P&O Australia have announced they will not return to New Zealand until next year. Photo / Supplied
P&O Australia have announced they will not return to New Zealand until next year. Photo / Supplied
Cruise lines are already easing restrictions and moving on from the pandemic over seas but ships are yet to return to New Zealand.
Three leading cruise operators, Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian and Carnival Cruise Line have announced they will be easing mask requirements on ships next week.
New rules have allowed cruise passengers departing destinations in US and Caribbean to be exempt from face coverings.
From March 1, Carnival says it will be lifting mask requirements in most indoor venues, following Norwegian which also said it would be ditching face coverings from the beginning of the month.
This weekend, Royal Caribbean plans to drop indoor mask requirements for vaccinated guests.
These announcements come after the US CDC updated its rules regarding cruise lines.
New guidance provides a programme for cruises to 'opt into', allowing them to lift mask requirements for passengers, providing 95 per cent of guests and crew are fully vaccinated.
It is thought that all cruise operators are likely to opt in for the programme as most ships fall into the 'high-vaccinated' category, with full vaccination a condition of travel.
Last week, CEO of Royal Caribbean Michael Bayley said that the company intended to update their mask policies.
"We are thoughtfully working through the details regarding other changes to our health and safety protocols which we will share with our guests and travel advisors before Feb. 25," said Bayley.
As many may know the CDC conditional sail order expired mid January and we continued to operate voluntarily under the...
Within Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, the ships of three brands - Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas - will also be easing mask requirements, having opted in to the new CDC programme.
Passengers on board Royal Caribbean ships and on the private islands of Coco Cay and Labadee will not need to wear masks.
Carnival, meanwhile, updated its policy to say that masks may still be required "in certain venues and events" but they would be recommended rather than required.
Both cruises say that face masks are still needed while embarking or disembarking and during transport to the ship.
No cruises in sight on New Zealand's maritime border
It has been three weeks since New Zealand announced a plan for a phased reopening of its borders. With a pathway into New Zealand for international visitors no later than July, the timeline was mostly welcomed by the tourism industry.
However, cruise ships were notably absent for this reopening plan.
Navy support vessel Canterbury passes the P&O's Pacific Pearl. Photo / Peter de Graaf
On Tuesday P&O Cruises Australia cancelled its 2022 sailings out of New Zealand, citing the absence of an "agreed restart plan for cruising".
The Maritime Border Order which has paused the arrival of international cruise ships since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic was due to be reviewed last week.
The New Zealand Cruise Association said it was optimistic about the return of some ships by the end of the year, but more work needed to be done said chief executive Kevin O'Sullivan.
"Our target is to reopen either in July which is where some ships are planning to operate out of Auckland or from the beginning of the main season for October," he told RNZ.
P&O said that this lack of a restart date had made planning the cruise season impossible, saying they would not return until next year.
"While P&O Cruises has had useful discussions with New Zealand officials and expects to have further contact, uncertainty remains as to when cruising is likely to resume there, which has made it difficult to sustain the 2022 Auckland cruise season," said a statement from the cruise line.
A spokesperson for Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) specific mask rules on ships in New Zealand's waters would come down to the requirements of the Ministry of Health, however a clear timeline for the return of cruise ships was yet to be worked out.
"At this stage the cruise industry (including CLIA and the NZCA) is in early discussions with the New Zealand Government through a range of government agencies including Health, but further work will be needed before specific details are established."
NZCA's Kevin O'Sullivan was encouraged by the progress made with the New Zealand government, and in cruising overseas.
"The rest of the cruise world has moved on successfully and we risk being left behind if we can't get a firm indication when ships can return," he said.
After two summers without the arrival of ships he said the New Zealand cruise industry "could not afford another season of cancellations", urging the maritime border to be reopened.
