Health and Safety
As you prepare for your overseas holiday experience with P&O Cruises, please read the following general guidance to ensure your travel adventure is as healthy, safe and enjoyable as possible:
Health
- Travel insurance is an essential part of your holiday plans. Be aware when organising your insurance that uninsured travellers (or their families) are held personally liable for cancellation, medical and associated costs incurred at any time whether before the cruise, on board or overseas. Hospitalisation costs onboard or outside of the country and medical evacuation costs are very expensive and are not covered by Medicare or New Zealand “ACC”. Daily hospital bills can cost as much as AUD5,000 per day. Don’t base your insurance decision on the assumption that ‘it won’t happen to me’ – accidents do happen. Please see the Department of Foreign Affairs website at smartraveller.gov.au or safetravel.govt.nz for more information. When organising travel insurance, ensure you are covered for general medical expenses, existing medical conditions, hospitalisations and medical evacuations. If you plan on participating in sports such as scuba diving or parasailing, ensure your policy also covers these activities.
For information on travel insurance:
Australian passengers - Please call Customer Care on 1300 653 852 or speak to your travel agent.
New Zealand passengers - Please contact your travel agent to arrange your travel insurance policy. - Vaccinations: Wherever you are travelling it is recommended 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.org), The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (www.dfat.gov.au) or for New Zealand, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade (www.mfat.govt.nz). 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. The condition and method of preparation of food and drinks cannot be monitored by P&O Cruises. With that in mind, passengers are advised that if they purchase or consume food at their visiting ports they do so entirely at their own risk.
- Be safe in the sun. Avoid excessive exposure to the sun between 10.00am and 3.00pm. 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, long term use may cause 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 eating.
- Pregnancy: Passengers are prohibited from sailing if they will have entered the 24th week (or later) of pregnancy at any time during the cruise, including at time of disembarkation.
Special diets
P&O Cruises is happy to meet your request for vegetarian and other special dietary requirements you may have wherever possible. Special diet requests must be authorised in advance by P&O Cruises. Please ensure you advise us at time of booking or at least 60 days prior to sailing of any requests for special diets to accommodate medical needs or allergies.
Special medical requirements
If you or any individuals travelling with you have any special medical requirements or equipment, please advise P&O Cruises’ Customer Care Department on 1300 653 852 (AU) or 0800 444 762 (NZ), at time of booking or at least 60 days prior to sailing.
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 at time of booking. We have wheelchair-accessible cabins on all P&O Cruises ships, subject to availability at the time of request. If you require a mobility device, you must provide your own. If you have any special requirements or questions regarding mobility, please contact P&O Cruises’ Customer Care Department on 1300 653 852 (AU) or 0800 444 762 (NZ). 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. Please contact us for further information on accessibility.
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. Closed Circuit TV (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 ports of call.
Never accept drinks from strangers and never leave your drink unattended. If dancing, place your drink near you so you can watch it. If you think you have had your drink spiked, report this immediately to either the local authorities if ashore, or our security staff or barstaff on board.
Alcohol policy
Passengers under 18 years of age are not permitted to purchase or consume alcohol on board. Photo identification may be requested. To ensure the safety and comfort of all on board, we wish to advise that passengers are not permitted to take on any alcohol for personal consumption. Duty and tax-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 Customs limits.
Smoking policy
In the interest of our guests’ health, safety and enjoyment during their cruising holiday, smoking is no longer permitted indoors, including cabins, suites and private balconies, on board Pacific Dawn and Pacific Sun. This change in policy is also in line with Australian standards. Outdoor smoking venues will be published in the daily newspaper on board your cruise.
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. Any offence committed by passengers will be reported to the appropriate authorities.
Right to deny boarding
P&O Cruises reserves the right to deny boarding of any person it believes is not suitable to travel. This could be because the person:
- Is unfit to travel in the opinion of the Senior Doctor
- Seeks to travel in violation of any applicable law
- Has a serious criminal conviction and/or in the reasonable opinion of P&O Cruises, poses a significant risk to other passengers and/or crew
- Breaches the applicable Terms and Conditions
- Possesses, or is under the influence, of drugs or alcohol
- May compromise the safety or comfort of other passengers or for the protection of property
- Use offensive language or behaviour towards fellow passengers or crew.
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.
- Avoid swimming after drinking alcohol.
- 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.
- You must wear a life jacket for boating, water skiing and other offshore water sports. Check water sports equipment for quality and safety features.
- Booking tours outside of the P&O Cruises Island Discoveries programme is not recommended as P&O Cruises has not individually assessed tours outside this programme and cannot make any comment on the standard or safety of these tours.
- It is forbidden to take food of any kind from the ship to any islands visited. The condition and method of preparation of food and drinks ashore cannot be monitored by P&O Cruises. With that in mind, passengers are advised they purchase or consume food at their visiting ports entirely at their own risk.
