AusPan Hobart Disembark Approved

Our decision to return to Tasmania after disembarking Regatta in Sydney, prompted us to consider leaving the ship in Hobart instead.

I did some research, contacted the ship’s agent in Hobart, and he got approval for us to do so from Australian Border Forces.

But then we needed to put the request to leave Regatta early through the official channels at Oceania. Getting a response took a bit of time. In fact, I had to light a fire under Oceania’s Port Operations Department by sending a second message saying that I already had approval from Border Forces.

That did the trick and I got the official OK from Oceania today. We now have the approval to leave the ship in writing … with the caveat that once we leave Regatta we will not be able to return. No worries … we don’t plan to.

True, we will be missing one port of call and one day at sea on the ship en route to Sydney after Hobart. But we won’t have to then fly back to the island for our road trip. We consider that a “win.”

Now the question is … should we extend our time in Tasmania by the two days we have gained, or should we add those days somewhere else in our overland trip?Read more