if you shared a table with someone who the next day reported Covid symptoms and then tested positive, you could be classed as a close contact and be told that you had to be quarantined in your cabin, which would ruin your cruise. As I say, an entirely different approach. 
 

I have lost track with what the current approach is though. Do people still have to quarantine if they test positive on board? If so, do they quarantine in their booked cabin or are there still quarantine zones? Does anyone know for certain?

We did not see any on Britannia in October, just a normal cruise.

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

We did not see any on Britannia in October, just a normal cruise.

That’s good to hear. Hopefully P&O have dispensed with the policy now.

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, Selbourne said:

That’s good to hear. Hopefully P&O have dispensed with the policy now.

I know there are some posters on here who are still very concerned about mixing with  others in case they catch covid, but I am now feeling that things are just about back to normal.  Maybe it's because it no longer figures regularly on the news, and we are not constantly being warned about covid hospitalisation cases, but mainly its the ongoing vaccination which has now almost relegated the effects of covid to the same level as flu.

I just hope that, despite the petri dish fear, the cruise lines will soon abandon all the quarantine zones and treat covid cases more like noro, and once they test negative allow them to fully rejoin the cruise.

[9265359]

15 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I know there are some posters on here who are still very concerned about mixing with  others in case they catch covid, but I am now feeling that things are just about back to normal.  Maybe it's because it no longer figures regularly on the news, and we are not constantly being warned about covid hospitalisation cases, but mainly its the ongoing vaccination which has now almost relegated the effects of covid to the same level as flu.

I just hope that, despite the petri dish fear, the cruise lines will soon abandon all the quarantine zones and treat covid cases more like noro, and once they test negative allow them to fully rejoin the cruise.

I would suggest that cruise company’s health policies, not particularly COVID, are driven by two key issues.

 

1. Does the policy encourage or deter customers.

 

2. Do we need to do this to minimise the risk of us being sued.

 

With the COVID policy it was clear that back in darker times that customers positively wanted stringent measures, and that perception of security encouraged bookings.

 

However now for the majority of potential customers has now flipped and stringent measures are deterring bookings.

 

The issue that the companies will now be running up against is the second point, which is if they had a policy of ‘whatever, do as you want’ then are they risking legal consequences.

 

As many tour operators running all-inclusive holidays have found to their cost with the ‘food poisoning’ scam claims, there are a lot of ‘no-win, no fee’ ambulance chasing lawyers who would be salivating at the thought of the potential claims if the cruise companies become too lax.

[Selbourne]

28 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I know there are some posters on here who are still very concerned about mixing with  others in case they catch covid, but I am now feeling that things are just about back to normal.  Maybe it's because it no longer figures regularly on the news, and we are not constantly being warned about covid hospitalisation cases, but mainly its the ongoing vaccination which has now almost relegated the effects of covid to the same level as flu.

I just hope that, despite the petri dish fear, the cruise lines will soon abandon all the quarantine zones and treat covid cases more like noro, and once they test negative allow them to fully rejoin the cruise.

I agree 100% John. We are vaccinated to the hilt and are living life as normal. With very few exceptions, those in hospital who have Covid are primarily there for other reasons and not because of Covid (unless they aren’t vaccinated for some reason).
 

Although we would rather not catch Covid, our concern is not so much catching it, but the consequences of it on a cruise ship, namely quarantine. This would be even worse if it was as a result of having mixed with someone else, which is why we wouldn’t be happy sharing dining tables at present, even though we have enjoyed this very much in the past. 
 

Do I take it from your final comment that it is your understanding that quarantine zones are still in place? I guess that unless people have been quarantined themselves, or made a point of walking up and down every single passenger deck looking for them, the fact that people haven’t noticed them doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t exist!

[terrierjohn]

4 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I agree 100% John. We are vaccinated to the hilt and are living life as normal. With very few exceptions, those in hospital who have Covid are primarily there for other reasons and not because of Covid (unless they aren’t vaccinated for some reason).
 

