Travel agents say now is the time to book a cruise. But is it safe? – Stuff

If youve been dreaming of that long-awaited cruise, travel agents are advising to book now or risk missing out to the rest of the holiday-hungry world.

That message was reinforced by an Oceania world cruise for 2024 selling out in just 30 minutes this week, setting the fastest single-day booking record in the companys history.

But health experts say until there is a vaccine that is more effective against Omicron and any new variants that emerge, cruise ships remain an inherently risky environment.

Oceania

Oceanias 2024 Around the World in 180 Days voyage, which includes stops in New Zealand, sold out in 30 minutes.

Pre-Covid, Kiwis were keen cruisers, with 106,300 New Zealanders taking an ocean cruise in 2019, according to figures from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

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The major travel agencies say customers have been continuing to book cruise holidays throughout the pandemic, with cruise lines opening bookings as far out as two years in advance.

Flight Centre general manager of product Victoria Courtney said they had seen a boost in cruise bookings in November, in line with the Governments first border reopening announcement.

While the Australian market was now starting to get close to pre-Covid levels, in New Zealand, cruise bookings were still just under half of what they had been.

Ricky Wilson/Stuff

The future of visits by giant cruise ships like Ovation of the Seas to Auckland remains unknown.

Kiwis were likely more cautious due to New Zealand being in the middle of its Omicron outbreak, but the hesitancy would also be due to uncertainty around when cruising would be able to resume in New Zealand and Australian waters.

Thats going to be critical for Kiwis to get that information, because they love that close-to-home cruising, and these are the kinds of cruises that are booked a couple of months out from sailing, Courtney said.

In 2019, Kiwis taking domestic sailings around New Zealand presented 21 per cent of cruisers, with 12 per cent taking a cruise in Australia, according to the CLIAs figures. The average cruise duration was 9.6 days.

But House of Travel general manager of cruise Jeff Leckey said they were now seeing much more demand for months-long world cruises and even back-to-back cruises, where a traveller does two consecutive voyages.

Customers have been waiting a long time to get back out and see the world, he said.

I think theyre of the mind that when I go, Im going to make this an epic journey.

Marta Lavandier/AP

Avid cruisers check into the first cruise to leave a US port since the pandemic began, in June 2021.

Leckey said they were seeing new to cruise customers as well as repeat cruisers, as for many, being able to visit multiple destinations without having to deal with all the border requirements was a more attractive option than travelling independently.

From the perspective of the traveller, the cruise holiday is a much more seamless, easy experience in the new world we live in.

Both Courtney and Leckey agreed Kiwis wanting their pick of the cruises for 2023 and even into 2024 should be looking at booking now, as they would be competing with travellers all over the world.

You dont want to miss out to those pesky Americans and Europeans who have been booking for quite a while, Courtney said.

Worldwide, none of us travelled for two years everybody now is desperate to travel and doing some big trips that were postponed.

But there are signs many Kiwis remain hesitant about cruising due to the risk posed by Covid-19.

Stuff Travels international travel survey asked whether the pandemic had changed their views on cruise travel. Early results suggest nearly 50 per cent say yes, while 16 per cent were unsure.

Asked to share how their views had changed, a common theme was that cruising did not seem safe.

There is no way I'd go on a cruise now after the horror stories of cruises being stuck at sea in 2022, one respondent said.

They just seem like floating germ factories to me. Yuck.

Another said: I had a cruise booked for August 2020 (my honeymoon) and was SO excited. Now, I can't think of anything worse than being on a floating petri dish.

While cruises were battling their floating petri dish reputation long before the pandemic, with norovirus outbreaks frequently hitting headlines, a number of high-profile Covid-19 outbreaks onboard have served to reinforce it.

Carl Court/Getty Images

Japanese soldiers and emergency workers in protective clothing walk from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

In response, the cruise industry says it has implemented extensive new health protocols, including testing and vaccination requirements for passengers and crew, as well as protocols covering sanitation, ventilation, health monitoring and response procedures.

Developed with the help of leading medical experts internationally, these measures are among the most comprehensive to be found anywhere in the travel industry and are designed to uphold health and safety as the highest priority, a CLIA spokesperson said.

More than eight million passengers have sailed successfully under the industrys new health measures in more than 80 countries where cruising has already resumed, including in the UK and Europe, the US and Caribbean, and in parts of Asia.

But Omicron has presented new challenges for the cruise industry. In late December, as the variant surged in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised people against going on cruises, regardless of their vaccination status, after 5000 cases were reported onboard between December 15 and 29.

It has since lowered its warning to the second-highest level, saying the risk remains high and those who are not up-to-date with their vaccines or those who are at an increased risk of severe illness from Covid-19 should avoid travel.

University of Otago public health professor Nick Wilson said the inherent problem with cruise ships was they were a high-density environment, with thousands of people onboard for a long period of time.

Omicron was one of the most infectious diseases the world has seen, he said. Vaccines and testing are not perfect, and until they are, there was no way to completely eliminate the chance of Covid-19 getting onboard.

They can improve the ventilation, they can require masks, they can test everyone, they can require vaccine passes, he said.

But given the thousands of people, you just need that tiny risk to remain and you have an outbreak.

Wilson said as cruise passengers tended to be older, they would also be at higher risk of severe illness or death. According to the CLIA, the average age of cruise passengers from New Zealand in 2019 was 52.

iStock

Older passengers are at higher risk of severe illness or death from Covid-19.

There is no way Id go on a cruise ship, and if my dad wanted to go on a cruise ship, I would say it would be absolutely reckless. Youre really taking a very high risk.

Travel medicine practitioner Dr Jenny Visser, who is also based at the University of Otago, recommended anyone looking at doing a cruise visit their GP and have a discussion about what the risk is to them.

While it might be alright for a fit and healthy 25-year-old whos triple-vaccinated to go, its very different for a 75-year-old with hypertension and diabetes, she said.

The consequences of getting the disease are so much higher.

People should research what health services would be available on the ship some have very sophisticated hospitals, others might have a first-aid kit the skipper administers and what the medical evacuation plan was if they or other passengers got Covid-19. They should also check what their insurance would cover.

Visser said if youre at risk of getting seriously ill, you might want to think twice before booking no matter how far in advance.

By 2024, things may well be different, she said.

But we might have an even worse strain. Who knows? We never even thought about variants two years ago.

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Travel agents say now is the time to book a cruise. But is it safe? - Stuff