The first commercial cruise to return to Australia since cruise ships were banned in March 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19 will set sail from Sydney this afternoon.
The ban on cruise ships expired on April 17 and was not renewed by the federal government. However,all passengers on cruises are now required to be double vaccinated and undergo stricter pre-arrival processes related to the virus.
The 2020 ban was announced a week after the Ruby Princess docked in Sydney. After they had disembarked,more than 900 passengers and the ship’s crew tested positive for COVID-19,infecting dozens of other people.
TheP&O Cruises Australia Pacific Explorer will sail from Sydney to Brisbane over four nights.
“We can’t wait to see happy guests back on board Pacific Explorer on our first guest cruise since cruising in Australia was given the green light to resume,”Marguerite Fitzgerald,president ofCarnival and P&O Cruises’ Australian operations,said.
“It’s more than two years since we have delivered a commercial cruise but,on our recent three-night test sailing from Sydney,Pacific Explorer’s onboard team performed brilliantly.
“You would swear they had never been away and have been eager to welcome our guests onboard,who will be just as keen to see our crew again.”
There were about 34,000 new COVID-19 cases recorded nationally in the latest reporting period.