NEWS UPDATE: BIG Pacific Encounter Updates | Pre Cruise Testing to Stop? Carnival Luminosa Update

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.com/thecruiseandtravelguy www.instragram.com/thecruiseandtravelguy Head to my website for great cruise and travel deals: www.thecruiseandtravelguy.com.au This week, NCL announced that it would be ending its pre cruise covid testing requirement. From August 1st, guests won’t be required to test for covid before the start of their cruise, unless this is specifically required by local regulations. That means cruises departing from the US, Canada, Greece and Bermuda will still require pre-cruise testing. In much the same vein, Royal Caribbean Blog reported that during the recent President’s Cruise held onboard Ovation of the Seas, Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bailey stated during a Q&A session, that pre cruise testing would likely be around for the next few months at least. Locally, cruise passengers on both P&O and Princess ships need to have at least a RAT within a day or two of boarding and are required to self report a negative result in order to board, which itself presents problems as the system is essentially operated on the honesty policy. I suspect we’ll have testing requirements in Australia until at least next year, but as we’ve learned with this topic, things can change relatively quickly. Carnival have released a teaser image of the new-to-the-brand Carnival Luminosa. The ship is coming to the fleet from Costa Cruises, and as part of the transfer, she will undergo minor alterations. One of those changes is the removal of Costa’s colours and installation of Carnival’s, but it seems that this doesn’t extend to the funnel. Carnival is famous for their bright red whale tail funnel and it’s surprising to see that this will be omitted from the Luminosa. As well, it looks like Carnival’s latest paint job design won’t be making it across either. Though it was announced that there would be only minor changes made, it still seems like a large oversight when the funnel is such a recognisable brand trait. Carnival now have a dedicated web page for the Luminosa, but it doesn’t reveal anything new. Bookings are still not open for her upcoming Australia and Alaska seasons. As mentioned previously, Princess Cruises’ brand new Premier fare level has brought with it the opportunity for guests to win prizes with the aptly named Princess Prizes. The competition will eventually be offered fleet wide and is tied with to the Medallion technology. Guests who choose the Premier fare tier will automatically be enrolled into the program. The offering officially kicked off onboard Majestic Princess on July 5th but will soon expand to other ships, with Australia’s own Coral Princess set to debut the service by July 29th. The competition means cruisers can win anything from onboard credit to free cruises and even $100,000. Australia has fairly strict laws when it comes to lotteries and competitions, so I’m curious to see how these will be handled while the ships sail on domestic itineraries. Princess will offer a range of new sailings, which will be on sale from July 14th at 9am. The departures include the ever popular Round Australia cruise, this time taking place on Majestic Princess and departing Sydney on March 7th and Brisbane March 9th. There are a range of new to market voyages on offer between February and April 2023, so if you’ve previously missed out, it might be the perfect time to get in and book your cruise. Last week, P&O released footage of its two newest ships meeting in Italy. Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure were together for a brief period, before Encounter departed and began her journey south to Australia. Encounter will eventually home port in Brisbane, offering year round cruises from the sunshine state. However, I have been informed that Pacific Encounter is actually currently en route to… Sydney. Although not appearing on the NSW port authority website yet, Encounter is apparently due to arrive in Sydney Harbour at the beginning of August and will be here for a couple of weeks before relocating to Brisbane to commence her inaugural season. Whilst I can’t say this with 100% certainty, I am fairly confident that this news is accurate - and assuming it is, I can’t wait to see P&O’s newest ship sail in to the world’s greatest harbour city. P&O also released some updated images of Pacific Encounter, giving us a glimpse of the changes and updates that have been made to her public spaces. The ex Star Princess now sports some of P&O’s signature spaces including the Encounter Hotel and the Blue Room. Plus, the Encounter debuts the new to P&O Altitude, which will become the night life hot spot perched high on deck 18. The views during the day are spectacular, and the partying at night will no doubt be just as exciting. Thanks for watching!