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New Zealand Welcomes Cruise Ships Back as Borders Fully Reopen

Cruise ships can return to New Zealand after more than 2 years.

New Zealand dropped restrictions on cruise ships over the weekend, more than two years after the start of the pandemic and just months after the country started welcoming international travelers.

The decision to once again allow cruise ships, which the government outlined on Sunday, comes as part of a larger easing of border restrictions in which the country will welcome travelers from non-visa waiver countries. New Zealand first reopened to vaccinated tourists in May , including from the United States, before dropping pre-arrival testing rules for those vaccinated visitors in June.

New Zealand will continue to require that all tourists be fully vaccinated to enter.

"Today's change in border settings marks the final milestone for our reconnecting strategy," the government said in a statement. "This is great news to the tourism industry and economy as we approach spring and summer with people from the Northern hemisphere booking their winter holidays. We have heard optimistic messages from tourism operators who are ready to welcome back international visitors from all over the world."

The return of cruise ships, which comes ahead of New Zealand's popular summer tourist season of October to April, is expected to be a boost to the economy. Pre-pandemic, cruise travelers spent more than $500 million per year, the government noted.

Travelers who arrive in the country by ship will be subject to the same vaccination rules as those arriving by air, according to the government . Children 16 years old and younger are exempt.

Travelers will have to provide proof of their vaccination status to their booking agent or the operator as well as "comply with New Zealand's domestic COVID-19 requirements around mask-wearing, and testing."

The decision to ease border restrictions comes weeks after neighboring Australia dropped all pandemic-related border rules . It also follows Australia's move in April to eliminate restrictions on cruise ships into and within Australian territory.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram .

Northland on watch after visit from cruise ship with ‘major’ Covid-19 outbreak

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Majestic Princess - the first cruise ship to call into the Bay of Islands since the Covid-19 pandemic - was rife with the virus when it docked in the area this week. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Hundreds of Covid-19 cruise ship passengers who spent last week travelling around New Zealand are today going into self-quarantine at home across the Tasman.

Majestic Princess arrived back in Sydney this morning after a 12-day cruise around New Zealand, which included time on shore in Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and the Bay of Islands.

An estimated 800 of the combined 4600 passengers and crew have Covid-19, with University of Otago professor and New Zealand epidemiologist and local Covid-19 expert Michael Baker describing it as a “major outbreak”.

The ship and its passengers spent their last day in New Zealand in and around Russell and Paihia on Wednesday; with excursions including to the markets at the Paihia Village Green.

Some Majestic Princess passengers would have spent up to eight hours onshore in the Bay of Island tourist towns on Wednesday.

Covid-19 cases have been consistently on the rise in Northland over the past month; this week there were 817 new cases reported in the region, up from 780, 646, 479 and 254 over the previous four weeks.

A Ministry of Health spokesperson said while in New Zealand the cases onboard the ship were managed onboard by the ship’s medical team “and the situation monitored on shore by local public health staff”.

When Majestic Princess left New Zealand there were 180 reported cases onboard.

Far North District Council deputy Mayor Kelly Stratford – also a Bay of Islands-Whangaroa councillor – said she didn’t believe there was any reason for alarm, saying Covid-19 was already spreading through the community.

She added retailers in the area had good health and safety practices.

“We’ve already got Covid in our community, it is not from the cruise ships,” Stratford said.

“I am testing just about every day myself because I am coming into contact with people. It is just a way of life.

“I personally expect to get it from somebody coming back from overseas, from whanau we haven’t seen for three years rather than off the cruise ships to be honest. We just have to live with Covid now.”

Talking to the Herald this morning while passengers started disembarking, Baker said he was alarmed at the high percentage of positive cases onboard.

But, he said, international air travel - and not cruise ships – posed the greatest threat to new variants of Covid-19 gaining hold in New Zealand.

“I am not overly worried about cruise ships in that regard, because basically we have open borders now . . . we have around 10,000 people flying into New Zealand every day from around the world,” he said.

“Relative to cruise ships, that is a much bigger number.”

Baker described the number of people infected on Majestic Princess as “quite a major outbreak”.

He added the high spread was “shocking”.

“That is a very high attack rate. It’s almost 20 per cent infected . . . that is a very high proportion infected,” he said.

“That goes back to the early stages of the pandemic when they had a very high attack rate on these ships. Cruise ships just didn’t know how to deal with the infection.”

He said the rapid spread of the virus through those onboard the boat should be viewed as a “warning” to any New Zealander who was considering cruise ship travel.

Mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations and pre-departure testing are no longer required on most cruise ships.

Princess Cruise Lines’ website states that on Majestic Princess, like its other ships: “All guests are welcome – regardless of vaccination status.”

Once onboard, any traveller who tested positive would then face a five-day isolation stay in their cabin.

That was a timeframe Baker said was “really quite short”, adding: “A lot of people will still be infectious, and infected, after five days . . . we know that”.

The widespread absence of mandatory vaccinations and pre-departure tests meant cruise ships were now “more vulnerable for outbreaks on board” such as those seen on Majestic Princess.

