Preparing to restart canal boat holidays
Canal breaks and river cruising in the UK, Ireland and Europe
AS PART of measures to control the spread of the coronavirus, sadly our holiday hire boatyards have been closed since March 23. It has been a very strange time for everyone.
Government support has helped tide us over, with for example the furloughing of staff. And we are extremely grateful to the vast majority of our customers who have been happy to postpone, rather than cancel, their holidays. We are looking forward to seeing them.
Now, as part of the Government’s plan to ease the lockdown, we are in a position to plan to restart our holidays again from July 4. And as canal boat hire offers people the chance to explore the countryside self-contained aboard their own floating holiday home, we are confident that there will be a strong demand for our holidays.
New safety measures
To ensure that our holidays are safe to resume for both staff and customers, using guidance from the Government, we have been working with British Marine Inland Boating and the Canal & River Trust to implement a series of new measures ahead of reopening our boatyards.
Keeping people apart
We are putting in new social distancing arrangements at all our boat yards. These include signage to help keep staff and customers apart, as well as staggering boat collection and return times to reduce the number of people on site at one time.
Making sure everything is clean
We are introducing extra cleaning for all our boats between each hire. This includes the use of approved antiviral cleaning products and paying extra attention to surfaces that are touched regularly, such as door handles and taps. We are also ensuring our reception areas are regularly cleaned and hand washing facilities or hand gel are available.
Boat handovers
We are providing extra information to customers in advance of their holidays, about our boats and how to operate them. Handovers will be done a little differently, but hirers will still meet one of our professional instructors and be shown how to steer and operate the boat. During handover, both staff and customers will wear face coverings.
What about the pubs?
Stopping off at canalside pubs is a key attraction for many of our customers. Some pubs have already reopened to offer take-outs and we are confident that from July, many others will reopen.
More than one household
We are waiting to hear from the Government when more than one household can holiday aboard the same boat. In the meantime, we are taking bookings for single households and multi-boat bookings when two separate households are planning to holiday together.
How can I make a booking?
Drifters operators are now accepting bookings for holidays starting on or after July 4. There’s more information online at www.drifters.co.uk, including lots of practical information for newcomers. Or people can call us on 0344 984 0322 for help and advice.
What about cancellations?
We know that many people considering booking a holiday will be concerned about possible changes in lockdown rules that may prevent them from taking their holiday. They will also be concerned about what happens if they get coronavirus symptoms, or are asked to quarantine as a result of coming into contact with someone who has contracted the virus.
We would like to assure anyone planning to take a holiday with us this year that we will accept holiday deferrals where customers have to change their booking due to coronavirus. And where deferrals due to coronavirus are not possible, vouchers or refunds will be given.