T
@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.
@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.
@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.
@drew oh shit. Seriously!? I was trying last night. And I found a line between Brisbane and Sydney, but nothing came up to get to Perth! That's great news, thank you!
@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.
@melindrea lol, if they were on one that turned around soon after it left, then may have some inside news for you 
@krans (personally. I think they should probably stay there 
They are in a good part of Australia)
@krans I need to ask that, actually.
I know their medical bills are covered as the UK and Australia have an agreement about that. Thankfully. They're also in contact with Australian social services, so they have an apartment for them to stay in while they are there receiving treatment. Hubs sister flew over, so I will check with them to see if they've been in contact with the embassy.
But. In our own experience with British embassies in commonwealth countries - they are usually terrible and won't help you with things they are 100% actually supposed to help you with. They are entirely symbolic, unless you are well-known..
@DamonHD Yeah, this was the first place my head went to, too. I had tentatively suggested this to my husband (hell, I would do it), but he doesn't think they will go for it. I'm still going to take a look at routes just incase they do get stuck for months and just want to get home.
The worst part about all this. Is hubs didn't even know they were going on holiday, let alone a cruise to Australia. He's frustrated that of all the places they could be, they're in the one place in the world that is the furthest away from home they could possibly be.
Is 2026, do you know where your elderly parents are?
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.
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!