That should be of concern for elderly or vulnerable New Zealanders considering a cruise, Baker said.

While cruise ships were like a “small floating town”, they would have limited healthcare facilities.

“They won’t have ventilators and they will have limited oxygen,” he said.

If Covid-19-positive passengers’ health badly deteriorated, it would lead to a “very difficult evacuation in the middle of the ocean”.

“The biggest concern I have is around the health of people onboard,” Baker said.

“Often, they are going to be an older less mobile demographic.

“You’ve got thousands of people basically in a very contained environment. While they may spend some time in well-ventilated areas like a deck outdoors, most of the time they are mixing indoor environments which are quite confined with lots of other people.”

Last month, fellow cruise ship Ovation of the Seas docked at several New Zealand ports while a much smaller number of travellers had Covid-19.

More than 130 cases were reported out of the 4500 passengers and crew onboard.

Health authorities were informed of the cases on board that ship, but they were satisfied with quarantine measures put in place Ovation of the Seas, meaning other passengers could disembark.

Baker said the number of reported Covid-19 cases on Ovation of the Seas was “quite a manageable number” compared to those from Majestic Princess.

The Ministry of Health spokesperson said there was a legal requirement on ships’ captains to notify the public health service throughout their New Zealand journey of any suspected infectious diseases like Covid-19 onboard.

They also had to “show they are taking the necessary isolation and quarantine action including keeping anyone who is sick or who has tested positive for Covid-19 in isolation on board.

“There has been considerable consultation between the National Public Health Service and the cruise companies ahead of this cruise season to ensure that cruise liners are well prepared and have robust protocols in place for managing Covid-19 and minimising any public health risk to the local community.”

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‘High attack rate’: Northland on watch after cruise ship visits with Covid-19 outbreak

Hundreds of Covid-19 cruise ship passengers who spent last week travelling around New Zealand are today going into self-quarantine at home across the Tasman.

Majestic Princess arrived back in Sydney this morning after a 12-day cruise around New Zealand, which included time on shore in Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and the Bay of Islands.

An estimated 800 of the combined 4600 passengers and crew have Covid-19, with University of Otago professor and New Zealand epidemiologist and local Covid-19 expert Michael Baker describing it as a “major outbreak”.

The ship and its passengers spent their last day in New Zealand in and around Russell and Paihia on Wednesday; with excursions including to the markets at the Paihia Village Green.

Some Majestic Princess passengers would have spent up to eight hours onshore in the Bay of Island tourist towns on Wednesday.

Covid-19 cases have been consistently on the rise in Northland over the past month; this week there were 817 new cases reported in the region, up from 780, 646, 479 and 254 over the previous four weeks.

The Ministry of Health has been approached for comment on the ship’s visit despite high Covid-19 numbers.

But Far North District Council deputy Mayor Kelly Stratford – also a Bay of Islands-Whangaroa councillor – said she didn’t believe there was any reason for alarm, saying Covid-19 was already spreading through the community.

She added retailers in the area had good health and safety practices.

“We’ve already got Covid in our community, it is not from the cruise ships,” Stratford said.

“I am testing just about every day myself because I am coming into contact with people. It is just a way of life.

“I personally expect to get it from somebody coming back from overseas, from whanau we haven’t seen for three years rather than off the cruise ships to be honest. We just have to live with Covid now.”

Talking to the Herald this morning while passengers started disembarking, Baker said he was alarmed at the high percentage of positive cases onboard.

But, he said, international air travel - and not cruise ships – posed the greatest threat to new variants of Covid-19 gaining hold in New Zealand.

“I am not overly worried about cruise ships in that regard, because basically we have open borders now . . . we have around 10,000 people flying into New Zealand every day from around the world,” he said.

“Relative to cruise ships, that is a much bigger number.”

Baker described the number of people infected on Majestic Princess as “quite a major outbreak”.

He added the high spread was “shocking”.

“That is a very high attack rate. It’s almost 20 per cent infected . . . that is a very high proportion infected,” he said.

“That goes back to the early stages of the pandemic when they had a very high attack rate on these ships. Cruise ships just didn’t know how to deal with the infection.”

He said the rapid spread of the virus through those onboard the boat should be viewed as a “warning” to any New Zealander who was considering cruise ship travel.

Mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations and pre-departure testing are no longer required on most cruise ships.

Princess Cruise Lines’ website states that on Majestic Princess, like its other ships: “All guests are welcome – regardless of vaccination status.”

Once onboard, any traveller who tested positive would then face a five-day isolation stay in their cabin.

That was a timeframe Baker said was “really quite short”, adding: “A lot of people will still be infectious, and infected, after five days . . . we know that”.

The widespread absence of mandatory vaccinations and pre-departure tests meant cruise ships were now “more vulnerable for outbreaks on board” such as those seen on Majestic Princess.

That should be of concern for elderly or vulnerable New Zealanders considering a cruise, Baker said.

While cruise ships were like a “small floating town”, they would have limited healthcare facilities.

