NEWS UPDATE: An end to vaccination requirements? Pacific Adventure slides to SYD | NCL Prima & more!

Learn more or register your interest for the Group Cruise: https://www.thecruiseandtravelguy.com.au/eoi-group-cruise 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 Royal Caribbean confirmed that it will partner with Starlink to provide high speed, low latency internet services to its guests across its entire fleet of ships. The service was first tested onboard Freedom of the Seas earlier this year, with the speedy results proving too difficult to ignore. Despite offering what it called the fastest internet at sea for almost ten years, the new Starlink service is significantly improved over the old VOOM branded service, and will provide increased capability for high bandwidth internet activities like video streaming and video calls. The service will be installed to all existing ships within the Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Silversea fleet, with installations beginning immediately. The upgrade should be complete before the middle of 2023. Carnival Australia have released more details about Luminosa. The ship will officially join the fleet from November and sail its inaugural season from Brisbane during the Australian summer. In a new render released last week, the ship appears to sport the new Carnival livery on its hull. As well, the company confirmed to agents that the ship will offer its classic adults only Serenity zone, as well as a two level nightclub called Altair. The Red Frog pub will be installed on the lido deck overlooking the pool, plus kids club, Camp Ocean, will for the first time on an Australian based Carnival ship, offer an outdoor play area. Cloud 9 Spa rooms have been added, which in keeping with those on the Splendor, will allow its occupants access to the thermal suite during their cruise plus provide access for other exclusive benefits. Carnival will also soon debut its updated app, allowing guests onboard its ships to order items like snacks directly to their location when in a public area. Luminosa’s voyages are on sale and there are some deals to be had so if you’re interested, head to my website to search for a cruise. As countries and cruise lines across the world continue to wind back their vaccination and testing requirements, Australia’s eastern states are now considering changes to local cruise health regulations. In a Cruise Passenger article, it was revealed that a NSW state government spokesperson had confirmed that the three eastern states are working with the cruise industry to review existing protocols to ensure they’re aligned with the changing health requirements. Australia is on the cusp of its first summer cruise season in 3 years, and cruise lines are very keen to fill their ships and know that the removal of vaccination requirements will help them do that. Virgin Voyages have announced their long awaited loyalty program. Well, sort of. Called The Sailing Club, the program doesn’t officially kick off until next year, but there are some temporary perks available now for guests that have sailed with the line previously. Some of the perks include access to premium wifi, a free bottle of champagne as well as free laundry. The line is also targeting loyalty members of its competitors by offering status matching for those with an active booking onboard the Virgin fleet. You can find out more about the program and status matching by visiting the company’s website. Norwegian Cruise line welcomed their brand new Prima to the fleet this week in a spectacular Christening ceremony held in Reykjavik, Iceland. Prima is 294m long, 140k tonnes and carries just over 3000 guests at double occupancy. Her strikingly modern bow is quite literally just the beginning of her list of new features. She offers the highest guest space ratio of any modern cruise ship, and with features like her 4000 square meter outdoor promenade called Ocean Boulevard, it’s not hard to see why. She will spend her time between Europe and the US, with itineraries currently available to book through to September 2024. Finally this week, P&O released a video on their social media channels, giving viewers a firsthand look at what it will be like to speed down their twin racing waterslides. The Pacific Adventure will debut the slides when she arrives in Sydney a couple of weeks time - though cruisers will need to wait until her first guest cruise on October 22nd before being able to take a spin themselves. The slides will be installed onto sister ship, Pacific Encounter in early 2023. Thanks for watching!