Is it smart to book a cruise 18 months in advance?

Q Is it worth booking a cruise for March 2022?

Howie

A Let me say from the outset that – while I am happy to have holidays on cruise ships – my personal view is: “Book late to avoid disappointment.” I have, over the years, encountered the full range of problems that can befall people who commit a long way in advance for cruise holidays.

Potential issues begin with changes in the itinerary, which can be extreme. Cruise lines naturally expect a fair amount of slack at the time of a journey, in order to cope with poor weather, strikes and other on-the-day issues. Fair enough. But they also assert the right to make significant changes well ahead of departure.

On a Caribbean itinerary, for example, you might be particularly keen to visit Barbados, St Lucia and Antigua – only to find out later that one or two of them have been taken off the agenda. The shorter the time between booking and travelling, the less chance there is for annoying changes to be made: what you see on offer is more likely to be what you get.

Another infuriating tendency is for cruise lines to sell off the last few cabins (often to people like me) at significantly less than most other people paid – including those who committed over a year ahead. Of course, that is impossible to predict, and the converse could also prevail: that people who bought a long way in advance got a great deal on an in-demand cruise, on which later bookers pay significantly more.

With many cruise lines now accepting that they will not be sailing until spring 2021 at the earliest, they are going all out to attract bookings for voyages they fully expect to operate. The hope is that the current Foreign Office advice against cruise ship travel will be withdrawn.

Starting on 11 November, for example, P&O Cruises will be taking bookings all the way through until October 2022. It is seeking to attract passengers for voyages both from the home port of Southampton and Mediterranean fly-cruises with a 5 per cent low deposit and a 10 per cent discount for past clients. You could lock in a week in the Norwegian fjords for under £600, for example. The firm is also allowing customers to move their booking as many times as they like before paying their holiday balance.

It’s a strong offer, but given the sheer number of unknowns in the next year and a half, I will not be booking. Some people, perhaps you included, will judge it worthwhile on the very reasonable grounds of having something worthwhile to look forward to as England goes into another lockdown.

Q We are booked to travel to Tenerife on Tuesday and return a week later, with flights and accommodation separately. We are desperate to have a break. Will our flights go ahead, and if we get there will our Ehic cards be valid?

Jane L

A The sudden travel ban, which comes into effect at one minute past midnight on Thursday and is due to last until 2 December, has triggered the cancellation of hundreds of flights. Already easyJet has said it will probably ground the vast majority of departures to, from and within the UK during the second lockdown.

However, I would be reasonably confident that both legs of your trip will go ahead. The outbound flight is almost certain to depart, since it is just before the travel ban and I imagine a significant number of people whose time is flexible will be heading to the Canaries to sit out lockdown somewhere brighter. I believe there will be a surge of last-minute demand at lucrative fares for the airlines.

But even once lockdown starts in the UK, there will be tens of thousands of people – like you – who will need to be brought back. At some stage, though, I predict airlines will start to “consolidate” flights, ie move people from one departure to another to make up the numbers to something approaching sensible.

If your homeward flight is cancelled completely, do not panic. Under European air passengers’ rights rules, you are entitled to an alternative flight home – though given the extreme circumstances it may involve changing the day of your return by a day or two either way.

I am glad to say your European Health Insurance Card (Ehic) remains valid for two more months, giving you free or reduced rate emergency medical care at public hospitals. UK lockdown rules are not relevant. But bear in mind that it will cease to be any use from the end of the Brexit transition period – on 31 December 2020.

Q As things stand, if I return to the UK on the Eurostar from France, am I allowed then to continue on domestic trains to my home address in North Berwick before starting my quarantine?

Name supplied

A Even during the days of deep lockdown in spring and early summer, travelling for the purposes of returning home was allowed pretty much universally. The same principle applies now: if people need to get home they should be able to do so, observing whatever quarantine requirements are in place. So despite the tighter restrictions in France – and new rules in England – you should be able to travel without problem to London St Pancras from France. You will need to complete the UK passenger locator form in advance, of course.

On arrival, you will able to walk across to London King’s Cross and board an Edinburgh-bound train and change for North Berwick. But if you arrive too late in the day then you are allowed to stay overnight. The official quarantine advice says: “If necessary, and you have a long journey within the UK to arrive at your self-isolation accommodation, you can stop overnight in safe accommodation before continuing your journey.”

So you could stay anywhere that is reasonable in order to allow you to complete your journey, such as York or Newcastle.

The evidence I have read indicates that rail travel is extremely low risk and so I would not hesitate to make a similar journey. But to reduce the duration of exposure to other people who may possibly be infectious, you might want to consider a direct flight to Edinburgh.

However you reach your East Lothian destination, I am afraid that you will not be able to enjoy the lovely outdoor setting of North Berwick, one of my favourite seaside resorts in Scotland. The self-isolation rules insist that you remain at home, venturing no further than the garden (if you are lucky enough to have one) except for essential shopping if there is no one else who can do it for you. And unfortunately that has to continue for 14 days from the day after you arrive in the UK.

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