Norwegian Jewel’s guests lands in Sydney as 3,000 Australians remain on cruise ships at sea

Norwegian Jewel to homeport in Sydney for a second season

The Norwegian Jewel’s 287 Australian passengers landed in Sydney on a Qantas charter flight from Honolulu, Hawaii this morning. The charter flight departed Honolulu on Wednesday afternoon after more than a day’s delay, according to Guardian Australia. The ship arrived in Hawaii on Sunday March 22 and charter flights to bring all passengers home were … Read more

MSC Magnifica on her way to Dubai

MSC Magnifica

MSC Magnifica, which was set to call at Fremantle in Western Australia, is currently on her way to Dubai. Premier Mark McGowan claimed she had 250 passengers onboard with ‘respiratory illnesses’. But MSC told Cruise Passenger that there were no cases of COVID-19 onboard the ship, and the Magnifica was never set to disembark passengers. “Along her … Read more

NSW blamed for failing to halt Ruby Princess disembarkation after 131 positive COVID-19 tests

PRINCESS REVEALS LARGEST EVER AUSTRALIAN DEPLOYMENT

NSW Health officials are being blamed for failing to halt the disembarkation of Ruby Princess passengers last week, despite tests being carried out on guests, twelve of which proved positive for coronavirus. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard is reported in The Sunday Telegraph to have said: “With the benefit of what we now know, I … Read more

Onboard Pacific Explorer: How I beat the PM’s cruise ban

Passengers onboard Pacific Explorer's last cruise

Missing a port stop during a cruise is a fairly common occurrence. But the passengers on Pacific Explorer’s first sailing since her refurbishment ended up in an unusual situation, writes Honida Beram. On Friday 13 March, P&O’s Pacific Explorer departed Sydney for a three-night cruise, heading to the NSW South Coast town of Eden, with … Read more

A Royal thank you to our firies in photos

Australian fire fighters on Royal Caribbean cruises

This week saw the last of three complimentary cruises aboard the Spectrum of the Seas dock, allowing the final group out of almost 12,000 bush fire “first responders” to disembark. All three have been a triumph, allowing families who spend months battling the blazes in Australia’s outback to take some time out and enjoy a … Read more

Carnival Australia offers ships as hospitals during coronavirus pandemic

Carnival Australia offers ships as hospitals during coronavirus pandemic

Australian patients displaced from hospitals because of the coronavirus pandemic may be treated in cruise ship sick bays and recover on board, if an offer from Carnival Corporation is taken up. The world’s largest cruise line, with ten brands, has made the offer globally, including the US and Australia, according to a statement issued today. … Read more

Miracle: How the cruise industry got almost 90,000 passengers home

Sky Princess leaves Singapore

In the history of seismic maritime events, the past week will be remembered as one of the biggest. Even the Spanish Armada pales beside these numbers. Yet it was handled with hardly any fuss and few complaints. You may be forgiven for hardly noticing… When the order went out to “pause” cruising last weekend, some … Read more

Aussie couple’s cruise video has 22m views – now they plan a sequel

Aussie couple's cruise video has 22m views - now they plan a sequel

The most celebrated cruise couple in the world, whose video of a cancelled cruise reached 22 million, have told Cruise Passenger they are preparing to do a sequel video. Retired Melbournian couple, Dave and Norma Trill, became instant online stars when they recreated their cancelled cruise around the Pacific in the comfort of their living … Read more

Dream Cruises to help local tourism with end of year sailings

Dream Cruises to help local tourism with end of year sailings

Dream Cruises, Asia’s premium cruise line has revealed some new offers to help reinvigorate the local travel industry. While the cruise line has halted operations temporarily, Dream Cruises believe that the local travel business in Australia will be in need of a massive boost. “Australian travellers and our New Zealand neighbours are very resilient, and … Read more