- This ship is carrying only Australian residents as of now, most of them from Queensland
- The cruise has been approved by all Australian state and territory governments
- It’ll be a week-long sail to remote reefs and isles within the Great Barrier Reef
THD NewsDesk, Australia: This week, the first Coral Expeditions cruise with its yacht-like Coral Discoverer, has set sail for Outerknown Adventures of the Great Barrier Reef. This will be a week-long sailing to remote reefs and isles within the Great Barrier Reef, which is the world’s largest and relatively well-protected reef system.
46 passengers and 20 crew members are aboard the Coral Discoverer that departed from Cairns, on the 14th of October. This ship is carrying only Australian residents as of now and mostly the citizens of Queensland.
The sailing itinerary includes Australia’s Cooktown, Lizard Island, Osprey Reef, Ribbon Reef, Daintree River and Mackay Reed, Fitzroy Island and Sudbury Cay. The cruise will conclude on the 21st of October.
Joel Katz, the managing director of CLIA Australasia, was quoted saying, “Coral Discoverer’s first departure shows how a carefully controlled operation with strict health protocols in place can help revive tourism in Queensland and Australia, while at the same time keeping a focus on safety as the highest priority.” Katz also added that this is “an important step forward for Australian tourism.”
This cruise has been approved by all Australian state and territory governments. Further, it is in line with rigorous safety principles that create a “travel bubble” for guests and the crew on board. Key features include pre-boarding screening, an onboard mitigation process and authorized response control. Coral Expeditions had also partnered up with medical expert Dr. Ian Norton, from Respond Global to curate the line’s “SailSAFE Plan.”
In a statement, Mark Fifield, the group general manager of Coral Expeditions, said that the commencement of cruising is a “major milestone” and “we hope that our successful return to operations gives confidence to travelers and authorities that small-ship expedition cruising with a local Australian operator is a logical and prudent point of a restart for the marine expedition industry.”
As per the press release, there was a “palpable level of excitement” on board and guests were “overwhelmingly positive”, pertaining to the new health and safety procedures in place.