“They won’t have ventilators and they will have limited oxygen,” he said.

If Covid-19-positive passengers’ health badly deteriorated, it would lead to a “very difficult evacuation in the middle of the ocean”.

“The biggest concern I have is around the health of people onboard,” Baker said.

“Often, they are going to be an older less mobile demographic.

“You’ve got thousands of people basically in a very contained environment. While they may spend some time in well-ventilated areas like a deck outdoors, most of the time they are mixing indoor environments which are quite confined with lots of other people.”

Last month, fellow cruise ship Ovation of the Seas docked at several New Zealand ports while a much smaller number of travellers had Covid-19.

More than 130 cases were reported out of the 4500 passengers and crew onboard.

Health authorities were informed of the cases on board that ship, but they were satisfied with quarantine measures put in place Ovation of the Seas, meaning other passengers could disembark.

Baker said the number of reported Covid-19 cases on Ovation of the Seas was “quite a manageable number” compared to those from Majestic Princess.

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Sitrep for cruise vessels to identify covid-19 cases.

If on arrival, or during the course of the vessel journey around New Zealand, cases of COVID-19 are identified on board a cruise vessel, the master of the vessel is required to report this via a Situation Report (SITREP).

The master or other officer is required to provide daily SITREPS if COVID-19 is on board a vessel, regardless of the number of cases. The SITREPs do not have any impact on the other documentation requirements.

The SITREP form must be completed in full and emailed to  [email protected]

SITREP - Cruise Vessels within New Zealand (xlxs, 121KB)

Health guidance and COVID-19 information

• It is recommended that crew and passengers should monitor carefully for symptoms of COVID-19, influenza and other respiratory viruses and if symptoms develop, people should be tested.
• People testing positive for COVID-19 are recommended to self-isolate for 5 days.
• If the positive case needs to leave their cabin or quarters during their 5-day isolation period they should wear a mask, practice good hand hygiene, and avoid crowded spaces. They should avoid contact with other passengers as they are likely to be infectious.  If they leave the ship they should not visit a healthcare facility (except to access medical care), or an aged residential care facility.
• As some people remain infectious for up to 10 days, we recommend that the positive case wear a mask up until 10 days after their symptoms started or they tested positive.  They should also minimise contact with anyone at risk of getting very unwell with COVID-19 such as elderly passengers.
• The ship remains the primary place for a maritime arrival to isolate if they are COVID-positive.  

Role of cruise operators

Cruise operators can minimise the transmission of communicable diseases, including COVID-19, other acute respiratory infections and gastroenteritis, through their practices and procedures.

It is expected that cruise operators will help reduce the risk by:

• providing ready access to hand sanitation, masks, appropriate testing equipment, and support for passengers and crew with communicable diseases
• a dhering to regular and thorough cleaning routines
• communicating and encouraging passengers and crew to follow the health guidance and COVID-19 information (identified above)
• promptly implementing additional controls in response to illness .

If the master becomes aware of any disease suspected to be a notifiable infectious disease on board their cruise ship at any point while in New Zealand they are required to notify the local public health service.

Public health assistance

Cruise operators are responsible for the health of crew and passengers, and for sanitation standards and practices on the ship. Keeping  passengers and crew healthy  helps protect all New Zealand ers .

If illness or outbreaks are reported public health officers may request further information on the situation and the control measures taken. In some situations a ship visit may be necessary.  Public health officers can provide advice and guidance on managing public health risks.

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New Zealand welcomes back first cruise ship since COVID hit

The Pacific Explorer sails into the Waitemata Harbour, in Auckland, New Zealand, Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. New Zealand has welcomed the first cruise ship to return since the coronavirus pandemic began, signaling a long-sought return to normalcy for the nation’s tourism industry. (Brett Phibbs/New Zealand Herald)

FILE - New Zealand’s Police Minister Stuart Nash talks to reporters in Wellington, New Zealand, on Nov. 11, 2019. New Zealand on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, welcomed the first cruise ship to return since the coronavirus pandemic began, signaling a long-sought return to normalcy for the nation’s tourism industry. Tourism Minister Nash said in an interview with The Associated Press, “Its another step in the reopening of our borders and a step closer to resuming business as usual.” (AP Photo/Nick Perry, File)

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand on Friday welcomed the first cruise ship to return since the coronavirus pandemic began, signaling a long-sought return to normalcy for the nation’s tourism industry.

New Zealand closed its borders in early 2020 as it sought at first to eliminate COVID-19 entirely and then later to control its spread. Although the country reopened its borders to most tourists arriving by plane in May, it wasn’t until two weeks ago that it lifted all remaining restrictions, including those on maritime arrivals.

Many in the cruise industry question why it took so long.

The end of restrictions allowed Carnival Australia’s Pacific Explorer cruise ship to dock in Auckland with about 2,000 passengers and crew Friday morning as part of a 12-day return trip to Fiji that left from Sydney.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Its another step in the reopening of our borders and a step closer to resuming business as usual.”

