New Zealand Border

[casofilia]

My guess is that cruise lines may well not come to the Antipodes till both countries have open borders.   I feel that that will be especially true for NCL who will have to bring a ship from the northern hemisphere.   That is the Spirit which is due to visit India on the way!!!

[Florida Jim]

Text of report on Australia opening: "Australia is sticking to plans to start re-opening to the rest of the world only from the middle of next year, officials said on Sunday, resisting mounting pressure to end the closure of international borders."  from US News May 16, 2021

We are booked on Viking Orion, Feb. 7, 2022 Austrailia to New Zeland.

 

[mimbecky]

9 hours ago, Florida Jim said:

We are booked on Viking Orion, Feb. 7, 2022 Austrailia to New Zeland.

Yes, we are on Celebrity around Australia in early February and then planned to fly to NZ and drive though for 2 weeks.  That is why I am wondering if NZ alone might be a possibility.

 

[PTC DAWG]

I used to want to visit New Zealand.  

[amyr]

42 minutes ago, mimbecky said:

Yes, we are on Celebrity around Australia in early February and then planned to fly to NZ and drive though for 2 weeks.  That is why I am wondering if NZ alone might be a possibility.

 

We are wondering this as well.  We have hotels and a car booked for seven weeks around NZ starting in February with flights booked over with miles.  We're supposed to then sail back from Sydney to Seattle in April, and that's the part I'm pretty sure won't happen.  I'm starting to think the cruise lines won't even send their ships over.  New Zealand seems like they could open by the end of the year 2021 if they get all their folks vaccinated.  

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

I used to want to visit New Zealand.  

Same here. Doesn't look like it'll be open to anyone from outside NZ for a very long time.

[mimbecky]

On 5/24/2021 at 7:05 AM, amyr said:

New Zealand seems like they could open by the end of the year 2021 if they get all their folks vaccinated.  

We had thought of doing at least NZ land if Australia cruise doesn't happen but we were going with friends and they don't want to travel all that way and only do one part. Like I said, I can't imagine one opening without the other.  If Australia is open to NZ and NZ is open to everyone, then I don't know how protective that is for Australia....It seems it would cause them to do one of 2 things- either they open up also, or close to NZ too.

[casofilia]

A "Cruise Industry" spokesman was on the radio this morning and indicated that they were having trouble getting any real talks going with the New Zealand Government.   His feeling was that there would be no cruise ships in New Zealand this year and probably none at all this summer.

 

Mike

[casofilia]

A later statement on the radio has the "Cruise Industry" trying to get the Government to open the borders to passengers on cruise ships between Australia and New Zealand under the same regulations applying to passengers on planes flying to NZ from Australia.

 

Fingers, toes and eyes crossed.

[trbarton]

I’m aware that the boarders of Australia & New Zealand are closed to cruise ships & for anyone from the US if the ports are opened for crushing I’ll need both a Australian & New Zealand visa. I won’t get either one until I know for sure if I’m able to cruise. 
 

I’m on a 13 day New Zealand cruise in February, 2022 & I’m hopeful that things will improve/change. 
 

Tom😀

[trbarton]

Here’s some good visa information from another posting. 
 

As others have said, in normal times you need to apply for a visa for Australia.. Most from the US are eligible for the ETA process. Link

 

https://www.eta.homeaffairs.gov.au/ETAS3/etas

 

The NZ link has been provided by onlyslightlymad up above.

 

Currently the system is disabled, as shown in the Information box in the picture.

 

https://www.eta.homeaffairs.gov.au/ETAS3/etas

 

[casofilia]

TV News tonight; Sunday 13th June;

 

A spokesman for the cruise industry in New Zealand stated that they were unable to get the New Zealand Government into talks to allow cruise ships to carry "passengers" across the Tasman with the same controls that apply to passengers flying.

[casofilia]

I received the following from Princess in Sydney in answer to a question about vaccination requirements:-

 

Please be advised that for cruises departing Australia and New Zealand, we have not yet been advised of any vaccination restrictions or requirements from the appropriate health authorities or government. All guests will be advised as soon as possible, should the government advise Princess Cruises of such requirements. 

 

No further advanced but that is as official as we will get at the moment.

[MamaFej]

22 hours ago, casofilia said:

I received the following from Princess in Sydney in answer to a question about vaccination requirements:-

 

Please be advised that for cruises departing Australia and New Zealand, we have not yet been advised of any vaccination restrictions or requirements from the appropriate health authorities or government. All guests will be advised as soon as possible, should the government advise Princess Cruises of such requirements. 

 

No further advanced but that is as official as we will get at the moment.

Thanks. I appreciate the information.

