Cruising in Australia in 2022.

[Kamloops50]

I'm not from Australia or New Zealand. I wondering when is going to start in Australia . We have a cruise booked for Melbourne to Vancouver in 2022.

What are chances that this cruise go ahead ? This is the last time that we could probably get to Australia due to age and health issues.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I think the chances are slim. In your case there are two factors to consider:

1. Whether the ship will be in Australia for our 21/22 season. If not then it won't be going to Vancouver from Melbourne.

2. Whether our international border will be open for you to come here. At the moment the government is saying it won't reopen until mid-2022. Even when it does reopen it may only be to selected countries at first depending on how well those have controlled their Covid outbreaks.

[NSWP]

34 minutes ago, Kamloops50 said:

I'm not from Australia or New Zealand. I wondering when is going to start in Australia . We have a cruise booked for Melbourne to Vancouver in 2022.

What are chances that this cruise go ahead ? This is the last time that we could probably get to Australia due to age and health issues.

To assist you, please advise the ship and scheduled sailing date in 2022.

[Kamloops50]

Sapphire Princess Mar 30 to Sydney

Apr 2 Sydney to Auckland 

Apr 8 Auckland to Vancouver BC Canada  via Tahiti , Hawaii , San Francisco

 

For a total of 34 days . One flight to Melbourne( already purchased - fully refundable).Hotel and transfers bought thru Princess.

Edited May 28, 2021 by Kamloops50

[Aus Traveller]

3 minutes ago, Kamloops50 said:

Sapphire Princess Mar 30 to Sydney

Apr 2 Sydney to Auckland 

Apr 8 Auckland to Vancouver BC Canada  via Tahiti , Hawaii , San Francisco

 

For a total of 34 days . One flight to Melbourne( already purchased - fully refundable).Hotel and transfers bought thru Princess.

Our government has said that our international borders won't open until mid 2022 - at least. Even if cruises to NZ are permitted in the first half of the year, it is unlikely that international visitors will be allowed to join the cruises. In addition, if your Sapphire cruise is a trans-Pacific, the ship might be permitted to come to Australia, but it is likely that it would be without passengers. We will have to wait and see.

[Kamloops50]

1 minute ago, Aus Traveller said:

Our government has said that our international borders won't open until mid 2022 - at least. Even if cruises to NZ are permitted in the first half of the year, it is unlikely that international visitors will be allowed to join the cruises. In addition, if your Sapphire cruise is a trans-Pacific, the ship might be permitted to come to Australia, but it is likely that it would be without passengers. We will have to wait and see.

Thanks that’s what I’ve been hearing over here in Canada . Might have go with my Plan B or C cruise.

[NSWP]

6 minutes ago, Kamloops50 said:

Thanks that’s what I’ve been hearing over here in Canada . Might have go with my Plan B or C cruise.

Ditto what Aus Traveller said. Your plan A looks doubtful at this stage. Not the news you wanted to hear, but we can only go on what the Australian Govt is telling us and it is grim.

 

Stay safe and I hope something works out for you.

Edited May 28, 2021 by NSWP

[Kamloops50]

Lucky I don’t have to make a final decision until mid October. I suspect your right about not being able to do plan a.  Unless your government decides that people who are fully vaccinated can enter the country. That’s the way the UK and EU are going .

[VanessaNJ]

6 minutes ago, Kamloops50 said:

Lucky I don’t have to make a final decision until mid October. I suspect your right about not being able to do plan a.  Unless your government decides that people who are fully vaccinated can enter the country. That’s the way the UK and EU are going .

 

Lets hope! Unfortunately our government are hyper risk-averse. And due to the fact information on reduction in transmissibility from the vaccine is still being gathered, realistically it isn't even a good idea to let fully vaccinated people into the country freely without also having a decent portion of our population also vaccinated as vaccinated individuals can still carry and transmit the virus. Current projections are for having a decent portion vaccinated by end of year and I'm hoping very hard that we can have a phased re-opening from them. 

[Aus Traveller]

10 minutes ago, Kamloops50 said:

Lucky I don’t have to make a final decision until mid October. I suspect your right about not being able to do plan a.  Unless your government decides that people who are fully vaccinated can enter the country. That’s the way the UK and EU are going .

After the majority of Australians are vaccinated, the government might (I stress might) change its mind and allow vaccinated people to enter the country earlier than mid 2022. On the other hand, they might stick with the mid-2022 scenario, but only fully-vaccinated people to come at first.

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, Kamloops50 said:

I'm not from Australia or New Zealand. I wondering when is going to start in Australia . We have a cruise booked for Melbourne to Vancouver in 2022.

What are chances that this cruise go ahead ? This is the last time that we could probably get to Australia due to age and health issues.

