Saga says that its customers have been "very supportive" of its new vaccination policy amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this year, Saga announced that its customers would need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to join its holidays and cruises in 2021. This includes needing to have received the full vaccine at least 14 days before travel.
The travel firm caters specifically to over-50s, so its holidaymakers are likely to be in the first priority groups receiving the vaccine as it is being rolled out.
Chris Simmonds, Saga Holidays CEO, told the Mirror exclusively: "Guests have been very supportive of the vaccine policy. Before we made the decision, we spent time speaking to guests and people told us quite clearly that they have come this far and want the reassurance of vaccination before they travel and to know others travelling with them will be vaccinated too. We conducted customer polling ahead of the policy change and it showed that more than 95% of our guests were in support."
The company is set to expand its cruise holidays offering, with three new ships set to make their debut by the end of 2022.
Ocean cruise ship Spirit of Adventure and river cruise ship Spirit of the Rhine are both set to make their debut in 2021, while the travel firm recently unveiled a sneak peek of river cruise ship Spirit of the Danube which is expected to set sail in 2022.
Speaking about preparing for a return to cruises and holidays amidst the pandemic, Mr Simmonds explained: "The health and safety of our customers has always been Saga’s number one priority , which is why we recently announced that all guests travelling with us would need to be fully vaccinated before they do so.
"We have also implemented a range of special measures across our holidays business, including implementing dedicated COVID 19 protocols across our supplier network, a stringent training programme for all of our team and ongoing engagement with our customers ahead of departure."
You can find out more on travel.saga.co.uk.
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At the time of writing, the Foreign Office continues to advise against cruise ship travel during the pandemic.
Boris Johnson recently announced the lockdown roadmap for easing restrictions in England, offering holidaymakers a glimmer of hope when he said that foreign travel could resume from May 17. (We have a guide to the key dates for holidaymakers to bookmark although it's worth noting that these are subject to change).
What do you think of Saga's vaccination policy? Let us know in the comments below.
