A FRUSTRATED mum-of-two has had her cruise holiday plans sunk again because her teenage son cannot be vaccinated.
April Squire, 41, from Braintree, has been told she is unable to come on board a booked cruise, due to her son being unvaccinated.
April booked the cruise for her 40th and her father-in-law’s 70th, alongside nine others in January 2020, two months before lockdown.
In the three years since booking, they have been forced to reschedule three times, due to travel restrictions and isolation rules.
However, this time it is due to a sudden change in company policy, where P&O Cruises announced an overnight change that all children must have at least two vaccines to travel aboard their ships.
The change means that April’s eldest son Joe, 14, won’t be able to travel, as he hasn’t had vaccine for medical reasons.
READ MORE >> Shopping village prepares for grand reopening after ongoing refurbishment
April said: "We did P&O a favour by letting them hold on to our money and not cancelling our trip all together.
"They begged us to reschedule instead of opt for a refund, so to now effectively ban us from travelling is infuriating.
"Each time we rescheduled we endured further costs, and it now seems we won't be able to go at all.
"We're meant to be leaving in six weeks, so we wouldn't even be able to get Joe jabbed in time even if it wasn't for his medical reasons.
"Before he could have a negative PCR, but now they've completely u-turned."
The cruise leaves its Hampshire port on April 9 and, unless P&O change their policy, April says the family will be unable to travel without her son.
Whilst her booking is refundable, other family members on different deals aren't so lucky.
A spokesman for P&O said: "Our priority is to protect the health and well-being of our guests, crew and the communities we visit.
“We take advice and guidance from all relevant authorities in the countries we visit.
"It is necessary that our vaccination policy meets the evolving requirements of the different ports of call.
"We are so sorry if this has caused disappointment to any guest but do hope they are able to holiday with us in the future.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel