Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) Australia has announced that the Premier of Western Australia has reversed prior approval for passengers onboard Vasco da Gama to disembark in Fremantle on Friday 27 March 2020.
“On behalf of CMV, we would like to express our disappointment that the WA Premier did not inform us of this decision before sharing this news with the public, and that we were unable to inform our passengers before it appeared in media reports,” said CMV Australia managing director, Dean Brazier.
“At this stage, we have been advised that all passengers with an Australian residency, will be transported to Rottnest Island to spend 14 days in self-isolation before being allowed to continue with their onwards journey. At this time, passengers with an international residency will need to remain onboard Vasco da Gama until they can travel directly to their country of residence.
“We are in the process of confirming details of the WA Premier’s decision, and the CMV team are working with the state and federal Australian Government, including Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and Australian Border Force (ABF), as well as Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) to resolve this.
“As CMV were not informed of this decision in advance, we are only now beginning to notify passengers and their travel agents. We have followed all protocols to ensure a smooth arrival of Vasco da Gama into Fremantle, and have recorded no health issues with our guests who are on board. When they arrive, our guests will have been at sea for 13 days straight without disembarking the ship or being in contact with anyone who was not a guest or crew member of CMV, and we are disappointed that they will now have to wait a further 14 days until they can return home. We thank our guests and crew for their patience during this time, as we know this will be incredibly disheartening for them.
We are currently working to confirm further information from the WA Premier and State Government.”
IMAGE: Vasco da Gama
