Expedition cruise restart plan unveiled

PROPOSED protocols for the relaunch of expedition cruising in Australia have been revealed by the Australian Chamber - Tourism’s Tourism Restart Taskforce, as part of an overall plan to get tourism and travel restarted.

The report, released on Sat, notes the wide ranging impact of the border shutdowns on the cruise sector, including on other parts of the tourism industry such as shore excursions, transfers, day tours and more.

The timetable previously released by the Taskforce (CW

27 May) envisions domestic expedition cruising starting as soon as this month, “irrespective of whether the vessel is Australian or foreign-owned and flagged” with draft risk mitigation measures including limiting public areas on board, such as restaurants and theatres to 50% of normal capacity.

“Although this is not sustainable from a business perspective in the longer term, it will provide an effective and safe first step for these important tourism businesses,” the draft suggests.

There would be no limit on guests, provided there is just one household per cabin, but there would be no buffet services and enforcement of 1.5m social distancing on board.

Operators would commit to “greatly enhanced systemic cleaning processes” including twice daily stateroom cleaning, hourly cleaning for regularly used items and at each stopover for transfer craft.

Vessels would provide 100% ventilation of fresh, nonreticulated air to staterooms, and air systems would incorporate UV sterilisation and microfiltration.

The proposals would include onboard medical services and the availability of isolation suites.

Prior to departure all luggage and goods would be disinfected through misting or UV lights, and all food items would be loaded under COVID-Safe conditions.

Passengers undertaking offshore activities would be limited to six guests per open-air zodiacs, and temperature screening and disinfecting would be implemented for all passengers and crew on their return.

The plan envisages best practice bathroom guidelines, similar to the rest of the hospitality sector, including hourly cleaning of all surfaces, hand towel bins next to doors, the availability of hand sanitiser and handwashing and COVID Safety signage.

All staff would be trained in COVID safety, and be required to stay at home if symptomatic in any way.