How realistic is a season with Aussie and NZ passengers only?

[sewgood]

1 hour ago, By The Bay said:

We cruised on the Sea princes from Sydney last September, 35 nights. Great cruise.

We did this cruise on the Golden in August a few years ago. It was a great cruise.

But I did wonder why some people complained about the number of sea days (this was after the Hawaii ports). If wasn't as if Princess added extra sea days after people booked their cruise. 😁

We are looking foward to the days when we can do this cruise again.

[NSWP]

21 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

It seems to me overseas visitors are out for a while yet.

 

So is it viable for cruise lines to sail here with Australian and New Zealand passengers only?

With all this garbage going on with different states closing borders and now this drama in Victoria, where the Bananabenders are opening their borders on 10 July to everyone but the 'Mexicans' sorry Vics.  It will only take a couple more spikes in the covid and we will be back we started in March, thus it would be nigh impossible to only carry Aussies and Kiwis.

Edited July 1, 2020 by NSWP

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, phoenixx said:

 Which Cruise is    the Princess Hawaii/Tahiti one, how many nights? thanks

35 nights, twice a year, embarkations at Sydney, Brisbane and sometimes Auckland.

 

Essentially Princess does (did?) a Round Australia cruise then Hawaii/Tahiti then the World Cruise, then another Hawaii/Tahiti cruise, then another Round Australia cruise. Some of them overlapped. On our cruise some of the World Cruisers got off in Auckland and Hawaii/Tahiti cruisers embarked there, ditto in Sydney and Brisbane. We dropped off the Auckland contingent when we stopped there at the end of the Hawaii/Tahiti cruise and there was a four day short cruise to Sydney to fill those cabins. We got off in Sydney and the Round Australia cruisers embarked, and the last of the Hawaii/Tahiti cruisers got off in Brisbane.

 

It's a fantastic cruise but has lots of sea days - two lots of five sea days in a row, one four day set, and some one and two dayers.

[OzKiwiJJ]

23 minutes ago, sewgood said:

We did this cruise on the Golden in August a few years ago. It was a great cruise.

But I did wonder why some people complained about the number of sea days (this was after the Hawaii ports). If wasn't as if Princess added extra sea days after people booked their cruise. 😁

We are looking foward to the days when we can do this cruise again.

The reason we loved the cruise so much was because of all the sea days.

[GUT2407]

17 minutes ago, sewgood said:

We did this cruise on the Golden in August a few years ago. It was a great cruise.

But I did wonder why some people complained about the number of sea days (this was after the Hawaii ports). If wasn't as if Princess added extra sea days after people booked their cruise. 😁

We are looking foward to the days when we can do this cruise again.

We had the same thing on our circumnavigation of Aus and NZ cruise, the complaints got to be funny after a while “Why so many sea days” “Why is it so hot” “why can’t the captain avoid the rough seas”. Sheesh. As one lady disembarked in Darwin (it was sold in segments) we said it was sad she had to get off so soon, her response “If I had to spend one more day on this boat I would scream” from then on whenever we heard one of the stupid complaints Mrs G and I jut looked at each other and said “If I had to spend one more day...”

[NSWP]

7 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

We had the same thing on our circumnavigation of Aus and NZ cruise, the complaints got to be funny after a while “Why so many sea days” “Why is it so hot” “why can’t the captain avoid the rough seas”. Sheesh. As one lady disembarked in Darwin (it was sold in segments) we said it was sad she had to get off so soon, her response “If I had to spend one more day on this boat I would scream” from then on whenever we heard one of the stupid complaints Mrs G and I jut looked at each other and said “If I had to spend one more day...”

There are whingeing poms, but I tell you what there are a load of whingeing Aussies out there too, you meet some strange people on the ships.  They may have well stayed at home and saved their money for a deposit on the nursing home.

[phoenixx]

18 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

35 nights, twice a year, embarkations at Sydney, Brisbane and sometimes Auckland.

 

Essentially Princess does (did?) a Round Australia cruise then Hawaii/Tahiti then the World Cruise, then another Hawaii/Tahiti cruise, then another Round Australia cruise. Some of them overlapped. On our cruise some of the World Cruisers got off in Auckland and Hawaii/Tahiti cruisers embarked there, ditto in Sydney and Brisbane. We dropped off the Auckland contingent when we stopped there at the end of the Hawaii/Tahiti cruise and there was a four day short cruise to Sydney to fill those cabins. We got off in Sydney and the Round Australia cruisers embarked, and the last of the Hawaii/Tahiti cruisers got off in Brisbane.

