Cruising choices with an active Pandemic

Watching it all from afar has been interesting but I guess reality is about come a knockin'
 
Just had an email from our friends on the Silver Whisper - there is a CRISIS - they are rapidly running out of wine !!!

They know about the new Aust restrictions but so far havent heard what Silverseas plan for them is.
 
S.Whisper and S.Spirit will both be allowed to dock due to prior arrangements.
Big sighs of relief on the ships I assume...
 
Well finally Ponant have acted - got a text this morning in Cape Town (where we have been for 4 days) that all Ponant cruises are cancelled - ours was to depart March 17 (3 weeks to the Seychelles) then land arrangements booked in the Seychelles and Mauritius. So we have pulled the plug and will fly home to Sydney tomorrow via Perth (no other third countries) - spoke to Australian Consulate help-line - transits are allowed; ie won't be stuck in Perth for 14 days. SIGH.

We have no idea what TI will cover - but hopefully even if they don't we should be able to cancel most of the hotel bookings (one award stay, one not pre-paid and others with major hotels which seem to be offering free cancellation). Had to book paid tickets home but original flights home were SQ awards so we'll get those miles back.
 
This isn't a view you see from your front window every day! Seems they've got to park those empty ships somewhere. Radiance of the Seas off the coast of Wollongong pictured.



www.illawarramercury.com.au

Cruise ships stranded during coronavirus ban to take refuge at Port Kembla

Some of the international cruise ships caught up the Australian government's new ban - which prevents them from...
www.illawarramercury.com.au www.illawarramercury.com.au

"Some of the international cruise ships caught up the Australian government's new ban - which prevents them from docking in Australia for the next 30 days - will take refuge at Port Kembla.
Already, the Royal Caribbean ship Radiance of the Sea has taken up a berth at the port while it waits out the government's restrictions.

Wollongong councillor Leigh Colacino, in his capacity as chair of Cruise Wollongong said Port Kembla had 11 berths available to host cruise ships during the ban.

"There are no passengers on there, and the crew stay on ship during this time, they do not come ashore," he said.
"Radiance is there now, and I think there will be more on the horizon."
Passengers due to set sail on the ship disembarked over the weekend, he said.
Cr Colacino said the cruise ship docking program was a sign of the strong relationship between the cruise industry and the port.
"I think it's great that Port Kembla can offer this," he said.

"They know because of the work we've done over the past few years that Port Kembla is a safe port, they will be safe for as long as they need to be held there.
"This is our time to give back to the cruise lines in their time of need.
"These ships have to be anchored somewhere around the world at this time.
"This was the first ship to come in to the port, and now it's the first one we've been able to help."
Around Australia, cruise ships have been called back to ports and passengers have had to cancel their trips after the 30-day ban came into place over the weekend.
Royal Caribbean has frozen its entire fleet worldwide until April 11, and most other cruise lines have similar freezes in place.
Wollongong's Michael Silva had boarded the Radiance of the Seas at Circular Quay at noon on Saturday, for a cruise he'd been looking forward to for a year.
"At 3.30pm I got a Facebook message saying all cruise ships would not be allowed into New Zealand," Mr Silva said.
"That was when I started freaking out. Then the captain announced over the speaker that everyone must get off by midnight, or stay the night and get off the next day via lifeboats."
The ship had to leave Circular Quay and moor off the coast because another vessel was due to enter the port.
Mr Silva chose to stay on board to enjoy at least one night on the ship, to "eat up and drink up".
He said Royal Carribean had offered either a 125 per cent credit or a 100 per cent refund - and he took the latter.
Still, it's left him feeling very disappointed and is now considering cutting his holidays short and heading back to work.
"It was very disappointing, but the crew handled it really, really well," he said."
 

Attachments

  • Ship.jpg
    Ship.jpg
    134.2 KB · Views: 7
AMEX Velocity Platinum Card Benefits
Australia's highest-earning Velocity Frequent Flyer credit card: Offer expires: 21 Jan 2025
- Earn 60,000 bonus Velocity Points
- Get unlimited Virgin Australia Lounge access
- Enjoy a complimentary return Virgin Australia domestic flight each year

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

awww boo I was there yesterday! Didn't see it.
 
Just looking at Marine Traffic site & looks like both Queen Elizabeth & Voyager of the Seas are floating around off Newcastle-maybe Voyager has docked?
 
k_sheep said:
awww boo I was there yesterday! Didn't see it.
Click to expand...
Quoting myself - train from Wollongong to Sydney yesterday, saw 4 cruise ships lined up out of port Kembla!

I'll post a dodgy picture once I find my phone cable ....
 
A ship mentioned in the au press today , the new Hurtigruten Roald Amundsen (with au doctors aboard) was cleared to disembark in Chile until the borders were closed.
The ship is now steaming to the Falkland Islands , not exactly a high volume International airport destination.
Perhaps some special flights will be made to extract everyone.. interesting times
 
As much as I can work out .. 97 passengers from The Silver Explorer have been airlifted to home destinations.
6 passengers who tested positive have been admitted to Chilean facilities.
Not sure about the crew or where the ship will lay up.
 
