Cunard releases Queen Elizabeth’s new Australian 2020 cruises, cancels Asian itinerary.

Filmed 20 February 2020 Cunard reveal the new 2020 Australian cruise itinerary for Queen Elizabeth which is staying in Australia until May 2020. The ongoing travel restrictions in Asia are causing havoc for cruise lines, with many Asian cruises cancelled and various operators instead sending their ships to Australia. In the last month, unplanned Australian voyages have been announced by Cunard, P&O UK, Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises – to name just a few. From a Cunard context, this past week the Queen Mary 2 diverted to Fremantle in Australia – skipping the Asian leg of her world cruise – and replacing it with an extended Australian season. This change in itinerary had people wondering what would happen with the Queen Elizabeth’s planned Asian voyages set to commence in early March. A few days ago, Cunard announced the cancellation of Queen Elizabeth’s Asian itinerary impacting cruises from 8 March through to 15 May 2020. On Friday 21st, Cunard released the Queen Elizabeth’s new Australian voyages. Voyages include two six-night Tasmanian cruises departing from Sydney, as well as two 11 night New Zealand trips that also depart from Sydney. The longest voyage is a 27 nights circumnavigation of Australia. Departing Sydney on 12 April, the cruise takes in a variety of Aussie ports including Brisbane, the Whitsundays, Cairns, Darwin, Fremantle, Busselton, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and Melbourne before returning to Sydney. These new cruises are a huge boost to the Australian tourism market and are being welcomed by businesses across the country. In the last few months, tourism has been hard hit by the devastating Australian bushfires, which has affected both local and international tourism. From December through to February these fires have burnt through around 46 million acres of land, which has led to a drop in travellers across the country. Additionally, the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak has led to a significant reduction in travellers coming to Australia from overseas, with the once booming Chinese tourism market coming to a halt due to current travel restrictions that have been implemented by Australia and other nations in an effort to contain the outbreak. Queen Elizabeth’s extended Australian stay gives Australians an option to holiday at home. International travellers with bookings on the ship’s original Asian itinerary, have the option to rebook their voyage in Australia, where travel restrictions allow. If you’re planning to take a cruise during the extended Australian season let me know in the comments below. Image Reference: All images Frame / Cross except ... Image Ref: [1] -- European Space Agency \\ Wikimedia Commons \\ Share Alike 2.0 License \\ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Satellite_image_of_bushfire_smoke_over_Eastern_Australia_(December_2019).jpg