 

It's a fantastic cruise but has lots of sea days - two lots of five sea days in a row, one four day set, and some one and two dayers.

Is there a specific name for this 35 night Cruise?

It'd be great if I could get on in Auckland! I've done the Honolulu to Sydney Transpacific and I love the sea days 😁

[OzKiwiJJ]

14 minutes ago, phoenixx said:

Is there a specific name for this 35 night Cruise?

It'd be great if I could get on in Auckland! I've done the Honolulu to Sydney Transpacific and I love the sea days 😁

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details?voyageCode=C115A

[Beanb41]

On ‎7‎/‎1‎/‎2020 at 12:12 PM, icat2000 said:

Realistic this year. No. Maybe next year. 

2021/22 summer season perhaps but I don't think any earlier. Community transmission is the big fear. Quarantine at the port for 14 days is manageable if COVID is present but as has been seen in Australia recently where community transmission is present why would one risk it. I accept as this pandemic goes on govts are going to come under greater pressure to take the risk. Are they brave enough? Not in NZ this side of the September election methinks

 

[Kiwi Kruzer]

On 7/1/2020 at 1:32 PM, phoenixx said:

Is there a specific name for this 35 night Cruise?

It'd be great if I could get on in Auckland! I've done the Honolulu to Sydney Transpacific and I love the sea days 😁

In some years if the previous cruise has been one with Auckland as its last port ,you could join in Auckland, and then stay on board in Sydney .

[possum52]

On 7/1/2020 at 11:25 AM, NSWP said:

There are whingeing poms, but I tell you what there are a load of whingeing Aussies out there too, you meet some strange people on the ships.  They may have well stayed at home and saved their money for a deposit on the nursing home.

We came across a couple on a cruise a few years ago who had emigrated to NZ from the UK and then when their children moved to Australia they decided to come too. They had an inside cabin and told us we had made a mistake by having a balcony as just look at how much money we could have saved. They just went on and on! We kept coming across them and they would invite us to have coffee or a drink with them. And each time we would get the same conversation, so after a couple of times, if we saw them we would turn and go the other way. Another cruise we met a delightful couple from the UK, we had lots of laughs. 

 

Leigh

[NSWP]

2 hours ago, possum52 said:

We came across a couple on a cruise a few years ago who had emigrated to NZ from the UK and then when their children moved to Australia they decided to come too. They had an inside cabin and told us we had made a mistake by having a balcony as just look at how much money we could have saved. They just went on and on! We kept coming across them and they would invite us to have coffee or a drink with them. And each time we would get the same conversation, so after a couple of times, if we saw them we would turn and go the other way. Another cruise we met a delightful couple from the UK, we had lots of laughs. 

 

Leigh

Good one Leigh and the first couple, I bet you shouted the first round, then they departed...like would'nt shout if a shark bit them. Like some golfers I have met.

[MicCanberra]

short arms and deep pockets?

[MMDown Under]

Interesting thread on Princess which is a Summary of "Cruising outlook as presented to stock analysts by CCL Group".

Noted comment that ships are being sold to areas where they will not be competing with CCL Group Brands.  So that rules Australia and NZ out for one of the ships being sold.  

It stated P&O Australia is one of the cruise lines with over 90% local area majority of passengers.  This will allow cruising to commence with local cruisers.

Aida in Germany will be first cruise line to start cruising with three ships in August, with cruises without ports of call.  

Edited July 11, 2020 by MMDown Under

[gogo65]

There was a survey sent out by Ponant asking about interest in a Oz/NZ cruise and also the Ross Sea/Antarctic/Sub-Antarctic islands cruise for the so called bubble (pre Victorian outbreak). I contacted Ponant to see if something was planned and was advised to watch 'this space', we would jump on an Antarctic cruise in a heartbeat, waiting, waiting...

unfortunately due to the current outbreak, it will most likely be put on the back burner.

[bazzaw]

In 2018, we all had forgotten completely (or never even heard of) the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.  I wonder when the World (post 1918) started to forget about their pandemic ( which by the way was WAAAY worse than this one) - 1920,1921- 22,23, 30????  However many years it was, that is how long it will take before a cruise ship sails again in the next decade!!!!! ( as we Westerners are much softer and psychologically weaker than people of those times) 

[ilikeanswers]

16 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

In 2018, we all had forgotten completely (or never even heard of) the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.  I wonder when the World (post 1918) started to forget about their pandemic ( which by the way was WAAAY worse than this one) - 1920,1921- 22,23, 30????  However many years it was, that is how long it will take before a cruise ship sails again in the next decade!!!!! ( as we Westerners are much softer and psychologically weaker than people of those times) 

 

I don't think you can compare to 1918 Flu Pandemic. They didn't have 24hr news cycles or social media. The pandemic itself was far advanced by the time most media outlets outside of Spain were reporting on it, whereas we were already following Covid-19 before it left China. Combined with the ending of WWI to deal with half the problems of the flu got lumped amongst that news. And let's face it the world then was not as globally connected as it is today. When the influenza spread in Australia they were not reporting all the deaths in the USA. There was less awareness that it was a pandemic VS a local epidemic but we switch on the news and it is in our face everyday. I am not sure it will be as easy for us to forget. 

