Disney has switched its New Year’s Eve sailing from Noumea to Australia citing the civil unrest that has plagued New Caledonia.
Different cruise lines are taking very different approaches to the New Caledonia situation. The decision comes as both Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean will continue to New Caledonia, with Ovation of the Seas set to arrive on November 10.
The Smart Traveller advice for New Caledonia is the warning level says, ‘Reconsider your need to travel’, due to ‘political demonstrations and protests may turn violent at short notice’. The level was updated on November 5.
Other destinations with this level of travel warning include Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Turkmenistan and Bangladesh.
Royal Caribbean and Carnival have both confirmed with Cruise Passenger that their itineraries are still planned to go ahead.
Disney has rerouted at least two cruisers that were going to go to Noumea, with another sailing, on January 16, 2026, being rerouted to New Plymouth in New Zealand, also due to the unrest.
The email from Disney regarding the New Year’s Eve sailing reads: “We are reaching out with important information about your upcoming December 28, 2024, Disney Magic at Sea cruise from Sydney, Australia aboard the Disney Wonder.
“Due to ongoing unrest in Noumea, New Caledonia, we have the decision to visit Eden and Hobart, Australia instead.”
This provides good news for Australian ports, who will receive a couple of extra ships, however, it creates a confusing question of why Disney has chosen to pull out of visits to the region, but other lines have chosen to proceed.
While passengers deserve the itineraries they paid for, safety is of course always the number one priority. The coming weeks will show us if Noumea and the rest of New Caledonia is safe to visit at the moment.
Carnival Cruises previously wrote to customers who have booked on a cruise that stops at Noumea: “As you’re aware, New Caledonia has been through a challenging time in recent months. We are continuing to monitor the situation, and at this stage, we expect to be able to deliver your itinerary as planned.
“Some public facilities have been damaged, and parts of the city are still being repaired. We strongly recommend you do not plan independent travel for your calls to Noumea, beyond the beaches and bays to the south of the city to Anse Vata. We encourage you to book one of our Shore Excursions, which have been developed to provide access to the best sites available at this time.”
Royal Caribbean sent out a more lax warning to guests, simply mentioning that shuttles would be needed to get from the port into town, with no particular mention of safety or the unrest.
A Carnival Christmas cruise was actually recently adjusted to have two stops in Noumea, which some passengers aren’t happy about.
Faye Loats said: “I see the Christmas cruise on Splendour itinerary has been updated. Two stops in Noumea where I won’t get off as it is still deemed unsafe. Not happy about that.”
What else are people saying?
Passengers such as Rebecca Maher were understandably upset with the change on Disney, but feel glad that Disney prioritised their safety.
She said: “While we understand that some guests may feel disappointed by the altered plans, Disney made this decision in the interest of passenger safety, which remains the top priority.”
Another cruiser Brooke wrote: “We’re on the January cruise that’s just been rerouted to NZ. I’d rather stay safe and still have somewhere to visit. The cruise is what we are essentially going for. Excited we found a port and know what is happening after all the uncertainty.”
Other cruisers such as Rachael Evans are confused as to why other lines will visit but Disney won’t.
“Disappointing. Other cruise lines are returning to Noumea this month.”
Royal Caribbean cruisers have expressed concern about getting off the ship when it ports in Noumea later this week.
Rick Van de Velde said: “I wouldn’t get off regardless of whether you’re on a cruise line excursion.
“It doesn’t take much for trouble to brew and the locals may seek to disrupt tourists to bring home their point.”
Veronica Caton is also worried, making reference to a recent episode of Foreign Correspondent, which talks about the state of Noumea.
“We’re not travelling until December but I wish they’d skip Noumea.
“Watched an episode of Foreign Correspondent last night called Paradise on Fire. It’s about what’s going on in Noumea now. It’s pretty intense. I know tourists wouldn’t be the target but things happen.”
A Carnival cruiser Nicki Johnson remains doubtful sailings will go ahead.
“Carnival can be as hopeful as they like, and they can send confidence-filled emails inviting guests to purchase ‘safe’ excursions all they like, but at this point in time, DFAT still has all of New Caledonia listed as a Level 3 travel advisory.