Nash said it would take some time for international tourist numbers and revenue to return to their pre-pandemic levels, when the industry accounted for about 20% of New Zealand’s foreign income and more than 5% of GDP.

“I think there’s been many people in the tourism sector who have done it hard over the last two years,” Nash said. “But we’ve always taken an approach where we need to ensure that we get the health response right. Because if we don’t, we know the consequences are dire.”

Not everybody is happy with the return of tourists. A sailboat carrying protesters upset about the industry’s impact on the environment followed the Pacific Explorer into the harbor Friday, before passengers were greeted with an Indigenous Māori welcome and a visit by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Nash said the pause in tourism had given the nation a chance to reset its priorities. One of those was to go after what he described as wealthier “high quality” tourists who would stay longer and have a story to tell when they returned home.

“We are not targeting the guys that come over and put up on Facebook, ‘Hey, travel around New Zealand on $10 a day living on 2-minute noodles,’” Nash said.

He said another goal was to move away from the perception that people working in the industry would be subject to long hours and low wages, and to make it a more rewarding and aspirational career.

Nash said that with airline tickets more expensive and travelers more risk-averse than before the pandemic, tourism numbers could remain subdued for a while, but he thought the industry would eventually make a strong comeback.

“I see markets like the United States being a really important market for New Zealand,” he said. “There’s been $2 trillion saved in the States over and above that which would have been saved if it hadn’t been for COVID. So, there’s a little bit of money floating around.”

Coronavirus: More than 130 COVID-19 cases on one of first cruise ships to return to New Zealand

More than 130 passengers and crew on the first cruise ship to arrive in the country in two years have tested  positive for Covid-19 .

Positive cases aboard the  Ovation of the Seas  cruise liner were confirmed earlier today. The ship carries almost 5000 passengers and 1300 crew.

Ovation of the Seas  sailed in to Napier from Tahiti, it arrived in Wellington on Tuesday morning and from there will go to Picton, then Sydney.

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Te Whatu Ora have confirmed this evening there are currently 129 passengers and two crew members reported as current Covid cases aboard the ship as of early this afternoon.

Medical Officer of Health Dr Jill McKenzie said there were only three new cases reported over the past 24 hours.

In a statement earlier, National Public Health Service medical officer of health in Hawke's Bay Bridget Wilson said authorities had been told about the Covid-19 cases and were confident requirements were being followed.

Royal Caribbean operates the ship and in a statement, said positive cases had to isolate in their cabin for five days and if they still had symptoms, on days six and seven.

All guests aged 12 and over cruising to New Zealand had to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and return a negative Covid-19 test result before sailing.

Covid-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall said even though there was a risk of community transmission from cruise ships, she believed the balance was right.

There was always a risk of Covid entering the country via either cruise ships or air travel when the country's borders were open, she said.

But a highly vaccinated population meant open borders did not pose the even higher risk that it did previously, she said.

COVID-19 on a cruise ship – Expert Reaction

Covid-19 cases have been confirmed on one of the first cruise ships to travel around the country in more than two years..

Ovation of the Seas, carrying almost 5000 passengers and 1300 crew, sailed in to Napier on Monday from Tahiti, and arrived in Wellington this morning.

The SMC asked experts to comment.

Professor michael baker, department of public health, university of otago, wellington, comments:.

“The role of cruise ships in relation to Covid-19 in New Zealand has changed fundamentally since the early days of the pandemic in March 2020. At that stage New Zealand was managing its external borders very tightly to limit, and then prevent importation of Covid-19 entirely as part of its elimination strategy.

“Now that we have more than 10,000 people a day arriving on flights into New Zealand, with no requirements for Covid-19 vaccination or testing, our borders are largely open. In this context, cruise ships can only make a relatively small contribution to Covid-19 importation. Their infectious disease control protocols may now be stronger than for air travel, with passengers sometimes required to be vaccinated and test Covid-negative prior to embarking.

“The Ovation of the Seas cruise ship, which arrived in Wellington today, is carrying about 4500 crew and passengers so it is not surprising that there is transmission of Covid-19 on the ship. Infected cases are required to isolate on board, which will reduce but not prevent some of them potentially bringing infections with them when they leave the ship. From a risk assessment perspective, it would be useful if these ships were required to report the number of infected passengers and crew onboard. This should be part of their process of pratique prior to them arriving in our ports and the information should be made publicly available.

“Much of the concern about managing Covid-19 on cruise ships will now be about protecting the health of their passengers. Even prior to Covid-19, cruise ships were notorious for outbreaks of infectious disease. Much of this heightened risk is from having thousands of people spending days at a time living in a densely packed confined environment with many shared facilities where gastroenteritis and respiratory infections can spread easily. The generally older demographic of cruise ship passengers makes them more vulnerable to infection and becoming seriously ill.”

No conflict of interest.

Dr Emily Harvey, Co-lead of the Contagion Network modelling programme, COVID-19 Modelling Aotearoa, comments:

“Now that border restrictions and public health protections have been lifted in most countries around the world, we should expect that a proportion of international arrivals, be it by air or cruise ship, will be infected with COVID-19 when they disembark.

