Tag Archives: Covid-19

P&O cruise changes its Vaccination rules.

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P&O Cruises is changing its vaccination policy for all Caribbean holidays on Britannia and Azura with all passengers now needing to be fully vaccinated.

The line’s president Paul Ludlow said its Covid-19 protocols “needed to evolve to the changing public health situation” which had prompted the change in policy.

“Given the long-haul destinations, the number of ports of call in different countries, combined with the current health protocols and entry requirements in the Caribbean, all guests of all ages will need to be fully vaccinated in order to travel on any Caribbean holiday up to and including 27 March 2022,” said Ludlow.

“This policy will also include our long Caribbean cruises on Ventura and Aurora leaving in January and February next year.

“As always, our priority is the health and well-being of all on board and we will contact those guests who may be affected by this change.”

The change comes as P&O Cruises prepares to restart cruises on Ventura, which will become the brand’s third ship to resume international trips on Sunday (3 October).

Ventura is setting sail for the Canary Islands on its restart cruise as P&O sees more demand for international voyages. The ship joins Iona and Britannia, which sailed around the UK during the summer before restarting international itineraries last month.

P&O plans to have four ships in operation by the end of the year with Azura due to resume operations in December 2021 when it joins Britannia for the Caribbean winter season.

The brand has previously announced plans to operate its full fleet of six ships by spring 2022 when Arcadia and Aurora will begin sailing again.

“Ventura’s international restart is the result of guest confidence in cruising and is the very latest stage of P&O Cruises sailing resumption as we work towards the return of our full fleet in spring 2022,” added Ludlow.

“Due to demand and the resounding endorsement of the first international holidays on Iona and Britannia we’ve opened up increased capacity to holiday with us.


“We’re proud to have four ships sailing internationally this year giving our guests a greater choice of where and when they travel with P&O Cruises for winter sun.”


Ventura is sailing on 12-night winter-sun trips to Spain and Portugal before a 35-night round-trip itinerary from Southampton to the Caribbean departing on 3 January 2022.

Double vaccinated UK travellers will no longer have to show proof of a negative PCR test upon arrival in Turkey

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Travellers over the age of 12 must be fully inoculated to avoid the requirement and those under the age of 12 are exempt.

All arrivals must complete an online health form a maximum of 72 hours prior to travel. Tourists do not need to complete the form if they’re transiting through Turkey on the way to another country.

UK visitors will need to either show proof of vaccination, recent recovery from Covid-19 or a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before travelling if unvaccinated.

The destination, which reportedly welcomed two and a half million British tourists in 2019, was removed from the UK’s red list on 22 September.

The Turkish Tourism Board in the UK said the country is “ready and excited” to welcome back UK tourists “With no requirement for PCR tests, and following our removal from the UK government’s red list, travelling to Turkey couldn’t be easier,” it added.

“With warm temperatures, welcoming people, stunning coastlines and wonderful local cuisine all just a few hours flight away, Turkey is the perfect destination for UK families this half-term.”

Jet2.com and Jet2holidays chief executive Steve Heapy said the airline and operator have experienced “enormous demand” from customers for trips to Turkey since it was removed from the red list.

“Turkey is one of our most popular destinations for customers who want some late-summer sunshine, an October break or some winter sun, so this really is fantastic news for UK holidaymakers,” Heapy added.


“Additionally, it is another welcome step on the road to reopening international properly. We urge other overseas governments to follow the Turkish government in allowing UK holidaymakers to reap the benefits of the vaccine rollout.”

Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady Leaves Portsmouth for New York

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The Scarlet Lady has set sail from Portsmouth, England, after spending the summer in the UK. According to a press release, the 2,800-passenger Virgin Voyages ship is now heading across the Atlantic to New York.

Portsmouth International Port said that over 8,000 passengers enjoyed the Summer Soiree Series, which saw Virgin Voyages launch its world’s first commercial sailing from Portsmouth.

A pop-up terminal was created to host passengers while keeping strict COVID-19 health protocols in place after the CDC cruise restrictions in America curtailed plans for stateside launch, guests instead enjoyed a season sailing in domestic UK waters.

Portsmouth port said that the Scarlet Lady brought a “much-needed boost to the city after a challenging year.” and it felt honoured to receive an open letter of thanks from the Virgin Voyages team.

“(Y) you’ve welcomed us to your home and you will forever have a place in our heart. We couldn’t be more grateful for your support as we sailed for the first time,” the letter read. “While the Scarlet Lady is saying Bon Voyage after a brilliant Summer Soiree season, we can’t wait to see you next year when our second ship, the Valiant Lady, makes her debut, right here. She’s quite the head-turner too, and there’s nowhere else we’d rather start her off.”

Mike Sellers, Portsmouth International Port’s director said: “Seeing the Scarlet Lady in the port has been the result of years of hard work, from securing investment to extend our cruise berth to accommodate larger ships, to building confidence with the Virgin Voyages’ team that we could look after their world-first sailing … Everyone at the port stepped up, during the most challenging time, to make sure this was a success and I’m so proud of their hard work and professionalism.”

Sellers noted that it has also been impressive to see the Virgin team in operation with some spending months in the city to make sure “everything went smoothly, becoming very fond of Portsmouth in the process.”

“We want to become the port of choice for luxury, boutique cruises, and with plans for a terminal extension underway we’re on our way there … We’re looking forward to seeing Virgin’s new build Valiant Lady in the city next year, and welcoming back the team. In the meantime, the hard work continues as we continue to build our position as a major player in the cruise industry,” Sellers said.