NEWS UPDATE: Disney to AUS in 2023? Discovery Princess to Australia, No More Tests for Royal & more!

Sydney cruise schedule: https://www.portauthoritynsw.com.au/cruise/cruise-schedule/ 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 Shop tee shirts: https://thecruiseandtravelguy.myshopify.com Head to my website for great cruise and travel deals: www.thecruiseandtravelguy.com.au Pacific Encounter is due to arrive in Sydney Harbour on Tuesday morning, August 2nd. According to the NSW Ports Cruise Schedule, she’ll remain berthed at the Overseas Passenger Terminal until Sunday August 7th. Encounter’s 5 day stay at OPT has forced P&O to relocate the Pacific Explorer, with that ship now departing on its August 4th cruise from Sydney’s White Bay Cruise Terminal. Pacific Encounter will return to Sydney’s OPT on Wednesday August 10th where she will remain until she departs for Brisbane on August 18th. Carnival this week confirmed in a presentation to travel agents that Luminosa’s cruises will go on sale next month. The ship is due to arrive in November and sail from Brisbane until she relocates temporarily relocates to Alaska next Autumn. Carnival did confirm that Luminosa will undergo a major dry dock in the future, but were unable to say when. Luminosa will arrive with Australian power points in cabins and coffee tailored for Australian tastes - both part of the Aussification process. P&O this week also announced that its 14 night Bounty Adventure cruise scheduled to depart on October 14th onboard the Pacific Explorer was cancelled. P&O cited ongoing uncertainty in relation to the planned call to Tonga, and said that they would be unable to deliver the full bounty experience. The cancelled cruise will be replaced with a series of shorter domestic cruise itineraries that are not yet on sale. Affected guests will receive a full refund, and a 10% discount off the cost of their fare on a future cruise booking, if that reservation is made by November 30th 2022 and sailed before November 30th 2023. During the upcoming 2023/2024 Australian summer cruise season, Royal Caribbean will swap out the Enchantment of the Seas for the Brilliance of the Seas. Brilliance will be a familiar sight to anyone that cruised on the much loved Radiance of the Seas. As sister ships, Brilliance will offer most of what people have come to love about the Radiance Class, including views framed by acres of glass, a multitude of speciality dining venues and intimate lounge and entertainment spaces. Guests affected by the change will be moved automatically to the Brilliance of the Seas cruises, but will also be able to rebook another Royal Caribbean voyage or request a full refund if they prefer. The rumours of a Disney Cruise Line arrival into the Australian cruise market are heating up. Diving into the NSW Ports Cruise Schedule reveals some interesting entries. A mystery ship is scheduled to arrive into Sydney Harbour on October 27th, 2023. The unnamed ship is also represented by an unnamed line, meaning that someone somewhere is doing their best to keep things under wraps. Adding to the excitement is the fact that for the first time, Disney Cruise Line will be an exhibitor at the upcoming CLIA360 industry event. The unnamed ship’s last port entry appears on February 16th, 2024. Of course, this could be completely wrong, but it’s looking more and more likely. Although reviewing Port Schedules can be a bit of fun, always take them with a grain of salt, especially when looking into forward years. However, they can also reveal a cruise line’s plans before they’re officially announced. To that end, Discovery Princess appears on the Sydney cruise schedule with an arrival date of November 29th, 2024. Discovery Princess is the sixth and final member of the Royal Class of ships, launching only in March 2022. Similar to Majestic Princess but with key differences including the addition of an aft wake view pool, locating the ship in Australia will be a huge sign of faith in the Australian cruise industry. The schedule also indicates that Virgin Voyages’ adults only Resilient Lady will return for the summer cruise season in 2024/2025 with a scheduled arrival on December 3rd, 2024. And finally, Royal Caribbean confirmed that they will drop their pre cruise testing requirement for vaccinated guests on sailings up to 5 nights in duration from August 8th. The change comes in the wake of the CDC ending it’s COVID-19 cruise program and will eventually be joined by the removal of the testing requirement on cruises of longer duration. Unvaccinated passengers will still be required to test before boarding a cruise of any duration. Changes to testing and other health requirements will also be dependant on the home port location, as local regulations and laws may dictate that testing is still required. Thanks for watching!