Papua New Guinea open to cruise ships!

[Kiwi_cruiser]

From Travel Weekly: https://www.travelweekly.com.au/article/png-cruisings-return-to-be-marked-by-carnival-ships-arrival/

 

PNG cruise return to be marked by Carnival ships arrival

 

06 Sep 2022

Ships from two Carnival Australia brands are set to return to Papua New Guinea as the country’s maritime borders are reopened for ships at Milne Bay Province and Conflict Islands.
 

As part of her inaugural season down under, Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess will visit the Conflict Islands making her maiden call on October 4 during a 12-night itinerary from Sydney.
 

It is the first of a number of maiden calls Princess ships will make as part of the fleet’s global restart.
 

Three days later, P&O Cruises Australia’s Pacific Encounter will call at Alotau in Milne Bay Province during a 10-night cruise from the ship’s Brisbane home port, which also includes calls to Kiriwina Island, Rabaul and Conflict Islands.
 

Guests sailing on the Pacific Encounter voyage are being advised that their cruise itinerary will now include the return to PNG.
 

P&O Cruises’ sister ship Pacific Explorer has already notched up a number of firsts in reopening cruising to traditional cruise destinations in the Pacific. The P&O flagship was the first cruise ship back to Sydney and Brisbane and the first to cruise to New Zealand and Fiji. And, as recently announced, Pacific Explorer will be the first cruise ship to return to New Caledonia.
 

“We are delighted that Papua New Guinea and its idyllic island communities in the Milne Bay Province and New Britain are about to see the benefits of cruise tourism’s resumption,” said Marguerite Fitzgerald, president of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia.
 

“We are seeing ‘normal’ cruise operations steadily evolve putting together the elements and destinations that make Australia and the Pacific such a vibrant region for cruising.
 

“We also know that our guests and crew can’t wait to reconnect with the people of PNG and other island nations. With PNG coming on board, we can now look forward to Vanuatu becoming the next nation to reopen.
 

“Once Vanuatu is back online, the full suite of destinations that make cruising in our region so special will be restored.”

[JeffroK]

Good News, our first cancelled cruise was Milne Bay, Rabaul, Guadalcanal.

[ekka49]

Very good news for those people who have booked and are waiting for port confirmation.

[cruiser3775]

3 hours ago, ekka49 said:

Very good news for those people who have booked and are waiting for port confirmation

Yes, I'm one of those who booked months ago for a November cruise, and have been holding my breath ever since. Can breathe out now. 

I did note that one of the ports cruise ships used to visit, the island of Kitiva in the Trobriands has decided that they will not allow cruise ships at this stage. So most itineraries have been changed to remove Kitiva.

[MicCanberra]

Good news indeed.

[arxcards]

It is good news all round. Infections on land are on a rapid slide, so less people picking it up in transit and taking it onto ships = much less risk to our neighbouring countries from visiting cruises.

 

Pre-board vax & testing will likely be in place for a few months yet, but the need for masks aboard on shorter cruises is starting to look like it could be redundant from the next national cabinet. They have now been dropped on domestic flights, and at least in NSW, they are starting to debate the need for them on public transport. Slowly and step by step, at least we are heading in the right direction.

[JamMei]

On 9/9/2022 at 4:32 PM, Kiwi_cruiser said:

From Travel Weekly: https://www.travelweekly.com.au/article/png-cruisings-return-to-be-marked-by-carnival-ships-arrival/

 

PNG cruise return to be marked by Carnival ships arrival

 

06 Sep 2022

Ships from two Carnival Australia brands are set to return to Papua New Guinea as the country’s maritime borders are reopened for ships at Milne Bay Province and Conflict Islands.
 

As part of her inaugural season down under, Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess will visit the Conflict Islands making her maiden call on October 4 during a 12-night itinerary from Sydney.
 

It is the first of a number of maiden calls Princess ships will make as part of the fleet’s global restart.
 

Three days later, P&O Cruises Australia’s Pacific Encounter will call at Alotau in Milne Bay Province during a 10-night cruise from the ship’s Brisbane home port, which also includes calls to Kiriwina Island, Rabaul and Conflict Islands.
 

Guests sailing on the Pacific Encounter voyage are being advised that their cruise itinerary will now include the return to PNG.
 

