Hull Cleaning again

[Fieldofdreams]

On 1/1/2023 at 6:31 PM, Pushka said:

Agree. Many US passengers onboard whose airfare isn't exactly inexpensive. 

Correct, for US passengers its approximately $21 -22K just for airfare and cruise (without bump up to Business Class etc.), plus add ons for excursions/activities and pre and post stays. Definitely starts to add up.

[NSWP]

2 hours ago, Fieldofdreams said:

Correct, for US passengers its approximately $21 -22K just for airfare and cruise (without bump up to Business Class etc.), plus add ons for excursions/activities and pre and post stays. Definitely starts to add up.

Holy Moly and it is basically a cruise to nowhere.  The compensation could send Viking broke.😬

[Stickman1990]

Just now, NSWP said:

Holy Moly and it is basically a cruise to nowhere.  The compensation could send Viking broke.😬

Enough with the exaggerated panic statements

 

How’s it going to do that?

 

Of course it will impact profitability but they have many ships sailing sp one loss making voyage isn’t going to tip them over the edge - the last couple of years are more likely to have done that 

[NSWP]

4 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

Enough with the exaggerated panic statements

 

How’s it going to do that?

 

Of course it will impact profitability but they have many ships sailing sp one loss making voyage isn’t going to tip them over the edge - the last couple of years are more likely to have done that 

They could be sued for negligence, like failing to have clean hull before arrival in NZ/Australian waters.

Edited January 3, 2023 by NSWP

[Aussieflyer]

18 hours ago, European_CruiseGirl said:

I guess one of the problems with the Fjords part is that the voyage was marketed with the name of ”Lord of the Fjords”. So it sounds like a very big deal. And perhaps was for many. But well now the pax on that cruise lost everything after Melbourne, it was the only port they could go. So cancelled port stops for the RSSC Explorer are: Geelong, Burnie, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, Bay of Islands 😔

That is very sad for them in that case, especially as the cruise seems to have been marketed that way. Hopefully there will be decent compensation but it is sad if they were people for who this was like the 'last big trip' or similar. Makes it hard if the pax get FCC when they probably won't be up to cruising again. For AU residents it is not such a big deal, but for people from US or Europe for example with long flights (possibly expensive), it does 'suck'. 

[Stickman1990]

13 minutes ago, NSWP said:

They could be sued for negligence, like failing to have clean hull before arrival in NZ/Australian waters.

and now the bush lawyers are circling….

 

Hard to make assumptions without access to the facts 

[Blackduck59]

17 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

and now the bush lawyers are circling….

 

Hard to make assumptions without access to the facts 

 

Grow a sense of humour, Les was joking. I think most of us got it.

[MicCanberra]

46 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Holy Moly and it is basically a cruise to nowhere.  The compensation could send Viking broke.😬

I doubt they would go broke over this cruise, just lose a lot of money and maybe pass off a lot of people's plans.

[joyce Ottawa]

I just got this letter from Azamara.  We are on the Quest departing Auckland Jan 21, now Jan22.  We will miss Milford sound!  How patronizing to say this will improve our experience!  They knew about this months ago! No OBC , nothing offered at all.

 

"Due to new environmental restrictions that are being enforced by the authorities in New Zealand, we will be unable to call in Bay of Islands and Milford Sound on your upcoming voyage. Instead, we will be adding an overnight and full day in Auckland as well as an added afternoon and overnight in Hobart. Full itinerary details can be found below.

We apologize for any inconvenience these changes may have caused, even though we are confident they will improve your experience and allow you to take a deeper look at these destinations".

[Stickman1990]

25 minutes ago, joyce Ottawa said:

We apologize for any inconvenience these changes may have caused, even though we are confident they will improve your experience and allow you to take a deeper look at these destinations".

That really does add insult to injury to suggest that a day in Auckland compensates for Bay of Islands - and missing Fiordland is simply irreplaceable. How could that possibly improve the experience? 

[Aus Traveller]

59 minutes ago, joyce Ottawa said:

I just got this letter from Azamara.  We are on the Quest departing Auckland Jan 21, now Jan22.  We will miss Milford sound!  How patronizing to say this will improve our experience!  They knew about this months ago! No OBC , nothing offered at all.

 

"Due to new environmental restrictions that are being enforced by the authorities in New Zealand, we will be unable to call in Bay of Islands and Milford Sound on your upcoming voyage. Instead, we will be adding an overnight and full day in Auckland as well as an added afternoon and overnight in Hobart. Full itinerary details can be found below.

We apologize for any inconvenience these changes may have caused, even though we are confident they will improve your experience and allow you to take a deeper look at these destinations".

What a pity that you will miss the Sounds. I agree that it wouldn't "improve your experience".

[NSWP]

Hull cleaning must be happening in Auckland.. Milford Sound is a highlight of any NZ trip. Beautiful.

Edited January 13, 2023 by NSWP

[Aus Traveller]

2 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Hull cleaning must be happening in Auckland.. Milford Sound is a highlight of any NZ trip. Beautiful.

If the hull cleaning is to remove marine organisms, it has to be carried out at sea (or in a drydock). They don't want the little critters falling to a harbour floor, then multiplying.

