NEWS UPDATE: Coral Princess Update, P&O Aus Going International & Western Australia Opens to 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 Head to my website for great cruise and travel deals: www.thecruiseandtravelguy.com.au Global crew shortages are finally beginning to ease, with Carnival Cruise Lines reporting that the US government has been instrumental in allowing crew members with expired visas to join their ships, even before their visas have been renewed. The shortages had impacted multiple cruise lines around the world and in response, many have had no choice but to temporarily suspended some of their onboard offerings and services. Carnival will be reinstating its Chef’s Table experience and anticipates that it will be back to full staffing levels by the end of the month. So far, this issue hasn’t impacted cruise ships sailing from Australia. Coral Princess was the first Princess operated ship to sail from Australia after the cruise ban was lifted. She kicked things off just last month, sailing exclusively from Brisbane. This week, news of COVID cases began to circulate through Australian media outlets, and the same organisations that had been in support of the restart just weeks ago, were once again recalling the Ruby Princess as they recounted the story of an outbreak. I was truly disappointed to witness the media pile on, from articles and tv news segments, the messaging and emotive language was taking me back to those early days of 2020. Many journalists were quick to point to the cruise industry as some sort of ticking time bomb, defaulting to the analogous rhetoric of the floating petri dish. As of the end of this week, there were a reported 128 cases of COVID onboard Coral Princess, 14 of those being passengers. Each case was identified onboard as a result of Princess Cruises own health protocols, and each affected passenger was subsequently isolated in line with the procedures. I don’t want to diminish the experience of anyone contracting COVID, whether that’s on land, on a plane or on a cruise, but this year, in 2022, we all know exactly what we’re signing up for when we leave home. We have come to accept that we are stuck, at least for the foreseeable future, with the concept of living with COVID. For all of us, it’s part of our everyday life to some degree. The vast, vast majority of Australians are vaccinated, and many of us still wear masks in crowded settings or avoid them altogether if we prefer. 50,000 people attended the football midweek, and as it should be, none were required to take a COVID test before entering or provide proof of vaccination. Are we supposed to believe that there was not one case of COVID amongst the crowd, that not one person walked away with COVID after that night? Cruising’s downfall in some strange way is that they are so diligent with protecting their passengers and crew. The only reason there’s a story here at all, is because cruise lines are to the best of their ability, mitigating the risk of contracting COVID onboard their ships. That’s why there’s a statistic and that’s why there’s a headline. We’ll continue to keep an eye on the Coral Princess, especially as this current cruise concludes. The biggest concern now is that the number of crew affected by COVID will inevitably affect the onboard experience for guests. Until something official comes from Princess though, it’s just a matter of waiting and seeing what transpires. Moving on, P&O will be the first cruise line to sail internationally from Australia next month. Pacific Explorer’s August 8th departure was originally scheduled to sail to Mystery Island and New Caledonia but will instead become the first cruise ship to call in at Auckland - officially marking the return of cruising to NZ. The ship and her passengers will then sail on to Fiji where they will be welcomed into the country after only just weeks ago ending its own ban on cruising. It’s fantastic to see the next stage of cruising is finally here, with the horizons once again expanding further than our own coastline. In line with its commitment to allow cruising to return to its state, Western Australia will officially welcome large cruise ships to its coastal ports from October 1st. The return comes inline with the beginning of the Australian peak cruise season and just before the country welcomes cruise ships from Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, NCL, Holland America and more. And finally this week, Royal Caribbean’s sixth Oasis Class ship is officially under construction, with a keel laying ceremony taking place at the French shipyard where the Utopia of the Seas will eventually be completed. The ship with enter service with the line in 2024 and she’ll be the second ship to be powered by the relatively clean Liquified Natural Gas. Thanks for watching!