“We have consistently seen that international air arrivals, even when we required predeparture testing, had high levels of COVID infection — similar to or higher than the estimated prevalence in their country of origin. Some of this can be attributed to the increased risk of infection during travel. As an example, in mid-2022 when we had good reporting on border case numbers from compulsory RAT testing during the BA5 wave, we had the proportion reporting positive RATs get as high as 5-6% in international arrivals. This was in line with the ~6% prevalence peak seen in the UK during that period, which is the only country that conducts a regular infection prevalence survey.

“International arrivals by both air and cruise ships add increased risk of introduction of new variants, and can lead to an increase in infection risk in the community if the prevalence is higher in the country of origin than in Aotearoa.

“Although the number of people arriving on planes is far greater than by those arriving on cruise ships, there are a few key differences to consider.

“If we know the background prevalence, there is a calculation that we can do to estimate the likelihood that someone in a randomly selected group has COVID-19 .

“Using this maths, we can estimate that on a plane with 300 passengers, with a background prevalence of 1%, the chance that someone on your plane is infected is 78%. Now thinking about cruise ships, which are larger, we would estimate that on a cruise ship of 2000 people, with background prevalence of 1% the probability that at least one of them is infected at the start of the trip approaches 100%.

“As context, with the current ‘lull’ in levels of COVID-19 prevalence, prevalence sits around 3% in the UK at the moment (which is the only country that conducts a regular infection prevalence survey), or around 1% in NZ (if we assume case ascertainment rates of around 35%, but we really need an infection prevalence survey here).

“Confirmed transmission on aircrafts has mostly been to a small number of people sitting nearby. However, as we have seen in past years, the longer duration and shared facilities on cruise ships has meant that a small number of infected passengers has often led to large outbreaks. Whether this continues to occur will depend on the infection control measures that are being implemented onboard the ships. I would hope that the required reporting under the Maritime Declaration of Health was being enforced and monitored by Public Health Officials, and additional measures taken if larger outbreaks were being detected.

“Rapid antigen tests are good at detecting when people are most infectious. Requiring a negative RAT result to disembark would be a simple measure that would help reduce the possibility of infectious passengers coming ashore.

“Additionally, although the number of international passengers arriving in Aotearoa on cruise ships is dwarfed by the number arriving via air travel at a national level, it is important to consider that for some regional ports in smaller towns cruise ship arrivals will add a substantial extra number of international visitors.

“Finally, the age profile of cruise ship passengers (75% being over 50, and half being over 65), adds an additional risk to consider, because these age groups are at much higher risk of needing hospital level care if infected with COVID-19. An outbreak within a cruise ship has the potential to add to the burden on our hospital system, which would again be an even greater issue in smaller regional port cities, with lower hospital capacities.”

Conflict of interest statement: “Dr Harvey’s employer receives funding from the DPMC for her to provide modelling and analysis to government officials on Aotearoa’s COVID response, and from the NZ Health Research Council for a project on modelling and equity for COVID-19 in Aotearoa.”

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New Zealand welcomes back first cruise ship since COVID-19 hit

New Zealand on Friday welcomed the first cruise ship to return since the coronavirus pandemic began, signalling a long-sought return to normalcy for the nation's tourism industry.

New Zealand closed its borders in early 2020 as it sought at first to eliminate COVID-19 entirely and then later to control its spread. Although the country reopened its borders to most tourists arriving by plane in May, it wasn't until two weeks ago that it lifted all remaining restrictions, including those on maritime arrivals.

• COVID-19 Brief newsletter: Sign up for an informed guide on the pandemic

Many in the cruise industry question why it took so long.

The end of restrictions allowed Carnival Australia's Pacific Explorer cruise ship to dock in Auckland with about 2,000 passengers and crew Friday morning as part of a 12-day return trip to Fiji that left from Sydney.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's another step in the reopening of our borders and a step closer to resuming business as usual."

Nash said it would take some time for international tourist numbers and revenue to return to their pre-pandemic levels, when the industry accounted for about 20% of New Zealand's foreign income and more than 5% of GDP.

"I think there's been many people in the tourism sector who have done it hard over the last two years," Nash said. "But we've always taken an approach where we need to ensure that we get the health response right. Because if we don't, we know the consequences are dire."

Not everybody is happy with the return of tourists. A sailboat carrying protesters upset about the industry's impact on the environment followed the Pacific Explorer into the harbor Friday, before passengers were greeted with an Indigenous Maori welcome and a visit by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Nash said the pause in tourism had given the nation a chance to reset its priorities. One of those was to go after what he described as wealthier "high quality" tourists who would stay longer and have a story to tell when they returned home.

"We are not targeting the guys that come over and put up on Facebook, 'Hey, travel around New Zealand on $10 a day living on 2-minute noodles,"' Nash said.

He said another goal was to move away from the perception that people working in the industry would be subject to long hours and low wages, and to make it a more rewarding and aspirational career.

