New Procedures
Following COVID-19
We are delighted to announce that Black Prince will be welcoming guests back on holiday in July.
The opening dates vary by base, with the bases in England opening from Saturday July 4th. Narrowboat holidays from our base at Chirk in Wales will be available from Monday 13th July and holidays from our base at Falkirk in Scotland will be available from Saturday 17th July.
Preparing for your arrival
In line with government guidance following the Coronavirus pandemic, you will see some changes to the way we do things once we reopen. We have been working with British Marine and the Canal & River Trust to establish safe working practices for our guests and our team.
Boat cleaning
We have taken extra precautions in the cleaning of your narrowboat so that you can enjoy a relaxing, stress-free holiday.
After each guest departure and before new guests arrive, each boat will be thoroughly sanitised using a misting fogging technique originally developed for hospital operating theatres. This process disperses a non-toxic, non-corrosive mist into the air killing up to 99.9999% of all known bacteria and viruses. The disinfecting mist gets into every nook and cranny and covers all surfaces including cupboards and draws, beds and bedding.
This process will then be followed with our normal high quality cleaning, with extra precautions being taken by our team members, wearing disposable PPE for each boat clean. Team members will have their temperatures taken at the start of each day of work and are encouraged to self-isolate if they feel that they have been at risk.
All our linen and towels are washed to a government advised standard of a minimum of 60 degrees, which ensures the killing of all known bacteria and viruses.
Induction & Handover
A new handover video tutorial will be available online to help prepare guests on how the boat is operated and the facilities on board. A physical handover of the boats will still take place with a member of our team and we will be working with new social distancing rules at each of our bases.
Face masks will be worn by team members We recommend that you bring and wear your own face mask for the check in and handover.
The induction to your boat will be delivered to a maximum of two members of your party only and our team members have been trained on how to deliver the handover whilst maintaining social distancing.
Holiday help
As usual, the teams at each of our bases will be on hand to help for the duration of your holiday. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries or issues with your boat. The contact numbers will be provided to you on our arrival at the base.
A word from our Operations Manager, Leighton Jones
On behalf of my team, I’d like to say a big thank you to any of our guests who may be on the front line in the nation’s battle against the coronavirus – whether that’s as part of the NHS or emergency services, or other kinds of essential work that keeps our country going. It’s been a tough few months and I hope that everyone gets the break they need and deserve very soon.
