In a further unbelievable announcement, both P&O Cruises Australia and Carnival Cruise Lines, no doubt soon to be followed by Princess Cruises, have announced a further cruise pause.
P&O Cruises Australia said that in the absence of progress towards an agreed restart plan for cruising, it was announcing a new series of cruise cancellations in its rolling pause in operations that have been in place since cruising in Australia was suspended in March 2020.
The latest pause cancels 15 cruises scheduled to depart from Sydney or Brisbane between 23 April 2022 and 28 May 2022.
P&O Cruises Australia says it acknowledges the understandable disappointment of guests whose cruises are affected and apologises for the disruption to their holiday plans.
They also said that the pause period reflects that it will take several months for a ship to return to operation once government agencies and public health authorities have worked with the industry to agree on protocols.
Australia is one of the last remaining major cruise markets in the world without a return to service pathway.
I have to say that I find it very strange and rather a mystery that the largest cruise companies in the world just seem to accept this ban and are not making much more noise about it in Canberra and elsewhere.
I have asked the question and do not receive any real responses – “why is there no progress”?
Guests whose bookings are affected by the latest pause announcement will be notified of the pause and options available either directly or via their appointed travel agent.
Edited by John Alwyn-Jones, Cruise Editor
