Cruises & Covid 30 September 2022 at 3:27PM edited 3 October 2022 at 10:51AM in Coronavirus travel help & info 34 replies 1.8K views

onesixfive

We set off on a 11 day Cruise & Stay deal with P&O 2 weeks ago - we'd booked various shore excursions & an on-board drinks package.
Only 4 days into the cruise we caught Covid.
We were then isolated & tested positive frequently.

Not allowed to leave the ship as planned for the "Stay" at the nice 5 Star (P&O) hotel, we set sail in our isolation cabin to an unplanned destination, for a further 7 days.
By the time we both tested negative, we only had 1 full day's cruise (at sea) left.

Whilst the staff, and the room service during covid was very nice & we had no complaint as to how we were treated we feel we missed the holiday through no fault of our own, we had no social contact, no on-board leisure / entertainment facilities (other than films/tv); we had missed/cancelled shore excursions - albeit the cost was refunded; and missed the luxury follow-on hotel stay, and our original flight home (4 days before). Albeit flights were re-arranged (at no cost to us), and we finally arrived home last night almost 4 days late.

Are we being unreasonable expecting compensation ?
(ps: I dont want to claim from our insurance - that would push up premiums)

GrumpyDil

I seem to recall that P and O will give you a credit for the number of days you were in isolation to use against a future cruise.  

But as far as compensation goes, compensation for what exactly? 

jon81uk

P&Os website says to contact your travel insurance regarding losses.
Enhanced Heath & Well-being Measures | P&O Cruises (pocruises.com)

Whereas I've done some cruises with Virgin Voyages and they state that if you get covid and have to isolate they will give you a pro-rata credit to use on future bookings, so if you are isolating for seven nights of an 11 night trip you'd get 7/11s of your booking cost back to spend on the next cruise, which seems pretty fair.

Given P&O don't appear to have any policy on giving refunds (or credits) in this case, if you want to claim part of the cost of the trip you'll need to check the terms of your travel insurance.

Westin

onesixfive said:

We set off on a 11 day Cruise & Stay deal with P&O 2 weeks ago - we'd booked various shore excursions & an on-board drinks package.
Only 4 days into the cruise we caught Covid.
We were then isolated & tested positive frequently.

Not allowed to leave the ship as planned for the "Stay" at the nice 5 Star (P&O) hotel, we set sail in our isolation cabin to an unplanned destination, for a further 7 days.
By the time we both tested negative, we only had 1 full day's cruise (at sea) left.

Whilst the staff, and the room service during covid was very nice & we had no complaint as to how we were treated we feel we missed the holiday through no fault of our own, we had no social contact, no on-board leisure / entertainment facilities (other than films/tv); we had missed/cancelled shore excursions - albeit the cost was refunded; and missed the luxury follow-on hotel stay, and our original flight home (4 days before). Albeit flights were re-arranged (at no cost to us), and we finally arrived home last night almost 4 days late.

Are we being unreasonable expecting compensation ?
(ps: I dont want to claim from our insurance - that would push up premiums)

Clearly you had a disappointing cruise and I do feel sorry for you. As you say catching covid was not you fault - but it wasn't the fault of P&O either.  Who do you think should compensate you?  P&O seem to have done all they can for you.

eDicky

onesixfive said:

(ps: I dont want to claim from our insurance - that would push up premiums)

Drivers sometimes don't notify and claim on their vehicle insurance for minor damage from a mishap, to avoid an increase in future premiums. Is it the same situation with travel insurance?

(General question - I've no experience)

sheramber

(ps: I dont want to claim from our insurance - that would push up premiums)

Why do you have insurance if you don't want to claim on it?

Does your insurance cover you for being restricted due to covid?

Tescodealqueen

GrumpyDil said:

I seem to recall that P and O will give you a credit for the number of days you were in isolation to use against a future cruise.  

But as far as compensation goes, compensation for what exactly? 

That was the case until recently but the t and cs have since changed and I believe it’s now down to an insurance claim

NoodleDoodleMan

eDicky said:

onesixfive said:

(ps: I dont want to claim from our insurance - that would push up premiums)

Drivers sometimes don't notify and claim on their vehicle insurance for minor damage from a mishap, to avoid an increase in future premiums. Is it the same situation with travel insurance?

(General question - I've no experience)

It may be the cost of the obligatory excess charges imposed by motor insurance companies that presuade drivers not to claim for minor damage.

lisyloo

It’s not anyone’s fault.
yes I think it’s unreasonable to expect p&o to compensate you for the results of sickness.
you should claim off your insurance, that’s what it’s for.

onashoestring

From what you have said it sounds as if P&O have provided great customer service ( in the circumstances) 

Your Excursions have been refunded in full and the return flights were re-arranged for you at no cost to yourself.  

From P&O FAQs :  

“If you're required to isolate/quarantine, or in some cases disembark the ship, due to testing positive for COVID-19 during your holiday, you'll need to contact your travel insurance provider to claim for any associated loss.

*Per our booking conditions it is mandatory to have travel insurance with COVID-19 cover. If you unfortunately test positive during your holiday, you should let your insurance company know immediately and keep them updated throughout your period of isolation.”

https://www.pocruises.com/cruise-with-confidence

Your only option for claiming for any loss is to claim on your insurance. What do their T&Cs state about compensation for days spent in isolation ? 

Alan_Bowen

There is no no-claims bonus on travel insurance, so that is the way to go. P & O will not entertain claims for compensation, you may have carried the virus on the ship, you may have unwittingly passed it to others or they may have passed it to you. Cruises are not the holiday to take unless you accept the risk that they may be a floating covid factory. I am off for my fourth covid vaccination next week, and not contemplating a cruise....