Cruise ship Ban extended another 3 months- March 2021

[CRUISING ALONG]

Good Afternoon fellow cruisers.

 

It's official!

 

Just heard on the radio that the cruise ship ban in Australia has been extended until March 2021.

 

Story here on 9news.com.au and news.com.au

 

https://www.9news.com.au/national/cruise-ship-ban-in-australia-extended-by-another-three-months/590f8c08-0276-4a0e-8f70-e4e9518a00d8

 

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/health-safety/cruise-ban-has-been-extended-by-three-months-in-australia/news-story/f7a131529355bf059cad6ad7683996d3

 

Cheers

 

CRUISING ALONG

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Not unexpected. Most cruise lines have already cancelled their itineraries for this season.

[plettza]

I just watched Ten News.  I can see why international cruises would be grounds for an extension in the no-sail order but I would argue home-ported vessels like Splendor and Pacific Explorer should be allowed to cruise locally and allow only local passengers.  If we can now fly to other states, why not sail?

 

I'd be happy for my upcoming Carnival cruise to have its itinerary changed to an Australia-only cruise.

Edited December 8, 2020 by plettza

[OzKiwiJJ]

21 minutes ago, plettza said:

I just watched Ten News.  I can see why international cruises would be grounds for an extension in the no-sail order but I would argue home-ported vessels like Splendor and Pacific Explorer should be allowed to cruise locally and allow only local passengers.  If we can now fly to other states, why not sail?

 

I'd be happy for my upcoming Carnival cruise to have its itinerary changed to an Australia-only cruise.

Where is the crew coming from? That is probably the main reason they have extended the no-sail order. Most crew members come from countries that have high incidences of Covid.

 

I'm happy to wait a few more months to cruise. Australia has just managed to stop local transmission of the virus for the moment but, as was seen in NZ, that's no guarantee it won't pop up again. Once a vaccine is available that will make it safer to cruise but it will probably be March at least until vaccines start being distributed in Australia.

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Australian government extends cruise ban by an additional three months:
 

https://cruisepassenger.com.au/australian-government-extends-cruise-ban-by-an-additional-three-months/

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Hopefully 2021 will be better for cruising 🙂

[pully8]

Quantum returns to Singapore with one COVID case (seatrade-cruise.com) 

We can live with hope.

Not just cruising halted in Australia, no one can leave the country without an exemption, which have strict criteria. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, pully8 said:

Quantum returns to Singapore with one COVID case (seatrade-cruise.com) 

We can live with hope.

Not just cruising halted in Australia, no one can leave the country without an exemption, which have strict criteria. 

Which I think is very sensible given the large number of covidiots out there. I'd rather see Australia keep its borders closed until a vaccine is available and in use. I won't be at all surprised if the closure is extended again in March, through to June. By then hopefully the world will be starting to settle down and some travel (and cruising) permitted. 

 

Bad luck for RCI given the very low numbers Singapore has had over the past couple of months. However it just goes to show that no matter how careful they are the virus can still pop up. Luckily the more stringent health checks caught it quickly. Hopefully only the one person has it.

[Elorac123]

In the circle magazine it makes a mention of mask wearing where social distancing could not be practised.theatres,bingo,trivia etc.

Not for this cruiser , if I can’t get the full cruise feeling I would rather not bother.

Hope by 2022 that everything is near normal

Cheers Carole

 

[pully8]

Yes it looks as if the situation is being handled appropriately.

Lets hope the vaccine roll out is managed well once available.

Just when outbound travel from Australia is permitted is anyone's guess.

Meanwhile thousands are arriving from overseas and we all hope community transmission will be minimal. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

34 minutes ago, Elorac123 said:

In the circle magazine it makes a mention of mask wearing where social distancing could not be practised.theatres,bingo,trivia etc.

Not for this cruiser , if I can’t get the full cruise feeling I would rather not bother.

Hope by 2022 that everything is near normal

Cheers Carole

 

I think it will take a couple of years (at least) of Covid-safe cruising, plus wide acceptance of a vaccine so that there are minimal cases worldwide, before cruising goes back to what it used to be. 2024 if we're lucky.

[plettza]

On 12/8/2020 at 6:02 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

Where is the crew coming from? That is probably the main reason they have extended the no-sail order. Most crew members come from countries that have high incidences of Covid.

 

 

The crew just test up a few days before boarding and then quarantine aboard the ship for 14 days or whatever is deemed necessary.  After all, these vessels are practically hotels that float.  Once it's established there are no affected crew members, then passengers could follow the protocols and be allowed to cruise.  That would be safer than having crew disembark and then spending quarantine in a Sydney hotel.  I would guess internationals airline crew spend some period in Sydney's hotels without being able to leave until their departure flight shift.