Although we would rather not catch Covid, our concern is not so much catching it, but the consequences of it on a cruise ship, namely quarantine. This would be even worse if it was as a result of having mixed with someone else, which is why we wouldn’t be happy sharing dining tables at present, even though we have enjoyed this very much in the past. 
 

Do I take it from your final comment that it is your understanding that quarantine zones are still in place? I guess that unless people have been quarantined themselves, or made a point of walking up and down every single passenger deck looking for them, the fact that people haven’t noticed them doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t exist!

I have seen a few posts which now suggest that covid cases are being quarantined in their cabin, although these were always balcony cabins, so possibly some quarantine balcony cabins are still being reserved for inside and maybe even ocean view cabin covid cases.  This would be much preferable for us especially if the cruise lines would reduce the quarantine period, or cancel it once you test negative.

On both our post covid cruises we shared MDR tables and did not have any problems, and hopefully the high rates of vaccination in the UK are the main reason for this 

[Selbourne]

6 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I have seen a few posts which now suggest that covid cases are being quarantined in their cabin, although these were always balcony cabins, so possibly some quarantine balcony cabins are still being reserved for inside and maybe even ocean view cabin covid cases.  This would be much preferable for us especially if the cruise lines would reduce the quarantine period, or cancel it once you test negative.

On both our post covid cruises we shared MDR tables and did not have any problems, and hopefully the high rates of vaccination in the UK are the main reason for this 

I discovered after we made the booking that the 3 deluxe balcony cabins that we booked on Iona for next summer (for us, our daughters and partners) were in an area used as a Covid quarantine zone, hence why I’m very keen to understand whether or not this policy has been dispensed with.
 

Pleased to hear that none of your table companions succumbed and therefore plunged you into quarantine as ‘close contacts’, but it’s not a risk we would be prepared to take, however slim the chances may be. We are very happy to review this once quarantine is a thing of the past though. 

[jeanlyon]

On 12/9/2022 at 12:29 PM, Britboys said:

Indeed Sharon. P&O wouldn't want any of those traditional job titles that were one of things that made a cruise different to a land holiday.... I suppose they will be responsible for all venues - left, right, front & back of the boat...🙄😀

It's such a shame that anything to do with being on a ship has now disappeared.  Cabin is now room.  Passengers are guests.  I could go on.  They have taken away the whole idea of being on a ship.

[happy v]

45 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I discovered after we made the booking that the 3 deluxe balcony cabins that we booked on Iona for next summer (for us, our daughters and partners) were in an area used as a Covid quarantine zone, hence why I’m very keen to understand whether or not this policy has been dispensed with.
 

Pleased to hear that none of your table companions succumbed and therefore plunged you into quarantine as ‘close contacts’, but it’s not a risk we would be prepared to take, however slim the chances may be. We are very happy to review this once quarantine is a thing of the past though. 

I believe you stay in your own cabin. I think this because someone on our coach home had caught it and was waiting in his cabin to see if he was allowed to travel on the coach. Also, this is pure speculation, if the fact you are receiving room service means you are isolating then there were trays outside inside room.

 

[zap99]

27 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

It's such a shame that anything to do with being on a ship has now disappeared.  Cabin is now room.  Passengers are guests.  I could go on.  They have taken away the whole idea of being on a ship.

Our cruise confirmation calls us passengers and gives our cabin number, is yours different?.

[jeanlyon]

8 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Our cruise confirmation calls us passengers and gives our cabin number, is yours different?.

Really?  Hmmm.    Maybe they changed it back?  On the P&O website, it lists Aurora for instance as having 1874 guests - not passengers.

Edited December 17, 2022 by jeanlyon

[happy v]

32 minutes ago, happy v said:

I believe you stay in your own cabin. I think this because someone on our coach home had caught it and was waiting in his cabin to see if he was allowed to travel on the coach. Also, this is pure speculation, if the fact you are receiving room service means you are isolating then there were trays outside inside room.

 

I've just re read this and realised I had only given half the story. I meant to include the fact that their friends were on the same coach and had not had to quarantine