Carnival cancels Australian cruise holidays to mid-February

The holiday plans of thousands of Australians have been thrown into disarray with the world’s largest cruise company, Carnival, forced to cancel even more Australian cruises.

P&O Cruises Australia president Sture Myrmell: all local cruises are cancelled until February. Picture: Paul Ewart

The holiday plans of thousands of Australian cruisers have been thrown into disarray with the world’s largest cruise company, Carnival, forced to cancel even more Australian cruises amid the enduring federal government cruise ban.

Carnival’s P&O Cruises Australia has cancelled local cruises until mid-February while Princess Cruises has aborted its cruises until at least March. The moves follow last week’s decision by rival operator Royal Caribbean to cancel all sailings on its 5000-passenger Ovation of the Seas leaving from Sydney on December 13 through to March 31.

However, Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner said his international cruise bookings were going “gangbusters” with Australians booking Mediterranean, Caribbean and Alaskan cruises from March and April 2022 through to 2023.

Mr Turner said iron-clad guarantees that double-vaccinated Australians could travel offshore and return without the need to quarantine were sending cruise bookings “through the roof”.

“People want it to be iron-clad that is why the international bookings out of NSW and Victoria are very good, the federal government has made it clear you can travel.”

While NSW and Queensland domestic hotel and tour bookings were “reasonably good” he said people were “still wary” and “very sceptical” of booking travel to other states like Queensland.

“Although the December 17 Queensland reopening is iron-clad people are a bit wary, people are concerned that Queensland won’t get the vaccination rates, we think Queensland will open up around December 6 but until people have certainty they won’t book,” he said.

P&O Cruises Australia president Sture Myrmell said there was an absence of a clear pathway for a return to cruising in Australia. “There is a vital need for a pathway for the staged resumption of domestic cruising. Our guests have made it clear they want to cruise again.”

Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Dean Long said he did not blame the cruise industry for making commercial decisions.

“(But) what it does emphasise is that we need a very clear road map about when cruise can recommence. It is not something you can turn on overnight,” said Mr Long.

While domestic hotel and touring inquiry was up 500 per cent on a year ago, Mr Long said there’s a lack of confidence in interstate travel this side of Christmas because of the concerns about borders closing again, particularly in Queensland and Western Australia.

Mr Long said he was not surprised at the slower domestic bookings given what consumers have gone through for the past 24 months given the ‘inconsistencies between jurisdictions.”

Originally published as Carnival cancels Australian cruise holidays to mid-February