[chengkp75]

17 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

If the hull cleaning is to remove marine organisms, it has to be carried out at sea (or in a drydock). They don't want the little critters falling to a harbour floor, then multiplying.

The cleaning methods tend to be pretty lethal for most "hard" growth (barnacles, mussels), and many hull cleaning services these days use systems that collect the debris for disposal, like a vacuum cleaner in a woodshop getting the sawdust.

[Aus Traveller]

Just now, chengkp75 said:

The cleaning methods tend to be pretty lethal for most "hard" growth (barnacles, mussels), and many hull cleaning services these days use systems that collect the debris for disposal, like a vacuum cleaner in a woodshop getting the sawdust.

OK. That's good.

[arxcards]

29 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Hull cleaning must be happening in Auckland.. Milford Sound is a highlight of any NZ trip. Beautiful.

Likely cleaning is done in a similar location to where Queen Elizabeth is getting her bumscrape today.

 

The extra time in Auckland and Hobart suggests to me that Azamara Quest is not having that cleaning done, and that is just to alter the itinerary as NZ authorities are prohibiting them from entering the fiords or Bay of Islands.

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by arxcards

[Jean C]

The "new" environmental restrictions were introduced in 2018 and applies to everything, including trade vessels. Seems to be mainly cruise ships that are being caught out 🥴

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, Jean C said:

The "new" environmental restrictions were introduced in 2018 and applies to everything, including trade vessels. Seems to be mainly cruise ships that are being caught out 🥴

Trade vessels are unlikely to go into Fiordland or the Bay of Islands as there are no commercial docks in those places. 

 

But cruise ships were operating fully in 2019 and early 2020 without any dirty hull incidences. So either:

- hulls got dirtier than the cruise lines realised during the shutdown.

- warmer sea temperatures have caused an unexpected increase in hull growths.

- someone in NZ marine biosecurity is being over-cautious. 

Maybe a combination of all three?

[chengkp75]

5 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Maybe a combination of all three?

Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner.

[roscoe39]

On 1/14/2023 at 5:07 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

 

 

- someone in NZ marine biosecurity is being over-cautious. 

Maybe a combination of all three?

I don't think saving our pristine Fjords from foreign organisms is being over cautious. The waters in the Fjords although open to the sea are actually fresh water as  they are fed by the waterfalls and glaciers.

 

The fresh water in-fact sits on top of the salt water within the inlets as it is lighter than the sea water.

 

The authorities are doing the right thing, all NZers would agree that we want to keep them as pure as possible. Good on the government for enforcing the legislation to keep us clean and green..

[NSWP]

Fair comment Roscoe69.  Environmental protection is vital now and for future generations.

[NSWP]

On 1/14/2023 at 9:05 PM, chengkp75 said:

Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner.

And the prize is a ticket on the Manly Ferry Lol.

[OzKiwiJJ]

26 minutes ago, roscoe39 said:

I don't think saving our pristine Fjords from foreign organisms is being over cautious. The waters in the Fjords although open to the sea are actually fresh water as  they are fed by the waterfalls and glaciers.

 

The fresh water in-fact sits on top of the salt water within the inlets as it is lighter than the sea water.

 

The authorities are doing the right thing, all NZers would agree that we want to keep them as pure as possible. Good on the government for enforcing the legislation to keep us clean and green..

Oh I agree. I'm a Kiwi as well as an Aussie and I am always aware of what a privilege it is to be able to cruise though Fiordland, especially Dusky Sound. But it's odd that this has all blown up recently and, by the sound of things, at relatively short notice. 

 

Not all ships seem to be affected. How do they tell if the ship hasn't visited an NZ port? Is it just random? Is it based on where the ship had been previously?

 

Were the cruise lines informed ahead of time? If not, why not? Has someone in NZ suddenly woken up to the fact that the new rules that went into play in 2018 hadn't actually been implemented?

 

It all seems a bit weird and the timing of it all, over the Christmas holiday period, is rather reminiscent of the bad old days in NZ when the wharfies would always go on strike so the Wellington ferries couldn't operate. 

[grozzy1]

17 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Not all ships seem to be affected. How do they tell if the ship hasn't visited an NZ port? Is it just random? Is it based on where the ship had been previously?

I'm currently on Norwegian Spirit. They've been through the fjords twice so far this summer and confident of returning in a few days. They're obviously doing something right that other ships haven't.

[NSWP]

31 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Oh I agree. I'm a Kiwi as well as an Aussie and I am always aware of what a privilege it is to be able to cruise though Fiordland, especially Dusky Sound. But it's odd that this has all blown up recently and, by the sound of things, at relatively short notice. 

 

Not all ships seem to be affected. How do they tell if the ship hasn't visited an NZ port? Is it just random? Is it based on where the ship had been previously?

 

Were the cruise lines informed ahead of time? If not, why not? Has someone in NZ suddenly woken up to the fact that the new rules that went into play in 2018 hadn't actually been implemented?

 

It all seems a bit weird and the timing of it all, over the Christmas holiday period, is rather reminiscent of the bad old days in NZ when the wharfies would always go on strike so the Wellington ferries couldn't operate. 

Pretty right there Julie, perhaps someone found the hull clean file in the too hard tray.

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by NSWP