NEWS UPDATE: AUS cruise ban coming to an end! Sapphire Princess cancellation + no more masks for NCL

UPDATE: The ban has been extended through to April 17th - though this won't ultimately have a bearing on the aim to resume cruising by winter/early Spring as is currently scheduled. The news from National Cabinet is still a positive step in the right direction. Join my private Facebook group for cruise deals, tips and advice - the more members we have, the better we’ll get! www.facebook.com/groups/CTGdeals Follow me on Facebook and Instagram: www.facebook.comn/thecruiseandtravelguy www.instragram.com/thecruiseandtravelguy Head to my website for great cruise and travel deals: www.thecruiseandtravelguy.com.au This week, Princess Cruises announced that they, much like their sister line Carnival, would be redeploying one of their ships from Australia to the US. The Sapphire Princess’s voyages between August 28th and October 29th have been cancelled to allow the ship to head to the US West Coast where she is guaranteed to earn the company revenue. This latest suspension means that based on current scheduling, Australia won’t see a Princess ship in our region until October. NSW State Premier, Dominic Perrottet echoed his support for the industry earlier this week, posing the question that we have all been asking for months - if Australians can fly overseas to cruise, then why can’t they cruise from their own backyard? Perrottet confirmed that he would raise the issue at National Cabinet on February 10th. True to his word, the Premier did in fact raise the discussion point and finally after almost two years, we have the first positive steps towards a local cruise resumption. A statement from the Prime Minister’s office reads: “National Cabinet discussed the resumption of cruises in Australia, noting that there are shared responsibilities for the resumption of cruises between the Commonwealth, states and territories. National Cabinet agreed that following a decision by the Commonwealth to lift the bio-security orders that currently prevent cruise ships from coming to Australia that states and the Northern Territory would then determine when recommencement of cruises would occur in each jurisdiction, consistent with the previous agreement of the National Cabinet of 5 November 2021. The Commonwealth, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland agreed to work with the industry to implement new protocols to enable the resumption of cruising over coming months.” In the US, cruise lines are moving forward and dropping some of their stricter health restrictions. Norwegian Cruise Line has informed agents and guests that from March 1st, passengers won’t be required to wear masks indoors, while children under 5 will not require proof of vaccination. The company’s official recommendation remains that masks be worn inside, as well as outdoors where social distancing can’t be observed, but the actual requirement to wear one will be no more. The somewhat contradictory approach is believed to be targeting prospective cruise line guests who’ve been putting off their return to cruising because of mask mandates and their impact on the onboard experience. Carnival and Disney Cruise Lines have also opened cruising to unvaccinated passengers who’ve been diagnosed with and recovered from COVID. Passengers wishing to sail under this arrangement must provide written proof in the form of lab results or a formalised letter from their doctor indicating that they had tested positive within around 90 days of departure and have since recovered. A couple of weeks ago I reported on the bankruptcy of Genting HK and the subsequent impact to the company’s subsidiary, luxury cruise line Crystal Cruises. Unpaid fuel bills resulted in warrants being issued for the ships’ arrests and these were finally executed last week. Now, the cruise line has officially announced that this is the end. Their US based office will have closed by the time this video is published, and shore-side staff have had their employment terminated. The ships’ mortgage holders have appointed V.Ships to manage the vessels going forward and crew onboard are reportedly confused and unsure about what comes next for them. It’s a mighty fall for the awarded luxury line. It’s expected that the ships will be sold, and perhaps a new company will rise from the ashes - at least that’s the hope. I wish all the best to the crew and employees. Back home, Royal Caribbean have amended their approach to Future Cruise Credits. Credits that were issued to guests as a result of the ongoing cruising suspension had book-by and sail-by expiration dates tied to them. Royal Caribbean has simplified their approach to these credits, removing the book-by date and instead allowing guests to use their credits all the way up until the sail-by date. Celebrity Cruises have also initiated a similar program. The extra flexibility should help people manage their credits and future cruise planning. Thanks for watching!