P&O Cruises Cancels Seven Sailings Due to Crew Member Availability

In an email sent to booked guests, P&O Cruises has announced the cancellation of seven sailings of Arcadia, in order to reassign crew customers to other vessels because of to COVID-19 instances impacting crew availability. Though the ship only restarted passenger functions 12 times ago, all sailings until finally July 5 have been canceled.

7 Cruises Canceled

The Vista-class Arcadia only reentered company on March 27, 2022, with a 16-day round journey sailing from Southampton to the Canary Islands. The cruise has frequented ports in Spain and Portugal as perfectly, and will conclude the current sailing back again in Southampton on Tuesday, April 12.

The present sailing is not impacted by the cancelations, but future voyages as a result of the planned June 23 departure will no for a longer period choose area.

The canceled sailings range from 3-19 working day itineraries, with “Short Break” cruises as properly as Baltic, Norwegian Fjord, and Mediterranean sailings.

COVID Situations Impacting Crew Availability

The cancelation is due to growing COVID figures that are impacting crew associates offered to get the job done, and for that reason earning it tricky for the cruise line to give their signature exemplary assistance.

According to a write-up from P&O Cruises Facebook site in responding to guest responses, “The existing and amazing impact of COVID-19 in the United kingdom, in the wider hospitality, assistance, and airline industry as a full, has resulted in a short-term disruption to crewmembers offered to be part of our ships.”

Even if crew users are not straight away screening good for the ailment, quarantine and isolation durations are making it difficult to sufficiently personnel vessels.

Staffing challenges may also be a result of crew users getting not able to journey to satisfy their different ships to start contracts, and redirecting crew members from 1 ship can help fill staffing gaps on other vessels.

“As a final result, P&O Cruises will be re-deploying crew from Arcadia to other ships in the fleet. This is currently being performed in buy to keep the company’s higher standards of assistance of which we are very very pleased, throughout the other five ships in the fleet,” the comment continued.

Arcadia can accommodate 1,952 guests when booked at double occupancy, and up to 2,388 travellers when totally booked. The ship carries 976 crew associates when thoroughly staffed, but it is not clear at this time whether or not all crew associates are aboard.

Compensation Presented

Guests booked on the now-canceled sailings are reporting that P&O Cruises is supplying a total refund for the affected sailing, together with any pre-compensated shore tours.

The cruise line is also presenting a price savings on a upcoming cruise and a future cruise credit score (FCC) for onboard bills. The share off a foreseeable future cruise and the amount of money of the FCC fluctuate based on which cruise the passenger experienced canceled as very well as the fare paid.

All refunds will be immediately processed again to guests’ unique sort of payment.

Several company are understandably unhappy at the short detect, specially for the next cruise or two as there could not be time to rebook related voyages on different vessels as demand for journey has been raising drastically for spring and summer sailings.

Previous P&O Cruise Ship to Return

Arcadia was the last P&O Cruises ship to return to company immediately after ceasing passenger operations in March 2020. There was wonderful fanfare as the vessel restarted, together with a exclusive concept from Paul Ludlow, P&O Cruises president. That information stated, in element:

“Our intention is, often, to safeguard your well being and wellbeing and keep the optimum expectations onboard so you can just relax and get pleasure from your holiday break.”

With crew shortages, it can be tough to adequately keep these superior standards. All P&O Cruises crew associates are entirely vaccinated and travellers are also expected to be totally vaccinated, but breakthrough circumstances and exposures can create staffing challenges.

P&O Cruises will proceed sailing with the remaining five ships in the fleet, and Arcadia is scheduled to return to support with a July 5 sailing. That voyage is scheduled to be a 14-working day roundtrip Iceland itinerary from Southampton, also contacting on ports in Norway and Ireland.

In December, the P&O Cruises fleet will mature even further with the scheduled debut of the 184,700-gross-ton Arvia, the largest ship ever constructed for the cruise line. Arvia is presently less than development at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany.