Arrivals & Departures Weekly Travel News & Views 22 April 2025

SOLO SOJOURNS

Barely a day goes by without a reader raising the subject of solo travel, and their annoyance at “single supplement” being charged. And let me pause straightaway to point out that this is not necessarily travel for people who are single. A lot of solo travellers have partners but are choosing to travel alone, or solo but in a group of friends. Far be it from me to make a sweeping statement (I’m just the reporter here), but I’ll quote a phrase often used to me — “I’m leaving the grumpy husband at home”.

NO EXTRA COST

The vast majority (perhaps as high as 85 per cent) of Ponant’s cruises have “free solo supplement” cabins. In other words, there’s no single supplement. And, in fact, as I write this, I easily search its website and find 206 cruises with their free solo supplement, and the statement: “Travelling alone? Enjoy the comfort of a double cabin at no extra cost with our Free Single Supplement.” The cruises included are year-round, to a huge range of destinations. au.ponant.com/offers/free-solo-supplement

It is also worth mentioning that when cruises are released for sale, they generally start with a 30 per cent discount. The voyage is then “yield managed” — which means the price later bookers will pay will generally be more. There are no last-minute offers. The earlier bookings will always be cheaper.

ALL ROUND THE ICE

And finally on this cruise line, with its distinctly French flavour, is the announcement that Ponant Explorations is planning what the team there is calling a world first for a cruise ship with its luxury icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot. It will complete a full circumnavigation of Antarctica between January and March 2028. That’s a voyage of nearly 18,000km. The world’s only luxury icebreaker powered by liquefied natural gas sets sail from Ushuaia at the southern tip of South America, aiming to reach Hobart in Tasmania 30 days later. After a two-day stopover, it will continue the circumnavigation, aiming to be back in Ushuaia 34 days later. ponant.com

EARTH DAY STARS

To celebrate the 55th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2025, 192 countries and more than a billion people will take part in events. There will be a lot of river, beach and park clean-ups going on. This year’s theme is “Our Power, Our Planet” inviting the world to rally behind renewable and clean energy. Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, is aiming to become the world’s first carbon-neutral capital by the end of this year. As part of that, it heavily promotes cycling — around half of commutes in Copenhagen are now by bicycle.The country aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, with a stepping-stone target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels.

ETA ISSUES

Every day, I have been receiving emails from readers about the UK ETA. This is the mandatory electronic travel authorisation that Australian passport holders need to apply for before they travel there.

Reader Ross Taylor is heading to the UK and says: “I may not be admitted though because, like so many people, I just can’t get my ETA. For five days now, halfway through the process it seizes up saying: ‘This app has a problem. Please check later’. There are literally hundreds of people online desperately trying to get this ETA. I have no idea if I will eventually get my ETA or will have to drop the UK from my itinerary, as silly as it sounds.” And then Ross contacted me again: “I just worked it out. I swapped phones, from my Samsung to my wife’s iPhone. Worked first try. So it seems that the UK ETA app program doesn’t like certain phones.”

WHITE HOUSE BLOCK

To tour the White House in Washington DC, you have to be a US citizen (and they have to book tours through their member of Congress). It will come as a disappointment to some readers who are travelling to the US and have asked about this. Some websites say Australians should contact the Australian embassy to book tours but this is incorrect.

WORLD VIEW

Cruising holidaymakers who see US troops along the Panama Canal shouldn’t worry. It’s just Donald Trump’s soldiers, which have been deployed there for training exercises and “other activities”. Authorities in Panama have agreed to a new arrangement allowing more US presence but stopping just short of letting the US build bases there.

I was interested to see French Culture Minister Rachida Dati visiting the disputed Western Sahara this week — symbolising French support for Moroccan sovereignty over the desert region. Both Morocco and Algeria lay claim to the former Spanish colony but more than 100 countries back Morocco’s 2007 Autonomy Plan as the basis for resolving the decades-long dispute.

I have written before that Ecuador should be pretty much “the perfect country to visit” — with the Amazon, the Andes and the Galapagos Islands. But it also serves as a good reminder that the destinations in travel pages are also just the countries in world news pages. Ecuador has been choosing its next president as drug violence undermines its economy. There is unprecedented drug cartel violence in the country, with reports of a significant increase in the amount of Colombian cocaine being produced, and the attractiveness of Ecuadorian ports for shipping the drug. In some months recently, Ecuador has been averaging a murder an hour.

BALI’S BIG CLAIMS

While travellers to Bali make medical treatment claims to Southern Cross Travel Insurance for monkey bites and reef cuts, most are for Bali belly (gastro). SCTI reports a 79 per cent increase in claims for this in January 2025 compared to last year. The average payout is more than $1000.

Scooter and moped-related accidents are also quite common and there has been an increase in bags and phones being snatched by scooter riders.

The most expensive claim by a traveller to Bali in 2024 was for a young person experiencing seizures who needed an air ambulance home, at a cost of about $232,000.

VISA ON ARRIVAL

Travellers to Bali have been having tech problems, too, as they try to apply and pay for a Visa on Arrival online. The e-VOA is a single-entry visa which is valid for 30 days. You can apply up to 14 days before arrival and not less than 48 hours before your flight lands in Bali. There are lots of odd websites out there but the Smartraveller website points travellers to the correct one — evisa.imigrasi.go.id/

MANILA FLIGHTS

Jetstar will fly direct three times a week between Perth to Manila from November 27. The Smartraveller warning for the Philippines is to exercise a high degree of caution.

SINGAPORE ON SONG

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has been named Roy Morgan Research 2024 International Airline of the Year for the fifth time at the annual customer satisfaction awards. It was recognised as the best international airline for customer satisfaction. Congratulations to our friends there.