Australian Government Studies new ways to restart cruising

[lyndarra]

2 hours ago, Kiwi_cruiser said:

Yes, Hey what about us kiwis??😲 🤣

I'm not bothered having Kiwis on board, after all, they only come out at night.🤣

[The_Big_M]

15 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

It’s good that there’s talk.

 I think Brisbane will be the first.

 

 

Seems unlikely, given that Queensland is the most protectionist. They'll wait for everyone else to start first.

[The_Big_M]

10 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

But  Aussies can't visit NSW.  I think the Govt could have handled it better by saying flights from NZ were to bring Kiwis and returning Aussies home to Australia, not for travel purposes.  When Kiwis go home they have to quarantine. 

 

Aussies can definitely visit NSW. 

 

It's QLD that they have had difficulty visiting.

[Balsam12]

The concern is crew.

They would need to be quarantined for at least 14 days before boarding a ship.

The last thing any cruise line would want is to have a crew member test positive AFTER boarding. This would mean the entire crew and ship would be subject to a quarantine period.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

2 hours ago, Balsam12 said:

The concern is crew.

They would need to be quarantined for at least 14 days before boarding a ship.

The last thing any cruise line would want is to have a crew member test positive AFTER boarding. This would mean the entire crew and ship would be subject to a quarantine period.

Not just crew , there could also be specialised maintenance personnel .flown in to attend to any “technical issues “.that seem to arrive fairly often ..

[MMDown Under]

16 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

But  Aussies can't visit NSW.  I think the Govt could have handled it better by saying flights from NZ were to bring Kiwis and returning Aussies home to Australia, not for travel purposes.  When Kiwis go home they have to quarantine. 

Oops Edit "But Aussies can't visit NZ at present."

[Docker123]

19 hours ago, Bowm54 said:

You forget, many of us are already on the inside!😎

Does Mr Dutton know about this?

 

[Bowm54]

29 minutes ago, Docker123 said:

Does Mr Dutton know about this?

 

Do you mean my good neighbor Pete?

[banzaii]

I had a discussion with a friend the other day:

Banzaii:  What would it take for you to cruise again?

Mate:  You will never get me on a cruiseship ever again!

Banzaii:  Why not, do you not think we will eventually find ways to live with the virus?

Mate:  It's not that.  It's just that when you are on a ship, you are isolated and susceptible to COVID-19 if it comes on board.

Banzaii:  You've hit the nail on the head!  You are isolated!  So all we really have to do is make sure it doesn't get on board.

 

Then I heard crickets and could see the cogs turning.

[Chiliburn]

10 minutes ago, banzaii said:

I had a discussion with a friend the other day:

Banzaii:  What would it take for you to cruise again?

Mate:  You will never get me on a cruiseship ever again!

Banzaii:  Why not, do you not think we will eventually find ways to live with the virus?

Mate:  It's not that.  It's just that when you are on a ship, you are isolated and susceptible to COVID-19 if it comes on board.

Banzaii:  You've hit the nail on the head!  You are isolated!  So all we really have to do is make sure it doesn't get on board.

 

Then I heard crickets and could see the cogs turning.

Royal Caribbean is claiming it will be safer on their ships than in your Main Street.

Maybe Main Street USA not OZ

[nnps]

51 minutes ago, banzaii said:

I had a discussion with a friend the other day:

Banzaii:  What would it take for you to cruise again?

Mate:  You will never get me on a cruiseship ever again!

Banzaii:  Why not, do you not think we will eventually find ways to live with the virus?

Mate:  It's not that.  It's just that when you are on a ship, you are isolated and susceptible to COVID-19 if it comes on board.

Banzaii:  You've hit the nail on the head!  You are isolated!  So all we really have to do is make sure it doesn't get on board.

 

Then I heard crickets and could see the cogs turning.

All true, the only hiccup comes when people go ashore at port, hence the insistence on some cruises that only ship organised excursions are possible (with COVID safe restrictions)

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, Bowm54 said:

Do you mean my good neighbor Pete?

He is our daughter's neighbour also,🙂 not next door, but very close.

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, banzaii said:

Banzaii:  You've hit the nail on the head!  You are isolated!  So all we really have to do is make sure it doesn't get on board.

 

That only applies to cruises to nowhere. If people are getting on and off the ship that would be the opposite definition of isolated😂

Edited November 8, 2020 by ilikeanswers

[LittleFish1976]

16 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

Aussies can definitely visit NSW. 

 

It's QLD that they have had difficulty visiting.

NSW border is still currently closed to people from Victoria.

[The_Big_M]

9 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

NSW border is still currently closed to people from Victoria.

 

Yes, but they announced plans to open it up in a few weeks, so it's not like there's uncertainty and it's indefinitely closed.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Looking at the situation from another point of view...

Why would the Govt be in a hurry

to bring back foreign flagged cruise ships   ?.