Nash said that with airline tickets more expensive and travellers more risk-averse than before the pandemic, tourism numbers could remain subdued for a while, but he thought the industry would eventually make a strong comeback.

"I see markets like the United States being a really important market for New Zealand," he said. "There's been US$2 trillion saved in the States over and above that which would have been saved if it hadn't been for COVID. So, there's a little bit of money floating around."

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Entertainment

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New Zealand welcomes back first cruise ship since COVID hit

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand on Friday welcomed the first cruise ship to return since the coronavirus pandemic began, signaling a long-sought return to normalcy for the nation's tourism industry.

New Zealand closed its borders in early 2020 as it sought at first to eliminate COVID-19 entirely and then later to control its spread. Although the country reopened its borders to most tourists arriving by plane in May, it wasn't until two weeks ago that it lifted all remaining restrictions, including those on maritime arrivals.

Many in the cruise industry question why it took so long.

The end of restrictions allowed Carnival Australia's Pacific Explorer cruise ship to dock in Auckland with about 2,000 passengers and crew Friday morning as part of a 12-day return trip to Fiji that left from Sydney.

“Amazing, isn't it?” Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Its another step in the reopening of our borders and a step closer to resuming business as usual.”

Nash said it would take some time for international tourist numbers and revenue to return to their pre-pandemic levels, when the industry accounted for about 20% of New Zealand’s foreign income and more than 5% of GDP.

“I think there's been many people in the tourism sector who have done it hard over the last two years,” Nash said. “But we've always taken an approach where we need to ensure that we get the health response right. Because if we don't, we know the consequences are dire.”

Not everybody is happy with the return of tourists. A sailboat carrying protesters upset about the industry's impact on the environment followed the Pacific Explorer into the harbor Friday, before passengers were greeted with an Indigenous Māori welcome and a visit by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Nash said the pause in tourism had given the nation a chance to reset its priorities. One of those was to go after what he described as wealthier “high quality” tourists who would stay longer and have a story to tell when they returned home.

“We are not targeting the guys that come over and put up on Facebook, ‘Hey, travel around New Zealand on $10 a day living on 2-minute noodles,’” Nash said.

He said another goal was to move away from the perception that people working in the industry would be subject to long hours and low wages, and to make it a more rewarding and aspirational career.

Nash said that with airline tickets more expensive and travelers more risk-averse than before the pandemic, tourism numbers could remain subdued for a while, but he thought the industry would eventually make a strong comeback.

“I see markets like the United States being a really important market for New Zealand,” he said. “There's been $2 trillion saved in the States over and above that which would have been saved if it hadn't been for COVID. So, there's a little bit of money floating around.”

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More than 130 covid-19 cases on one of first cruise ships to return to new zealand.

The cruise ship 'Ovation of the Seas' (file photo) Photo: Ingo Wagner / DPA / AFP

More than 130 passengers and crew on the first cruise ship to arrive in the country in two years have tested positive for Covid-19 .

Positive cases aboard the Ovation of the Seas cruise liner were confirmed earlier today. The ship carries almost 5000 passengers and 1300 crew.

Ovation of the Seas sailed in to Napier from Tahiti, it arrived in Wellington on Tuesday morning and from there will go to Picton, then Sydney.

Te Whatu Ora have confirmed this evening there are currently 129 passengers and two crew members reported as current Covid cases aboard the ship as of early this afternoon.

Medical Officer of Health Dr Jill McKenzie said there were only three new cases reported over the past 24 hours.

In a statement earlier, National Public Health Service medical officer of health in Hawke's Bay Bridget Wilson said authorities had been told about the Covid-19 cases and were confident requirements were being followed.

Royal Caribbean operates the ship and in a statement, said positive cases had to isolate in their cabin for five days and if they still had symptoms, on days six and seven.

All guests aged 12 and over cruising to New Zealand had to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and return a negative Covid-19 test result before sailing.

Covid-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall said even though there was a risk of community transmission from cruise ships, she believed the balance was right.

There was always a risk of Covid entering the country via either cruise ships or air travel when the country's borders were open, she said.

But a highly vaccinated population meant open borders did not pose the even higher risk that it did previously, she said.

Copyright © 2022 , Radio New Zealand

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First cruise ship since beginning of pandemic arrives in New Zealand

The P&O Pacific Explorer has docked in at Queens Wharf in Auckland from Sydney, the first ship here in nearly two and a half years. Audio

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our fleet is growing!

TWO NEW STARS ON THE HORIZON

Windstar Cruises is excited to announce that we’re expanding our fleet with not one, but TWO new all-suite Star Class ships. Coming Dec. 2025, Star Seeker will be our first-ever Star Class new build, followed by Star Explorer in Dec. 2026. Serving 224 guests, each ship will feature 112 suites with full private verandas and infinity windows. They’ll also come with two new Owner’s suites with wrap-around balconies, perfect for evening cocktails or a private dinner.

