Tag Archives: cruise holidays

The majority of cruise passengers believe sailings are “ideal for people of ages”

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P&O Britannia in the Caribbean sun, photo credit Spacejunkie2

Cruise specialist Cruise.co.uk asked 850 consumers to name what they viewed as the three main misconceptions about cruising.

The most common mistaken belief identified by the survey was that cruise “is only for retired people”, with more than half (54%) of those polled believing cruise holidays are actually “ideal for people of all ages”.
  
The next misconception is cruises are “expensive”. Just under half (42%) of respondents felt there are cruise holidays to suit every budget, and compared to other types of holidays, they are “extremely” good value.

The third preventing people from booking a cruise was “seasickness”. More than a third (38%) maintain modern ships, with their advanced stabilisation, ensuring it’s “plain sailing” onboard.
 
Overall, 84% of respondents said there are still misconceptions about cruising among the general public, but 32% said there are fewer misconceptions than there were two years ago, as more people try cruising for the first time.

Tony Andrews, deputy managing director of Cruise.co.uk, said the survey “lifts the lid” on some of those “tired cliches we’ve all heard about cruise holidays”.

“There are cruises out there for all ages, from young families stepping onboard a ship for the first time to senior sailors toasting a happy retirement,” he said.

“And there’s so much more to enjoy onboard these days – from incredible spas, pools and even water parks to ice rinks, climbing walls and West End quality shows – everyone can make the most of their time onboard and explore new destinations in comfort.”

P&O Australia Announces Plan for Vaccination Only Policy

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P&O Cruises Australia has announced its plan to re-start operations with voyages for vaccinated guests and crew.

President of P&O Cruises Australia Sture Myrmell said governments were linking society returning to normal to sufficient numbers of Australians being vaccinated for COVID-19, according to a statement. 

“P&O Cruises is the longest-serving cruise line in the country with a proud 90 year history of sailing from Australia, and we want to do our bit to get this country back up and running again,” Myrmell said.

“Governments have been connecting vaccination rates to plans to end lockdowns, border restrictions and, ultimately, re-opening Australia. In addition, our research shows that the vast majority of our guests want to cruise with other vaccinated Australians.

“P&O’s vaccination policy is an indication tht everything possible is being done to support the resumption of cruising in a way that provides further reassurance for our guests and the authorities that public health and wellbeing are our top priority.

“We expect that P&O’s vaccination only policy for guests and crew would provide further reassurance for local authorities in working with the sector in developing protocols for resuming domestic cruise holidays,” Myrmell said.

“We anticipate this policy will be in place until governments and public health authorities advise the broader community it has achieved the required public health outcomes and/or provides direction on public health management in the post-vaccination phase.”

Myrmell said the imperative to resume cruise operations in Australia has never been greater.

“In the past 15 months, more than $6 billion in economic activity linked to cruising in Australia has been wiped along with the livelihoods of suppliers including farmers, technical support services, tour operators and entertainers,” he said.

P&O Cruises Australia said it would provide guests with further detail on the policy once there was an agreed re-start date for domestic cruising, however, the broad intent was to require proof of vaccination for those in the population eligible to be vaccinated at the time. In line with its flexible booking policies, P&O Cruises Australia said any guest who wishes to cancel their cruise due to the vaccination policy will receive a full refund.

Royal Caribbean names partners of the year for 2014

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Royal Caribbean International named five agencies as regional partners of the year for 2014.

They include Vision Travel Solutions for Canada, Cruise and Vacation Authority for the Southeast, Travel Network for the Northeast, Cruise Holidays of Kansas City for the Central region, and Cruise Specialists for the West.

Buy the Sea was named partner of the year for corporate meeting and incentive travel.

Also honored for 2014 were Nexion as home-based partner, Avoya Travel as online partner and American Express Travel as consortia partner.

Cruise Planners/American Express received the President’s Award for overall achievement, with World Travel Holdings tabbed for the Chairman’s Award for overall achievement.