Cunard cruise line cancels holiday voyages to Australia over border closure

Global cruise line Cunard has announced they will be cancelling all summer voyages around Australia – and not returning to our waters until the end of 2022.

Global cruise line Cunard has announced they will be cancelling all summer voyages around Australia following ongoing international border closures.

The 180-year-old British operator’s decision to cease all voyages in Australia and New Zealand for 2021-22 was a “sad” decision that the cruise liner was “forced” to make.

“Sadly, the impact of the pandemic forced the cruise industry to go into an extended pause in operation,” Cunard President Simon Palethorpe said in statement.

“As local restrictions have lifted, the cruise industry has successfully resumed operating in a number of countries. However, due to the ongoing complexities of navigating international sailing, this has meant that further changes have been necessary to scheduled itineraries.

“The decision to cancel any voyage is not taken lightly as we are fully aware of the disappointment this will cause guests and the impact on the local economy.”

According to The Australian,there are growing fears that the latest decision to cease voyages until November 2022 may be one in a series of cruise-­industry dominoes set to fall.

“Australia and New Zealand are an integral part to Cunard’s past and future,” Mr Palethorpe added.

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Cunard has announced they won’t be doing Australian voyages until 2022. Picture: David Swift

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Cruise Lines International Association Australasia (CLIA) said that the lack of any clear road map for the industry meant it was impossible for cruise companies to plan voyage restarts.

To date industry wide, in the past 15 months, at least $6 billion in cruise linked economic activity has been lost and more than 700 cruises that would have carried more than 1.8 million guests from Australian ports cancelled.

In a statement to news.com.au, CLIA’s Managing Director of Australasia Joel Katz said Cunard’s decision to pull the pin on cruises in Australia until November 2022 is “a sign of the uncertainty the entire tourism industry is facing right now”.

“The lack of any clear plan for the future from our governments means all cruise lines are faced with making tough decisions and this is very difficult for the travelling public,” he said.

“CLIA and the cruise lines have held extensive discussions with governments and political leaders about creating a plan for a careful, phased resumption of domestic cruising in Australia. It’s now more important than ever that this begins to show progress.

“With the cruise industry’s extensive new health protocols in place – including 100% testing of all passengers and crew before boarding – we are urging the federal government to allow a domestic-first resumption of cruising for Australians only, while international borders remain closed. This will help provide certainty for travellers and for the 18,000 Australians whose jobs depend on cruising.”

The cruise industry is calling on a clear road map to restarting voyages. Picture: David Swift

President of Carnival Australia Sture Myrmell, who joined cruise suppliers and individuals who rely on the cruising industry, visited Canberra on Thursday seeking support from Federal Parliamentarians for a pathway to enable the resumption of domestic cruising in Australia.

At the briefing at Parliament House, the suppliers along with Mr Myrmell met with MPs from federal electorates in a number of states that benefit from economic activity generated by cruising.

“We need certainty as cruise operators to prepare for restart but a framework to achieve this is just as vital for our many suppliers who are reeling from the suspension of cruising,” he said. “In its last year of full operation in Australia, cruising generated $5 billion in economic activity with much of it in regional areas. It is not something that can be lightly dismissed. Real businesses, real people and real jobs are being affected.

“It is increasingly apparent that our loyal guests share our concern that there is still no pathway to the resumption of domestic cruising even as they see other international markets opening up.

“Our guests know that the cruise industry has done the work in putting comprehensive protocols and policies in place to support a careful phased resumption of cruising.

“Like us, they are looking for a framework that will enable them to safely return to their preferred choice of holidaying at sea.”

Speaking at a recent News Corp Future of Travel event in Sydney, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said planning to reinvigorate the cruise industry was on the agenda.

There are concerns multiple cruise lines may be forced to push back the restart date like Cunard.

“It would be wonderful to get cruising back in Australia, and also taking into account the bubble with New Zealand and having cruise ships operating between,” Mr Tehan said.

“We have got health advice called the AHPPC which is set up to advise the government through this pandemic. That advice will be reviewed towards the midpoint of June [in relation to cruises].

My hope is if we can continue managing the pandemic like we are, we will be able to see more cruise ships in our waters and the waters between New Zealand and Australia.

“I look forward to working with the cruise industry … because it will help the airlines, and it will help the wonderful holiday destinations that we have around Australia where the cruise ships stop. So it should be something we keep looking at.”