NEWS UPDATE: Disney Booking Debacle, Princess New Suite Experience, and Carnival Splendor is Home!

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 Follow me on Facebook and Instagram: www.facebook.com/thecruiseandtravelguy www.instragram.com/thecruiseandtravelguy Support the channel with a slogan tee: https://thecruiseandtravelguy.myshopify.com Head to my website for great cruise and travel deals: www.thecruiseandtravelguy.com.au Disney launched their long awaited Australian cruise season to Aussie Disney lovers this week. After weeks of hype and build up, including the drip feeding of information like itineraries and pricing to both travel agents and consumers, bookings finally went live on Thursday. I have some exclusive footage of the launch. The popularity of the cruise line’s first ever Australian season has been extreme, to say the least. It was a literal perfect storm of pent up demand, limited supply, and a Hurricane. Disney’s Florida headquarters was impacted by the catastrophic Hurricane Ian, and according to reports, experienced intermittent power and system outages. As a result, its contact centre was understandably closed, and our collective thoughts are with everyone impacted by Hurricane Ian. I’m sure there are plenty of behind the scenes tech issues that I could not possibly understand, and just how much of an impact Hurricane Ian had on the situation, I don’t know. What I do know, is that creating such huge demand for a product, say in the way of Apple, is always more fun for the company than it is for the paying customer. Other agents have told me of their experiences and their sentiments are in line with what I’ve already said. At the end of the day, this was a botched product launch and many of these issues should have been foreseen and mitigated. Pre-registrations should never have occurred if bookings were going to open to the general public at the same time. It only undermined the booking process, put immense strain on the booking systems, and caused unnecessary angst for travel agents and people wanting to be the first to experience the Disney Cruise product down under. Onto brighter things. In a spectacular display this morning, P&O’s Pacific Adventure welcomed Carnival Splendor back home to Sydney. Splendor’s arrival comes at the conclusion of her transpacific repositioning voyage - with her return marking the end of a two and half year absence from Australian shores. Splendor will depart Sydney on Saturday October 1st for a 4 night cruise to Moreton Island, and Carnival will be marking the occasion with a Back to Fun event at the Overseas Passenger Terminal. Carnival President Christine Duffy will host the festivities which include a ribbon cutting ceremony as well as other activities. Princess Cruises have announced a new suite class experience to be launched when their brand new Sun Princess begins service in 2024. First up, Reserve Class will replace Club Class on the line’s first Sphere Class vessel. Guests staying in a new Cabana Mini suite will be part of the Reserve Class and for their extra dollars will receive access to an exclusive restaurant called Reserve. The cabana mini suites themselves come in two varieties, with the first type allowing guests to walk out of their private cabana and onto a public deck space reserved exclusively for Reserve Class guests. For those seeking more privacy, they can choose a cabana that opens up to a private balcony. Full suites will now be a part of the Signature Class, and in addition to the spacious accommodations, guests will have access to a specific Signature Restaurant and Bar, as well as a lounge and outdoor private deck area within The Sanctuary. The elevated suite experience brings Princess into line with some of its competitors which have already established the ship within a ship concept, that being where suite guests have exclusive access to particular facilities or areas. And finally this week, as the North American summer cruise season winds down, Canada announced the end of its COVID entry requirements. Many Alaskan cruise itineraries rely on calling into Canadian ports of call, and the country’s strict entry regulations have been a headache for some travellers throughout this past summer cruise season. Effective from October 1st, all testing, quarantine and isolation requirements for visitors to the country will be removed. The change will make for a much more seamless travel experience when next year’s Alaskan cruise season begins. Thanks for watching!