I've got an odd request.
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@Teaceratops This may be a very silly question, but have they talked to the British Consulate there? Repatriating stuck Brits is a large part of what the Consulate does.
@hedders @Teaceratops
My guess is that the consular will refer them back to their travel insurance company.
(They •do• have travel insurance don't they?) -
We have looked at them leaving different ports in Australia, there's a faster cruise from Perth, but it is actually impossible for them to get to Perth from where they are without a flight. So, it's got to be from a port on the east coast of Australia.
@Teaceratops So the Indian Pacific Train to Perth is a no-go?
Apparently there are cruises Darwin-Singapore or Sydney-Singapore. But these wouldn’t be super helpful as land travel across Asia from there is extremely complex.
FWIW there seem to be a number of expensive AF cruise options to the UK from SE Australia https://hellocruise.co.uk/no-fly-cruises/to-australia/
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@Teaceratops So the Indian Pacific Train to Perth is a no-go?
Apparently there are cruises Darwin-Singapore or Sydney-Singapore. But these wouldn’t be super helpful as land travel across Asia from there is extremely complex.
FWIW there seem to be a number of expensive AF cruise options to the UK from SE Australia https://hellocruise.co.uk/no-fly-cruises/to-australia/
@janet Hi, I'm not Australian, so I did not know about that train - my quick panicked Google last night said it wasn't possible. Happy to find that it is.
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@va2lam In that case it's going to be very difficult indeed.
@krans @va2lam @stonebear2 @DamonHD yeah, the US isn't going to be an option either, because of the instability and the risk if health goes bad again. If they need to cross North America, we're going to send them Vancouver > Montreal, as we are in Montreal, and if something happens to them in Canada, I can go and help them, as I am a permanent resident.
But the main problem seems to be, how the heck do we get them off the continent of Australia.
They do also have friends in New Zealand, but again, the Pacific is huge, and we face similar issues in New Zealand too.
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@janet Hi, I'm not Australian, so I did not know about that train - my quick panicked Google last night said it wasn't possible. Happy to find that it is.
@Teaceratops I took it a long time ago, and could definitely recommend back then. Good luck!
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I've got an odd request.
Does anyone have any idea how to get from Australia to the UK, without flying?
My in-laws are currently stuck on the east coast of Australia. One of them got very sick on a cruise. And long story short. They have been told they cannot fly ever again. It's too risky for what has happened, they're in the ICU - recovering, feeling better, but cannot fly ever again.
Hubs might have to go over there for a couple of months to help them out (his studio has a studio in the city they are in. This is the easy part).
They are looking at getting on another cruise ship, but the next one is in March, and if they miss that. They're stuck there even longer.
So, I am making a request to see if anyone knows if there is any other possible way to get them back to the UK without using planes.
The in-laws are in their late 70s, so there may be some limitations (they are obviously not going to be fit to help out on a catamaran or something).
Please share!
@Teaceratops Would going eastwards be a viable option?
Cruise ship from Australia to Mexico or the USA, then overland to Mexico's Atlantic coast or NYC, and a cruise ship from there back to Blighty?
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@hedders @Teaceratops
My guess is that the consular will refer them back to their travel insurance company.
(They •do• have travel insurance don't they?)@MikeFromLFE @hedders yeah, they have travel insurance, luckily. Also an agreement between AUS and UK which is currently doing some heavy lifting to look after them.
Honestly, wonderful help so far from Australia, best place in the world to be stranded if you're British, to be fair.
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@krans @va2lam @stonebear2 @DamonHD yeah, the US isn't going to be an option either, because of the instability and the risk if health goes bad again. If they need to cross North America, we're going to send them Vancouver > Montreal, as we are in Montreal, and if something happens to them in Canada, I can go and help them, as I am a permanent resident.
But the main problem seems to be, how the heck do we get them off the continent of Australia.
They do also have friends in New Zealand, but again, the Pacific is huge, and we face similar issues in New Zealand too.
@Teaceratops @krans @stonebear2 @DamonHD it is most definitely possible to take the train from Vancouver from Montreal, just takes 4 days.
I would suspect that New Zealand is harder to leave than Australia. And the health treaties may be worse (or better) for UK citizens --- I don't know.
