Family holidays are a huge part of cruising and hundreds of thousands of children take to the seas each year. Whether it’s colourful waterslides, kids pools and shows, educational activities, arcades or so much more, many cruise ships are specially made to appeal to families to bring their kids on board. But thanks to COVID, … Read more
Royal Caribbean has notified its Australian customers that final payment due date will be suspended in response to the uncertainty of cruising locally. “Recently, the Australian Government announced an extension of their port closures to cruise ship travel through September 2021, which may have left you wondering what would happen with your upcoming sailing,” said … Read more
Just because the Australian government hasn’t yet produced a plan for the relaunch of cruise, doesn’t mean we can’t start planning. Here’s what Ceylan Yeginsu wrote for The New York Times about her first time stepping back onto a cruise when she boarded onto Celebrity Millennium earlier this month: “One woman threw her bag on … Read more
The new strains of COVID 19 have forced the Australian government to extend the international travel ban until June – but talks over the resumption of cruising are continuing, according to a statement tonight from the Department of Health. The statement means our borders have been shut for 15 months. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt … Read more
Health department officials are now working with the cruise industry to finally produce a plan for the phased restart of itineraries in Australia, Cruise Passenger can reveal. The promising start made by Australia’s only locally flagged and crewed fleet, Coral Expeditions – sailing in Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania – has led to renewed optimism … Read more
Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy sparked a furious debate this week after he maintained it was unlikely international borders would reopen in 2021. If his prediction is correct, Australians will continue to holiday at home and overseas tourists will be banned – costing the economy billions and hundreds or even thousands of jobs. In a … Read more
Cruise lines are taking legal advice over the possibilities of enforcing a vaccinated-only passenger policy. And some have already announced tough new regulations about who they will allow to board their ships. Cunard, for instance, has issued an “Emergency Notification” to guests with pre-existing conditions saying guests who need supplementary oxygen, kidney dialysis or a … Read more
The powerful US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday issued its strictest warning yet about cruising, thanks to the soaring number of cases across the nation, The move comes just a few weeks after the CDC issued a report explaining how cruise lines could safely restart, and a bookings boom which followed positive … Read more
SeaDream Yacht Club’s ‘Barbados bubble’ has burst, temporarily at least. I’ve been on board SeaDream 1 since Saturday, sailing the Caribbean. This is the first cruise line to restart here so there was a lot at stake – and a great deal of planning had gone into the operation. The sailing, with 53 passengers and … Read more
She's the most specious ship yet from luxury line Oceania Cruises. James Sitters tells Rose Kelly and Peter Lynch what's on board the new class of ship, including restaurants, spas and suites.
