Resumption of cruising in Australia
Hooray! For us avid cruisers, this week’s announcement about the resumption of International Cruises in Australian waters, from the 17th of April 2022, has been welcome news.
But is it safe to cruise? We have heard a lot of chatter over the last 24 months about cruising and safety, as this is one of my favourite topics, I thought I would add my personal opinion about the resumption of cruising here in Australia.
It may surprise many folks to hear we have had a lot of customers cruise locally over the last 12 months and a few adventurous people who have cruised overseas since January 2022 – all have done so safely and have had fantastic times away.
Resumption of International cruising
It is a shock to many people in Australia to hear travel hasn’t stopped overseas, however, our media hasn’t reported what is happening in the world of travel outside of our borders – many think the world closed as we did. I am not here debating the border closures, it was done for a reason. However, people have still travelled by plane and cruise ship overseas – and locally during this crazy time in our lives and have done so successfully. After my trip to Uluru in October 2020 – on a plane at the height of the pandemic and sometimes maskless on the plane, I did not pick up any lurgies in that small and confined space – so cruising has got be a huge step up from plane travel? Right?
Absolutely! It’s never been a healthier time to cruise. With the introduction of mandatory new health and safety covid protocols cruise wide, it’s now probably safer to cruise than go to your local supermarket. And whilst we won’t have the mask-wearing forever – the introduction of new health technologies will stay and improve the future of cruising, especially for our older customers. Who would have thought an insidious little virus could revolutionise and improve one of our most beloved forms of travel? It’s certainly a win for us avid cruisers and new cruisers should feel confident with the new health protocols – it literally has never been a healthier time to board a cruise ship – stick with me here!
Does this sound like you?
I really want to cruise again. However, I am concerned about going on
a cruise. I read all these things online about how once it gets
onboard, everyone gets affected!
My response: There has been a lot of negative media over-sensationalism about cruising, but are you aware of the actual success story of cruises around the world, since 2020?
Did you know, Since March 2000, over 7 million passengers have cruised worldwide?
It is certainly not what we have heard here, however so many people have enjoyed safe cruise holidays through the pandemic. Thanks to the safety commitment by our partner CLIA^ Cruise Lines, strick safety protocols have been introduced and thanks to these measures, cruising has resumed successfully and safely.
If you are interested in a cruise holiday don’t despair if you don’t know where to start. We can help you find the perfect ship, itinerary, time to travel – everything to ensure your best chance of a stress-free and enjoyable first cruise holiday. For many of us, that is a long overdue experience. I for one can’t wait for my first cruise this June with Holland America to Alaska.
Call Sara and Wendy at Journey On Travel to discuss your next cruise adventure, 1300 068 885. Or, hit the chat button below and leave us a message to call you back if we’re not online.
And of course, if there is something you’d like to hear about in my next blog, drop me a line, [email protected]
You can click here as well, to head directly to our cruise portal.
CLIA^ – Cruise Lines International Association
Next week…what are the cruise safety protocols?
Cruise Ships that have operated
over the last 2 years:
- APT – operating Caledonian Sky
- Antarctica 21
- Aranui Cruises
- Aurora Expeditions
- Azamara
- Carnival
- Celebrity
- Celestyal Cruises
- Club Med
- Coral Expeditions
- Cunard
- Disney
- Emerald Yacht Cruises
- Hapag-Lloyd
- Hebridean Island Cruises
- Heritage Expeditions
- Hurtigruten
- Lindblad Cruises
- MSC
- Noble Caledonia
- NCL
- Oceania
- Oceanwide Expeditions
- P&O International
- Paul Gauguin
- Ponant
- Princess
- Quark
- Regent Seven Seas Cruises
- Royal Caribbean
- Scenic
- Seabourn
- Sea Cloud
- Sea Dream
- Silversea
- Star Clippers
- Viking
- Virgin Voyages
- Windstar
Scheduled to return to Australia:
- Ponant, Kimberley season kicks off April 22
- P&O Australia – May 22
- Princess Cruises – Coral Princess, June 2022
- Silversea, Kimberley Season June 22
- Royal Caribbean – Oct 22
- Carnival Cruise Line – Oct 22
- Celebrity Cruises – Oct 22
- Holland America – Nov 22
- Cunard – Nov 22
- Viking Orion – Nov 22
- Viking Mars – Dec 22
- Norwegian Cruise Line – Dec 22
- Oceania Cruises – Dec 22
- Silversea, Whisper and Muse from Dec 22
- Regent Seven Seas – Dec 22
Scheduled to return Internationally:
- Ritz-Carlton – August 2022