Before your cruise with P&O Cruises

Now that you have made your booking, if you have not already done so please visit the P&O website and create an account at pocruises.com/myaccount. Their My Account is a simple and easy way to update your details, join their loyalty club, the P&O Cruises Peninsular Club, and get the latest information from P&O Cruises.

You can visit my.pocruises.com, to provide the details P&O Cruises need from you before you sail, and tailor your cruise. Book shore experiences, spa treatments, dining experiences or drinks packages, or browse spa and gift options. You will also be able to check and update your travel documents, check in online, and print luggage labels and boarding passes.

You will receive a booklet from us with a link to your personalised pre-travel information form which will contain all your important information that will relate to you and your cruise. Please check this information and correct any information that may be incorrect. If everything looks okay, then you won't need to do anything!

Please note that this information is for our purposes only and you may still need to complete your cruise operators website with similar information.

PASSPORTS

Extensive passport information for the destinations on your trip can be found on our Visa & Vaccination Requirements page, however more specific information can be found in the your cruise documentation booklet that we send you as part of your booking.

If you have any questions about the passport requirements, don't hesitate to contact us on 01246 819 819 or via the Contact Us page.

VISA REQUIREMENTS

Where we anticipate visas being required to travel, the relevant details will be included within this document, but this only applies to BRITISH CITIZEN passport holders. Bolsover Cruise Club is unable to provide any advice on passport and visa requirements for passengers who hold any other passport (including BRITISH SUBJECTS) and you should refer to the relevant consulate authorities for guidance.

VIA A CONSULAR SERVICE

It is our experience that obtaining individual visas for certain countries can be very difficult and, therefore, we advise that you make your application through a Consular Service, CIBT & The Travel Visa Company are two such agents but there are others available. As you can't actually apply for your visa until much nearer to your departure and as the rules and forms are constantly changing, we would recommend you don’t apply until approximately four months before your departure. 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Extensive Visa information for the destinations on your trip can be found on our Visa & Vaccination Requirements page, however more specific information can be found in the your cruise documentation booklet that we send you as part of your booking.

If you have any questions about the visa requirements, don't hesitate to contact us on 01246 819 819 or via the Contact Us page.

Shore Excursions

P&O shore excursion are available on P&O's My Cruise approximately 52 weeks prior to your departure. Please note all shore excursions should be booked online to guarantee your place and these can only be booked up to 5 days prior to your sailing.

For your convenience please use your P&O Cruises Booking Number to access your account:

Go directly to P&O's Cruise Personaliser

Cruise Personaliser

You can now manage your P&O booking and check your details online instantly at any time using P&O's Cruise Personaliser.

For your convenience please use your P&O Cruises Booking Number to access your account:

Go directly to P&O's Cruise Personaliser

WHAT ABOUT VACCINATIONS?

The Department of Health generally recommends that all travellers are vaccinated against Typhoid, Tetanus, Hepatitis A and Polio, but these are not compulsory.

It is possible to obtain a detailed report on health requirements for the journey you are to undertake by visiting the NHS fitfortravel website, this is a public access website provided by the NHS (Scotland). It gives travel health information for people travelling abroad from the UK. Alternatively, the latest Department of Health guidelines, including a country by country disease and immunisation checklist, is published on their website www.gov.uk by entering "Travel Advice" in the search field.

VACCINATION & TESTING REQUIREMENTS

For the latest P&O vaccination and testing requirements then please visit the below website, please note the destination of your voyage could alter these.

https://www.pocruises.com/cruise-with-confidence/vaccination-and-testing-policy

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Extensive vaccination information for the destinations on your trip can be found on our Visa & Vaccination Requirements page, however more specific information can be found in the your cruise documentation booklet that we send you as part of your booking.

If you have any questions about the vaccinationrequirements, don't hesitate to contact us on 01246 819 819 or via the Contact Us page.

For your convenience, P&O Cruises operates a 'cash-free' system on board their ships. When checking in for your cruise you will be asked to register a credit or debit card. This will automatically be charged the balance of your on board account at the end of your cruise. P&O accept Visa, Visa/Mastercard Debit, Mastercard, American Express & Diners Club.

