Start of cruising from Sydney & Brisbane?

[drsel]

When will Aus allow international passengers on cruise ships ?

What is the latest news?

 

Princess has cancelled Aus cruises in Apr & May 2021, but sister concern Carnival has not.

Carnival Splendor is still scheduled to sail from Sydney in Apr 2021 ( and Spirit from June 2021.)

 

Should I cancel my Carnival cruises in Apr 2021 & rebook them at a much higher prices in 2022?

Or should I wait for Carnival to cancel?

Thanks in anticipation!

[bazzaw]

I don't think that anybody can answer your questions. Fact is that right now Australia is in a very good position as regards coronavirus when compared to most of the rest of the World. I can't see any Federal or State Authorities allowing any foreign cruise ships to operate in Australian waters for a LONG time yet. 

[rkmw]

2 hours ago, drsel said:

When will Aus allow international passengers on cruise ships ?

What is the latest news?

 

Princess has cancelled Aus cruises in Apr & May 2021, but sister concern Carnival has not.

Carnival Splendor is still scheduled to sail from Sydney in Apr 2021 ( and Spirit from June 2021.)

 

Should I cancel my Carnival cruises in Apr 2021 & rebook them at a much higher prices in 2022?

Or should I wait for Carnival to cancel?

Thanks in anticipation!

If your unsure what to do with your April cruise you can cancel and rebook on a later cruise but it has to be done before final payment 

 

we have a b2b2b on the Splendor in March/April also so waiting to see what Carnival do

 

[Russell21]

Many optomistic people are, due to Australia's control of Covid, overlooking the fact that the bulk of the world is in the worst mess since the problem started. I'm as keen as anyone to get back to cruising, but at 76 I can forsee that it is possible that I may run out of time.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The cruise lines won’t come back until they have an ongoing assurance to be here .

Suppliers likewise won’t want to gear themselves up to supply the provisions required only to have orders cancelled  on them .

I don’t think we will be seeing the big cruise ships for quite a while folks .

[Kiwi Kruzer]

 

Edited November 4, 2020 by Kiwi Kruzer

[Aus Traveller]

3 hours ago, drsel said:

When will Aus allow international passengers on cruise ships ?

What is the latest news?

Princess has cancelled Aus cruises in Apr & May 2021, but sister concern Carnival has not.

Carnival Splendor is still scheduled to sail from Sydney in Apr 2021 ( and Spirit from June 2021.)

Should I cancel my Carnival cruises in Apr 2021 & rebook them at a much higher prices in 2022?

Or should I wait for Carnival to cancel?

Thanks in anticipation!

As Barry said, no-one can answer your questions. All we can do is give you our opinions. I do not believe there is any chance that cruise ships will be operating from Australia by April and May 2021. I do not believe cruises will re-start until there is an effective vaccine. It would also require all crew and passengers to show evidence of vaccination, and maybe for passengers to have a test prior to boarding.

 

I am an optimist and hope that this will be the case by late 2021 and that Australian-based cruising will re-start then. Australia has been very cautious in its handling of the pandemic and the government is not going to take any risks with a cruise ship where one infected person can cause hundreds of infections. They are not going to take any risks after this happened with the  Ruby Princess.

[getting older slowly]

To be honest when Australia opens to cruise ships,  which maybe late 2021    it could well only be open to Australians...  and this is totally reliant on the government.....

 

Fare prices will go up... the cruise lines need the money

 

So to recap 

 

4 hours ago, drsel said:

When will Aus allow international passengers on cruise ships ? 

not until international borders are open, it has been stated in the media maybe 2022 ?

 

What is the latest news?   

None    to far away.....  it is just guesses at the moment

[Chiliburn]

Going on Singapore’s experience.

There was talk and negotiation between the cruise lines and government departments for 2 months and then another 2 month lead up to a date for the cruises.
There’s no talk of cruises in Australia and I think the ban is until the end of the year.

If there’s a start of talk,you could add 3-4 months lead up and the season will almost be over by then.

 

 From what I understand the op is American?  
I don’t think the op will be going on their April cruises.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I think the key point is not when cruising will restart here but when international visitors will be allowed into Australia. I can't see that happening anytime soon, certainly not by April 2021. When it does happen it will be on a country by country basis, based on how that country is dealing with the coronoavirus. My call is that the US visitors will not be allowed here for at least another year.

