Brits told to avoid cruise ship holidays as Foreign Offices changes advice
The Foreign Office has changed its travel advice on cruise ship holidays and is now advising against them.
In updating guidance today, they said: ‘The Foreign & Commonwealth Office advises against cruise ship travel at this time. This is due to the ongoing pandemic and is based on medical advice from Public Health England.
‘The government will continue to review its cruise ship travel advice based on the latest medical advice.
‘If you have future cruise travel plans, you should speak to your travel operator, or the travel company you booked with, for further advice.
‘The Foreign & Commonwealth Office continues to support the Department for Transport’s work with industry for the resumption of international cruise travel.’
Previous advice issued on March 12 had said that British nationals aged 70 and above, and those with underlying health conditions, should not travel on cruise ships.
The travel advice means many holidaymakers with future bookings risk having their trips cancelled.
Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: ‘The FCO’s advice against cruise ship travel will lead to most upcoming cruises being cancelled or postponed.
‘Most cruise holiday customers should be legally entitled to a cash refund within 14 days under the package travel regulations, but as we’ve seen across the travel industry recently, operators facing a surge in refund claims are often taking longer to return customers’ money to them.
‘If refunds will be delayed, cruise companies must urgently let customers know and give a clear timetable for when money will be returned.
‘The FCO should also extend its warning to include a definitive date, to give operators and customers clarity over when it will be safe to rebook.’
‘The government will continue to review its cruise ship travel advice based on the latest medical advice.
‘If you have future cruise travel plans, you should speak to your travel operator, or the travel company you booked with, for further advice.
‘The Foreign & Commonwealth Office continues to support the Department for Transport’s work with industry for the resumption of international cruise travel.’
Previous advice issued on March 12 had said that British nationals aged 70 and above, and those with underlying health conditions, should not travel on cruise ships.
The travel advice means many holidaymakers with future bookings risk having their trips cancelled.
Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: ‘The FCO’s advice against cruise ship travel will lead to most upcoming cruises being cancelled or postponed.
‘Most cruise holiday customers should be legally entitled to a cash refund within 14 days under the package travel regulations, but as we’ve seen across the travel industry recently, operators facing a surge in refund claims are often taking longer to return customers’ money to them.
‘If refunds will be delayed, cruise companies must urgently let customers know and give a clear timetable for when money will be returned.
‘The FCO should also extend its warning to include a definitive date, to give operators and customers clarity over when it will be safe to rebook.’
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.