Each ship will include a Watersports platform, a cozy Yacht Club café and lounge, and a two-story spa and fitness facility, among other amenities. Plus, both ships will have ice-strengthened hulls, unlocking access to new destinations. Windstar Cruises is poised for remarkable growth and an exciting future ahead. We’re excited about the possibilities this opens up for our officers, crew, staff and especially our guests. Here’s to a future of sailing 180 degrees from ordinary!

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Cruise demand leaves pandemic in rearview with record passengers, more construction on tap

M IAMI BEACH — The COVID pandemic drove the cruise industry to a standstill, but numbers released Tuesday signal the years of comeback are officially over with more expansion on tap.

More than 31.7 million passengers took cruises worldwide in 2023, said Kelly Craighead, Cruise Line International Association president and CEO, speaking at the annual Seatrade Cruise Global conference at Miami Beach Convention Center.

CLIA is the lobbying group for member cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Disney Cruise Line, Carnival, Norwegian, MSC and most other major brands.

The pandemic shut down sailing from March 2020 with only a small number of ships coming back online 18 months later in summer 2021. Cruise lines didn’t return to full strength until partially through 2022, so it wasn’t until a full year of sailing in 2023 that the industry could get a real handle on just what the demand had grown to as people returned to vacation travel.

“We are an industry that’s resilient and thriving all around the world, breaking records in ways we might never have imagined,” she said.

The 2023 total is 2 million more than the industry had in 2019. CLIA projects 34.1 million in 2024 growing to 34.6 million in 2025. It’s still a miniscule chunk of the overall travel pie of more than 1.3 billion, but cruise’s share is growing.

She noted that surveys of travelers who would consider a cruise for a vacation are at an all-time high, noting that 82% who had previously cruised said they would cruise again, but more importantly, among those who had never sailed, 71% would consider it.

The youngest generations — Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z — are the biggest drivers.

The fleet for the growing demand continues as well, including the introduction this year of the world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas.

She said CLIA member lines had more than 300 ships sailing globally for the first time in 2023, with 14 new ships that began sailing in 2023 and another eight expected before the end of the year. They have 88 new ships on order through 2028.

Already this year, both Royal Caribbean Group and Carnival Corp. announced major new ship construction deals, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings added to that this week with its order of eight more vessels across its three brands.

The heads of those groups were on stage to discuss where the industry is headed and enjoy their recent success.

Carnival Corp.’s president and CEO Josh Weinstein put it in a way that gained plaudits from fellow panelists and others at the conference.

“The concept of pent-up demand for cruising is gone,” he said. “We have been cruising for three years, right? It’s over. This is natural demand because we all provide amazing experiences. We delivered happiness to literally 31 million guests last year. And people see it, they feel it.”

A big part of what cruising missed during the pandemic he said was that word-of-mouth promotion that is needed to convince people to try their product.

“We now have 31 million people getting off our ships and going home and telling their friends and family who have never cruised before, ‘You don’t know what you’re missing.’ ‘This is amazing.'”

All of the leaders echoed the industry line that they offer a much better value than land-based vacations, but that the experience gap between the two has now shifted in their favor coming out of the pandemic.

“The appreciation for building memories with your friends and family coming out of COVID is at extraordinarily high levels,” said Jason Liberty, president & CEO at Royal Caribbean Group. “Also wealth transfer, right? Grandparents wanting to see that wealth transfer live, watching their kids and their grandkids experience that is also at an all-time high. … We have the secular trends of people buying less stuff, they want experiences. We’re in the experience business.”

Another bright aspect to the industry has been the spillover effect of all of the new ships since the pandemic, said Harry Sommer, president & CEO at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

“Their new products are so extraordinary, and so much better than what was delivered back in ’15, ’16 and ’17, that it’s driving additional excitement for the entire industry,” Somer said. “When any new ship is delivered, no matter whether it’s part of our portfolio or the other portfolios, demand improves for all of us because it adds excitement to the industry.”

©2024 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

A group of cruise passengers stranded off the coast of Africa spent 6 days chasing the ship to get back on

• Eight passengers chased their cruise ship around Africa for six days.
• Norwegian Cruise Line confirmed the passengers re-embarked in Senegal on Tuesday.
• They were stranded in São Tomé and Príncipe and missed a chance to re-embark in Gambia.

A group of passengers left stranded on a small African island after missing a boarding deadline finally managed to rejoin their cruise ship on Tuesday after chasing it for almost a week.

On March 27 a private tour overran, causing eight passengers to miss the Norwegian Dawn's 3 p.m. all-aboard time by over an hour, a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line confirmed via email to Business Insider.

The passengers found themselves stuck on São Tomé and Príncipe , an island nation of some 220,000 people off West Africa, in what the cruise line called a "very unfortunate situation."

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Despite the efforts of São Tomé and Príncipe Coast Guard to ferry the passengers to the ship in tender boats, the group was unable to reboard and had to turn back to land, according to the ABC affiliate WPDE.

The first attempt to get the guests back on the ship occurred on Monday, when they hoped to re-embark at a port in Banjul, Gambia, some 1,800 miles from São Tomé and Príncipe.

