Advice for holidaymakers not to travel on cruise ships branded ‘illogical’
The decision by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to advise UK holidaymakers against travelling on cruise ships has been branded “illogical” by a travel firm.
Paul Green, from Riviera Travel, said it was “nonsensical” that people should be advised against taking river cruises in countries where travel restrictions had been lifted.
“This is completely illogical when it comes to river cruising within safe countries,” he said.
“Why would you think that sleeping on a river cruise boat was so much more dangerous than sleeping in a decent hotel in France or Germany?
“Our plans for returning were to have lower numbers, tour groups which were half the size as they were before, coaches were going to be a maximum of only half full.
“Everything has been examined and we were confident that we could operate them to the very highest standards and more importantly provide a fantastic holiday experience.”
Simon Palethorpe, president of Carnival UK, the parent company of P&O Cruises and Cunard, said confidence in cruising remained “strong” and the firm was “seeing increasing demand from our guests, who we look forward to welcoming back on board when the time is right”.
P&O Cruises had previously suspended all sailings until mid-october.
Debbie Marshall, managing director at Silver Travel Advisor, said: “We don’t really understand why it suddenly happened, why the timing was such that they had to do it then, and what was the real reasoning behind it, because it’s simply an FCO statement without any kind of rationale to back it up. Essentially it quashes the whole notion of cruising without any date for review.”
The FCO travel advice means many holidaymakers with future bookings risk having their trips cancelled.