Your questions answered

We are sorry to announce that cruises on Arcadia, Aurora, Azura and Ventura have been cancelled until the end of August 2021 and on Britannia and Iona until late September 2021. We have extended our pause in response to the current restrictions on international travel.

We are sorry to announce that we have extended our pause in response to the current restrictions on international travel

Cruises on Ventura are cancelled up until October 2021.

Cruises on Azura are cancelled up until December 2021.

Cruises on Arcadia are cancelled up until March 2022.

Cruises on Aurora are cancelled up until April 2022.

Britannia and Iona sailings are unaffected; these ships will be sailing a series of summer 2021 staycations.

Aurora:

R003 – R113

R114 – R201

Azura:

A006 - A117C

A118 – A124A

Britannia:

B006 - B121

Iona:

G003 - G132

Ventura:

N004 - N117

N118 – N119

Arcadia:

J002 - J113

J114 – J203

Due to a lack of availability of charter aircraft on Caribbean routes, it has been necessary to cancel all seven and fourteen night Britannia fly-cruises which start or end in St Lucia from October 2021 through to March 2022: B124B, B125B, B125C, B125D, B126B, B126C, B126D, B127B, B127C, B127D, B128F, B128G, B128H, B201B, B201C, B201D, B202B, B202C, B202D, B203B, B203C, B203D, B204B, B204C, B204D, B205B, B205C, B205D, B206B, B206C and B206D

Guests affected by this pause in operations are being notified by email at 10.00am on Tuesday 22 June 2021 and by letter where we don’t have a valid email address.

Unfortunately it has been necessary to extend the pause and cancel some cruises due to the uncertainty around international travel. We will continue to work through CLIA and our own UK government contacts and will follow all recommended guidance for a restart at the right time for our brands and guests.

Due to the uncertainty around international travel, the decision has been made to extend our pause based on the published itineraries. As the Staycations only include UK sailings these will be going ahead as planned.  

Yes.  We have taken the decision to pause cruises based on their itineraries and the restrictions around international travel. 

Given the current traffic light system for international travel, a number of itineraries have had to be cancelled. These further cancellations vary according to ship and itinerary. We’ve taken into account complexity and length of itineraries as well as advice and guidance regarding ports of call around the world. We are so sorry for the disappointment this will cause.

We are constantly monitoring guidance on international travel and the ports we visit and will update guests if any changes are necessary.

We are working at the highest levels to put in place our framework of health protocols and taking into consideration the evolving advice and guidance from relevant Government departments. We can't wait to set sail on Britannia and Iona for our short summer staycation cruises and to sail the world’s oceans more widely when the time is right.

In the coming months we’ll be announcing more deployment updates. Two new replacement itineraries for Aurora, with winter sun appeal, will go on sale at 8.30am on Tuesday 29 June plus a new World Cruise for 2024 will be announced later this year. 

If your holiday is unaffected by our latest pause but you would like to reschedule, you can take advantage of our free flexible transfer policy up to the date the balance for your holiday is due. 

• Transfer your booking to any P&O Cruises holiday currently on sale (and not just to those within the next 12 months).

• Transfer your booking to a cruise of higher or lower value (and not just of a higher value, as is usually the case).

• Transfer your booking an unlimited number of times (and not just once).

• Transfer your bookings free of charge.

This policy modifies the transfer policy in our Booking Conditions.  This policy may be changed or withdrawn at any time without notice.

Please visit www.pocruises.com/travel-health-advisories/flexible-cancellation-policy for our current cancellation policy.

FCCs will be created for all guests with an affected booking, however if you wish to have a 100% cash refund instead, this is available through the form on www.pocruises.com/request and may be requested until December 2021.

If you booked a package that included a flight and/or hotel and/or land based tour, and you paid your agent / tour operator a single price for a package, then your agent / tour operator will be dealing with your refund – please contact them directly.

Please contact your Travel Insurance provider in the first instance, however, if you are unsuccessful, please send details of your claim with appropriate receipts and confirmation from your insurance provider that they have denied your claim to Guest Relations for their consideration.

Guest Support, P&O Cruises, Carnival House, 100 Harbour Parade, Southampton SO15 1ST or

email guestsupport@carnivalukgroup.com

If you haven’t received a communication, it may mean we don’t have your email address. Please remember to update your preferences here: https://www.pocruises.com/myaccount/

We apologise we are unable to send a repeat email so please refer to the website.

We have taken guidance from the relevant authorities and until we are advised that transmission rates are very low and stabilised across the country we will continue to have protocols in place to protect the health and well-being of all on board. We want to give all guests the reassurance that a cruise is above all an amazing holiday and one which will have their health protection at its core. In addition we will always comply with the relevant guidance in the countries we visit, as well as our own industry (CLIA) and corporate standards. As a result of this, there may be differences with shore side experiences for our guests. 