It has to be a boat, which basically seems to mean a cruise ship these days. (Another thing about cargo vessels is that they don't have doctors, so probably not actually an option even if it were possible to get a ticket).
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@Fran thank you, I appreciate it.
Yeah, I had thought about them doing trains instead, but ruled out Russia - they're British citizens, and that would be incredibly risky for them right now, especially getting into Europe from Russia.
But, I have thought of the possibility of them maybe getting a boat to Vancouver, taking the train from Vancouver to Montreal, staying with us for a little while, before getting on a boat from Montreal (or Nova Scotia or nearby) to somewhere in the UK. To break the journey up and not be stuck on a boat for months.
I'm going to try to get a few routes together, so they have some options and take the route they feel most comfortable with. Gosh, if they could get here for the summer, it would be a great time for them to visit, and possibly the last time they could realistically come here.
@Teaceratops
What a situation to be stuck in! Of all suggestions that I've seen, this one sounds the most feasible. I would expect boats to Vancouver to be frequent. The train Vancouver-Montréal is expensive but what a ride it is! So much better than being stuck on water going halfway around the globe.
@Fran -
@krans @va2lam @stonebear2 @DamonHD yeah, the US isn't going to be an option either, because of the instability and the risk if health goes bad again. If they need to cross North America, we're going to send them Vancouver > Montreal, as we are in Montreal, and if something happens to them in Canada, I can go and help them, as I am a permanent resident.
But the main problem seems to be, how the heck do we get them off the continent of Australia.
They do also have friends in New Zealand, but again, the Pacific is huge, and we face similar issues in New Zealand too.
I researched a similar question in 2019. I remember that there was an upper age limit for the cargo ship option. Children were completely impossible, so I abandoned the plan and didn't research any further. I seem to remember the age limit was pretty low, maybe 60? Depends on the company of course, and it might have changed. I think it's because there's only minimal medical support on a cargo ship, and the risk of e.g. a heart attack rises with age.
There are around-the-world cruises that stop in Australia and in Europe. That's a completely different price range though!
I guess you could find cruises from Australia to South America. There's definitely lots between South America and Europe. Maybe that's less expensive?
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I've got an odd request.
Does anyone have any idea how to get from Australia to the UK, without flying?
My in-laws are currently stuck on the east coast of Australia. One of them got very sick on a cruise. And long story short. They have been told they cannot fly ever again. It's too risky for what has happened, they're in the ICU - recovering, feeling better, but cannot fly ever again.
Hubs might have to go over there for a couple of months to help them out (his studio has a studio in the city they are in. This is the easy part).
They are looking at getting on another cruise ship, but the next one is in March, and if they miss that. They're stuck there even longer.
So, I am making a request to see if anyone knows if there is any other possible way to get them back to the UK without using planes.
The in-laws are in their late 70s, so there may be some limitations (they are obviously not going to be fit to help out on a catamaran or something).
Please share!
@lydiaschoch What a problem to be presented with! This is one of the few occasions when I’m glad that I can no longer be put in such a spot.
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I've got an odd request.
Does anyone have any idea how to get from Australia to the UK, without flying?
My in-laws are currently stuck on the east coast of Australia. One of them got very sick on a cruise. And long story short. They have been told they cannot fly ever again. It's too risky for what has happened, they're in the ICU - recovering, feeling better, but cannot fly ever again.
Hubs might have to go over there for a couple of months to help them out (his studio has a studio in the city they are in. This is the easy part).
They are looking at getting on another cruise ship, but the next one is in March, and if they miss that. They're stuck there even longer.
So, I am making a request to see if anyone knows if there is any other possible way to get them back to the UK without using planes.
The in-laws are in their late 70s, so there may be some limitations (they are obviously not going to be fit to help out on a catamaran or something).
Please share!
@Teaceratops probably via boat. Land route is probably not a great idea because of current world politics...
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@janet Hi, I'm not Australian, so I did not know about that train - my quick panicked Google last night said it wasn't possible. Happy to find that it is.
@Teaceratops @janet AFAIK it's still running, eg https://www.journeybeyondrail.com.au/guest-information/timetables/the-indian-pacific-2025-2026-timetable/ . Just note it's not a cheap trip!
if in doubt there are bus services that travel between cities too.
They're gonna spend a week on the trip, but it's definitely doable.
