Does/will NCL cruise from Australia??

[bazzaw]

Just wondering - in light of their most recent announcement re Covid  https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/norwegian-cruise-line-eliminating-covid-19-testing-masking-vaccination-requirements

 

[BourbonLover]

Yes. Norwegian Spirit sails out of Sydney.

[gbenjo]

Yes, Spirit  has got five cruises out of White Bay this season They will obviously still be subject to “local” regulations in respect to covid protocol but looks as though they may ease progressively  🤞throughout the season. 

[grozzy1]

Currently, the NCL Spirit alternates between Alaska and Australia/NZ with a bit of Pacific inbetween. I'm sailing on her in January. With the way other protocols are being loosened I wouldn't be surprised if they get relaxed before.

[By The Bay]

This is what is being reported on the Cruise Industry News site. 

 

Norwegian Cruise Line today announced that it has updated its global health and safety protocols by removing all COVID-19 testing, masking and vaccination requirements effective Oct. 4, 2022.

Given the significant, positive progress in the public health environment, the Cruise Line updated its health and safety guidelines, which are now more aligned with other global travel organizations, the company said in a press release.

 

"Health and safety are always our first priority; in fact, we were the health and safety leaders from the very start of the pandemic," said Harry Sommer, Norwegian Cruise Line president and chief executive officer. "Many travelers have been patiently waiting to take their long-awaited vacation at sea and we cannot wait to celebrate their return."

[NSWP]

50 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

This is what is being reported on the Cruise Industry News site. 

 

Norwegian Cruise Line today announced that it has updated its global health and safety protocols by removing all COVID-19 testing, masking and vaccination requirements effective Oct. 4, 2022.

Given the significant, positive progress in the public health environment, the Cruise Line updated its health and safety guidelines, which are now more aligned with other global travel organizations, the company said in a press release.

 

"Health and safety are always our first priority; in fact, we were the health and safety leaders from the very start of the pandemic," said Harry Sommer, Norwegian Cruise Line president and chief executive officer. "Many travelers have been patiently waiting to take their long-awaited vacation at sea and we cannot wait to celebrate their return."

We don't want NCL here then with that slack attitude. If they arrive they must comply with our protocols, vaccs, mask and testing.

Edited October 3, 2022 by NSWP

[arxcards]

A reality check.

CRUISE LINES DO NOT DECIDE THE MINIMUM PROTOCOLS IN AUSTRALIA, OUR GOVERNMENTS DO

I had a friend quote to me last week that vaccinations and masks were no longer needed on Princess.

 

US articles relating to operating in the US or other countries operating without restrictions are general, and do not apply to Australian cruises. Ignore the word global that is quoted in the article, as there are around a dozen countries that still apply restrictions for NCL's cruise ships.

 

You would think one would go to the NCL site to confirm, instead of taking articles written for the US market as gospel. Norwegian will be told when they can ease restrictions in Australia, not the other way around. https://www.ncl.com/au/en/travel-requirements-by-country There is no references to masks, which may/may not be still mandatory when Norwegian Spirit arrives here in December.

[NSWP]

15 minutes ago, arxcards said:

A reality check.

CRUISE LINES DO NOT DECIDE THE MINIMUM PROTOCOLS IN AUSTRALIA, OUR GOVERNMENTS DO

I had a friend quote to me last week that vaccinations and masks were no longer needed on Princess.

 

US articles relating to operating in the US or other countries operating without restrictions are general, and do not apply to Australian cruises. Ignore the word global that is quoted in the article, as there are around a dozen countries that still apply restrictions for NCL's cruise ships.

 

You would think one would go to the NCL site to confirm, instead of taking articles written for the US market as gospel. Norwegian will be told when they can ease restrictions in Australia, not the other way around. https://www.ncl.com/au/en/travel-requirements-by-country There is no references to masks, which may/may not be still mandatory when Norwegian Spirit arrives here in December.

Spot on Geoff.

[MMDown Under]

There are even cautious countries who won't even left big cruise ships in, for a good reason.  

It wasn't that long ago that Fiji (?) had a measles epidemic. 

[Aus Traveller]

51 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

There are even cautious countries who won't even left big cruise ships in, for a good reason.  

It wasn't that long ago that Fiji (?) had a measles epidemic. 

It was Samoa that had the measles epidemic. Unfortunately it resulted from an incident a few years ago when some nurses were involved in some dodgy vaccination practices. I can't remember the exact details, but the end result was that parents were reluctant to have their children vaccinated. When measles arrived in Samoa a couple of years ago there was a devastating epidemic.

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

It was Samoa that had the measles epidemic. Unfortunately it resulted from an incident a few years ago when some nurses were involved in some dodgy vaccination practices. I can't remember the exact details, but the end result was that parents were reluctant to have their children vaccinated. When measles arrived in Samoa a couple of years ago there was a devastating epidemic.

Yes, I recall Samoa had a large outbreak.  However, there was a more recent outbreak in another South Pacific island with a connection to NZ.   Tonga or Fiji ?  The islanders were afraid to get vaccinated then a person in charge got publicly vaccinated as an example.  The people had to put flags on their houses so vaccination teams could call around.  It was big news at the time because people didn't realise just how dangerous measles can be.