Following on from my post #158 on this thread, I have written a kind of trip report. Some information is first hand and some is from speaking to many World cruise passengers.

A most interesting cruise.

In the middle of last month, on a Thursday, my husband and I were discussing holidays and his opinion was that we had done enough holidaying for the foreseeable future and he would prefer to stay home indefinitely and never go anywhere again. We had gone to a wedding in November in Melbourne, a cruise in December and another cruise in January.

When we got home that day, there was an email from our travel agent with an unbelievable deal for a cruise on Queen Mary 2, leaving in 4 days. I just mentioned it to my husband and was flabbergasted when he agreed it was a great deal and said for me to go ahead and book the cruise. The payment was finalised on the Friday and we were aboard ship on the following Tuesday, sailing on Wednesday.

A bit of background. The Queen Mary left New York in early January, picked up more passengers in Southampton and headed for Dubai. There were 2 medical evacuations in the first couple of days out of New York, one by helicopter in a snowstorm. The captain put out a call for blood donors and received 60 volunteers. Then there were the regular pirate precautions around the Gulf of Aden with water cannon, sharp shooters and a British destroyer to accompany the ship.

The ship docked in Sri Lanka and that’s when things became interesting with the coronavirus issues of the Diamond Princess, the Westerdam etc. The captain announced at dinner the ship would miss 8 Asian ports and sail directly to Fremantle. Apparently, there was a buzz of chatter then, 30 seconds later, applause.

The ship had to reprovision in Port Kelang, but no one was allowed on or off the ship. The ship was very low in, you guessed it, toilet paper but also surprisingly, popcorn and spinach. Then it was refuelled at sea from a tanker which came from Singapore.

I was tracking the QM2s progress and I couldn’t work out why it was in the Straits of Malacca for a couple of days. But food and fuel seem to be two very compelling reasons.

The trip from Sri Lanka to Fremantle took 14 days which may have been a calculated decision re quarantine. Then 800 mainly Australians boarded in Fremantle. The deal was 17 days for $949pp in an inside cabin, $1049pp for an oceanview cabin or $1349pp for a balcony cabin. We chose the balcony option, as usual.

The World cruisers, especially the Americans, weren’t too happy with the price we paid. They were particularly upset that some people got very generous upgrades. They complained that the upgrades should have gone to the world cruisers who paid huge amounts for their 113-day or 99-day trips. I did point out to one complainer that if they were upgraded for just 17 days, would they be happy to be downgraded when they reached Sydney. One woman even asked us if “we were one of those people”. The people who missed the 8 Asian ports got an immediate $250 cabin credit then later a further amount of $1200 - $2000.

We took 5 days or so to reach Darwin and had an overnight stay there, having now returned to the original itinerary. Then on to Yorkey’s Knob, followed by Airlie Beach, Brisbane and we disembarked on the second day in Sydney. We tendered to the Man O’ War steps near the Opera House the first day in Sydney.

The cruise continued back to Fremantle with the Sydney to Freo passengers paying the original full rate. On the first night after Sydney, the Captain came on the PA just before 2AM, asking for another blood donation for a sudden medical emergency. I think the ship arrived at the Melbourne dock a little early due to the situation.

I thought that there was no way that the ship could go to Cape Town, (15 days) as the Sun Princess was not allowed to dock in Mauritius and were greeted by abuse and stones thrown at the first bus trying to leave the port in Reunion Island. Then up the west coast of Africa with very little medical facilities on the way to Southampton. The ship was not due to get back to New York until April 25th.

Latest news is that most passengers disembarked in Fremantle and will fly home. A limited number of passengers who had medical reasons for not flying are staying on board until Southampton. The ship left last night, March 16th, and will sail directly to Southampton, taking 24 days, rather than the scheduled 35 days with stops. The Queen Mary 2 is now designated as a merchant vessel. First stop is expected to be Mauritius, but I suspect only for reprovisioning and refuelling.

From our point of view, the cruise was wonderful. It was our 7th Cunard cruise and our second on QM2. Luckily, we were allocated a midship cabin, so every location was easy to access. Having done a Cunard cruise in December, a Princess cruise in January then than another Cunard cruise in Feb/Mar, we are now going to cancel a Princess cruise next year with a similar itinerary to the recent QM2 cruise, round the top of Australia.

We really love Cunard as there is almost always something interesting on somewhere around the ship. The celebrity guest lecturer was Sir Peter Cosgrove; he gave a talk on his time as GG, a talk on his Army career then a Q&A. The entertainers were, on the whole, first class, especially the two pianists, Vasco Dantas and Matthew (Surname forgotten). Also the other lecturers had diverse interests, were very informative and their lectures were well attended.

I can’t wait for all this worry to be over and then we can get back to the travel we want to do.
 
sinophile888 said:
Following on from my post #158 on this thread, I have written a kind of trip report. Some information is first hand and some is from speaking to many World cruise passengers.

A most interesting cruise.

