Domestic cruises!

The Department for Transport (DfT) on Friday issued some new guidelines regarding cruising, emphasising that it is illegal to travel abroad from the UK for holidays at this time.

Under the roadmap scheme, no earlier than 17 May, cruises in UK water will be able to operate with up to 1,000 people or 50% capacity, whichever is lower. This capacity limit applies to passengers only.  It also goes on to say that Covid secure guidance will continue to apply. Groups of more than six people or two households will not be allowed to mix indoors – whether or not they originally booked in the same group.

The Government hopes to remove all legal limits on social contact by 21 June. This includes lifting capacity limits for domestic cruises.

With cruises departing from and return to UK ports, they may operate beyond UK waters, but are currently restricted to UK port calls and carrying residents from the UK and the Common Travel Area (Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Ireland) only.

Passengers from outside England should check their local travel restrictions before making travel plans.

If your planned cruise calls at a port outside of England ensure that you understand the relevant public health and pre-travel information about mitigating the risk of Covid-19 that your travel agent or cruise operator provides at the time of booking.  This can change before departure.  Get travel insurance, and make sure you are content with the level of cover it provides. If you already have travel insurance check it is valid and provides appropriate cover and also familiarise yourself with the UK Chamber of Shipping Covid-19 guidance for passengers.

See also BTN 5 April for a listing.

UK Chamber of Shipping Covid-19 guidance for passengers

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