It could be argued that all  they do is suck local dollars out of the economy and shift it over to Miami or Monaco. If they cruise into International waters they don’t even get GST out of it. 

[getting older slowly]

4 minutes ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

Looking at the situation from another point of view...

Why would the Govt be in a hurry

to bring back foreign flagged cruise ships   ?.

It could be argued that all  they do is suck local dollars out of the economy and shift it over to Miami or Monaco. If they cruise into International waters they don’t even get GST out of it. 

Good Point David...

 

But they do provide some businesses their livelihood...... 

 

And  I would like to go on a cruise .....lol     (well one can dream)

 

Don

[ilikeanswers]

3 hours ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

Looking at the situation from another point of view...

Why would the Govt be in a hurry

to bring back foreign flagged cruise ships   ?.

It could be argued that all  they do is suck local dollars out of the economy and shift it over to Miami or Monaco. If they cruise into International waters they don’t even get GST out of it. 

 

Perhaps with the COVID19 situation we can renegotiate our agreement so we get more out of it🤔

[Aus Traveller]

10 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Perhaps with the COVID19 situation we can renegotiate our agreement so we get more out of it🤔

The cruise companies pay substantial port fees and they also buy some of their supplies locally. If the Aust government wanted a bigger slice of the cake, it is the passengers who would have to pay it. The cruise companies are in business to make a profit - they are not charities.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

12 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

The cruise companies pay substantial port fees and they also buy some of their supplies locally. If the Aust government wanted a bigger slice of the cake, it is the passengers who would have to pay it. The cruise companies are in business to make a profit - they are not charities.

And that profit disappears off shore , usually avoiding any tax that could return to the community .

[The_Big_M]

It's the free trade ethos though, that people are permitted to do what is legal, rather than putting restrictions and tariffs on anything that is not domestic.

 

If they wanted to do that and restrict something just because it is owned overseas, the economy would be completely different.

[ilikeanswers]

18 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

The cruise companies pay substantial port fees and they also buy some of their supplies locally. If the Aust government wanted a bigger slice of the cake, it is the passengers who would have to pay it. The cruise companies are in business to make a profit - they are not charities.

 

It would be nice to know the actual numbers. I read some interesting articles about Venice and the Caribbean Islands that actually looked at the numbers of what ships bring in compared to the the cost of hosting them and it was interesting to see how little value they actually brought which makes sense why these destinations are now rethinking having them at all. If nothing else the Covid pause has given popular tourist destinations the chance to look at the value certain industries bring. If there is something that can be made better now is probably the time to do it. Australia is certainly nowhere near the numbers of Venice or the Caribbean but it would be good to know if we are getting the best deal possible or is there room for improvement. 

[Chiliburn]

I didn’t know coral will be doing cruises around Tassie after Christmas.

 

https://cruisepassenger.com.au/coral-expeditions-planning-to-sail-in-tasmania-in-december/

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

It would be nice to know the actual numbers. I read some interesting articles about Venice and the Caribbean Islands that actually looked at the numbers of what ships bring in compared to the the cost of hosting them and it was interesting to see how little value they actually brought which makes sense why these destinations are now rethinking having them at all. If nothing else the Covid pause has given popular tourist destinations the chance to look at the value certain industries bring. If there is something that can be made better now is probably the time to do it. Australia is certainly nowhere near the numbers of Venice or the Caribbean but it would be good to know if we are getting the best deal possible or is there room for improvement. 

Both Venice and the Caribbean islands are 'overrun' with tourists. Venice is considering limiting the number of tourists who can visit. They have already limited the size of ships that can visit because of the problems with the level of the sea and the sinking level of Venice. In the Caribbean, it is not unusual for there to be seven large cruiseships in the one port. Thankfully, we don't have either of those problems in Australian ports. Possibly an issue in the Caribbean is that a lot of the shops where visitors spend their money (e.g. Diamonds International etc) aren't owned by locals.

 

Other point to consider is the difference between ports that ships call at (like the afore-mentioned Venice and the Caribbean islands) compared with ports that are home ports for some ships. Home ports require many passengers to fly in and maybe spend some time in accommodation pre and post their cruise.

 

Whether it is a port of call, or a turn-around port, buses and other transportation will be required. With a port of call, local tour operators get a lot of business as well as the places they take visitors to (e.g. wildlife parks, wineries).

Edited November 9, 2020 by Aus Traveller

[ilikeanswers]

But this why it is important to have numbers. We can go on about this business does well out of cruising this business is suffering but without the dollar amounts it is all just theories. One of the reasons I think places like the Caribbean, Venice even Juneau let things get out of control is no one ever really examined cost vs benefits. This type of of research has only been properly conducted in the last two years and it has turned up some surprising results. I just think it is important we keep on top of these things so cruise lines don't take advantage because at the end of the day they are a business and the well-being of the destination is not their top priority. 

Edited November 9, 2020 by ilikeanswers