NEWS UDPATE: Is Australia's travel ban about to end? Will Royal Cruise in December? Plus more!

@POCruisesAustraliaChannel Fly the Flag Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2781833472106555?ref=newsfeed 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 In breaking news today, The Australian government have confirmed that the international travel ban is set to expire in November for states that achieve targeted rates of vaccination. The Prime Minster is expected to make a further announcement this afternoon detailing plans. The travel ban was tied in with a cruising ban in March 2020, and had recently been extended through to December 17th. In the scope of this news, cruising remains an unaddressed topic of discussion and the hope is that this afternoon’s conference will provide more information. Once the federal government has given its approval, NSW is expected to lift its ban on International travel in line with achieving an 80% vaccination rate before the end of this month. It’s definitely exciting times for the travel industry, as this news provides confirmation that finally, travel is restarting. Previously, the NSW state Premier Gladys Berejiklian previously had said: “We believe by 1 December we will be at that Covid normal state where hopefully we will be booking our international travel, once the Prime Minister gives that green light we will be able to go overseas as well.” It looks like that green light is just about here. I’ll be sure to keep you updated with further developments as they occur. According to the UK edition of Travel Weekly, the global cruise industry is expected to have 80% of its world-wide fleet operational by the end of this year, equating to around 220 ships. Richard Fain, the chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group reported that he anticipates Royal Caribbean ships will be back at 100% occupancy in core markets by the end of this year. What might that mean for cruising locally? Well, Royal Caribbean remain the only major line offering cruises from Australia this year, their first scheduled to depart on December 13th and all of their planned voyages through to the end of January will sail exclusively within NSW which is in line with this state being the first to embark on a return of intrastate and international travel. I can tell you that in the past 48 hours, prices for the 13 December departure have risen quite substantially. A standard 3D category balcony stateroom was, only yesterday, around $1200 per person twin share and is now priced at over $2000. Are these price rises a sign that capacity will be limited on initial sailings, or perhaps that the line knows they will be setting sail and are keen to maximise their returns from cruise-starved Aussies? I suspect we’ll know one way or the other very soon. Amidst the continuing uncertainty around a cruising restart in our part of the world, the NZ government has at least made one thing clear. They’ve decided to increase the border processing levy from NZ$21.06 to $36.72 effective in December. That means passengers will be slugged an extra fee when they travel, despite not even having clarity as to when that might be. And local line, P&O Australia is giving you the chance to to show your support for the cruise industry and win a free cruise. The line will be holding their Fly The Flag virtual event on Thursday October 14th. Family friendly entertainment will be live-streamed from the Pacific Adventure via the company’s Facebook page. I’ve included a link in the description below where you can RSVP to the event and learn more about how to enter the competition to win a free cruise. In a changing of the guard moment, Sture Myrmell, president of Carnival Australia and P&O Australia has taken on the role of president of Carnival UK. Sture will swap Australia’s sunshine for the UK’s rolling green pastures and oversee Cunard and P&O UK. In his place, Marguerite Fitzgerald will become the new president of Carnival Australia and P&O Australia. Fitzgerald comes to Carnival Australia with a comprehensive background in travel and I’m sure will lead their local brands to continued success as the cruise sector slowly returns to operations. Relatively close to home, Royal Caribbean have announced that Quantum of the Seas will continue sailing on its cruises to nowhere from Singapore. The sailings first commenced before the end of 2020 and will now be continuing through to April 2022. They have been extended a number of times, both indicative of their sheer popularity and the lack of alternative voyage options for the ship. Continuing with news from the city state, Royal Caribbean also announced that Spectrum of the Seas will be home porting in Singapore for the 2022/2023 season. Thanks for watching!