Ports of Auckland to turn away Ovation of the Seas

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Ports of Auckland have thrown a spanner in the works with the cancellation of the visit to Auckland of the mega cruise ship Ovation of the Seas.

Planned expansion to the wharves will not go ahead and that will result in the ship not being able to call.

If it cannot call at Auckland that will put all the NZ calls at risk as Auckland is the only port that could handle the numbers that may transit.

 

It all sounds a bit odd to me .

RCCL officials are due in Auckland in the next week or two to plan the proposed visit.

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2196727&page=8

 

 

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/mammoth-cruise-liner-turned-away-after-ports-auckland-compromise-6305476

 

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/272605/port-to-turn-away-mega-liner

[Kiwi_cruiser]

What a shame to Auckland and New Zealand :(

[MMDown Under]

Ovation of the Seas is home porting in China. I wonder how many ports of call to Auckland were planned, for the summer season when the ship will be in Aus/NZ?

 

One has to wonder at the expense of building new wharves for these mega ships.

 

Auckland has a really beautiful harbour. Why spoil it for brief visits of mega ships?

[Wastegirl]

One wonders what ports it would fit in round Australia. Not only do you need a big wharf but you would need depth and turnaround capability. It was quite an interesting exercise on how they turned the Solstice round in Newcastle when we were on board recently. Tug one side aft, tug the opposite side bow and they literally pushed us round 180 deg in a circle. Sydney harbour for instance hasn't got a huge turnaround space, I always think we are going to back into the bridge :D

[chester32]

One wonders what ports it would fit in round Australia. Not only do you need a big wharf but you would need depth and turnaround capability. It was quite an interesting exercise on how they turned the Solstice round in Newcastle when we were on board recently. Tug one side aft, tug the opposite side bow and they literally pushed us round 180 deg in a circle. Sydney harbour for instance hasn't got a huge turnaround space, I always think we are going to back into the bridge :D

 

Ovation needs less depth of water than the Voyager and is 21feet narrower than Voyager so that shouldn't be a problem but it is 121feet {36.8m) longer so maybe that is a problem? And the extra 380 passengers wouldn't cause to much more strain on the ports you wouldn't think?

[Kiwi Kruzer]

One wonders what ports it would fit in round Australia. Not only do you need a big wharf but you would need depth and turnaround capability. It was quite an interesting exercise on how they turned the Solstice round in Newcastle when we were on board recently. Tug one side aft, tug the opposite side bow and they literally pushed us round 180 deg in a circle. Sydney harbour for instance hasn't got a huge turnaround space, I always think we are going to back into the bridge :D

 

I am pretty sure there would be plenty of room for Ovation in Auckland .I am also pretty sure that she could dock , even though it maybe a container wharf. QM2 used the container wharf and Cunard erected a temp marquee...(complete with potted palms:D) and ran a shuttle service along to the terminal at Queens Wharf.

However Royal Caribbean will need the wharf for 3 days . The thought of 5,000 passengers coming and going on a working wharf would be a nightmare. Each shuttle has to have an escort with flashing lights as it moves through the dock area.

RCCL reps are arriving shortly and no doubt the big topic will be who is going to pay for the set up, and who is going to pay POA for any loss of revenue through closing a container dock for a few days.

 

You can also add to that , the political aspect of extending the port :eek:

 

These Mega ships operate very successfully from purpose built terminals , which the cruise line have built , but trying to use an existing set up will be chaotic.

I doubt if the OPT at Sydney will cope .

Turnaround day there will be a real test of patience.;)

.

 

[tomatosauce]

For the record the Quantum class is wider than the Voyager class.

 

Also the traffic and people flow at the OPT in Sydney, which could already handle Voyager class and QM2, has been improved with the works and the extension of the wharf.

[GUT2407]

I am pretty sure there would be plenty of room for Ovation in Auckland .I am also pretty sure that she could dock , even though it maybe a container wharf. QM2 used the container wharf and Cunard erected a temp marquee...(complete with potted palms:D) and ran a shuttle service along to the terminal at Queens Wharf.

However Royal Caribbean will need the wharf for 3 days . The thought of 5,000 passengers coming and going on a working wharf would be a nightmare. Each shuttle has to have an escort with flashing lights as it moves through the dock area.

RCCL reps are arriving shortly and no doubt the big topic will be who is going to pay for the set up, and who is going to pay POA for any loss of revenue through closing a container dock for a few days.

You can also add to that , the political aspect of extending the port :eek:

 

These Mega ships operate very successfully from purpose built terminals , which the cruise line have built , but trying to use an existing set up will be chaotic.

I doubt if the OPT at Sydney will cope .

Turnaround day there will be a real test of patience.;)

.

 

 

I suspect that is a real issue $$$$

[GUT2407]

For the record the Quantum class is wider than the Voyager class.

 

Also the traffic and people flow at the OPT in Sydney, which could already handle Voyager class and QM2, has been improved with the works and the extension of the wharf.

 

I'm not sure the traffic flow around the OPT is any better.

Edited May 3, 2015 by GUT2407

[chester32]

For the record the Quantum class is wider than the Voyager class.

 

Also the traffic and people flow at the OPT in Sydney, which could already handle Voyager class and QM2, has been improved with the works and the extension of the wharf.

 

Beg to differ but Voyager is wider

 

Stats for Ovation

Gross Tonnage 168,666

Length 1,141 ft

Max Beam 136 ft

Draft 28 ft

Cruising Speed 22 knots

 

 

Stats for Voyager

Gross Tonnage 138,000

Length 1,020 ft

Max Beam 157.5 ft

Draft 29 ft

Cruising Speed 22 knots

Edited May 3, 2015 by chester32

[tomatosauce]

The 136ft beam for the Quantum class is the waterline beam. The max beam is 162ft. also there is about a 1,000 passenger difference between Voyager and Ovation although it can be hard to quantify due to definitions of max. capacity and double occupancy.

[chester32]

The 136ft beam for the Quantum class is the waterline beam. The max beam is 162ft. also there is about a 1,000 passenger difference between Voyager and Ovation although it can be hard to quantify due to definitions of max. capacity and double occupancy.

 

Not sure where you are getting your info from but the max passenger on Voyager is 3800 Ovation 4180 (380 more)

The max beam of any ship is its widest point

 

Definitions

 

Beam (BOA) - The overall width of the ship

Draft, Loaded - The depth of water necessary to float a vessel fully loaded.

 

 

But I am just quoting the stats, I don't really care what size it is and that it should be able to go most places Voyager goes.

But it would certainly be disappointing if it doesn't go to NZ

[tomatosauce]

I have been getting numbers from Wikipedia. The Max for the Ovation is 4,900, the lower figure is the double rate. The beam shouldn't make a difference anywhere except for making it annoying for Captain Cook Cruises, etc. in Sydney. The length should be fine pretty much everywhere in NZ except Auckland. The troublesome ports are generally those with finger wharves.

[Pushka]

When we were in Auckland a couple of weeks ago there was significant turmoil about the expansion. Seems they won that battle then.