P&O's Iona Drops Le Havre Over French Unrest, Adds Overnight in La Coruña
If you are sailing on Iona's current 7-night cruise, expect Vigo on October 19, an overnight in La Coruña through Wednesday, Bilbao-Getxo on October 22, and Southampton on October 24. Any Le Havre excursions booked through P&O were canceled and refunded, so check your account. If you are booked on another ship calling at Le Havre in the coming days, check your cruise line's itinerary notices, since the article only says Iona has dropped the port so far.
My read is that P&O had little choice once more than 600 protests were planned across France for October 17, the day before Iona's scheduled Le Havre arrival. The article doesn't quote P&O on its reasoning, but it notes that road conditions could have made day trips difficult, and the Paris run is already 2.5 to 3 hours each way. The line did the sensible thing by telling guests before boarding and refunding P&O-booked Le Havre excursions. The winners are passengers who wanted a relaxed Spanish itinerary: Vigo a day early and a full overnight in La Coruña, which beats a daytime-only call. The loser is anyone who had Normandy or Paris plans. The ironic twist is that a France-and-Spain cruise became Spain-only and many guests seem happier for it. With about 1,700 children reportedly onboard, one commenter called it the correct call. I would watch for further French cancellations before booking Le Havre ports in the coming days, though Iona is the only major ship to drop one so far.