Australian cruise passengers furious after promised Pacific islands trip to visit Brisbane instead

Guests due to board Choose Your Cruise’s Flashback cruise were hoping to see much more than sights close to home

New Caledonia’s Lifou Island, where Carnival Luminosa was originally due to call (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Sometimes, some of the best adventures can happen on your doorstep. But that’s not the case for passengers booked to board Choose Your Cruise’s upcoming eight-night Flashback cruise, sailing from Sydney 30 October 2024, on Carnival Luminosa.

Passengers David and Terry, and their wives Sandra and Laree, reportedly paid approximately $4,000 (£2,067) per couple – not including flights from Brisbane to Sydney – for the island-hopping Pacific cruise, which includes on-board entertainment and performances from the likes of Marcia Hines and Human Nature. The cruise promised to call at three ports in New Caledonia, including Noumea and Lifou.

However, as the couples discovered only once they’d booked, the cruise is no longer set to call at New Caledonia as promised, but instead will be taking David, Terry and other passengers 1,500km away from where they had originally expected to go.

“I booked a cruise to go to three South Sea Islands … and we’re not going to any South Sea Islands … we’re not getting to see any white sandy beaches, nothing that they advertised,” David told Australian TV programme, A Current Affair.

“We’re flying to Sydney to go up the coast of Queensland, back to Brisbane and then back to Sydney. No-one would book a trip from Brisbane to do that,” added Terry.

Passengers David and Terry with their wives Sandra and Laree (A Current Affair)

According to A Current Affair, Choose Your Cruise informed customers via email that the itinerary had changed due to “current conflicts and civil unrest in New Caledonia,” with the route changing from New Caledonia islands to Brisbane Port. The cruise is now also set to sail around – but not stop at –  Willis Island, off the coast of Cairns, so passengers can experience on-board duty-free.

Also set to board the eight-night Flashback cruise is Kylie – who lives on the Gold Coast – along with her mother and her daughter, who were looking forward to a three-generation girls’ family holiday. But one week after booking – and after having paid close to $6,000 (£3,100)– Kylie received notice of an itinerary change, informing her the eight-night cruise would now only have one stop, which would be the Port of Brisbane.

A representative from Choose Your Cruise told A Current Affair in a statement: “Due to the limited availability of ports in the South Pacific, and because we have a jam-packed entertainment schedule featuring 40 music acts – some requiring access to an airport – Brisbane was the only viable port option for this voyage, to ensure the integrity of the entertainment program.”

“We understand how much our guests were looking forward to the South Pacific itinerary and we share their disappointment that New Caledonia remains off limits for now,” Choose Your Cruise said in a statement.

“We desperately hoped for a different outcome, but sadly it wasn’t to be, and guests were informed as soon as possible.”

Brisbane “was the only viable port option for this voyage”, it added, confirming that “the nature of our contract for the charter does not allow changes to reservations, as was disclosed during the booking process.”