New Zealand tough new rules

[excitedofharpenden]

I heard from a friend this morning that New Zealand are introducing tough new immigration rules. This on the newswire. It comes in from midnight Sunday their time and puts pay to Journey's current cruise. Not sure when Australia will follow. Hopefully they can get back to Sydney PDQ. 

 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/coronavirus-new-zealand-brings-in-worlds-toughest-border-restrictions-to-fight-outbreak-11957379

 

Phil 

[excitedofharpenden]

Hopefully because they are already in NZ waters they'll be able to continue.  What a mess. 

 

Phil 

Edited March 14, 2020 by excitedofharpenden

[Spursgirl]

Phil, Australia already introduced similar stringent immigration rules earlier this week.

Suspect it won't be long before cruising is suspended worldwide for three months or so.

[NeilWM]

The Australian rules are not yet as stringent as new NZ rules but presumably may be soon

[NeilWM]

Rules just changed in Australia, everyone arriving needs to self-isolate for 14 days, cruise ship ban, etc

[DRJVH]

19 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I heard from a friend this morning that New Zealand are introducing tough new immigration rules. This on the newswire. It comes in from midnight Sunday their time and puts pay to Journey's current cruise. Not sure when Australia will follow. Hopefully they can get back to Sydney PDQ. 

 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/coronavirus-new-zealand-brings-in-worlds-toughest-border-restrictions-to-fight-outbreak-11957379

 

Phil 

Australia has just announced new rules regarding cruise Ships. 
 

 

4 hours ago, NeilWM said:

The Australian rules are not yet as stringent as new NZ rules but presumably may be soon

They are now. 
 

All overseas arrivals to Australia required to self-isolate for 14 days
 

The Prime Minister has introduced measures similar to New Zealand when it comes to overseas arrivals.

"To help stay ahead of this curve, we will impose a universal self-isolation requirement on all arrivals to Australia and it is effective from midnight tonight."

"The Australian Government will also ban cruise ships from foreign ports from arriving to Australian ports for an initial 30 days and that will go forward on a rolling basis.
 

 

"The national Cabinet also endorses the advice of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) today to introduce social distancing measures.
 

"I just want to be clear about the travel restrictions I have just announced. All people coming to Australia will be required, I stress, to self-isolate for 14 days. This is very important. "

 

[excitedofharpenden]

It looks like Journey's cruise is toast. According to Marine Traffic she's left Dunedin and headed to Auckland instead of the Sounds. 

 

Phil 

[AJCM]

A relative is on Cunard - Sydney to Southampton. They’ve reached Fremantle and been told its the end of the line. Aussies will fly home. They’re allowing Brits (don’t know about others) to stay aboard for the long haul back to England but no stops along the way apparently. No new passengers were allowed to board in Freo because there are no viral cases on board. Sounds much like Bonnie’s clarification about Pursuit, where they’re looking to dock to send people home. With countries virtually locking up their borders, cruise lines are taking, in my view, reasonable and correct actions.

[Grandma Cruising]

We have cruise friends in NZ at present. They were due to join Journey in Sydney to go to Singapore. They flew out the day Azamara announced the ‘Cruise with Confidence’ policy, so too late for them to cancel. They’ve just been told the cruise is cancelled and they’ll get a refund but no compensation for flight changes. They have no choice but to try to get flights from NZ given Australia’s new immigration rules.

[Baynanno1]

12 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

We have cruise friends in NZ at present. They were due to join Journey in Sydney to go to Singapore. They flew out the day Azamara announced the ‘Cruise with Confidence’ policy, so too late for them to cancel. They’ve just been told the cruise is cancelled and they’ll get a refund but no compensation for flight changes. They have no choice but to try to get flights from NZ given Australia’s new immigration rules.

 

I just re-read yesterday's cancellation update. I had not realised flight assistance was missing!

I hope your friends' airline is as good as ours, and wish them safe travels home.

[Grandma Cruising]

10 hours ago, Baynanno1 said:

 

I just re-read yesterday's cancellation update. I had not realised flight assistance was missing!

I hope your friends' airline is as good as ours, and wish them safe travels home.

Actually, that proved to be inaccurate - they hadn’t read the letter they got carefully. There was $500 flight change compensation, but it was right at the bottom. Sorry if I’ve misled people. I haven’t heard yet if they’ve got flights sorted out.

[Baynanno1]

13 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Actually, that proved to be inaccurate - they hadn’t read the letter they got carefully. There was $500 flight change compensation, but it was right at the bottom. Sorry if I’ve misled people. I haven’t heard yet if they’ve got flights sorted out.

 

The compensation of up to $500 was included in the cancellation of both our 17 March and 28 March cruises.

 

Compensation for flights other than those booked through Azamara is noticeably missing from the Travel Advisory of 14 March.

[Grandma Cruising]

45 minutes ago, Baynanno1 said:

 

The compensation of up to $500 was included in the cancellation of both our 17 March and 28 March cruises.

 

Compensation for flights other than those booked through Azamara is noticeably missing from the Travel Advisory of 14 March.

It’s not in the travel advisory, but it was in the individual letter our friends received.