 

However I suggest you wait until just before final payment to cancel your 2021 cruise. There is a good chance Carnival will cancel your Australian cruises before then.

 

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

However I suggest you wait until just before final payment to cancel your 2021 cruise. There is a good chance Carnival will cancel your Australian cruises before then.

 

I would concur with this advice. We are in November and there has been no plan set for restarting cruises so I think it is a very low chance that there will be cruises by April and if cruising restarts will only be for locals and/or New Zealanders. Personally I would not book anything till I was sure the industry is up and running to some sort of regular schedule but if you feel comfortable doing this then 2022 is probably your best bet. 

[The_Big_M]

I also don't think the cruise will go ahead. 

 

That leads to the question of whether you should cancel now or wait. Check what Carnival has offered for other cancellations. If they offer extra OBC or other benefits you may find it preferable to wait until they offer that so you get that advantage. Whereas if you cancel now, obviously you get no extra benefit aside from freeing up that deposit.

[By The Bay]

G'day drsel. It would appear that all of the posters concur that overseas visitors will not be cruising from Australia in April 2021. Time for plan B.

Edited November 5, 2020 by By The Bay

[NSWP]

6 hours ago, By The Bay said:

G'day drsel. It would appear that all of the posters concur that overseas visitors will not be cruising from Australia in April 2021. Time for plan B.

Totally agree, maybe even 2022. 

[drsel]

14 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

 

15 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I would concur with this advice. We are in November and there has been no plan set for restarting cruises so I think it is a very low chance that there will be cruises by April and if cruising restarts will only be for locals and/or New Zealanders. Personally I would not book anything till I was sure the industry is up and running to some sort of regular schedule but if you feel comfortable doing this then 2022 is probably your best bet. 

 

14 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

I also don't think the cruise will go ahead.

That leads to the question of whether you should cancel now or wait. Check what Carnival has offered for other cancellations. If they offer extra OBC or other benefits you may find it preferable to wait until they offer that so you get that advantage. Whereas if you cancel now, obviously you get no extra benefit aside from freeing up that deposit.

 

17 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I think the key point is not when cruising will restart here but when international visitors will be allowed into Australia. I can't see that happening anytime soon, certainly not by April 2021. When it does happen it will be on a country by country basis, based on how that country is dealing with the coronoavirus.

However I suggest you wait until just before final payment to cancel your 2021 cruise. There is a good chance Carnival will cancel your Australian cruises before then.

I used the FCCs of 2 cancelled Carnival Spirit cruises to book these 2 Splendor cruises & I got AUD 900 OBC for each cruise.

Now if I cancel both & rebook 2 Splendor cruises in 2022, what will happen?

Will my entire payment + AUD 900 x 2 + agents OBC get carried forward to the more expensive 2022 Splendor cruises ? Any penalty or cancellation fees? Final payment is in Jan 2021

[ilikeanswers]

7 minutes ago, drsel said:

I used the FCCs of 2 cancelled Carnival Spirit cruises to book these 2 Splendor cruises & I got AUD 900 OBC for each cruise.

Now if I cancel both & rebook 2 Splendor cruises in 2022, what will happen?

Will my entire payment + AUD 900 x 2 + agents OBC get carried forward to the more expensive 2022 Splendor cruises ? Any penalty or cancellation fees? Final payment is in Jan 2021

 

If you booked with an agent you probably need to discuss this with them. If you are from overseas the terms and conditions will differ to our bookings so I am not sure our experiences will be the right information for you🤔

[rkmw]

3 hours ago, drsel said:

 

 

 

I used the FCCs of 2 cancelled Carnival Spirit cruises to book these 2 Splendor cruises & I got AUD 900 OBC for each cruise.

Now if I cancel both & rebook 2 Splendor cruises in 2022, what will happen?

