Carnival moves cruise ship to allay virus fears

Luxury cruise ship Sapphire Princess has announced 44 new departures from key Australian ports.

Luxury cruise ship Sapphire Princess, the sister ship of stranded Diamond Princess, will redeploy from Asia to Australia’s major city and regional ports, announcing 44 new departures from Sydney, Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane six months ahead of schedule.

Reacting to the coronavirus, the 2670-passenger Carnival-owned Sapphire Princess will redeploy from Shanghai and Singapore to Australia from May 1, taking in 171 city and regional ports.

“With the ongoing uncertainty of travel restrictions and port closures in Asia having an impact on our cruise operations in the region, we hope this extended deployment in Australia will benefit local tourism, particularly in regional areas with 102 visits to regional ports around the country during her year-long deployment,” Stuart Allison, Princess Cruises’ senior vice-president for Asia Pacific, said on Tuesday.

The World Health Organisation said the number of reported cases from the Diamond Princess and another Carnival-owned ship, the Westerdam, was raising questions about containing the virus on cruise ships.

The WHO added that cruise ship travel was a “manageable risk” at present even though 3000 passengers from the two coronavirus-stricken ships are preparing to return home.

More cruise ships are expected to announce redeployments from Asia to Australia in coming days offering substantially discounted fares in a bid to attract locals to their new itineraries.

Carnival forecasts the extended redeployment of Sapphire Princess will inject up to $140m into local economies such as Geraldton, Yorkeys Knob and Port Arthur.