We have spent the last year working with PHE, DfT and CLIA to put in place multi-layered and proven protocols for our return to service. We also have 24/7 medical centres on board and deep cleaning procedures which have always been in place and are proven to be effective. In line with the requirement for pre-cruise testing, our enhanced on-board protocols, isolation and quarantine cabin allocation and guest etiquette guidance we have also put in place specific agreements with 'safe ports' for our planned itineraries, where we have the ability to safely disembark guests with the appropriate medical care and quarantine requirements should it be necessary.

There is no age restriction on this series of UK coastal cruises but all guests of all ages must meet the requirements of the COVID-19 vaccination policy. For these cruises the definition of “vaccinated” is a minimum of 14 days following the second dose of the currently approved COVID-19 vaccines being administered. Proof of vaccination and the dates given will be required (approved forms of evidence will be confirmed closer to time of departure) and this will be required to be shown at the terminal prior to boarding. Failure to provide this evidence will result in denial of boarding. 

Yes, you will need a passport to travel on these new cruises.

All boarding and disembarkation will take place in Southampton.

Back to back bookings will not be available on these new cruises. P&O Cruises adopt the seven day period between cruises for all guests. A minimum of sevene second dose bit important to include? Eg  which were:rs a yes days following disembarkation is therefore required before embarking on another cruise operating out of the UK.

Guests will require a seven day gap between any of the UK getaway cruises. Back to back bookings will not be available.

This seven day gap also applies to cruises booked with our sister brands Cunard and Princess Cruises.

As the COVID-19 situation evolves our accompanying health protocols are under constant review. Therefore, to ensure we continue to maintain the highest levels of approach, we want to ensure that as we return to sailing each new cruise operates with all guests boarding for the first time, in line with these protocols.

Unfortunately there will not be a coach transfer service on these new cruises.

We are monitoring all guidance at the highest levels and should any changes be necessary we will advise guests in good time.

Yes of course. With the flexible booking policy bookings may be amended any time prior to the balance due date.

If you were booked on a cruise which has now been paused there’s no need to contact us. We will automatically refund any purchases for extra experiences you made through My P&O Cruises, Flight Seat Booker, your travel agent or our Customer Contact Centre. The refund will be made to the card used to make the purchase. 

Whilst we work through the cancellation process we are aware automatic cancellation invoices may be produced that reflect incorrect cancellation fees. This is not correct and you may disregard the confirmation. We appreciate the upset and or confusion this may have caused and thank you for patience whilst this process is rectified.

We are working to process all new and outstanding refund requests as soon as possible. Due to the extraordinary circumstances associated with COVID-19 we are dealing with an unprecedented level of refunds but we have put in place new systems and technology and we are working through them as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience.

This will also be refunded as a 100% FCC to be used on another future cruise holiday. Unfortunately the FCC cannot be used to book another City Stay or Land Tour.

If you do require a refund, please complete the web form which is located at https://www.pocruises.com/request

You can transfer to a cruise of any value.

Yes, we can allocate FCC to bookings made on these new cruises.

We have listened to feedback from our guests who have been saying that how we allocate FCCs can be confusing. Given that some of our guests may now have been affected by more than one pause, we have decided to simplify the calculations for all guests. As a result we are offering the enhanced 125% FCC for the full value of the deposit – the amount that we have asked for and what almost all guests have paid – and a 100% FCC for any extra monies that a small number of guests may have chosen to pay.

We are continually reviewing all policies that have been developed as a result of the recent operational pauses. We are pleased to be able to offer all impacted guests an FCC worth an additional 25% of the standard deposit terms and 100% of any additional monies paid. 

If a booking was made on a recently cancelled cruise using an FCC from a previously cancelled cruise, you will receive the same value of that FCC back. If the value of an FCC payment was less than the value of the standard deposit, you will receive as a FCC 125% of the cash element paid of the deposit value and 100% of any additional monies paid.

You can either take the FCC offer of 125% on your deposit and 100% on the remaining money paid or a full refund.  We cannot offer a partial FCC and partial refund. 

There’s no need to contact us; in the coming weeks your Future Cruise Credit will be automatically applied against each individual on the booking. Once your FCCs are set up you can put your FCC towards any new booking on a P&O Cruises holiday.

In the coming months we’ll be announcing more deployment updates. Two new replacement itineraries for Aurora, with winter sun appeal, will go on sale at 8.30am on Tuesday 29 June plus a new World Cruise for 2024 will be announced later this year. 

FCCs will be created for all guests with an affected booking.

FCCs will be created for guests with a live booking at the time of our pause announcement. Guests who cancelled their booking before the pause announcement will not be entitled to the FCC.

Yes, you can use your FCC to upgrade your booking from Early Saver to Select Price and take advantage of the added booking benefits. You can also upgrade your cabin on an existing holiday booking.

If you had booked this cruise using your FCC from a previously cancelled cruise, you will receive the same value of that FCC back. If the value of your FCC payment was less than the value of the standard deposit, you will receive as an FCC 125% of the cash element paid of the deposit value and 100% of any additional monies paid.

If your FCC has not been created as yet, please contact your travel agent or give us a call directly and we can create your new booking. The FCC can be added once it has been created.  

All guests affected by this extension to our pause in operations will automatically receive a Future Cruise Credit worth 125% of the standard deposit terms, and 100% of any additional monies paid. We will be issuing an email to all affected guests in the coming weeks confirming your Future Cruise Credit value.

