700 cruisers stranded

[rkmw]

Glad to know that they are back to operational. I hope that someone from the ship updates us on the happenings...:)

 

they left Akaroa at 6pm sunday night local time and they are missing out on Dunedin and Milford Sound and have 3 days at sea so they should be on time in Sydney

[TracieABD]

they left Akaroa at 6pm sunday night local time and they are missing out on Dunedin and Milford Sound and have 3 days at sea so they should be on time in Sydney

 

I hate that they had to miss ports, but the weather just cannot be controlled. Looks like you are boarding in just a few days!:)

[Sandy R]

We just received an email from our friend who is on the Sea Princess...

 

"As I boarded a tender to go ashore, it struck me that I made the right decision to stay in Akaroa… it was foggy, raining and the winds were picking up. On the bright side, the town of Akaroa is quaint with lots of little specialty shops.

 

Initially, I walked along the town’s main street, popped in an out of shops and found a coffee shop that offered FREE WiFi. Then I decided to have lunch. But, it was starting to rain harder and the winds were picking up, so I decided to return to the ship.

 

It turned out that I was on the next to last tender to make it back to the ship. The winds had increased to the point that the tenders were having difficulty coming alongside the ship. The tender I was on took a few waves/spray over the top and the last tender to the ship took on quite a bit of water and had some power issues. Two tenders had to go out to bring it back to the ship. Accordingly, the Captain decided to stop tender operations until the winds subsided.

 

The winds did not subside, they increased. At around 3:30 PM the Captain announced that due to the deteriorating weather conditions, he would have to retrieve all the tenders and cruise to Dunedin, our next port of call, and that the passenger ashore would be bused to Dunedin to meet us the next day.

 

At 5:00 PM the Captain announced that we would have to spend the night in Akaora because they could not retrieve the tender mentioned earlier …. so they tied it alongside the ship while they pumped out the water and made some repairs.

 

The net result …. approx. 720 passengers and 50 crew were stranded ashore. On board, one couldn’t help but notice that the storm’s intensity, winds and rain, increased substantially throughout the night. My guess is that winds were at or approaching gale force, 40 to 50+ knots.

 

The storm subsided by 11:00 AM Sunday morning. The sun broke through the clouds and showed off the beautiful countryside of Akaora.

 

Later in the afternoon, the stranded passengers began coming back on board and told us about their experience ashore. One of their first comments was that the townspeople of Akaora extended themselves above and beyond. First, the passengers were taken to the High School Gym where they were given a sandwich and water. Then around 9:00 PM, some 300 passengers were taken to the few local hotels and many were invited to stay at local residents homes for the night. The majority were bused 1 ½ hours to Christ Church and provided hotel accommodations. The good news, no one was injured. We departed Akaroa at 5:00 PM Sunday.

 

Due to this disruption, we will not be stopping at Dunedin, not cruising the Fjords. Instead we will cruise directly to Sidney in order to arrive on time Oct. 18."

[rkmw]

We just received an email from our friend who is on the Sea Princess...

 

"As I boarded a tender to go ashore, it struck me that I made the right decision to stay in Akaroa… it was foggy, raining and the winds were picking up. On the bright side, the town of Akaroa is quaint with lots of little specialty shops.

 

Initially, I walked along the town’s main street, popped in an out of shops and found a coffee shop that offered FREE WiFi. Then I decided to have lunch. But, it was starting to rain harder and the winds were picking up, so I decided to return to the ship.

 

It turned out that I was on the next to last tender to make it back to the ship. The winds had increased to the point that the tenders were having difficulty coming alongside the ship. The tender I was on took a few waves/spray over the top and the last tender to the ship took on quite a bit of water and had some power issues. Two tenders had to go out to bring it back to the ship. Accordingly, the Captain decided to stop tender operations until the winds subsided.

 

The winds did not subside, they increased. At around 3:30 PM the Captain announced that due to the deteriorating weather conditions, he would have to retrieve all the tenders and cruise to Dunedin, our next port of call, and that the passenger ashore would be bused to Dunedin to meet us the next day.

 

At 5:00 PM the Captain announced that we would have to spend the night in Akaora because they could not retrieve the tender mentioned earlier …. so they tied it alongside the ship while they pumped out the water and made some repairs.

