Britons are warned not to take cruises

BRITISH tourists were last night warned against going on cruises.

The dramatic intervention from the Foreign Office is a blow to the travel industry and to the holiday plans of thousands.

The announcement on cruises was made just hours before the opening of travel corridors, with holidaymakers now able to fly to resorts all around the world.

Cruise bosses branded the rules nonsensical and accused ministers of dealing a fresh blow to their beleaguered industry.

‘I’m flabbergasted,’ said Paul Green of riveria Travel cruises. ‘How can hotels and travel within say France or Germany be considered safe by the Foreign Office, yet river cruises, with their limited passenger numbers and scrupulous cleaning regime have a problem?’

A source said that industry leaders were ‘privately fuming’.

Future bookings are likely to be devastated because the guidance comes with no time limit. It states: ‘The Foreign and 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.’

The announcement was made after those working in the sector had gone to great lengths to make ships as safe as possible in the hope of opening up again.

Public health officials are terrified the boats could becoming ‘floating petri dishes’ after a boom in outbreaks of Covid-19 on cruise ships at the beginning of the pandemic.

There are also fears that covid flare-ups on board could lead to costly repatriation missions which would have to be paid for by taxpayers.

Insiders say there are further worries an outbreak could lead to diplomatic tensions with for-eign nations if they are forced to deal with virus-stricken vessels.

A Whitehall source told the Daily Mail: ‘There are huge health concerns over how the virus spreads on cruise ships.

‘There needs to be major changes to how they operate before they can resume sailings because we’ve seen how easily the virus can spread on board.

‘Another issue is repatriation. During the crisis, the Foreign Office had to bring back 19,000 British nationals from cruise liners. There is concern in Government that we will have to do this again if we allow sailings to restart at this stage.’

The latest Foreign Office edict – which effectively bans cruises - is a hardening of earlier advice warning that over-70s should avoid cruise ship holidays due to the threat of infection.

It comes as thousands of holidaymakers prepare to jet off for a holiday under the travel corridor scheme, which starts today.

More than two million Britons enjoyed a cruise holiday last year and the industry generates £10billion a year for the economy, supporting at least 40,000 jobs.

An industry source said: ‘We are being cooperative, but most of us are privately fuming.

‘Confidence in cruise holidays is high and we have gone to great lengths to make our services safe, with social distancing in communal airports, pre-boarding Covid tests and temperature checks at entrances to dining halls.’

Debbie Marshall, of Silver Travel, which organisers trips for older travellers, added: ‘We don’t understand why the FCO has hardened the existing advice for the over-70s and people with health issues with regard to cruising.

‘There is no logic in now making this a blanket extension and we hope that it will be revised.’

Government sources confirmed that the ban on cruises was ‘indefinite’ and said there was currently no time-scale on when it would be lifted.

‘There is no logic in a blanket extension’