Important Travel Update For Travellers to Australia – Other Cruise News: Queen Elizabeth To Sail Southampton to Singapore – Singapore Considers Loosening Some of its Travel Bans
by Kevin Griffin
Three related stories this week. Australia has finally announced the softening of some of its travel bans, Cunard plans a special sailing from Southampton to Singapore by the Queen Elizabeth, and Singapore considers loosening some of its own travel bans.
THIS WEEK’S STORY
Australia – Important Travel Update Travellers to Australia
“Australia’s borders to reopen in November after 18 month closure.”
In a hugely anticipated press briefing (on 1st October), Australian Prime Minister-Scott Morrison announced the long-awaited travel rule change.
Carnival Legend at Sydney – April 2018 (Photo credit: James Morgan)
From November, double-vaccinated Australian nationals and permanent residents will e given the freedom to travel again – even though they will still be required to quarantine for 7 days at home on their return and people who are not double-vaccinated will have to spend 2 weeks in a quarantine hotel.
After living under some of the world’s strictest border controls since the pandemic struck in March 2020, Australians will now be able to travel abroad once their state has fully vaccinated 80% of its residents.
Australia is also working towards quarantine-free travel for passengers arriving from certain countries such as New Zealand, but only “when it’s safe to do so.”
The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration has also now recognised two other vaccines for incoming passengers : Sinovac and Covid Shield, which are being administered by China and India, respectively.
Queen Elizabeth To Sail Southampton to Singapore
Queen Elizabeth at Southampton (Image Steve Dunlop, courtesy Cunard Line)
In light of the latest news from Australia and New Zealand and the cancellation of most of this year’s world cruises, agents such as The Cruise People are now offering its clients a connecting sailing from from Southampton to Singapore by Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth on 20th February 2022.
Connections need to be added between Singapore and Australia and New Zealand. The Queen Elizabeth will take 32 days to sail from Southampton to Singapore.
The Queen Elizabeth will sail from Southampton for Cadiz (23 Feb); Piraeus (27 Feb); Suez Canal (02 Mar); Aqaba (03 Mar); Muscat (09 Mar); Dubai (11 Mar (+1)); Colombo (17 Mar); Langkawi (21 Mar); Port Kelang (22 Mar); Singapore (23 Mar (+1) disembark) and continuation by other means to Australia.
Singapore Considers Loosening Travel Bans
Singapore is considering more vaccinated travel routes after opening up to the U.S. and other key trading partners. Transport Minister S Iswaran has recently said that Singapore is keen to work with regional neighbours such as Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
“Certainly, Australia is a very important partner country for us. And there’s a great deal of connectivity between Australia and Singapore, and through Singapore to other parts of the world as well,” Iswaran said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
Majestic Princess at Singapore, September 2018
“So we are quite keen to work with Australia, with New Zealand, with Japan and many other countries in the region, in terms of how we can move forward in this regard.”
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is pushing on with a strategy of living with Covid-19 without being paralysed by fear, saying in a televised address Saturday that the nation can’t stay “locked down and closed off indefinitely.”
Singapore has added more countries, including the US, the UK, France and Italy, to its list of places fully-vaccinated people can travel quarantine-free starting as early as Oct. 19, after kicking off a similar arrangement with Germany and Brunei last month.
(Kevin Griffin is managing director of The Cruise People Ltd in London, England. For further information concerning cruises mentioned in this article readers can visit his blog)
