Nine’s ACA slams cruising again

CARNIVAL Australia has staunchly defended the cruise industry in a response to another highly critical story on Channel 9’s A Current Affair (ACA) last night which questioned the sale of trips departing from Australian ports within the next 10 weeks despite the current Gov’t cruise ban.

A Current Affair continued its ongoing anti-cruise rhetoric with a dramatic segment warning of the COVID-19 dangers of ocean cruising, with the sensationalised report highly critical of moves to relaunch the industry.

It featured an appearance by Honorary Professor Ross Dowling from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia who suggested that “most people won’t want to cruise until there is a vaccine”.

Dowling’s involvement in the show has been described as “unfortunate” by a number of

Cruise Weekly readers, given that he is also chairman of industry body Cruise Western Australia which has been instrumental in helping build the WA cruise sector.

The report highlighted the first local post-coronavirus departures currently being advertised as departing from multiple ports, including a voyage from Melbourne in the first week of Nov and other cruises to Fiji and New Zealand in Oct.

A Current Affair’s reporter Brady Halls - who also conducted the brutal final interview of former Australian Federation of Travel Agents Chief Executive Officer Jayson Westbury prior to his departure in May - said “experts in the industry are surprised at how soon these cruises have planned to set sail and believe that no one should be thinking of going on a cruise anytime soon”.

Despite the overall dramatic tone, the ACA story wasn’t all negative, with a number of avid cruisers interviewed about their enthusiasm for returning to the sea and expressing confidence that the protocols expected to be implemented by cruise companies will keep passengers safe in the COVID-19 era.

As the segment closed, ACA host Tracy Grimshaw made reference to a Carnival Australia statement on the Nine website.

The statement notes that it is well known - particularly to the cruising community - that cruise lines have a rolling pause in place.

“Bookings on future cruises are possible with the most favourable arrangements possible for consumers,” Carnival said.

“Our cruise lines know that the positive sentiment for the return of cruising remains strong for when it is safe to do so, and this is reflected by the willingness to book cruise holidays.”