I P&O kicked us off a £5,000 cruise because we failed to have Covid boosters

n February 2022 my wife and I booked on to a Caribbean cruise with P&O, setting sail on Jan 10 this year.

We would not usually have spent £5,000 on a holiday, but it was to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and my 50th birthday, so it was a real one-off. It set sail from Southampton and we travelled down by coach with all our luggage. We queued for some time at the terminal and finally made it through to the initial security checks.

We were asked if we had confirmation of our Covid boosters when checking our electronic passes and we confirmed we had not had boosters.

This was out of choice, as we had both suffered adverse reactions to the jabs in the past. We were asked to sit in a waiting area as someone would need to speak to us. A short while later it was confirmed that we would not be allowed to board the ship. This was because we did not meet P&O’s Covid policy. We were completely confused by this as we were sure we were compliant with the Covid policy when we booked. It was confirmed to us that the policy had been changed on Jan 1 2023, so having a Covid booster was now a mandatory requirement for passengers.

We could not understand how a policy could have been changed nine days prior to our holiday without being confirmed with us.

There was also no way we could have complied as we were informed the vaccine had to be administered at least 14 days prior to the date of our holiday.

We were angry, frustrated and honestly could not believe what

P&O Cruises offered 50pc off another trip but is not admitting any mistakes

we had been told. I asked to speak to someone in a more senior position and from P&O, not port staff. We were told it had been our responsibility to check the terms and conditions of our booking online up to the date of travel. The handling of the situation was appalling and there was no empathy for us. P&O has offered us a 50pc refund, but we are still £2,500 out of pocket and never got to enjoy our holiday. I cannot describe in words the upset, stress and anxiety that has been created. I only hope we do not have to go through anything like this again. – PW, Staffordshire

Dear Reader

When you called customer support the next day you were told that the port staff had got it wrong and the booster policy had been in place for some time. In fact, the requirement was in place when you booked and you would have been told about this at the time. But then, somewhat confusingly, P&O removed the requirement from the majority of cruises. However, P&O told me that on Dec 13, you and your wife were emailed by your travel agent confirming that you did in fact need a Covid booster to board the cruise. This was because your cruise was longer and therefore “higher risk” from a Covid perspective. In theory, four weeks should have been enough time to get the booster before travel.

I asked you if you had received this email and you said yes, you had. You say the email appeared to contain contradictory information about whether you needed boosters, but you admitted you had not opened the attachment, which confirmed the exact policy for your cruise. Had you done so, or alternatively checked with P&O or your travel agent, you would have known the score.

Following my involvement, P&O has reviewed your history once more to check if it could have done anything differently. However, having done this, it feels you had sufficient notice of the requirements. The 50pc off your next cruise you have been offered is a “gesture of goodwill”, which means P&O is not admitting any mistakes.

You say you do not wish to holiday with P&O again, so it looks like you will not be using the voucher.

I’m really sorry this issue has not been resolved to your satisfaction, but I’m afraid there’s no more I can do. Some may dismiss these constantly evolving Covid rules enforced by cruise liners as silly and over the top. But I’m afraid they were a necessary evil brought in so the cruise industry could get back to operating after the pandemic.

Anyone uncomfortable with having Covid boosters and thinking about booking a cruise should pay close attention to health and safety policies.

A P&O spokesman said: “We are so sorry for the disappointment caused but do hope they will be able to travel with us again in the future.”

Send your questions Email Katie at kminvestigates@telegraph.co.uk

You can also write to Katie Morley, Telegraph Money, The Daily Telegraph, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT

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