Sorry this could probably be the last time you can get to Australia due to age and health issues.  When cruising overseas will commence from Australia for people from overseas is not known at this stage.  Many Aussies are in the same boat waiting for Government approval for our borders to reopen.  With Melbourne currently in lockdown for a week because of outbreaks of the virus, it seems later rather than sooner.  Bon Voyage for your plans B or C.

[Kamloops50]

I would also like to know from anyone in New Zealand about the opening of their borders.

[onlyslightlymad]

8 hours ago, Kamloops50 said:

I would also like to know from anyone in New Zealand about the opening of their borders.

I can only offer an opinion.  NZ is currently closed to cruise ships.  Our government has stated that it is extremely unlikely there will be border openings this year (2021).  The plan is to have everyone vaccinated by year end but that is dependent on supply etc.  The govt has also stated that once that goal is achieved, the border will not reopen with a bang but instead will be slow.  I would imagine, much like our 'bubbles' with Australia and the Cook Islands, it will be selective.  Possibly like the traffic light system in the UK, green light countries, red light countries etc with gradings based on vaccination rates, Covid management etc.  This last is speculation on my part.  I think cruise ships will be low on the list of priorities because they will be difficult to manage in a slow border reopening.  Maybe some internal cruises but not the big multinational lines.  

Last, the cruise ships that come to NZ have their seasonal homeports in Australia.  To change that to NZ would take a lot of pre-planning and I can't see that happening this season.  So, my opinion is that there will be no cruise ships here in the 21-22 season.  Others may choose to disagree.  

[Tranquility Base]

19 hours ago, Kamloops50 said:

We have a cruise booked for Melbourne to Vancouver in 2022.

What are chances that this cruise go ahead ? This is the last time that we could probably get to Australia due to age and health issues.

Because the Eastbound reposition is at the end of the 21/22 season there is a fair chance it will not happen.

If your circumstances permit, another option is to do it in reverse for the 22/23 season.

 

There is a good itinerary on the Grand leaving Vancouver for Sydney in Sept 2022 for the season start.

That is only 6 months later than Sapphire.

The main disadvantage is you have to do the flight home at the end of the holiday instead of the start.

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, onlyslightlymad said:

I can only offer an opinion.  NZ is currently closed to cruise ships.  Our government has stated that it is extremely unlikely there will be border openings this year (2021).  The plan is to have everyone vaccinated by year end but that is dependent on supply etc.  The govt has also stated that once that goal is achieved, the border will not reopen with a bang but instead will be slow.  I would imagine, much like our 'bubbles' with Australia and the Cook Islands, it will be selective.  Possibly like the traffic light system in the UK, green light countries, red light countries etc with gradings based on vaccination rates, Covid management etc.  This last is speculation on my part.  I think cruise ships will be low on the list of priorities because they will be difficult to manage in a slow border reopening.  Maybe some internal cruises but not the big multinational lines.  

Last, the cruise ships that come to NZ have their seasonal homeports in Australia.  To change that to NZ would take a lot of pre-planning and I can't see that happening this season.  So, my opinion is that there will be no cruise ships here in the 21-22 season.  Others may choose to disagree.  

I think if Australia does allow a limited number of ships to restart cruising under strict conditions, one being domestic cruising only, then NZ might be agreeable to stretching domestic to include NZ as part of the bubble agreement. Then the bubble might extend to South Pacific countries. Ships coming from outside the bubble would not be permitted to have passengers onboard when they arrived so no repositioning cruises, no trans-Pacific cruises, no world cruises etc.

[GUT2407]

12 hours ago, Kamloops50 said:

I would also like to know from anyone in New Zealand about the opening of their borders.

So far NZ has, been stricter than Aus, in my opinion. I doubt that is going to change.

[Aus Traveller]

8 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I think if Australia does allow a limited number of ships to restart cruising under strict conditions, one being domestic cruising only, then NZ might be agreeable to stretching domestic to include NZ as part of the bubble agreement. Then the bubble might extend to South Pacific countries. Ships coming from outside the bubble would not be permitted to have passengers onboard when they arrived so no repositioning cruises, no trans-Pacific cruises, no world cruises etc.

I agree that your suggestions are likely for the re-start of cruising. Maybe we won't see a more 'normal' until late in 2022.

[john2003]

Appreciate this very rational thread. Certainly confirms my thinking. We are booked Sydney to Auckland in February 2022 which is almost certainly not going to happen for a Canadian. Actively looking at what Plan B might look like.

[getting older slowly]

Just a side note.......  consider a Plan C as well......

 

My thoughts for us are... cruising is now on the back burner

not as been there done it..... but nice to again one day...

 

Good Luck in Planing Don        

[lissie]

11 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

So far NZ has, been stricter than Aus, in my opinion. I doubt that is going to change.

Actually my feeling is that NZ is more likely to open up quicker than Australia. We've never prevented citizens from leaving - you still have that in place - I find that quite outrageous.