Once you have logged in to our website using your My Account Number and chosen your new holiday you will see your FCC deduction in your booking summary.

100% of the cruise fare paid by you and held as an FCC is bonded by ABTA or ATOL (for fly-cruises) so you can be secure in the knowledge that your monies are protected under those arrangements.

Where the cost of the new holiday is more than the FCC, you can simply pay the difference between the value of the FCC and the deposit or balance payment (if after the date the balance for your holiday is due). 

Once an FCC has been applied to a new booking, in the event of a cancellation of a cruise by you, any refund will be given in FCC.

Full details can be found on our website - https://www.pocruises.com/travel-health-advisories/future-cruise-credit

If you are joining one of our cruises that has scheduled flights the FCC is only available to be used for the cruise element of the holiday and cannot be used to pay for flights or hotel packages. 

For cruises that involve chartered flights you can use the FCC for all elements of your cruise including upgrades to premium seats. 

This will also be refunded as a 100% FCC to be used on another future cruise holiday. Should you wish to book a premium flight again when you rebook, please call our Customer Contact Centre or your travel agent.

Simply give us a call (or your travel agent if you have made a booking though them) and we will move this over for you.

You can use your FCC to upgrade your booking from Early Saver to Select Price and take advantage of the added booking benefits. You can also upgrade your cabin to a higher grade on an existing holiday booking. Note the upgrade is on the CRUISE element of the holiday only (it CANNOT be used for flights).

Call us or contact your travel agent.

Call us or contact your travel agent.

You have chosen to take an FCC – this cannot be refunded in part.

While we cannot offer this at present, we are looking into how we can make this happen and hope to be able to in the future. 

We are sorry about the disappointing news about your holiday booking and on-board ceremony. A member of our Ceremonies team will be in contact with you soon to talk things through in more detail.

We will not be giving loyalty points for the cancelled cruises, but you will get the loyalty points for the new cruise you book.

Yes, we will honour the on-board booking benefits for the new cruise. Please note that they will be based on the number of nights of the new booking.

Yes - we will be protecting the tier status you had achieved by 16 March 2020, and your benefits will be fully protected for two years - up to and including 31 March 2022.

Due to a lack of availability of charter aircraft on Caribbean routes, it has been necessary to cancel all seven and fourteen night Britannia fly-cruises which start or end in St Lucia from October 2021 through to March 2022: B124B, B125B, B125C, B125D, B126B, B126C, B126D, B127B, B127C, B127D, B128F, B128G, B128H, B201B, B201C, B201D, B202B, B202C, B202D, B203B, B203C, B203D, B204B, B204C, B204D, B205B, B205C, B205D, B206B, B206C and B206D

Guests affected by this cancellation are being notified by email at 10.00am on Tuesday 27 July 2021 and by letter where we don’t have a valid email address.

Yes, St Lucia will be a port of call for shore experiences but not for embarking or disembarking guests.

Azura fly-cruises do not have St Lucia as a turnaround port so these holidays are unaffected.

No – due to COVID-19 protocols we are not permitted to allow guests on board who have taken scheduled flights to St Lucia, so this will no longer be a turnaround port for boarding or disembarking guests.

Due to COVID-19 protocols we are not permitted to allow guests on board who have taken scheduled flights to St Lucia, so this will no longer be a turnaround port for boarding or disembarking guests. Guests will need to contact their scheduled air provider or booking agent to discuss options in relation to their scheduled flight. 

All Caribbean fly-cruises in winter 22/23 will go ahead as planned.

Due to the aviation industry being badly affected by COVID-19 airlines are operating with less capacity and have reduced the number of aircraft they are operating.

We have many Caribbean fly-cruise holidays on sale which start in Barbados and we would be delighted for you to book one of these as an alternative. Please go to www.pocruises.com, call our Customer Contact Centre or a trusted travel agent if you would like to do this.

Cruise B124B is within balance due, so guests have already paid for their holiday in full, as per the payment terms and conditions. All other affected cruises are not within the balance due deadline, so we’ve only requested a deposit to be paid. 

Guests on B124B

You will receive the same value of that FCC back. If the value of the FCC payment was less than the value of cruise B124B, you will receive 125% FCC for the cash element of monies paid.

Guests on all other affected cruises (not B124B)

All other guests (not on B124B) will receive the same value of that FCC back. If the value of your FCC payment was less than the value of the standard deposit, you will receive the relevant FCC amount back and 125% of the cash element of the deposit paid, as an FCC.  Any additional monies paid will be returned as an FCC.

Please contact your Travel Insurance provider in the first instance, however, if you are unsuccessful, please send details of your claim with appropriate receipts and confirmation from your insurance provider that they have denied your claim to Guest Relations for their consideration.

Guest Support, P&O Cruises, Carnival House, 100 Harbour Parade, Southampton SO15 1ST or email guestsupport@carnivalukgroup.com

Yes, very much so. Our newest ship, is on schedule and we  are committed to taking delivery in December 2022.