“This clearly states that one should avoid non-essential travel, do their research and check that their insurer still covers them.”
The current Smart Traveller warning
The most recent Smart Traveller warning kept the same level of warning, however, it did remove some previous warnings, such as arson and carjacking.
It now reads: “We continue to advise reconsider your need to travel to New Caledonia due to the risk of civil unrest and travel disruptions. Political tensions and unrest may increase at short notice. There’s an increased police and security presence.
“Political demonstrations and protests may turn violent at short notice. Avoid demonstrations and public gatherings. There’s a curfew in place nightly between midnight and 5 am. Some essential services are impacted. Be wary of your personal security and belongings; isolated security incidents, including arson, occur across the territory. Continue to follow the advice of local authorities.
“You can access La Tontouta International Airport by road. This can change at short notice. You’ll need to assess your situation before travelling. Monitor the media and follow the advice of local authorities (see ‘Safety’). Aircalin and Qantas are operating flights on the Australia-New Caledonia route. Contact your airline for the latest information.”
The issue is we are now heading south to Hobart which is a lovely city but we booked a cruise going north and now we are heading in a totally different direction. This new sailing is nothing like what was booked. Disney also left it until after the cancellation date to let passengers know, when they had changed the itinerary before it has now been noted. We now can’t cancel without loosing thousands because they were totally dishonest with the passengers. I booked a South Pacific cruise overseas cruise not one to my own country that I can drive to. I would not have spent thousands of dollars heading to my own country on a cruise.
People are upset the cruise being changed from an international to domestic cruise, if we wanted to go to Hobart we would have booked the Hobart cruise. We booked tropical and the seas are known to be rough around that time. They did it after the cut off date to cancel and had booked the new ports way before. I know it is about safety but most people would have just liked an extra day at sea and no change of route. Some people have had a get passports not just one but all the family and now they don’t need them
I booked in August the Wonder cruise that departs from Sydney to Noumea with Disney Cruise Line (DCL) for the dates 28.12.24 – 3.01.25. As the article states travellers were recently informed that DCL have decided to change the destination from Noumea to Eden and Hobart in Australia due to unrest in Noumea, despite cruise ships still having clearance to travel there. No compensation has been offered for this destination change when the new destination isn’t even comparable. They are still expecting us to pay the exact same amount for a cruise now based in Australia. Furthermore, they announced this just as the cancellation is now 50 percent loss of fare. If they announced this 5 days prior, we would have easily received all our money back except the deposit. My contact with them has been very unprofessional to say the least. The supervisor hung up on me when I asked why travellers are being offered 30 percent discount when they book cruises around Australia and New Zealand, yet we aren’t being offered the same deal when our cruise is now based in Australia only. I have been left with no choice but to involve Consumer Affairs and I’m also seeking legal advice through a lawyer since a case with Moore vs Scenic tours that went to high court proved that travellers are entitled to a full refund when there is major itinerary changes and they do not receive what they paid for. I honestly wouldn’t have cared if the new destination was somewhere else overseas like New Zealand but I didn’t pay 7 grand to go around Eden and Hobart. If I wanted this type of tour, I would have booked it but I didn’t. I was wanting an overseas experience with my daughter instead. Since this has happened, I have been warning all my friends, family and people on public forums of my experiences with DCL so they don’t book with them. I also recently heard through a friend that her family received 50 percent off their cruise when the destination changed from overseas to Australia. They also received on board vouchers they could use. This proves that DCL don’t value their travellers if other cruise companies can offer this as a compensation. How can DCL say they offer a first class experience when they don’t even have basic professionalism over the phone? It makes you wonder how many other travellers have been impacted by DCL or will be impacted in the future? My advice is don’t waste your money with DCL and be disappointed.
I would imagine that the difference in decision making is at least partly due to the different demographics onboard. Disney would typically have a lot of children and families onboard, who could be more vulnerable. Carnival and RC typically have more adults, who could be expected (?) to be better able to make judgments about how to handle different situations