Please be advised that, when registering your credit or debit card at check in, you will be required to enter your 4 digit pin number for verification. Cards issued outside of the UK that do not use a pin number will not be accommodated. At this point, a £50 pre-authorisation will be applied to the card in order to open an account for your on-board purchases. Once your on-board account statement totals more than the £50, plus any on-board credit you have, authorisations will continue throughout the cruise as per our current process. Please see the back of the brochure for details.

You can choose to settle your account with cash at the end of your cruise, however a payment card must still be registered at embarkation. If you register a credit/debit card and then wish to pay your account in cash, you must do this the night prior to disembarking as your card will automatically be charged the following morning.

Please note that P&O Cruises cannot accept cheques, travellers cheques, Solo, Maestro, Switch or any pre-paid credit cards. If you are travelling on consecutive cruises, you must settle your on board account at the end of each individual cruise.

You may be able to purchase local currency on board your cruise ship. However, ships only carry a limited amount so there is no guarantee that cash will be available.

P&O Cruises announced the introduction of their new and improved drinks packages. With an expanded selection of beverages and two alcoholic packages tailored to suit various tastes, passengers can now enjoy a remarkable range of options. Notably, the drinks included in these packages are no longer limited by price, ensuring an even greater freedom of choice.

Full drink package information is available on the P&O Cruises website.

An email will be sent to you directly by P&O Cruises approximately 6-7 weeks prior to departure, or shortly after booking for late reservations. This will invite you to go onto your "My Cruise" account to obtain information on Visa & Passport requirements and any other relevant information including instructions on how to print your own boarding pass and luggage labels. Pre-voyage information including any available Shore Excursions will be available from 12 weeks before your departure date.

You will no longer need an e-ticket, your boarding pass and luggage labels are the only things you will need to download from My P&O Cruises before your holiday starts. Boarding passes needn’t be printed and can be presented as a download on your mobile phone or tablet so that's one less piece of paper for you to print when you check in online. All the helpful information that would usually be on e-tickets, i.e. boarding times and dock gate will be found on the new boarding pass. If you don’t have a printer or a smart phone then don’t worry as you can actually check in with just your passport.

Unfortunately due to these changes by P&O we are no longer able to access or print any travel documents, although we can send some blank generic luggage labels on request.

Charter Flights

On P&O's Fly-Mediterranean & Caribbean programmes, seats can be pre-purchased. If you are booked on one of their charter flights, you will be able to pre-purchase your seats using the Flight Seat Booker tool via Cruise Personaliser. Flight Seat Booker will open approximately 14 weeks prior to departure and close a minimum of eight days prior to departure. If you are in the Baltic or Ligurian tier of the Peninsular Club, you will receive a two day priority window in which to pre-purchase your flights seats prior to them going on general sale.

To access Flight Seat Booker log on to Cruise Personaliser using your cruise booking reference. Click on the drop-down tab "Getting There and Back" at the top of the page, then select "Flights". This will show your flight details and, if your flights seats are available to book, a "Book Seats" button will be displayed. You will then be able to select and purchase your seats. Additional charges apply for pre-purchasing seats on their charter flights. All seats are subject to availability.

Emergency Exit seats

These are subject to availability and are only available to those guests who are fully mobile and over 16 years of age. You will be asked to confirm that you comply with relevant terms and conditions prior to booking your seats. The airline reserves the right to move guests from Emergency Exit seats if they feel that the safety of guests and crew may be compromised.

Changes to your booked seat

You can amend seats booked through Flight Seat Booker until 8 days prior to departure. If your new seats are of greater value than your original seat selection you will be required to pay the difference. No refunds will be given for seat selection of a lesser value.

Refunds

No refunds are available on seats purchased via Flight Seat Booker.

Foreign travel advice is available from The Foreign & Commonwealth Office by visiting www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, where a list of countries can be viewed in respect of which the FCO has issued advice. It is designed to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information to help British travellers better prepare for going overseas.

It is a condition of the contract with your chosen cruise operator that you must obtain travel insurance to cover the risk of you needing medical care on board or in a foreign country. Your insurance must include cover for all pre-existing medical conditions and must cover emergency evacuations from the ship, hospital medical costs and repatriation costs. You should ensure that you have adequate travel insurance at the time of booking and that it is valid for the full duration of your proposed travel arrangements.

