NEWS UPDATE: NSW approved for Feb 1? Princess 23/24 including World Cruise + go cruise in Singapore!

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 Head to my website for great cruise and travel deals: www.thecruiseandtravelguy.com.au Follow me on Facebook and Instagram: www.facebook.comn/thecruiseandtravelguy www.instragram.com/thecruiseandtravelguy Princess this week announced their long awaited 2023/2024 Australian cruise program. The release is one of the biggest ever for the local market, encompassing 113 departures across 18 countries. Grand Princess, Coral Princess, Majestic Princess and Royal Princess will all call Australia and New Zealand home. As always, there is a fantastic range of voyages on offer, including an 18 night Queensland round trip cruise from Adelaide. The much-loved Australian circumnavigation cruise is back, with two departures scheduled. Ordinarily, these cruises will call in at a foreign port, however they will now be purely domestic voyages meaning Australian residents will only need a drivers licence to embark on this month long expedition. And of course, the piece de resistance is the Princess World Cruise. Scheduled for 2024, the voyage will be the longest yet at 110 nights from start to finish. I’ll be releasing a separate video all about the world cruise soon. CLIA announced this week that there has been more progress on the state level when it comes to government discussions around the resumption of cruising. According to Managing Director, Joel Katz, there have been encouraging discussions with the NSW state government and health authorities are now considering what measures and protocols will be required for cruise lines to recommence operation from the state. He said, “While the Federal Government has indicated it is working towards lifting cruise restrictions in Australia by Christmas, it will still take several months before health protocols can be agreed with the states and ships can be returned from overseas.  Nevertheless, we’re cautiously optimistic that we may see international ships back in Australian waters in the first part of the new year.” It’s generally understood that NSW will be first cab off the rank and will likely lead the way for the broader resumption of cruising in our region. To that end, this week an article appeared on the website of the Cruise Passenger publication indicating in an exclusive, that local cruising from NSW will be allowed to recommence from February 1st. The article outlines that a decision from the NSW Government will be forthcoming next week. The state decision to allow cruising to resume will come on the back of the expected end to the federal ban on cruising on December 17. The inference is that intra-state cruising would be allowed first, but with limited destinations within NSW, I suspect more if that is the case then we’ll see a lot more short sea breaks and trips to Eden. The article was met with a mixed response online, ranging from those that outright claim it is false and misleading and probably want to write a letter to their local member, to those that I’m sure probably popped a bottle or two of the bubbly stuff. I’m reserving judgement. The article was presented as an exclusive which intimates that its author is privy to information not yet released to the general public, but I don’t know that for sure. The proof one way or the other will come next week with either a government announcement to confirm the claims made in the article, or as we’ve come to expect, complete silence. I reached out to the writer, Peter Lynch, but didn’t receive a response. In the South Pacific, French Polynesia has banned large ships from calling at its ports. Ships that carry more than 3500 passengers will be outright banned, whilst ships with a capacity of over 2500 passengers will be limited to a port stop in the capital as well as two other ports with sufficient infrastructure to manage the influx of people. The island of Bora Bora meanwhile, will limit itself to ships with a capacity of 1200 passengers. Soon-to-be Sydney based Pacific Adventure has finally left Triest, Italy and is reportedly on her way to join her P&O sister ships in Limassol, Cyprus. Pacific Adventure underwent a multi-million dollar refurbishment in dry dock and then moved to wet dock where she has been for the last while. Her movement to Cyprus might possibly be step 1 of her eventual trip back down under. Let’s hope. And finally, the world of cruising has gotten a little closer to home this week, with Australians being welcomed into Singapore via the Vaccinated Traveller Lane or VTL now /allowed to cruise! Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas and Dream Cruises’ World Dream have been operating from the city state for almost a year, offering cruises to nowhere exclusively for Singaporean residents. As of now, these voyages will open to international visitors eligible to enter through Singapore’s VTL. Thanks for watching!