However, "adverse weather conditions, as well as tidal restrictions" meant that the ship could not dock safely, a spokesperson for the cruise line said.

As a result, the guests had to chase the ship to Dakar, Senegal — a distance of some 100 miles further — for another attempt to re-embark on Tuesday.

Norwegian said it helped the passengers by facilitating their visas, and would pay them back for the trip from Gambia to Senegal.

Jill Campbell, one of the passengers, told NBC News that she and her husband traveled through seven countries in 48 hours to catch up with the ship.

It wasn't clear exactly what route they took.

The couple had considered not rejoining the ship, believing that Norwegian Cruise Line had fallen short in a '"basic duty of care," Campbell told NBC News.

But, six days after being left behind in São Tomé and Príncipe, the cruise line confirmed the eight passengers, including the Campbells, finally re-embarked in Senegal on Tuesday.

Watch: Stowaways survive 14 days at sea clinging to a ship rudder

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Fjords, Pharaohs or Koalas? Time to Plan for Your Next Eclipse.

If you can’t get enough of totality, or missed out this time, you’ll have three more chances in the next four years in destinations like Iceland, Spain, Egypt and Australia.

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By Danielle Dowling

Are you still a little giddy from the magical moments of totality during Monday’s solar eclipse? Or did clouds swoop in to block your view? Maybe you just couldn’t make it to the path of totality this time. No matter what, the question now is “ Where and when will it happen again?”

“People who have never seen it before, the first words out of their mouth after the totality ends is ‘I’ve got to see another one, this is incredible, this is unbelievable.’ That is when you become addicted to these things and end up traveling no matter where the next one is,” said Joseph Rao, an eclipse chaser and guest lecturer at the Hayden Planetarium.

So, if like Mr. Rao, you’ve developed a raging case of umbraphilia — the love of eclipses — you’ll have three chances over the next four years to see the moon blot out the sun. The first, on Aug. 12, 2026, will start above Greenland, then strafe the west coast of Iceland and move along the Atlantic Ocean and over Spain. Almost a year later, on Aug. 2, 2027, another will skirt the Mediterranean coast of North Africa then cross Egypt and part of the Arabian Peninsula. The third, on July 22, 2028, will cut across Australia and the southern tip of New Zealand.

Future Eclipses

Eclipse chasers will have several more chances this decade to view a total solar eclipse .

Last week, as Victoria Sahami , the owner of Sirius Travel , was preparing to guide a group of tourists in Mazatlán, Mexico, for Monday’s big event, she was also planning for these other upcoming eclipses. Ms. Sahami joined the ranks of the eclipse-obsessed when she witnessed one in Venezuela in the 1990s. “Like many people, I was hooked. There was no going back,” she said.

Total solar eclipses happen fairly regularly — about every one to two years — in locations scattered around the world. “That’s the great thing about them: You wind up in places that you don’t normally go,” Ms. Sahami said.

A major spoiler is weather, which will be a big variable in the 2026 eclipse — one Greenland, Iceland and Spain will see.

“Iceland normally has a lot of cloud during that time of year,” said Paul Maley , who runs Ring of Fire Expeditions . “The data shows Spain to have the higher good-weather prospects of all three. However, the sun is low in the sky and the eclipse ends as the sun hits the horizon at sunset.”

Because of Iceland’s mercurial meteorology, Ring of Fire Expeditions is going all in on Spain, with a 10-day excursion on the mainland. Sirius Travel is offering not only a five-day trip to Majorca but also an eight-day tour around Iceland. It will be based in Reykjavik, and the itinerary will remain flexible on the day of the eclipse so the tour can easily pivot toward the location with the least cloud cover. Ms. Sahami recommends the trip for those who already have a few eclipses under their belt and would be happy just to take in the sights of Iceland if the weather doesn’t cooperate.

The 2027 eclipse, on the other hand, promises to be truly stellar: Luxor, Egypt — the site of numerous ancient temples as well as the Valleys of the Kings and Queens — sits right in the middle of the path of totality and will be bathed in darkness for a full 6 minutes 23 seconds. Weather-wise, it is what Ms. Sahami called “a slam dunk.” “You know you’re going to see it. You know that you’re not going to get any clouds,” she said.

But for all its potential, those considering Egypt should be aware that the State Department has a Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” warning for the country because of the risk of terrorism.

The 2028 eclipse will darken the skies over Sydney, Australia, for 3 minutes 49 seconds. It will be the first time the city has experienced a total solar eclipse since 1857. Ms. Sahami has her eyes on a trip based out of there, while Mr. Maley has chartered a cruise ship off the northwest coast of Australia. It will be winter there, he said, but that isn’t likely to mean bad eclipse-viewing weather.

If you want to see any (or all) of these eclipses, you should get started on planning and booking now, particularly if you want to sign up for a trip organized by a tour company. One of Sirius Travel’s excursions to Luxor is already full.

Scrutinize refund policies and look into insuring your trip. Several companies will fully refund your deposit if you cancel a year in advance. A lot can happen, Ms. Sahami said, “but if you think you’re going to go, why not?”

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024 .