Tough call for P&O

P&O have been in the news last week and they are back this week as they have withdrawn Oceana from their Dubai & Arabian Gulf itineraries that were meant to take place from October 2019 – March 2020.

This decision was not taken lightly by P&O but it comes following the line’s close monitoring of the situation within the Straits of Hormuz — which lies between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman — and taking advice from external authorities.

P&O Cruises president, Paul Ludlow, said: “The increased tension in the region highlighted by the attacks on tankers in the Straits and the detention of a British-flagged tanker by the Iranian authorities means as a British company flying the Red Ensign it is not advisable for us to maintain our planned Dubai and Arabian Gulf programme this winter season.

“We have therefore taken the unusual step of withdrawing Oceana from the region for the upcoming season. Whilst we appreciate our guests will be disappointed, the safety of our guests and crew is absolutely paramount and given our UK status, coupled with the uncertainty in the region, we have had to make this difficult decision.”

This is such a shame as these itineraries are brilliant and the packages that P&O put together for this with direct flights with Emirates are such good value and I know alot of customers that enjoyed these the last season that the Oceana was out there. However the safety of the passengers and crew it the most important thing and hope that people that were booked onto these itineraries can understand this.

P&O are now working so hard to put alternative itineraries together around Spain, Portugal and Canary Islands and a longer duration sailing to the Caribbean. these should be available in the next few weeks for customer affected and anyone else wanting to cruise on the Oceana.

Even though other lines don’t have visible British flags on them they will still be carrying British passengers I wonder if other liners will follow suit, of course I will keep you updated.