 

The net result …. approx. 720 passengers and 50 crew were stranded ashore. On board, one couldn’t help but notice that the storm’s intensity, winds and rain, increased substantially throughout the night. My guess is that winds were at or approaching gale force, 40 to 50+ knots.

 

The storm subsided by 11:00 AM Sunday morning. The sun broke through the clouds and showed off the beautiful countryside of Akaora.

 

Later in the afternoon, the stranded passengers began coming back on board and told us about their experience ashore. One of their first comments was that the townspeople of Akaora extended themselves above and beyond. First, the passengers were taken to the High School Gym where they were given a sandwich and water. Then around 9:00 PM, some 300 passengers were taken to the few local hotels and many were invited to stay at local residents homes for the night. The majority were bused 1 ½ hours to Christ Church and provided hotel accommodations. The good news, no one was injured. We departed Akaroa at 5:00 PM Sunday.

 

Due to this disruption, we will not be stopping at Dunedin, not cruising the Fjords. Instead we will cruise directly to Sidney in order to arrive on time Oct. 18."

 

a lot of people would be upset at missing out on Dunedin and Milford Sound but as it turned out everyone was safe and sound and they should get off in time at Sydney

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The winds did not subside, they increased. At around 3:30 PM the Captain announced that due to the deteriorating weather conditions, he would have to retrieve all the tenders and cruise to Dunedin, our next port of call, and that the passenger ashore would be bused to Dunedin to meet us the next day.

 

Just as well that did not happen...it would have been a logistical nightmare.

I doubt if Dunedin would have enough hotel beds :eek:

 

[TracieABD]

We just received an email from our friend who is on the Sea Princess...

 

"As I boarded a tender to go ashore, it struck me that I made the right decision to stay in Akaroa… it was foggy, raining and the winds were picking up. On the bright side, the town of Akaroa is quaint with lots of little specialty shops.

 

Initially, I walked along the town’s main street, popped in an out of shops and found a coffee shop that offered FREE WiFi. Then I decided to have lunch. But, it was starting to rain harder and the winds were picking up, so I decided to return to the ship.

 

It turned out that I was on the next to last tender to make it back to the ship. The winds had increased to the point that the tenders were having difficulty coming alongside the ship. The tender I was on took a few waves/spray over the top and the last tender to the ship took on quite a bit of water and had some power issues. Two tenders had to go out to bring it back to the ship. Accordingly, the Captain decided to stop tender operations until the winds subsided.

 

The winds did not subside, they increased. At around 3:30 PM the Captain announced that due to the deteriorating weather conditions, he would have to retrieve all the tenders and cruise to Dunedin, our next port of call, and that the passenger ashore would be bused to Dunedin to meet us the next day.

 

At 5:00 PM the Captain announced that we would have to spend the night in Akaora because they could not retrieve the tender mentioned earlier …. so they tied it alongside the ship while they pumped out the water and made some repairs.

 

The net result …. approx. 720 passengers and 50 crew were stranded ashore. On board, one couldn’t help but notice that the storm’s intensity, winds and rain, increased substantially throughout the night. My guess is that winds were at or approaching gale force, 40 to 50+ knots.

 

The storm subsided by 11:00 AM Sunday morning. The sun broke through the clouds and showed off the beautiful countryside of Akaora.

 

Later in the afternoon, the stranded passengers began coming back on board and told us about their experience ashore. One of their first comments was that the townspeople of Akaora extended themselves above and beyond. First, the passengers were taken to the High School Gym where they were given a sandwich and water. Then around 9:00 PM, some 300 passengers were taken to the few local hotels and many were invited to stay at local residents homes for the night. The majority were bused 1 ½ hours to Christ Church and provided hotel accommodations. The good news, no one was injured. We departed Akaroa at 5:00 PM Sunday.

 

Due to this disruption, we will not be stopping at Dunedin, not cruising the Fjords. Instead we will cruise directly to Sidney in order to arrive on time Oct. 18."

I am so glad that you are all safe and dry! Enjoy the rest of your cruise!:)

[RMLincoln]

Life is to collect good stories:) Gald everyone is safe! m--

[traveling psych nurse]

Living in Southwest Ok. I know how fast the weather can get bad. Glad everyone is ok.Life is an adventure.They will have great stories to tell.Sorry they had to miss ports.