 

I don't know if you are monitoring the conversations about cruises leaving from the US, but the overwhelming majority of Cruise Critic folks want fully vaccinated cruises, and are very glad that Princess is requiring 100% of passengers be vaccinated on their Alaska cruises this season. 

 

On another note, my family is taking a triple celebration trip to Hawaii (from Southern California, USA) later this week. The Hawaiian government is making visitors jump through many, many hoops. We even have to have a clearance QR code from the Hawaiian government before we will be allowed to pick up our rental car. I do not blame them a bit. Hubby and I were saying that if NZ/Aus would require the same sort of vigilance from visitors, we might have a shot of visiting sooner. Of course, we recognize that it is far more important to re-patriate citizens. Visitors come later. We would just like the opportunity to contribute to the Oceania economies by visiting these wonderful places. 

[casofilia]

@Mamfer

 

You may find that I have a post about a 100% rather than a 95% vaccination rate which is getting lots of likes!!

 

We still have no idea about what our government will want for anyone other than Australians!!!   Can't see an open border before the middle of 2022 the way things are going.   An Australian spent the weekend here last weekend and Wellington has had to back into lockdown again.

[casofilia]

It looks to me as if Princess has waved goodbye to cruising in this part of the world for a while.

 

We received advertising today with  expensive (NZD200/p/d) cruises starting 4 Oct 2022.    Have a look at https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/results?&voyages=6222B,6301A,6214A,6314A,6310C,6310D,6215B,6315B,6210A,6310A,6302A,8304,8303&utm_source=PC&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=Campaign&utm_content=&cid=bm_email_promo_internal_nzhomeport_tactical_ace21pp35_210625_na&custID=

 

The title was First stop Auckland, next stop the world!

Mike

Edited June 25, 2021 by casofilia

[HaveWeMetYet]

I can't see an open border ever.

Covid is going to be around for awhile and then there will always be some new virus coming along.

What works to keep virus cases low means eliminating travelers from arriving. In the UK and Israel even the fully vaccinated are getting covid, hospitalized, and dying. So if the goal is zero then you simply can't let anyone in from the outside. Even if you did get to travel in you could face quarantines and lockdowns at any moment. Not a risk I would want to take. New Zealanders better get used to Milford Sound, Mount Cook, and sheep (LOL).

 

 

[Sailing12Away]

We were booked for a long trip to NZ & Australia in January 2021, which was obviously cancelled. In talks with the TA we were working with from NZ and she said they're taking reservations now for 2023 trips. So trying to work out the dates to put something on hold now before things go crazy, but that's sadly a long ways away before we'll get to visit.

[casofilia]

FYI

 

The Bubble has been burst for a few day!!!   No TransTasman flights.

[caribill]

Australia is so isolated even citizens can’t easily enter. For the next year, it’s happy to stay that way

 

https://fortune.com/2021/06/18/australia-covid-zero-closed-borders-reopen-lockdown/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_2512127&tpcc=reader

 

[DCGuy64]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

Australia is so isolated even citizens can’t easily enter. For the next year, it’s happy to stay that way

 

https://fortune.com/2021/06/18/australia-covid-zero-closed-borders-reopen-lockdown/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_2512127&tpcc=reader

 

Wow. Unbelievable. Low rates of infection, but only 3% fully vaccinated. And the place is essentially one giant prison. No, thanks. 

[casofilia]

For New Zealanders intending to cruise with Princess I have received the OK from my PCC in Sydney that the document I received from The BoP DHB showing my two vaccinations against Covid-19 is acceptable to Princess for boarding.

I sent scans of both sides of the document.

 

Mike

[casofilia]

I have just heard on the radio that the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy is to be increased later this year.   I will confirm when I hear more

[casofilia]

Sorry not that fee but one that is "hidden" within the cost of your ticket price.

 

Mike

 

New proposals which could result in a massive hike in charges for all travellers entering New Zealand are extremely troubling and should not go ahead, Tourism Industry Aotearoa says.

The levy used to fund customs and biosecurity services is under review by the Customs Service and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

Currently, the border processing levy is $20.11 for every air passenger and $21.96 for cruise passengers.

Customs and MPI are proposing a range of options from no change through to an increase that would see the levy jump to $160.76 per passenger, and $70.23 for cruise passengers from December 1.

 

[casofilia]

According to what was said on the News this evening New Zealand is now "thinking" about opening specific "Managed Isolation" accommodation.   It may be purpose built or existing hotels may be bought solely for MI use.   

The reason being was that Managed Isolation is likely to be required for "long-term" use.

 

Look at https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/07/covid-19-government-looking-into-long-term-options-for-managed-isolation-facilities.html

 

Mike