Paramount Cruises reroutes group's Australia Grand Prix flights to save booking

Paramount Cruises has been forced to reorganise flights to Australia through the US for a group of 20 clients as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The group was booked with the specialist cruise agency on a “bucket-list holiday” to Melbourne to see the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday, March 8, combined with a cruise and tour of the country, with flights originally routed through Dubai.

Head of operations Leah Whitton told Travel Weekly that the team took the decision “to act early rather than wait for cancellations to happen” as a result of ongoing airspace closures and Middle East carriers grounding services.

She said: “Although their flights had not yet been cancelled, our operations team proactively contacted every guest to advise that we recommended re-routing their packages via the United States in order to keep their holidays live and protect their travel plans.

“We immediately checked whether each guest already held a valid Esta. For those who did not, we asked them to apply straight away and confirmed that we would cover the cost to ensure there were no financial barriers to keeping their trip on track.”

Whitton said the guests had been “looking forward to this trip for months” and it was therefore “incredibly important to us that we did everything possible to safeguard it”.

“They have been hugely appreciative that we moved quickly and decisively, allowing them to focus on the excitement of the Grand Prix and their wider Australian adventure rather than worrying about disruption,” she added.

The whole group has now been “successfully re-protected” and they are due to depart this week on a trip which includes a five-night stay in Melbourne, Grandstand tickets for the Formula 1 weekend, domestic Australian flights, an eight-night Princess East Coast cruise and a three-night hotel stay in Sydney.