We have partnered with award-winning travel insurance specialists, Holiday Extras, to offer you a comprehensive travel insurance policy that will cover you for cancellation, medical expenses, personal belongings, missed cruise departure, unused shore excursions, cabin confinement and cruise itinerary changes, as well as covering 97% of all customers with pre-existing medical conditions.

Holiday Extras insurance fully meets the requirements set out by your operator in the terms and conditions of your booking. You'll find further details by calling 0800 042 0219 quoting BOL07 or visiting www.holidayextras.com.

The time the ship will be in port will vary from cruise to cruise and port to port. For each cruise in the P&O brochure they indicate whether the call will be a half day, a full day, an evening, two full days or a combination of these descriptions.

• Half Day - A half day will usually be a minimum of 5 hours and a maximum of 7 hours
• Full Day - Normally a full day will be a minimum of 7.5 hours and a maximum of 11 hours
• Evening - Will usually follow a full day in port and the ship will depart after 9pm
• Two Full Days - Normally will be a minimum call of 32 hours and a maximum of 40 hours.

Please note the timings above are based on the ship's arrival and departure times, not the length of the time you have ashore and are intended as guidelines only as the actual times may vary. P&O will keep you updated on arrival and departure times whilst you are on board.

If you have a serious physical disability, use a wheelchair or are undergoing ongoing medical treatment, we recommend that you let us know in writing, including full details of any current medication. A copy of your letter will then be forwarded to the cruise operator, who in turn will pass on the relevant details to the ship's medical team to enable them to help you in the event of an emergency. Please note that all travel insurance policies have strict regulations with regard to pre-existing medical conditions. Therefore, it is essential that you read your own policy in full to ensure you are able to meet the relevant criteria.

In partnership with Holiday Extras, we offer superb value on a variety of pre and post-cruise accommodation and transport products to minimise inconvenience and provide peace of mind.

Increasing numbers of our customers are taking up the option of secure car parking and pre or post-cruise hotel stays at the port or airport - an ideal option for early morning departures or late returns. You can also start your journey in the luxury of an airport lounge.

All these packages are bookable via our affiliated Holiday Extras page or via our Reservations Team. Other options include rail or coach travel to/from your departure/arrival point and there is now the facility to hire a car to and from many UK airports.

Visit our affiliated Holiday Extras page or call our Reservations Team on 01246 819819 and ask your Cruise Expert about any of these packages.

P&O Cruises have announced a new partnership with The Baggage Handling Company Ltd who provide a door-to-door luggage carrying service for passengers travelling from Southampton.

They can pick your luggage up from your home a few days prior to sailing, it'll be safely delivered to your cabin on the ship and then returned to your home address at the end of the cruise.

More information can be obtained by visiting their website www.thebaggagehandlingcompany.com or by calling 0844 8094661.

P&O Cruises are pleased to offer on board spending money to:

• Current serving personnel
• Veterans
• Reservists
• MOD Civil servants
• NATO personnel in the UK

for the following service divisions:

• British Army
• Royal Navy
• Royal Air Force
• Reserves
• Royal Marines
• Merchant Navy
• Home Guard

Not combinable with Early Savers, Savers, Onboard Bookings or Thank you for cruising offers or Partnership benefits, available on a P&O Cruises Select Fare only.

If you are eligible to receive these benefits please call us on 01246 819819 and speak to your Cruise Expert.

This offer is available to Military guests who are members of the Defence Discount Service (the official MOD discount scheme) and have a Defence Privilege Card. This is a paid for membership, the cost for which is £4.99 for 5 years membership. The offer is available to those that are currently serving in the HM Armed Forces and those that have previously served within the HM Armed Forces. Guests will need to quote their Defence Privilege Card membership number for the Military Onboard Credit to be added to their booking.

In order to apply the Military Benefits you would need to supply your Defence Privilege Card Number at the time of booking along with the promotion code MLT.

If you do not yet have a Defence Privilege Card you can apply for membership through www.defencediscountservice.co.uk. Alternatively call Defence Discount Services directly on 01509 233446 ( Open Monday – Friday 09.00 – 17.00) where they can arrange for an application form to be sent out in the post (Option 1) or speak to a member of the DDS Team to arrange (Option 3)

The amount of on board spending money is applicable for the 1st and 2nd passengers in a cabin only and depends on the grade of cabin booked and the duration of the cruise Please note the latest this benefit can be applied is 7 days before departure and it is not possible to apply the Military benefit once you are on board.

