NEWS UPDATE: P&O to embark on a test cruise! Crew shortages wreaking havoc & must you use VeriFLY?

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 P&O’s Pacific Explorer will set sail on May 31st with a boatload of very excited guests. As announced a few weeks ago, the cruise line will utilise the VeriFly app in order to manage the status and authenticity of guest vaccination certificates, as well as for passengers to upload their negative covid test results prior to the cruise. Passengers have the choice of completing a PCR test within 72 hours of departure, or a self-administered Rapid Antigen test within 24 hours of boarding. Passengers will then declare their test results in the app - which can be done only until 6am on the day of departure. Each adult passenger is required to complete their verification using the app, but one question that people have raised is whether those without a smartphone, or perhaps those that are less tech savvy, can avoid using the app altogether. Well, yes. In a nutshell, you can avoid the app if you don’t have the ability to use it. That means though that once at the pier, you’ll need to produce your proof of vaccination as well as make your negative test declaration. This will add time to the check in process, and shouldn’t be relied upon but rather used only as a backup. I know that many of you were keenly waiting for P&O to be listed as a vendor within the VeriFly app - and they’re now live. If you have a P&O booking, you can download the app from whichever App Store you use and get started with uploading your vaccination certificate for review. Another step closer to the cruise restart. Pacific Explorer will embark on an activation cruise next Thursday, May 26th. The 3 night voyage will see suppliers, agents, P&O’s trade partners and me, join the ship in order for its services and venues to be tested and fine tuned in the lead up to the resumption of guest services on May 31st. Having been out of service for the better part of 2 and a half years, plus with new boarding processes, a new app and health measures to contend with, the activation cruise will allow P&O to ensure the ship and its crew are firing on all cylinders - as I’m sure they will be. Keep an eye out for some looooong overdue fresh cruise content on my channel and social media pages. In 2021, as cruising began to return in places like the US and Europe, cruise lines lowered their passenger count to enable social distancing, as well as to ensure that a number of cabins remained vacant on each voyage if they were required for isolation or quarantine purposes. This will still be the case for the Australian resumption of Princess Cruises next month, as Coral Princess returns to service cruising from Brisbane with a reduced passenger capacity for at least the first month or so. However, a reduced passenger capacity is currently a symptom of a different problem for a couple of cruise lines. Crew shortages are causing issues around the world, with Cunard having to bump booked passengers from at least one Alaskan cruise this season. The same problem is also responsible for a number of voyage cancellations onboard P&O UK’s Arcadia. Onboard both Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line, crew shortages have resulted in a number of specialty dining venues being temporarily taken off line. Meals at Carnival’s Chef’s Table and Cucina Del Capitano have both been suspended through to at least the end of June. A Carnival statement read that the challenge of securing visas for cruise industry employees is affecting staffing levels onboard. Hopefully this issue is resolved soon. And for those of you looking for something a little off the beaten path, or waves, Australian expedition cruise line, Coral Expeditions, has scheduled an epic 21 night voyage departing from Cairns on December 16th this year. The three week journey will set off without a fixed itinerary. Instead the 2019 built Coral Adventurer will set sail and head to remote and rarely visited islands such as Wallis and Futuna in the Pacific Ocean and Luganville and Pentecost in Vanuatu. The cruise will end in Auckland, but not before you get the chance to celebrate both Christmas and New Years onboard, plus you’ll get to cross the International date line. The all-inclusive cruise of a lifetime starts at $16,950 per person twin share. Thanks for watching!