Edited July 11, 2020 by ilikeanswers

[bazzaw]

2 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I don't think you can compare to 1918 Flu Pandemic. They didn't have 24hr news cycles or social media. The pandemic itself was far advanced by the time most media outlets outside of Spain were reporting on it, whereas we were already following Covid-19 before it left China. Combined with the ending of WWI to deal with half the problems of the flu got lumped amongst that news. And let's face it the world then was not as globally connected as it is today. When the influenza spread in Australia they were not reporting all the deaths in the USA. There was less awareness that it was a pandemic VS a local epidemic but we switch on the news and it is in our face everyday. I am not sure it will be as easy for us to forget. 

Yes - obviously there are very big differences - but some are good and some are bad. There are more people travelling around the World and throughout their own countries now than there were in 1918. The World now has 5 times the population of  1918. and while our Western world has a much superior medical system, psychologically we have become distanced from death much more than the people of 1918. However, regardless of the differences, we as humans today have the same memory capacity as people then.  

[ilikeanswers]

24 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

However, regardless of the differences, we as humans today have the same memory capacity as people then.  

 

The points I made is why I think we will not forget as quickly. Even if COVID 19 leaves our country we will still be reporting about Americans barred from the EU, Trans Tasman bubble will still be an issue, our reliance on China, even the questions about raising Newstart/Jobseeker all the consequences of COVID 19 will be in the news for a long time and will therefore keep the keep the Pandemic in our consciousness for just as long. I think it would take another global event for this pandemic to be forgotten as quickly as the 1918 pandemic.

[MicCanberra]

While I agree that COVID will keep cruise ships away from Australia for some time, I think the fact that the Spanish Flu killed millions of people while Covid has not been anywhere as deadly so far, especially as you have stated the world's population is 5 times more than what it was back in 1918.

[SinbadThePorter]

28 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I think the fact that the Spanish Flu killed millions of people while Covid has not been anywhere as deadly so far, especially as you have stated the world's population is 5 times more than what it was back in 1918.

 

Two things about that.

 

The Spanish flu ran for almost 3 years in four waves. We're nearly 6 months into Covid.

 

Medical science is light years ahead of where it was in 1918. That said, many of the people who would have died without the intervention of modern medicine will be still afflicted for years or even life by the virus.

[MicCanberra]

I did say so far.

[bazzaw]

9 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

The points I made is why I think we will not forget as quickly. Even if COVID 19 leaves our country we will still be reporting about Americans barred from the EU, Trans Tasman bubble will still be an issue, our reliance on China, even the questions about raising Newstart/Jobseeker all the consequences of COVID 19 will be in the news for a long time and will therefore keep the keep the Pandemic in our consciousness for just as long. I think it would take another global event for this pandemic to be forgotten as quickly as the 1918 pandemic.

OK - I understand where you are coming from. I agree completely with you. Many people will have a long memory of this event - but also the bureaucracy around the World in Countries, States and Cities will all be reluctant to proceed ahead as well. Who is going to be the first mayor, or Local Council or Government brave enough to say "OK , you can bring a shipload of passengers into my Port now!!"  ???  But my thought is also that the 1918 pandemic was notforgotten quickly at all - don't really know - if it took say a few years for people to relax, an equivalent time these days will send all of the Cruiselines into bankrupcy. 

[MicCanberra]

I hope not.

[NSWP]

14 hours ago, gogo65 said:

There was a survey sent out by Ponant asking about interest in a Oz/NZ cruise and also the Ross Sea/Antarctic/Sub-Antarctic islands cruise for the so called bubble (pre Victorian outbreak). I contacted Ponant to see if something was planned and was advised to watch 'this space', we would jump on an Antarctic cruise in a heartbeat, waiting, waiting...

unfortunately due to the current outbreak, it will most likely be put on the back burner.

Most of the Antarctic Tour Operators, have postponed the next season, Nov to March, my son, Mr Chimu has, too risky he said.

Edited July 11, 2020 by NSWP