We hope you do not have to, but if for any reason you do, you must advise us in writing, stating the precise reason for cancellation, in order that the cruise operator can be formally notified. Should your departure be imminent, you should also inform us by telephone, but it will still be necessary for you to write to us confirming the cancellation. The date of cancellation in relation to the date of departure, will determine the level of cancellation charges that will be applied by the cruise operator. Kindly refer to the Booking Conditions section in the brochure from which you have made your holiday selection, which gives precise details of cancellation charges that will apply. In the majority of cases, where cancellation is beyond your direct control, it may be possible to recover the cancellation charges through your travel insurance and we will be happy to advise you further on this point.

CRUISE CLUB DISCOUNTS: Please note that if we have applied a Cruise Club discount to the basic cruise package on your booking, this does not apply to any cancellation or amendment charges that arise. Cancellation charges are therefore calculated on the cruise operator's full invoice value and not, where appropriate, the reduced Cruise Club cost. We strongly advise that you ask us how much these charges will be before you make any amendments or cancel your booking.

Please call us on 01246 819819 to discuss your options.

Please note that parent(s)/legal guardian(s) travelling with a child who has a different surname to the parent(s)/legal guardian(s) may be required to produce official proof such as a birth certificate/divorce papers etc to prove that they are the parent(s)/legal guardian(s) of the child concerned.

Whilst it is not compulsory to have one, we do highly recommend that adults who are not the parent or Legal Guardian of any minor/child travelling with them present an original letter signed by at least one of the child’s parents along with the child’s valid passport and visa (if appropriate).

The letter from the child’s parents must authorise the travelling adult to take the child on the specified cruise and must also authorise the travelling adult to supervise the child and permit any medical treatment that may be administered to the child.

The original letter should accompany the child during his or her cruise.

COACH CONNECT

Coach Connect (operated by Intercruises) operate coach services from various points throughout the UK in conjunction with cruises which depart from and/or return to Southampton, including the full world cruise, for cruises of 7 nights or over. Details of these services, including prices, can be found in all main P&O Cruises brochures, with your final travel documents, direct from Coach Connect. These services are available at a supplementary charge and should be booked direct as follows:-

Telephone : 0344 3388690

Please note if you have free coach travel as part of your P&O deal then please follow instructions in your email to book please.

CAR PARKING ARRANGEMENTS

P&O Cruises has special arrangements with Cruise & Passenger Services for long stay car parking in the port of Southampton with check-in and vehicle reception facilities at your allocated cruise terminal. On arrival at the terminal, you will be directed to the check-in reception lane, where your car will be checked-in by a car park operator. You can unload your luggage while your car is being registered. Your vehicle will then be driven away by a careful and experienced driver. It will be kept in secure storage until your cruise returns. At the end of your holiday you will be able to collect your keys from the car park operator who will direct you to where your car is parked.

For details on how to book with Cruise & Passenger Services and prices, visit their website at www.cruiseparking.co.uk. Alternatively, they can be contacted as follows:-

Telephone : 0345 071 3939

Address : Cruise & Passenger Services, Sirius House, Peel Street, Southampton, SO14 5QT.

All major credit cards are accepted.

Please note if you have free car parking as part of your P&O deal then please follow instructions in your email to book please.

ATOL certification confirms that your money is protected by the ATOL scheme if your trip includes a flight and your travel company collapses. You will recieve an ATOL certificate in your Bolsover Cruise Club Travel booklet.

P&O Cruises ATOL: 6294

Bolsover Cruise Club ATOL: 11481

Your Protection

You are protected from when you are given your ATOL certificate to the end of your trip.

If P&O Cruises stops trading, the passengers named above will either:

1. take and complete their trip; or
2. receive a refund.

Your protection depends on the terms of the ATOL scheme and the specifics of the ATOL holder failure (available at www.atol.org.uk).

If P&O Cruises stops trading, you must follow the instructions at www.atol.org.uk (where there will be details of repatriation arrangements, and information on how people can claim their money back) or you can call (+44) 333 103 6350.