NEWS UPDATE: New Ships for Aus? | Carnival Cancels until December | P&O and Princess Ships to Cyprus

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 Carnival announced just yesterday that they would be extending their pause in operations. Previously, the cruise line had cancelled departures up to and including November 15th. This latest round of cancellations sees all departures up to and including December 16 2021 included in the ongoing suspension. All affected guests have been offered a full refund or a future cruise credit with a bonus of $450 or $900 in onboard credit depending on the length of their original cruise. Carnival choosing to cancel through to mid December brings them in line with stablemates P&O and Princess, as well as Royal Caribbean. These four main players in the Australian cruise market are all banking on a December restart. Of course, we all have a different idea when it comes to whether or not that will actually happen, but the optimist living deep, deep, DEEP inside me would like to think that, based on current vaccination projections seeing Australia reach 80% double dose status by November, it is in fact a possibility. So, as a side note, I’ve booked myself on a cruise for this December… As I mentioned previously, Golden Princess has now arrived in Triest Italy where she is in fact in dry dock. The ship is expected to finally complete her transformation into Pacific Adventure. Meanwhile across the mediterranean, sister ship Pacific Encounter has taken up residence at an anchorage in Cyprus. Pacific Encounter has joined her relatives, Sapphire Princess and Diamond Princess. It’s expected that Pacific Adventure will join her fleet mate off the coast of Cyprus at the completion of her dry dock. According to my source, Cyprus offers a more affordable anchorage option for the cruise lines and allows for easier on-land travel for crew cycling purposes. In The Bahamas, new regulations are coming in to force from September 3rd which require all cruise passengers over the age of 12 to be fully vaccinated. Cruise lines must provide a crew and passenger manifest before their arrival into any Bahamian port, including some cruise line private islands. This is an interesting development, and is something to watch over the coming year with respect to our local South Pacific neighbouring islands like Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia. And in some potentially exciting news, a Darwin port registry indicates that we might be expecting some extra special guests to Australian ports in the next few years. Specifically, Virgin Voyages Lady Ship 4 as it’s noted, has two dates in Darwin’s port register. The first in 2023 and the second in 2024. The ship is as yet unnamed, but will be the fourth in Virgin Voyages fleet. The adult-only cruises aim to refresh the cruise industry with all-inclusive onboard dining and unlimited basic beverages among other more-adult focused facilities and entertainment options. There was also a note about a Celebrity Edge class ship arriving into Darwin around the same time, but that has since been removed. Perhaps someone let the cat out of the bag a little early. Either way, this is exciting news especially in the current sea of lockdown extensions and cruising suspensions. Thanks for watching, and see you soon!