[LDIdeals]

We are scheduled for a cruise on NCL Spirit starting in Auckland, NZ in March, that ends in Australia and then continues to the South Pacific.  We need to provide, for the rules of the Australian govt., proof of a negative covid PCR or antigen test 2 - 3 days before embarkation in NZ.  I'm a bit worried about when to actually take the test given that there is a 17 hr. time difference from Florida to NZ.  If cruise embarkation in NZ is March 16th, should a PCR test from 13th be ok or do I need to adjust the date for the time change?

[Aus Traveller]

4 hours ago, LDIdeals said:

We are scheduled for a cruise on NCL Spirit starting in Auckland, NZ in March, that ends in Australia and then continues to the South Pacific.  We need to provide, for the rules of the Australian govt., proof of a negative covid PCR or antigen test 2 - 3 days before embarkation in NZ.  I'm a bit worried about when to actually take the test given that there is a 17 hr. time difference from Florida to NZ.  If cruise embarkation in NZ is March 16th, should a PCR test from 13th be ok or do I need to adjust the date for the time change?

I suggest you check if the rapid antigen test (RAT) is 2-3 days before embarkation or within 24 hours. In accordance with their agreement with Aust state governments, other cruiselines require a RAT within 24 hours. I realise that you are referring to NZ and to NCL, but it could be worth checking exactly when they require the RAT to be done. On the cruises that have already happened since cruising re-started, the 'within 24 hours' has effectively been any time the previous day.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

I suggest you check if the rapid antigen test (RAT) is 2-3 days before embarkation or within 24 hours. In accordance with their agreement with Aust state governments, other cruiselines require a RAT within 24 hours. I realise that you are referring to NZ and to NCL, but it could be worth checking exactly when they require the RAT to be done. On the cruises that have already happened since cruising re-started, the 'within 24 hours' has effectively been any time the previous day.

The PCR mentioned is 2 - 3 days, RAT is 1 day.

 

I would suggest to just pack an antigen self test and take your test with it when you arrive in New Zealand.

[bazzaw]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

The PCR mentioned is 2 - 3 days, RAT is 1 day.

 

I would suggest to just pack an antigen self test and take your test with it when you arrive in New Zealand.

I got an email from Cunard today saying that I should carry proof as per this suggestion  --" 

• One (1) photo which shows all together the RAT result, government issued photo ID (such as a driver’s license) and a clock displaying the time (e.g. a watch, mobile phone, wall clock)."

[arxcards]

1 minute ago, bazzaw said:

I got an email from Cunard today saying that I should carry proof as per this suggestion  --" 

• One (1) photo which shows all together the RAT result, government issued photo ID (such as a driver’s license) and a clock displaying the time (e.g. a watch, mobile phone, wall clock)."

Same as for the other Carnival brands. The photo/ID/clock thing is not a government requirement, but something Carnival Australia has recently put together.

 

NCL will have their own version that fits with govt requirements, but likely different to what you have for Cunard.

[ClefsDor]

What's to stop someone using an old negative RAT test and displaying it in a photo with a clock and ID? Seems rather silly - either request a supervised RAT test or have no test required for vaccinated and boostered passengers.

[NSWP]

8 minutes ago, ClefsDor said:

What's to stop someone using an old negative RAT test and displaying it in a photo with a clock and ID? Seems rather silly - either request a supervised RAT test or have no test required for vaccinated and boostered passengers.

Exactly, should be supervised RAT's for all pax and crew, vaccinated or not.

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, ClefsDor said:

What's to stop someone using an old negative RAT test and displaying it in a photo with a clock and ID? Seems rather silly - either request a supervised RAT test or have no test required for vaccinated and boostered passengers.

Nothing, except most people are honest. As of a few weeks ago, you only had to say you had taken a test with a negative result and have no symptoms to board. The photo offers no extra protection, as anyone dishonest can still do a dodgy.

 

Supervised RAT doesn't work any better, as proven by US based cruises that nearly all had reportable levels of covid. A bug that spreads with travel, being picked up in transit will test negative on the supervised test and still be taken onto the ship. The only way to stop covid getting aboard is to go back to a ship ban.

 

Whatever, it appears to be currently working, with all active ships sailing as code green.

[Hogbay]

https://cruisepassenger.com.au/news/norwegian-wants-to-bring-prima-to-sydney-and-demands-action-on-a-new-port/

 

Every one knows the history of Perl Harbour except Australian Government. Not a great plase to dock warships???Looks  like people will pay to relocate. 

[MMDown Under]

44 minutes ago, Hogbay said:

https://cruisepassenger.com.au/news/norwegian-wants-to-bring-prima-to-sydney-and-demands-action-on-a-new-port/

 

Every one knows the history of Perl Harbour except Australian Government. Not a great plase to dock warships???Looks  like people will pay to relocate. 

What arrogance from NCL President and CEO Harry Sommer who would like to bring a PRIMA Class ship to Sydney.  "If we could convince the Government to build another port or raise the bridge , we would love to home port a ship in Sydney."

Has he not heard of Countries trying to recover from the worldwide pandemic?

[Hogbay]

4 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

What arrogance 

Has he not heard of Countries trying to recover from the worldwide pandemic?

Im sure he's aware of Covid and the measles too , he is taking about the next 20 years and only having OPT and inadequate White Bay .

[MMDown Under]

11 minutes ago, Hogbay said:

Im sure he's aware of Covid and the measles too , he is taking about the next 20 years and only having OPT and inadequate White Bay .

Sorry I missed that in the fine print!

 

Laem Chabang, the ocean port for Bangkok, is 124,9 km (1 hr 24 mins) from Bangkok.  Does Australia have existing ports in that radius which could be used for Sydney?