[AJCM]

Just my view of things. In Australia the situation is changing dramatically on a daily basis. Last Friday I was complacent and only really worried about compensation for a cancelled holiday. Three days later there’s a great sense of panic throughout the community- extensive queues at supermarkets; most external entertainment avenues being shut down by the government (sport, museums, art galleries, annual comedy festival, Grand Prix, etc); industry moving rapidly to working from home (where possible); being warned of individual freedoms being curtailed; perhaps schools being shut down; externals being  prohibited from entering the country; daily stock exchange continuing to drop 6 - 9% each day. 
 

It looks like our way of life will be very, very different in a weeks time. Let’s hope these responses really make a difference to the spread of the virus.  A young friend and his partner cancelled their Friday departure to Spain on Thursday night. other friends have cancelled planned trips to Japan a couple of weeks away. My sister in law has had her Cunard cruise from Sydney to Southampton stopped at Fremantle. Professional sports teams have been stranded by sudden border closures in Aus and NZ. A couple from our son’s gym flew to NZ on Saturday and now have to self isolate when they return. Then we hear Australia has reportedly grossly insufficient test kits and ICU beds.
 

Frankly, when our June cruises and flights are inevitably cancelled I’ll be relieved by whatever recoupment we can get - this 100% FCC looks very good - even though the business providing that FCC, Azamara, might not actually exist in 12 months time. My greater financial concern is that our adult children are not wiped out financially through loss of jobs or loss of business, against high living and business expenses. My overwhelming concern though is that our loved ones are not afflicted and, if so, that they pull through ok.

 

From a lifestyle perspective, this is really only the start. General mobility hasn’t yet been constrained but it looks like stringent restrictions are coming and will hit hard. Shortages of goods and the deprivation that follows is still to really hit; and that’s going to be a shock to us boomers. Social isolation is scary - ok if it’s only a couple of weeks but what if these restrictions last a month or more?

 

I hope everybody gets their cruise, flights and hotel compensation and can enjoy a relaxing holiday, either later this year or in 2021 - I certainly hope to. At the moment I’m still pretty complacent, as most people seem to be (other than panic stocking up of provisions) but I also perceive that we’ll be living a very different reality within one or two weeks. I don’t think I’ll be too concerned about cruise compensation then - Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

 

[nordski]

2 minutes ago, AJCM said:

Just my view of things. In Australia the situation is changing dramatically on a daily basis. Last Friday I was complacent and only really worried about compensation for a cancelled holiday. Three days later there’s a great sense of panic throughout the community- extensive queues at supermarkets; most external entertainment avenues being shut down by the government (sport, museums, art galleries, annual comedy festival, Grand Prix, etc); industry moving rapidly to working from home (where possible); being warned of individual freedoms being curtailed; perhaps schools being shut down; externals being  prohibited from entering the country; daily stock exchange continuing to drop 6 - 9% each day. 
 

It looks like our way of life will be very, very different in a weeks time. Let’s hope these responses really make a difference to the spread of the virus.  A young friend and his partner cancelled their Friday departure to Spain on Thursday night. other friends have cancelled planned trips to Japan a couple of weeks away. My sister in law has had her Cunard cruise from Sydney to Southampton stopped at Fremantle. Professional sports teams have been stranded by sudden border closures in Aus and NZ. A couple from our son’s gym flew to NZ on Saturday and now have to self isolate when they return. Then we hear Australia has reportedly grossly insufficient test kits and ICU beds.
 

Frankly, when our June cruises and flights are inevitably cancelled I’ll be relieved by whatever recoupment we can get - this 100% FCC looks very good - even though the business providing that FCC, Azamara, might not actually exist in 12 months time. My greater financial concern is that our adult children are not wiped out financially through loss of jobs or loss of business, against high living and business expenses. My overwhelming concern though is that our loved ones are not afflicted and, if so, that they pull through ok.

 

From a lifestyle perspective, this is really only the start. General mobility hasn’t yet been constrained but it looks like stringent restrictions are coming and will hit hard. Shortages of goods and the deprivation that follows is still to really hit; and that’s going to be a shock to us boomers. Social isolation is scary - ok if it’s only a couple of weeks but what if these restrictions last a month or more?

 

I hope everybody gets their cruise, flights and hotel compensation and can enjoy a relaxing holiday, either later this year or in 2021 - I certainly hope to. At the moment I’m still pretty complacent, as most people seem to be (other than panic stocking up of provisions) but I also perceive that we’ll be living a very different reality within one or two weeks. I don’t think I’ll be too concerned about cruise compensation then - Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

 

 

Thanks for the information from Australia.

 

It appears that much of what you describe and analyze may become true of life in many nations. Keeping our perspective helps. I, too, wonder what will be the financial impact on others, but especially our adult children.

 

Loved your reference to Maslow.

[excitedofharpenden]

AJCM, you think exactly like me!👍

 

Phil 

[the mice]

AJCM.

We were just in Melbourne in October prior to a short visit in Sydney and then 24 days on Celebrity doing the GBR and NZ.  We loved your city and the Great Ocean Road.   And we so enjoyed everyone we met along the way.   Wonderful memories made.

 

I am sorry to hear that your situation is beginning to mirror what is happening here in New York where our local area is experiencing one of the major outbreaks in the USA.  

 

Hopefully all of us and our loved ones will come through this OK.   But, as you said, much will have changed.   

Wishing you and everyone else here all the best.