 

Australia still gets cargo/freighter vessels visiting Australian ports.  Just with cruising, we as passengers would be the "cargo" and be transported to places like Hobart, Tangalooma, etc.

[plettza]

It looks now like our Carnival cruise will be the first CCL cruise to sail next year as it departs in late March.

 

To get onboard, I'd be happy to mask up, get tested and have the itinerary altered to Australia-only cruises.

[OzKiwiJJ]

25 minutes ago, plettza said:

The crew just test up a few days before boarding and then quarantine aboard the ship for 14 days or whatever is deemed necessary.  After all, these vessels are practically hotels that float.  Once it's established there are no affected crew members, then passengers could follow the protocols and be allowed to cruise.  That would be safer than having crew disembark and then spending quarantine in a Sydney hotel.  I would guess internationals airline crew spend some period in Sydney's hotels without being able to leave until their departure flight shift.

 

Australia still gets cargo/freighter vessels visiting Australian ports.  Just with cruising, we as passengers would be the "cargo" and be transported to places like Hobart, Tangalooma, etc.

From what I've read the crew quarantine somewhere before boarding the ship, then spend extra time on the ship before passengers are allowed on.

 

But the stickler is that our governments see cruising as a luxury, whereas cargo shipping is a necessity, so there will be resistance to allowing cruise ships to come here, at least until a vaccine is widely available. 

[MicCanberra]

Not all unexpected, may as well put another 6 months on now.

[queenslander]

I agree - at least 6 months! I've booked cruises out of Brisbane in August and in November. I hope to get the vaccine by then! 

[mr walker]

We shifted our Apr 2021 cruise to Mar 2022 in anticipation that it would not go ahead. We are hoping that Mar '22 will happen.

We would like to do a cruise maybe Oct/Nov '21 as we have a RC FCC to use, but we're not sure that will happen.

We will all have to wait & see.

[jessica3152]

It will be interesting to see the extra changes that come when cruising returns.  One change I think may be considered is changing arrival and departure times.  It could be that cruises may change to end in the mid-afternoon and the new cruise will depart the next morning rather than the current same day turnaround system.

 

This would have a cost to the cruiseline but it would have advantages in that it would enable for a deeper clean between each cruise, testing of crew if needed and mean embarking and disembarking passengers are not mixing on the wharf.

 

[NSWP]

Just now, jessica3152 said:

It will be interesting to see the extra changes that come when cruising returns.  One change I think may be considered is changing arrival and departure times.  It could be that cruises may change to end in the mid-afternoon and the new cruise will depart the next morning rather than the current same day turnaround system.

 

This would have a cost to the cruiseline but it would have advantages in that it would enable for a deeper clean between each cruise, testing of crew if needed and mean embarking and disembarking passengers are not mixing on the wharf.

 

Good points, I would also envisage very strict enforcement of check in times as they may be lengthy, who wants to wait with 3000 pax at the cruise terminal. Would be chaos with the additional checks and balances, covid tests, inspection of covid certificate, inspection of and/or issue of the prescribed masks etc.

[pully8]

Royal Caribbean passenger does not have Covid-19 after final test is negative: MOH, Health News & Top Stories - The Straits Times  Excellent news. 

[Aus Traveller]

16 hours ago, jessica3152 said:

It will be interesting to see the extra changes that come when cruising returns.  One change I think may be considered is changing arrival and departure times.  It could be that cruises may change to end in the mid-afternoon and the new cruise will depart the next morning rather than the current same day turnaround system.

 

This would have a cost to the cruiseline but it would have advantages in that it would enable for a deeper clean between each cruise, testing of crew if needed and mean embarking and disembarking passengers are not mixing on the wharf.

I think it is more likely that embarkation will be later in the day than usual to give two or three hours for deep cleaning before the new passengers board. They have often done this when there has been noro virus on board. With everyone (except the senior officers) working on the cleaning, a lot can be done in a couple of hours. Also, staggered boarding will probably be necessary.

[NSWP]

9 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I think it is more likely that embarkation will be later in the day than usual to give two or three hours for deep cleaning before the new passengers board. They have often done this when there has been noro virus on board. With everyone (except the senior officers) working on the cleaning, a lot can be done in a couple of hours. Also, staggered boarding will probably be necessary.

Bug Naked might get a job as a cabin cleaner, lol.

[Chiliburn]

6 hours ago, NSWP said:

Bug Naked might get a job as a cabin cleaner, lol.

That’s captain Kate’s cousin and Azamara pursuit.

 

[NSWP]

48 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

That’s captain Kate’s cousin and Azamara pursuit.

 

Is she a cat lover too?