NEWS: Cunard Cancels Aussie Summer | Millennium COVID | Royal Start Delay | Princess Crew on Demand

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 The Celebrity Millennium embarked on her first cruise from St Maarten on June 5th with around 600 fully vaccinated guests onboard. Within days, two passengers had tested positive to COVID and were quarantined to their stateroom. However, the rest of the cruise continued as normal and from all accounts, the mood on board was just as upbeat as day one. Onboard testing was conducted and no other positive cases were identified. Cunard announced the cancellation of their 2021/2022 Australian summer season this week, while also cancelling the 2022 World Cruise onboard both Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. The decision to cancel the local Cunard season comes in light of the Australian government’s recent extension to the travel and cruising ban, and previous advice that our international borders will remain shut until mid 2022. Queen Elizabeth is due to return to Australian waters in November next year. Affected guests will receive a future cruise credit with a bonus amount worth 25%, or can choose a full refund. Princess have announced a new feature of their highly-praised Ocean Medallion technology, with the ability to call a crew member on demand. Utilising the medallion, crew members will be able to respond to your calls and find you wherever you are onboard. You can also use a new crew call feature to chat with crew members virtually, making for a more personalised onboard experience and further eliminating the need to line up for assistance at guest services. The new features are part of a trademarked feature set called Truly Touchless which is designed to maximise guest convenience. Royal Caribbean this week announced a delay to their cruising restart from the US. They were scheduled to get back to business with Odyssey of the Seas sailing from Ft Lauderdale starting on July 3rd. 8 crew members have tested positive for COVID, and out of an abundance of caution, the cruise line has made the decision to delay their restart until July 31st. Odyssey of the Seas has had an interesting to start to her life at sea, with her last minute Israel season pulled just before it was able to begin due to turmoil in the region. In other news from Royal Caribbean, their Crown and Anchor society loyalty program has seen some temporary changes. The suite and concierge lounge will no longer be accessible by loyalty members, whilst guests of the diamond lounge will have to contend with capacity limits. In response, Crown and Anchor will be supplying their diamond level guests and above with drink vouchers to use at any of the onboard bars, in place of the evening diamond lounge open bar. Meanwhile in the US, the CDC has lowered their official covid warning for cruise ships from the highest level 4, to level 3. If anything, that just rubs salt into the wound of land-locked Aussies looking to get back to cruising but stuck with leaders and health officials that are unwilling to respond to or even understand the many health protocols and measures put in place by the cruise industry… I’m not bitter, I promise… Princess have also announced their US restart, beginning in Autumn/Fall 2021 in the Northern Hemisphere with cruising from Florida and the west coast. Ships included in the restart are Majestic Princess, Ruby Princess, Grand Princess, Enchanted Princess, Regal Princess, Sky Princess, Caribbean Princess and Crown Princess. Thanks for watching! Title page image by Ray Harrington @raymondo600 via Unsplash