P&O Cruises’ sister ship Pacific Explorer has already notched up a number of firsts in reopening cruising to traditional cruise destinations in the Pacific. The P&O flagship was the first cruise ship back to Sydney and Brisbane and the first to cruise to New Zealand and Fiji. And, as recently announced, Pacific Explorer will be the first cruise ship to return to New Caledonia.
 

“We are delighted that Papua New Guinea and its idyllic island communities in the Milne Bay Province and New Britain are about to see the benefits of cruise tourism’s resumption,” said Marguerite Fitzgerald, president of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia.
 

“We are seeing ‘normal’ cruise operations steadily evolve putting together the elements and destinations that make Australia and the Pacific such a vibrant region for cruising.
 

“We also know that our guests and crew can’t wait to reconnect with the people of PNG and other island nations. With PNG coming on board, we can now look forward to Vanuatu becoming the next nation to reopen.
 

“Once Vanuatu is back online, the full suite of destinations that make cruising in our region so special will be restored.”

Would feel more comfortable about PNG opening to cruise ships if a government official was quoted saying the island nation is open to cruise ships.  Same for New Caledonia. I am sure Carnival has their "finger on the pulse" of these countries as their subsidiaries Princess, P & O, and Holland America all have port calls in October, but none of the published media reports quote a government official.  

 

[arxcards]

12 minutes ago, JamMei said:

Would feel more comfortable about PNG opening to cruise ships if a government official was quoted saying the island nation is open to cruise ships.  Same for New Caledonia. I am sure Carnival has their "finger on the pulse" of these countries as their subsidiaries Princess, P & O, and Holland America all have port calls in October, but none of the published media reports quote a government official.  

 

Why does it matter? Carnival Australia is receiving their advice from government officials, not from having their finger on the pulse. Unlike our nations where public officials love to stand on a soapbox, these things are done quietly in the islands by largely faceless public officials.

 

In this case, it also includes advice from Australian authorities around elevated PNG travel risks. PNG has been open for months, but seen as a covid risk to visiting ships. The announcement by Carnival Australia is their decision to send ships there.

[NSWP]

PNG had a 7.7 earthquake a few hours ago, a fair shake that.

[JamMei]

3 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Why does it matter? Carnival Australia is receiving their advice from government officials, not from having their finger on the pulse. Unlike our nations where public officials love to stand on a soapbox, these things are done quietly in the islands by largely faceless public officials.

 

In this case, it also includes advice from Australian authorities around elevated PNG travel risks. PNG has been open for months, but seen as a covid risk to visiting ships. The announcement by Carnival Australia is their decision to send ships there.

"Finger on the pulse" was meant as Carnival has a better idea of what's going on in this South Sea arena, because they are interacting with the local governments.  Another thread I am following, someone called the PNG Embassy in Washington, D.C.  Granted it was a couple of weeks ago, but the Embassy response "we are open to tourists, but still  closed to cruise ships".  New Caledonia is pretty much the same, I received a response from the "official" tourism site that stated we are still officially closed to cruise ships, regardless of what is being said in the media.  We anticipate opening soon and will update our website when the government announces the opening.  

 

It is clear Carnival has made the decision to go forward with both PNG and New Caledonia.  HAL recently updated its Westerdam itinerary cancelling Vanuatu, and rearranging its New Caledonia and PNG port calls,  That said, the cruise lines are not always candid with its customers on what's going on.  As an example, about a month ago a problem with a HAL itinerary for Auckland, NZ, came up.  HAL said the port call date was Nov 19 and the Port Authority said the date was Nov 20.  Several booked passengers challenged HAL, including myself.  HAL stood by their date, even when provided a copy of an email from the Port Authority.  Lo and behold, couple days ago, change of itinerary notice was sent out.  Port Authority was correct all along.

 

My hope is that both PNG and New Caledonia are open when the Westerdam reaches those ports.  My purpose in posting my concern was to get additional input.  I appreciate you take on the situation.

 

 

 

 

[MMDown Under]

19 hours ago, NSWP said:

PNG had a 7.7 earthquake a few hours ago, a fair shake that.

WOW Where?

[cruiser3775]

It was centred near Lae. 5 people confirmed dead, much structural damage.

[MMDown Under]

Thank you.  It was a powerful one!  Plus aftershocks.