P&O Cruises - do you think this will be cancelled?

[ScottyDottyDooDah]

Hi all,

We have a P&O med cruise booked, departing from Southampton on Aug 10th. (Portugal, Spain & Canaries)

Up until now, all P&O cruises are suspended until 31st July, but, having paid the entire balance, I'm anxious for them to decide one way or another what's going to happen. I'm imagining if it goes ahead, it'll be rubbish in board with weird, militant dining experiences, and that the boat won't be allowed to dock anywhere. Would much rather it were cancelled, but I'm getting nervous that they might try and push ahead.

What do people think?

I don't think it'll happen. My parents are booked with Cunard in August and they're resigned to it not happening. I doubt very much the cruise companies will be taking any risks so soon.

I think it will get cancelled. Huge risks.

I'm so worried that P&O will be trying to operate in order to keep revenue coming in. They can't possible expect to be welcoming passengers back on board within 3 months, can they? And the we'd probably need to quarantine for 14 days once we're back? It's a nightmare. (Well, a first world prob nightmare!)

I have a cruise booked with them in January next year. Even is they sail we folk over 70 are suppose to shield. I don't think I shall ever have the courage to cruse again. Having sailed many times, I know how the Canberra Cough runs rife through the ships. Covid is too frightening to contemplate.

Interestingly if you look at the stats on cruise ships before lockdown, only 20% of active ships had a corona outbreak.

Around 3000 got the virus on those ships and 65 died.

The 54 ships would have had say 500,000 passengers over a one month period. That's a mortality rate of 0.1%.

Much like the other thread on supermarket workers, the reality is the virulence of this outbreak has been vastly overplayed.

Carnival are planning to start up again on 1 August. P&O will no doubt be keen to get back in business with a brand new ship just launched.

I think it will be like anything- the businesses will push on because they have to, and the customers will make their own risk assessments about whether it’s worth going.

I’m not especially a cruise fan and it wouldn’t be my choice for the kind of holiday that would be worth the risk to me, but for cruise lovers I think there will be some ardent cruisers lining up to get on board on 1 August.

I suppose in a way the quieter it is the safer it is, and I’m sure they will have appropriate measures in place re extra hygiene and distancing.

P&O are a subsidiary of Carnival, as are Cunard. So if Carnival are planning to be up and running by August 1st then that would probably include P&O