In the middle of last month, on a Thursday, my husband and I were discussing holidays and his opinion was that we had done enough holidaying for the foreseeable future and he would prefer to stay home indefinitely and never go anywhere again. We had gone to a wedding in November in Melbourne, a cruise in December and another cruise in January.

When we got home that day, there was an email from our travel agent with an unbelievable deal for a cruise on Queen Mary 2, leaving in 4 days. I just mentioned it to my husband and was flabbergasted when he agreed it was a great deal and said for me to go ahead and book the cruise. The payment was finalised on the Friday and we were aboard ship on the following Tuesday, sailing on Wednesday.

A bit of background. The Queen Mary left New York in early January, picked up more passengers in Southampton and headed for Dubai. There were 2 medical evacuations in the first couple of days out of New York, one by helicopter in a snowstorm. The captain put out a call for blood donors and received 60 volunteers. Then there were the regular pirate precautions around the Gulf of Aden with water cannon, sharp shooters and a British destroyer to accompany the ship.

The ship docked in Sri Lanka and that’s when things became interesting with the coronavirus issues of the Diamond Princess, the Westerdam etc. The captain announced at dinner the ship would miss 8 Asian ports and sail directly to Fremantle. Apparently, there was a buzz of chatter then, 30 seconds later, applause.

The ship had to reprovision in Port Kelang, but no one was allowed on or off the ship. The ship was very low in, you guessed it, toilet paper but also surprisingly, popcorn and spinach. Then it was refuelled at sea from a tanker which came from Singapore.

I was tracking the QM2s progress and I couldn’t work out why it was in the Straits of Malacca for a couple of days. But food and fuel seem to be two very compelling reasons.

The trip from Sri Lanka to Fremantle took 14 days which may have been a calculated decision re quarantine. Then 800 mainly Australians boarded in Fremantle. The deal was 17 days for $949pp in an inside cabin, $1049pp for an oceanview cabin or $1349pp for a balcony cabin. We chose the balcony option, as usual.

The World cruisers, especially the Americans, weren’t too happy with the price we paid. They were particularly upset that some people got very generous upgrades. They complained that the upgrades should have gone to the world cruisers who paid huge amounts for their 113-day or 99-day trips. I did point out to one complainer that if they were upgraded for just 17 days, would they be happy to be downgraded when they reached Sydney. One woman even asked us if “we were one of those people”. The people who missed the 8 Asian ports got an immediate $250 cabin credit then later a further amount of $1200 - $2000.

We took 5 days or so to reach Darwin and had an overnight stay there, having now returned to the original itinerary. Then on to Yorkey’s Knob, followed by Airlie Beach, Brisbane and we disembarked on the second day in Sydney. We tendered to the Man O’ War steps near the Opera House the first day in Sydney.

The cruise continued back to Fremantle with the Sydney to Freo passengers paying the original full rate. On the first night after Sydney, the Captain came on the PA just before 2AM, asking for another blood donation for a sudden medical emergency. I think the ship arrived at the Melbourne dock a little early due to the situation.

I thought that there was no way that the ship could go to Cape Town, (15 days) as the Sun Princess was not allowed to dock in Mauritius and were greeted by abuse and stones thrown at the first bus trying to leave the port in Reunion Island. Then up the west coast of Africa with very little medical facilities on the way to Southampton. The ship was not due to get back to New York until April 25th.

Latest news is that most passengers disembarked in Fremantle and will fly home. A limited number of passengers who had medical reasons for not flying are staying on board until Southampton. The ship left last night, March 16th, and will sail directly to Southampton, taking 24 days, rather than the scheduled 35 days with stops. The Queen Mary 2 is now designated as a merchant vessel. First stop is expected to be Mauritius, but I suspect only for reprovisioning and refuelling.

From our point of view, the cruise was wonderful. It was our 7th Cunard cruise and our second on QM2. Luckily, we were allocated a midship cabin, so every location was easy to access. Having done a Cunard cruise in December, a Princess cruise in January then than another Cunard cruise in Feb/Mar, we are now going to cancel a Princess cruise next year with a similar itinerary to the recent QM2 cruise, round the top of Australia.

We really love Cunard as there is almost always something interesting on somewhere around the ship. The celebrity guest lecturer was Sir Peter Cosgrove; he gave a talk on his time as GG, a talk on his Army career then a Q&A. The entertainers were, on the whole, first class, especially the two pianists, Vasco Dantas and Matthew (Surname forgotten). Also the other lecturers had diverse interests, were very informative and their lectures were well attended.

I can’t wait for all this worry to be over and then we can get back to the travel we want to do.
Click to expand...
Fabulous personal recount of an interesting but rather sad period for cruises. And I can hear the World Cruisers whinging very loud. Mind you, the dollars they pay is staggering. Thankyou
 
Passengers from the Silver Whisper are leaving the ship in Sydney either today or tomorrow to head straight back home.The crew is getting a charter flight out.100 crew will remain on board and sail the ship to Gibraltar via Capetown.
It is believed the crew charter flight will stop in Darwin to take the crew from rge Silver Spirit as well.
 

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.

Recent Posts

Currently Active Users

Total: 301 (members: 50, guests: 251)
Back
Top