Health and Safety

As you prepare for your overseas holiday experience with P&O Cruises, please read the following general guidance to ensure that your travel adventure is as healthy, safe and enjoyable as possible:

Health

We strongly recommend you take out comprehensive travel insurance. When organising travel insurance, ensure you are covered for general medical expenses, existing medical conditions, hospitalisations and medical evacuations. Many policies, including Medicare, will not pay for services or hospitalisation outside of the country or emergency evacuation. Shop around for a policy that meets your needs and covers you the whole time you will be away.

For details on our travel insurance plan, visit pocruises.com.au or call Reservations on 13 24 69 (Australia) or 0800 951 200 (New Zealand).

If you plan on participating in sports such as scuba diving or parasailing, ensure your policy covers these activities. Don’t base your insurance on the assumption that ‘it wont happen to me’ – accidents do happen – hospitalisation and medical evacuation costs can be very expensive. Be aware when organising your insurance that uninsured travellers (or their families) are held personally liable for medical and associated costs incurred overseas.
Vaccinations: Wherever you are travelling it is recommended that you have a minimum of Influenza (seasonal), Hepatitis A and Tetanus/Diphtheria vaccinations. You are strongly advised to seek advice from either your doctor or an approved public health travel advisory service to identify any specific vaccinations or health precautions required for each port of call, e.g. World Health Organisation (www.who.int/ith) or The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (www.dfat.gov.au). Some countries strictly enforce certain health requirements. Failure to have the correct vaccinations may result in the local authorities preventing passengers from going ashore and some may impose a monetary fine or deny the ship entry into the port.
If you take regular medication ensure that you have sufficient supplies to last the length of your holiday. It is also wise to consider taking a couple of days’ extra supply in case of unforeseen changes in your plans. Remember to always carry your medication in your hand luggage. If you have recently received treatment for any significant medical condition, it is suggested that you carry a recent report with any important information from your doctor.
If you are concerned about motion sickness, you should purchase medication before you leave home. It is best to take the tablets just before sailing to prevent illness. Seasick medications are also available at a charge on board.
Take a basic first aid kit. You should include items such as headache tablets, antacids, antiseptic lotion, bandaids, SPF 30+ sunscreen and insect repellent.
When ashore, drink plenty of bottled water, avoid ice and eat well-cooked food only. Beware of uncooked food including salads and fruit that you cannot peel.
Be safe in the sun. Avoid excessive exposure to the sun between 10am and 3pm. Remember ‘Slip! Slop! Slap! Wrap!’ – Slip on a t-shirt, Slop on high factor sunscreen, Slap on a hat (wide-brimmed is best so that your ears are protected too) and Wrap on sunglasses. Wear a t-shirt to protect yourself from the sun whilst swimming. Re-apply sunscreen frequently after swimming or exercise.
Alcohol: drink in moderation at all times especially when you are ashore where the alcohol content of local and imported drinks is unfamiliar. You are much more likely to suffer a serious injury if you are under the influence of even small amounts of alcohol.
Be extremely careful if you consider consuming Kava which is a popular herbal, medicinal and ceremonial drink in the South Pacific. In addition to enhancing the effects of alcohol, it can cause fatal liver damage.
Take measures to avoid being bitten by biting insects - such as wearing light coloured, loose fitting clothing that covers your arms and legs and regularly applying an insect repellent that contains at least 20% DEET.
To prevent illness, wash your hands often and thoroughly and always after going to the toilet, before handling food and before eating.
Pregnancy: Passengers are only permitted to travel if they have been pregnant for 24 weeks or less at the time of the cruise disembarkation.
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Special diets

P&O Cruises is happy to meet your request for vegetarian and any special dietary requirements you may have. Special diet requests must be authorised in advance by P&O Cruises. Please ensure you advise us at least four weeks before you sail of any requests for special diets to accommodate medical needs or allergies. Once on board, please confirm your dietary arrangements with the Maitre d’Hotel.

Security on board

At P&O Cruises, we want you to have a safe and enjoyable cruise. As a result, we take the safety and security of our passengers and crew very seriously. CCTV monitoring has been added across our Fleet to enhance on board security. We continually review the security situations at every port we visit. We have introduced additional screening in ports, including the use of drug sniffer dogs at embarkation and random itemiser checks at away ports. Never accept drinks from strangers and never leave your drink unattended. If dancing, place it near you so you can watch it and place a coaster on top. If you think you have had your drink spiked, report this immediately to either the local authorities or security on board.

Safety and security ashore

Be security conscious and take sensible precautions. Always pack your own luggage and don’t leave it unattended.
Obey the local law – remember that the laws and procedures which apply are those of the country you are in, not your home country.
Dress and behave conservatively, in accordance with local customs and sensitivities.
Always swim at safe beaches and only participate in snorkelling or scuba activities if you have received training. Do not scuba within 24 hours of flying. Never dive into water of unknown depth.
When going ashore carry only the minimum amount of cash that you will need for the day. Leave your valuables and spare cash and credit cards in your cabin’s safety deposit box.
Be cautious about renting scooters and jet skis ashore and never drive one if you have consumed alcohol.
Wear a life jacket for boating, water skiing and other offshore water sports. Check water sports equipment for quality and safety features.
Avoid swimming after drinking alcohol.

Disabled access

P&O Cruises will make every effort to accommodate passengers with disabilities. We must be notified of wheelchair usage and/or any special needs prior to sailing. We have wheelchair-accessible cabins on all P&O Cruises ships. If you require a mobility device, you must provide your own. You can pre-reserve a wheelchair and have it and other medical equipment delivered to the ship by contacting P&O Cruises’ Customer Care Department on 1300 653 852 (from Australia) or 0800 444 762 (from New Zealand). When bringing your own wheelchair, we highly recommend collapsible wheelchairs, as the width of the cabin doors vary. Some P&O Cruises ships have areas that are not wheelchair accessible.

Alcohol policy

Passengers under 18 years of age are not permitted to purchase or consume alcohol on board. To ensure the safety and comfort of all on board, we wish to advise that passengers will no longer be permitted to take on any alcohol for personal consumption. Duty-free and personal alcohol purchased shore side, must be surrendered by passengers at embarkation or prior to boarding in any port. Duty and tax-free alcohol is also available for purchase on board and will be held under bond with shore side purchases and returned at disembarkation in the final port of call. Please note that all luggage, both hand and check-in will be x-rayed at embarkation and disembarkation, individuals must declare to Customs all amounts of alcohol in excess of the local Custom limits.

We would like you to be aware that strict action will be taken against any passenger engaging in excessive behaviour. Passengers engaging in excessive behaviour will be disembarked with no refund of their fare. Similarly, any passenger exhibiting excessive behaviour at embarkation will be denied boarding.

Dangerous articles/illicit substances

All luggage will be security screened for drugs and alcohol as well as dangerous weapons at embarkation. P&O Cruises reserves the right to deny boarding or to disembark any persons in possession of illicit substances. Dangerous articles such as fireworks, guns or other weapons and flammable liquids, etc, are strictly prohibited and must not be included in baggage brought on board nor kept in cabins under any circumstances. It is an offence to carry such items.