NEWS: Carnival Cancels Aus, Royal Deciding, the Fight goes to Canberra, COVID on Adventure and more!

Join my private Facebook group for cruise deals, tips and advice - the more members we have, the better we’ll get! www.facebook.com/groups/CTGdeals Head to my website for great cruise and travel deals: www.thecruiseandtravelguy.com.au Follow me on Facebook and Instagram: www.facebook.comn/thecruiseandtravelguy www.instragram.com/thecruiseandtravelguy Cruising has been a hot topic this week in the Australian news, as a fresh fight to bring domestic cruising back to Australian waters erupts in Canberra. Delegations of travel agents and industry suppliers have met with politicians to discuss the full impact of the continuing cruise industry shutdown. This message has been echoed in the media, with the plight of the cruise industry being picked up by several major news outlets. Royal Caribbean have stopped short of cancelling any of their upcoming Australian cruises, with the first of their departures scheduled for October. In an email sent to clients, the company said: “We’re currently working through this latest government update, and it is taking a bit of time to finalise, but we are getting closer to sharing details with you very soon.” Royal Caribbean have suspended final payment dates of Australian cruise departures until further notice. I find it interesting that they haven’t cancelled their upcoming cruises all together, and I’ll be sure to let you know when more information comes to light. In contrast to Royal Caribbean, Carnival have announced a further suspension, with their Sydney departures onboard Carnival Splendor cancelled through to and including November 15th. As usual with Carnival, affected passengers have the option of accepting a full refund, or a future cruise credit with an onboard credit bonus for their next cruise booking. P&O are still persisting with their September schedule at this current time, and it remains to be seen if they also determine that a further suspension is required. Cruise lines and brands are united in their calls for a plan from the Australian government. The lack of any information from Canberra has continued to leave cruise lines, suppliers and passengers on the line not knowing if and when cruising will resume. The government continues to treat the industry with apathy that belies both its economic impact and its work and commitment to various health initiatives that have seen cruising successfully resume overseas. In happier news, Royal Caribbean have announced that construction has started on their brand new ICON class. Icon of the Seas is set to debut in 2023 and will be powered by liquified natural gas for a reduced carbon footprint. Details about the class remain secret, but in terms of size, it should slot in between the Quantum Ultra class and the Oasis class. It will carry approximately 5200 passengers and have a gross tonnage of around 218k tonnes. Carnival have also announced a new addition to their fleet, a sister ship to the Excel Class Mardi Gras. They will also be acquiring the Costa Magica from their sister brand Costa, which will be undergoing a transformation in dry dock before joining the fleet in mid 2022. Names for both ships are yet to be announced. Two guests onboard Adventure of the Seas tested positive for COVID during routine testing and were quarantined for the remainder of the cruise. Both guests were under 16, asymptomatic and unvaccinated. No other positive cases were detected and the group have disembarked at the conclusion of the voyage as normal. All crew onboard Adventure of the Seas are vaccinated and 92% of guests onboard are vaccinated with those under 16 not requiring the vaccine to sail. In line with recently passed Florida law, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have removed the requirement for all passengers to show proof of vaccination before cruising. Those that are unable or unwilling to show proof of vaccination however, will subject to a stringent set of onboard rules and even additional costs, that their fellow vaccinated passengers will not have to endure. These include wearing a mask at all times except when eating or drinking, pre cruise, mid cruise and end of cruise testing at a cost of $178, and even special areas onboard for unvaccinated guests. Thanks for watching!