Will my entire payment + AUD 900 x 2 + agents OBC get carried forward to the more expensive 2022 Splendor cruises ? Any penalty or cancellation fees? Final payment is in Jan 2021

You can’t stack the OBC from a cancelled cruise but you will receive the $900 on another booked cruise and what your original price was for the cancelled cruise any money  paid should come off the new booked cruise

[christodan]

To give you an idea of what is happening here, I have a land holiday booked for January in Queensland and we are still waiting for Queensland to open the borders to people from Sydney. That should give you a clue as to the odds of an international traveler being allowed in Australia in April. The politicians are being super cautious in Australia (especially the Queensland and WA ones).

[OzKiwiJJ]

7 hours ago, drsel said:

 

 

 

I used the FCCs of 2 cancelled Carnival Spirit cruises to book these 2 Splendor cruises & I got AUD 900 OBC for each cruise.

Now if I cancel both & rebook 2 Splendor cruises in 2022, what will happen?

Will my entire payment + AUD 900 x 2 + agents OBC get carried forward to the more expensive 2022 Splendor cruises ? Any penalty or cancellation fees? Final payment is in Jan 2021

Sorry, mate, but I don't think anyone here is qualified to provide an accurate answer to this. You will need to discuss it with your TA and/or Carnival. 

[Kiwi_cruiser]

On 11/5/2020 at 7:04 AM, drsel said:

When will Aus allow international passengers on cruise ships ?

What is the latest news?

 

At the moment the Australia cruise ship ban is still till the 17th December 2020, but many of the cruise lines have cancelled in till Jan 2021.

 

The lasted talk is that it will be the end of 2021 before international passengers will be able to fly to Australia, but their has been northing official yet.

 

 

On 11/5/2020 at 7:04 AM, drsel said:

Should I cancel my Carnival cruises in Apr 2021 & rebook them at a much higher prices in 2022?

Or should I wait for Carnival to cancel?

 

I would wait and see if Carnival cancels the cruise, but as you are coming from overseas I would cancel now and wait and re-book for the 2022/2023 season.

[drsel]

On 11/6/2020 at 1:40 AM, rkmw said:

You can’t stack the OBC from a cancelled cruise but you will receive the $900 on another booked cruise and what your original price was for the cancelled cruise any money  paid should come off the new booked cruise

I found out that there is NO penalty/service charge for ANY change or BOTH changes--  date & ship.

Carnival has waived off the $50 per pax service charge for ALL categories of bookings, incl non refundable, super saver, early saver, etc. They are amazingly customer friendly!

 

All my Carnival gifted OBC of 1000 AUD + agent OBC + payment made will get carried forward to the 2022 sailing of my choice.

The problem is that BOTH Apr 2021 sailings are ALMOST FREE, as the OBC is almost as much as the extremely low priced cruise fare!

So I would not like to cancel my 'free' cruises, in the hope that the new vaccine may be available by then.  This vaccine announcement today caused all 3 cruise stocks to jump 35% in 1 day!

[drsel]

The 2022 fares are 50% more for the same no. of nights & same category cabin

[By The Bay]

Are you still of the opinion that you will be able to cruise from Australia in April 2021? I am sorry to tell you, it is not going to happen. ☹️

[Aus Traveller]

47 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

Are you still of the opinion that you will be able to cruise from Australia in April 2021? I am sorry to tell you, it is not going to happen. ☹️

I agree with this comment - there will be no international cruising out of Australia by April 2021. The announcement that a vaccine will be available by March 2021 gives added hope that cruising might start in the second half of 2021. Before ships would be allowed to operate out of Australian ports, the vaccine will have to be widely used and also proven.

 

When our international borders open, it is unlikely people from countries with a very high rate of infections will be able to visit. Australia (and Victoria in particular) have not gone through the painful experience of lockdown, only to have it all undone by allowing people to come from areas where the virus is running unchecked.

[getting older slowly]

4 hours ago, drsel said:

The 2022 fares are 50% more for the same no. of nights & same category cabin

It is to be expected.. the cruise lines need money... and lots of people seam to want to cruise.... so it is what the market will bear   as well as supply and demand.

 

One compared our cruise planned on Princess for  Nov 2020 (cancelled) to one booked for Nov 2021   same cruise in same cabin  and about 10-15% increase....

but checking for Feb 2022 about a 25% increase..

 

But increases will vary between cruise lines.

 

Don