Why Australia banned Cruise Ships for TWO YEARS!

Since 27 March 2020 there has been a ban on any foreign flagged cruise ship entering Australian waters. This ban has been extended several times already and is currently in place until 17 December 2020, but there is a high likelihood of the ban being extended still further, with Australia’s international borders remaining closed at this time. As a result of the ban all cruise ships not registered in Australia were forced to depart Australian waters, and so far they haven’t been allowed back. This has resulted in the cancellation of dozens of itineraries across a variety of shipping lines. Last week Princess Cruises announced an extension in their pause of operations in Australia until the end of May 2021. So I thought it was time to review the Australian cruise ban and what’s been going on in Australia. In mid-March the cruise industry entered into a voluntary cruise pause. Less than two weeks later the Australian government banned foreign flagged cruise ships from Australian waters. This included the ships of the P&O Cruises Australia fleet, which has its operational headquarters in NSW. All foreign flagged ships had to leave and the ports around Australia began to look empty. Initially the cruise pause was to last 30 days and the ships that were deployed to Australia remained close by, anchored in a large cluster off Manilla Bay. But both the cruise pause and the Australian cruise ban have continued on and now there is no Australian cruising planned from any of the major international brands until late December at the very earliest. P&O Cruises Australia have extended their pause in operations until 8 January 2021. RCI have suspended all sailings until December 31st 2020. Carnival Cruise Lines has cancelled cruises until mid-February next year and Princess Cruises do not forsee returning until the end of May. Cunard Lins will not be back in Australia until December 2021. Despite the cruise ban, there is some cruising happening in Australia. Two Australian owned and operated brands, with Australian flagged ships have recently recommenced cruising. Coral Expeditions Cruises offers expedition cruises on a fleet of three small ships. They have recently returned to cruising on the east coast of Australia, with their ship Coral Discoverer. With space for 72 passengers, it is a very different experience from the big mass market cruise ships that have been visiting Australia over the past decade. True North is another ship now offering itineraries – this West Australian based cruise brand offers luxury small ship cruising. At the moment their itineraries are limited to West Australian ports, and Western Australian residents, as the state currently has the tightest border controls in the country, with even interstate travel very highly restricted. In addition to cancelling itineraries, the cruise pause has led to some changes to the ships that will be returning to Australia. This is especially obvious with P&O Australia – as their ships are based here year-round. Pacific Adventure was originally due to enter the fleet in September 2020. She will now not join P&O until 30 April 2021. Pacific Encounter, which was due to join P&O in late 2021, will now enter the fleet in May. Pacific Aria and Pacific Dawn have left the fleet early, with Aria sold to Seajets and Pacific Dawn becoming a floating community off the coast of Panama. Image assistance of Coral Expeditions John Frame. Music Youtube Audio Library. All other images and video is Chris Frame & Rachelle Cross. Some other videos you may like: World Cruise Cancelled from aboard QM2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoUUynWmMqM Recycling Cruise Ships - Why Cruise Ships are Scrapped: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UyiCaEKWJI #cruisenews #cruiseship #cruiseshipnews