These days, conversations with my friends mostly revolve around three questions …
“What’s worth watching on Netflix?”
“When and where can we go on holiday?”
“When will your ships start sailing again?”
The answer to the first question is easy – I’ve just finished watching ‘Away’ and ‘The Fall’, both of which I can highly recommend.
Even before the latest lockdown announcement the second question was not so easy, as the rules for the UK seemingly changed daily and unless you’ve always had a burning desire for a fortnight in South Korea there were unfortunately limited holiday destinations available.
However, the opening up of the Canary Islands prompted a whole new conversation as I heard: “I’ve always wanted to see Mount Tiede at sunset” and “Isn’t Lanzarote one of the best surfing spots in Europe?”
Bookings for the Canaries literally took off and Jet2, for example, sold thousands of holidays within hours of the travel corridor announcement.
This surge, sadly now to be prematurely curtailed, demonstrates pent up demand not only for foreign holidays in general but winter sun in particular and this can only be a positive for our return to service. The Canaries, a long standing year round favourite for British holidaymakers, are attracting a new demographic and fresh generation of travellers and I’m confident that this will benefit Iona’s winter season next year.
On the third topic, our resumption of sailing is still the subject of much discussion. Although we continue to make progress, the changing environment in the UK and the new one month lockdown until early December will inevitably slow us down a little, but we still edge forward. Also last week’s lifting of the CDC’s No Sail order in the US has also given the industry and the consumer a boost in confidence, even though it comes with a number of conditions for cruise lines, which are now being worked through.
My trip to Germany for Iona’s delivery reminded me how much I love to travel. Whilst the cars, planes, and airports felt different, and were eerily quiet, it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the journey and to be back ‘out there.’
Whilst I couldn’t visit the ship in person this time, seeing on video our extraordinary ship with its stunning décor; carefully curated artwork; vast public spaces; speciality restaurants; SkyDome; spa; outside deck area and spacious crew areas gives me even more impetus to keep up our preparation and readiness to resume operations next year.
Every day I see the astonishing efforts of colleagues across the Corporation, as leaders and teams do their part in their local markets to return us to cruising. When we harness the power of our collective efforts, we can, and do, make things happen.
The vaccine headlines also give us optimism for the future and whilst it may not be imminent, all the signs indicate the promise of more travel freedom next year. In the meantime the work being done on our new protocols to protect the health of our guests, crew and the communities we visit, will be in place an as effective measure and will give confidence to our guests.
Whilst I know we’re working around the clock, it’s still crucial to maintain our mental and physical wellbeing and even more so for the next month – walk, run, jump, move, play and keep in touch with friends – whatever brings you the most happiness and ensures that you can cope with the change in seasons and change in national guidance.
We all need something to look forward to and I for one am still going to book my annual snowboarding holiday for next March with my friends. Having things to look forward to really anchors us and for me the rush of adrenaline as I stand at the top of a slope and look down will be the perfect antidote for the hardest year I’ve ever experienced in my career (and life) to date.
This year as a whole feels as though we have unexpectedly gone off piste and we are having to plough through hazards and new routes to get us back to where we should be … but we will get there, of that I’m absolutely sure.
It may take a while but before we know it, but with the support of everyone around us we will be back at the top of the mountain with the sun shining and the days stretching before us with new hope and vigour.
Take care everyone and stay well.
Paul.
Paul Ludlow,
President, P&O Cruises