‘Profound disappointment’ as P&O makes 23rd cancellation announcement in two years

One of Australia’s biggest cruise companies has lashed out at our politicians today, as it was forced to make its 23rd cancellation announcement in two years.

One of Australia’s biggest cruise companies has expressed its “profound disappointment” after it was forced to make its 23rd cancellation announcement in two years.

P&O Australia today pushed its cruising restart date to April 16, 2022, from its previous hopeful date of March 3 next year.

The push to April means it’ll be more than two years since a P&O cruise ship has docked in Australia, all thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

The extension of the pause means thousands of cruise passengers in Sydney and Brisbane will be forced to reschedule their trip yet again.

Today’s extension is the 23rd time P&O Australia has made a cancellation announcement for its cruise guests.

P&O has had to push its cruise season yet again.

P&O Cruises Australia President Sture Myrmell lashed both the federal and state governments for their lack of action on giving the industry guidance.

“Federal and state governments are yet to outline their requirements for restart despite the nation’s high vaccination rate, the cruise industry’s comprehensive health protocols, vaccination policies for guests and crew and the successful resumption of cruising in other international markets,” he said.

“Our loyal guests, travel agents and many suppliers whose businesses depend on cruising along with thousands of jobs are simply looking for certainty so that they can plan for the future. Reaching this two-year anniversary is discouraging for so many of them.”

While Mr Myrmell said P&O customers that had cruise vouchers with the company had shown patience, that was now wearing thin.

“As we approach the two-year mark in our rolling pause in operations, it is understandable that our guests will be very disappointed and frustrated that there is still no agreed restart plan for cruising in Australia,” he said.

P&O Australia President Sture Myrmell. Picture: Joel Carrett

Australia’s cruise ban was extended until next February, with the federal government announcing the two-month extension last week.

Even if the ban lifts in February, cruise companies will take months to restart with crew needing to fly from around the world, ships needing to be sailed from the northern hemisphere south to Australia and all of the Covid preparations being put in place.

“After an absence of two years, it will take us several months and significant cost to manage the complex logistics necessary to return a ship to service before sailing back to Australian waters,” Mr Myrmell said.

“This includes engaging our crew and retraining them to meet new operating protocols when they are known as well as restocking the ship with local fresh produce and refreshing on-board guest service operations that have also been on hold for such a long time.

“It is a big task and we need to understand the operating environment before we begin the process of returning.”

Mr Myrmell said he and everyone else in the Australian cruise industry were waiting on feedback from the government.

“To date, no government authority, federal or state, has provided feedback on the industry‘s proposed operational guidelines to enable an informed decision on bringing our ships back to Australia,” he said.

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.

P&O guests can apply for a credit or refund. Picture: Stringer/Interpress/AFP

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) managing director Australasia Joel Katz spoke to news.com.au in October, blasting the “ridiculous” and “disappointing” double standard that was impacting the cruise industry.

Currently, Australians are free to fly to places like Miami, Florida and Nadi, Fiji, and enjoy a cruise overseas before flying home.

“We need the federal and state governments to come to the party,” Mr Katz said.

“Just in the last couple of days, we’ve had a number of travel agents reach out to us with comments from a number of avid cruise passengers, asking us what the rules are about cruising overseas.

“They’re planning to fly overseas to cruise because they can’t cruise at home and that’s really disappointing for the thousands of Aussies who rely on the cruise industry locally for their livelihoods.”

Mr Katz called on the Australian Government to observe how successful the cruise industry’s new protocols had been overseas.

“The majority of the world has restarted cruising and they’re using the exact same protocols we’ve tested here in Australia. They’ve already worked with close to three million passengers overseas,” he said.

The cruise industry has already committed to only carrying vaccinated and tested crew and passengers.

“Arguably, that will make cruising one of the most controlled environments you can be in,” Mr Katz said.