 

Since the Oz bubble opened  there is no issue  getting places in hotel quarantine - if you stay less than 6 months it will cost you $3100 - but you can do it. In fact there have been reports of Australia using us as a way out of fortress Oz. 

 

I agree with  @onlyslightlymad with his assessment of NZ's approach. So long as a vaccine roll out stay on track - and we're waiting on more info of vaccine  arrival dates in the next week or so.- then I see a good chance that everyone who wants one (at  that's about 80% now) will have had it by Xmas - at that point there will be serious pressure to allow vaccinated visitors in without quarantine. 

 

So coming for a visit seems vaguely realistic 1/4 next year. But cruising will be different - for NZ it  totally depends on what Oz does - and all the big cruise ships are based out of Australia - we don't have a viable industry solo 

 

 

[pully8]

Echo the comments about Australians being denied the ability to leave the country, except for rarely authorised exemptions or if holding essential worker status.

Remarkable that there is no exit plan. 

Meanwhile a plan/proposal has been announced for overseas students to return /enter South Australia and quarantine  at a facility at Parafield airport. 

We had looked at a trip on the Ghan but given the events of this week, reports of off loading people in the outback and a bus trip of 12 hours, Marla to Adelaide, think we will pass on that.

We get emails with wonderful cruise offers daily but unable to act on any of them.

Can see why people are renovating their homes or buying a place as a holiday option if they can afford the rising prices.

Still good to dream.   

[Tranquility Base]

4 hours ago, lissie said:

I agree with  onlyslightlymad with his assessment of NZ's approach. So long as a vaccine roll out stay on track - and we're waiting on more info of vaccine  arrival dates in the next week or so.- then I see a good chance that everyone who wants one (at  that's about 80% now) will have had it by Xmas - at that point there will be serious pressure to allow vaccinated visitors in without quarantine. 

I agree.

There was an interesting article in Stuff recently with Dr Ashley Bloomfield where he was discussing what the situation could look like at border opening time.

 

Obviously when both NZ and Aust re-open borders to other countries we will have to shift from our elimination strategy to one of Covid management in a vaccinated population.

This will cause some anxiety amongst much of the population, but we have no other choice and this should be manageable.

 

Both countries will re-open their borders next year when vaccinated and we will handle the situation.  

 

NZ is fortunate in having the election late last year.

Aust has the added political pressure with an election coming due soon.

Therefore, I think NZ will re-open early next year.

However, this is very likely to be only via air travel and in relatively small numbers initially.

It will be a controlled phase in.

 

 

[Aus Traveller]

I can see why people criticize the government's restriction on people leaving Australia, but I feel we have to consider that if this restriction wasn't in place, we would have had thousands more people leaving. That would not be a problem, but virtually all of them would want to return at a later time. How would it have been if the government had said that if they left, they could not return until the COVID emergency was a thing of the past. Wow!

 

Our quarantine system for returning citizens has been over-loaded for a long time and this is where infections in the community start. Some of those who unfortunately brought the virus in, had been granted an exemption to travel overseas, but brought the virus with them when they returned.

 

We have all heard about the tens of thousands of Aussies 'stranded' overseas who cannot get a flight home or the required place in a quarantine hotel. With no restriction on departures, we would have many more thousands trying to get flights home. Maybe those who left Australia after the pandemic started, should be at the end of the queue when applying for a return flight.

[NSWP]

7 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I can see why people criticize the government's restriction on people leaving Australia, but I feel we have to consider that if this restriction wasn't in place, we would have had thousands more people leaving. That would not be a problem, but virtually all of them would want to return at a later time. How would it have been if the government had said that if they left, they could not return until the COVID emergency was a thing of the past. Wow!

 

Our quarantine system for returning citizens has been over-loaded for a long time and this is where infections in the community start. Some of those who unfortunately brought the virus in, had been granted an exemption to travel overseas, but brought the virus with them when they returned.

 

We have all heard about the tens of thousands of Aussies 'stranded' overseas who cannot get a flight home or the required place in a quarantine hotel. With no restriction on departures, we would have many more thousands trying to get flights home. Maybe those who left Australia after the pandemic started, should be at the end of the queue when applying for a return flight.

Like the cricketers, they should still be in the queue in Mumbai.

[MMDown Under]

I have just received an email from Oceania Cruises offering 19 cruises to Aus and NZ from Jan 2022.

The first one is trans Pacific from LA to Perth, via usual South Pacific ports of call.  I can't understand how cruise lines can advertise these cruises, with a clear conscious, when Aus and NZ borders are closed and South Pacific ports status are unknown.  These are not local cruises but long cruises with long haul flights involved.  I hope American passengers know to check with the appropriate Governments whether they are able to enter Aus/NZ etc.