PACIFIC WORLD

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Sun Princess becoming Pacific World

China is preparing to launch its second domestic cruise operation with the newly acquired 'Sea Princess' of Carnival Corporation’s Princess Cruises. The handover was completed in Manila where the ship dropped anchor on Nov 13, 2020. The cruise ship sailed for Princess and briefly for P&O Cruises and had been operating mostly in Australia before being idled by the pandemic. In September, Princess Cruises announced that they were selling the ship along with her sister ship 'Sun Princess'. The Sea Princess' was taken over by Sanya International Cruise and will be renamed in 'Charming' while the 'Sun Princess' will be operated for the Japanese NGO Peace Boat starting in 2021 as the 'Pacific World'.

225 Philippinos waiting for repatriation

The repatriation of the Philippinos from the 'Sun Princess' was not going ahead as planned. A plan was developed to bring the employees back from Manila to the Philippines by ship. There now seemed to be problems with the local authorities. The cruise ship was currently off Manila but has not yet received any entry authorization from the authorities and was currently waiting for instructions. The Philippine authorities would not allow their own countrymen to disembark. 225 Filipinos were to be disembarked in Manila and to go into the mandatory quarantine in the Philippines before they can return to their homes. There was no positive case of the corona virus on board the 'Sun Princess'.

Protest against cruise ship after call in Thailand

Protesters threw rocks and bottles as they tried to kepp the 'Sun Princess' from docking in Réunion on March 1, 2020, even though there was no known coronavirus threat. The ship carrying 2,000 passengers, had already been refused entry to Madagascar because it had recently been to Thailand, which has had dozens of confirmed cases of the virus. At least 30 protesters — many hurling stones and drink containers — then met the ship when it docked in Réunion. Police eventually used tear gas to push back the protests. Many of the passengers — mostly from Australia and New Zealand — eventually made it onto the island. However, the ship left later that day after local officials said they could not guarantee passengers’ safety, next heading to Mauritius. Report with photo: https://nypost.com/2020/03/02/coronavirus-fears-fuel-violent-clashes-as-cruise-ship-docks-on-indian-ocean-island/