A government source has revealed that UK cruise lines will be able to restart domestic sailing from 17 May.
The news came at a virtual All Party Parliamentary Maritime and Ports Group (APPMPG) meeting. It was later followed up on Twitter by the APPMPG who tweeted:
“**NEWS** Maritime Minister @robertcourts announces the reopening of the domestic #cruise market in England on 17 May at tonight’s @APPMPG meeting.”
“From repatriation procedures and risk mitigations to CV-19 protocols and the domestic vaccination programme, a great @APPMPG session w/ @robertcourts who delivered some much appreciated news. A pathway to the domestic cruise market re-opening on 17 May.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport later released a statement confirming that the return of domestic cruises would be aligned to the reopening of domestic tourism and indoor hospitality, which would be 17 May at the very earliest.
If you are planning a cruise in the near future, we strongly advise that you invest in a cruise-specific travel insurance policy or extension – even if the cruise only sails around the UK.
The reason we recommend this is because while some travel insurance policies may include cruise cover as standard, non-specific cruise policies will not offer cover for situations that may occur during a cruise holiday.
For example, while a general travel insurance policy will cover you should you require emergency medical attention during your trip, in most cases, it will not cover the loss of any associated expenses such as cabin confinement should sickness break out. Most standard policies will also not cover for missed ports or missed pre-paid excursions as a result of adverse weather, a change to the itinerary, or cabin confinement – whereas most cruise-specific policies or cruise extensions would.
The definition of a cruise can also differ between providers. For example, some insurers will consider a cruise to be 72 hours or longer, so it’s always worth checking the policy wording before buying to make sure your trip falls under the ‘cruise’ criteria.
It really is important that holidaymakers take the time to invest in specialist policy that provides cover for their specific holiday needs, and with so many cruise-holiday policies and cruise extensions available in the market there really is no reason not to make sure your trip is properly protected.
