Hull Cleaning again

[Mrs f.]

On 1/14/2023 at 8:24 AM, 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".

Oceania  has offered nothing for the ports we missed (Kangaroo  Island  and Portland) due to hull cleaning.

[MicCanberra]

That is a shame

[arxcards]

3 hours 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. 

The ships require a routine inspection, and these are usually done without much fuss while the ship is in port. If the inspection gets a tick, they have permission to cruise NZ without restriction. 

 

Some of our summer fleet had nice clean and slippery hulls from drydocking prior to returning to service. Some did not, and there are even a few that had scheduled drydocks delayed because of the pause.

[Mike B43]

We are booked on Azamara Quest boarding Auckland 21 Jan, but now not sailing until 22 Jan evening

We live in Auckland so that is a very expensive night to sit against the wharf which we can clearly see from our home

The cruise lines have had plenty of time to ensure their vessels met the "new" criteria (2018) but have not for what ever reason

This ruins the reason for our cruise and I would have expected better from Azamara 

[OzKiwiJJ]

15 hours ago, arxcards said:

The ships require a routine inspection, and these are usually done without much fuss while the ship is in port. If the inspection gets a tick, they have permission to cruise NZ without restriction. 

 

Some of our summer fleet had nice clean and slippery hulls from drydocking prior to returning to service. Some did not, and there are even a few that had scheduled drydocks delayed because of the pause.

But some of the ships hadn't reached NZ before they were told their hulls needed cleaning so how were they inspected? Coral Princess had been operating all around Australia for six months without being required to have her hull cleaned. Does that mean Australian marine biosecurity requirements aren't as strict? 

[arxcards]

4 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

But some of the ships hadn't reached NZ before they were told their hulls needed cleaning so how were they inspected? Coral Princess had been operating all around Australia for six months without being required to have her hull cleaned. Does that mean Australian marine biosecurity requirements aren't as strict? 

There are certified inspectors in Australia, and likely around the world as well. It is expected that a ship will have certification before entering NZ waters. As an example:

https://commercialdiving.com.au/new-zealand-ship-mpi-inspections/

 

Yes, I would suggest we don't have the same strict rules for our ports, as is also the case for most ports around the world.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

There are certified inspectors in Australia, and likely around the world as well. It is expected that a ship will have certification before entering NZ waters. As an example:

https://commercialdiving.com.au/new-zealand-ship-mpi-inspections/

 

Yes, I would suggest we don't have the same strict rules for our ports, as is also the case for most ports around the world.

But if the hull was inspected in Australia then why wasn't the cruise line involved told immediately that there were issues? It just seems to have blown up out of nowhere over the Xmas/NY period and now has gone very quiet again. 

[pully8]

Certainly, good business for the hull cleaning people.

Hopefully it gets sorted to avoid the disappointment of disrupted cruises.

Perhaps not so bad for local people but travelling from far away to join the cruise often at great expense means some would reconsider their plans.  

 

[arxcards]

37 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

But if the hull was inspected in Australia then why wasn't the cruise line involved told immediately that there were issues? It just seems to have blown up out of nowhere over the Xmas/NY period and now has gone very quiet again. 

They would have been told the result of the inspection ASAP, but it was up to them to schedule a time and place where the cleaning could be done, and to avoid restricted areas until they could. 

 

I would presume it has all died down because the round of inspections has been done for the season - excepting any world cruise ships headed this way.

 

The pause definitely contributed to the growth of sealife on the hulls. Hopefully that means everyone has a clean butt next season.

[Kens1954]

I was on the Viking Orion that had the hull issues. When we returned home we received an email from Viking that had a voucher for 100% of the money spent through Viking; airfare, pre and post cruise hotel costs and anything spent on the ship. It was basically a free 19 day vacation. Took the voucher and used it for two future European cruises. We were disappointed in missing 4 ports, but the ship was fantastic and we still had a great time. 

[LittleFish1976]

2 hours ago, Kens1954 said:

I was on the Viking Orion that had the hull issues. When we returned home we received an email from Viking that had a voucher for 100% of the money spent through Viking; airfare, pre and post cruise hotel costs and anything spent on the ship. It was basically a free 19 day vacation. Took the voucher and used it for two future European cruises. We were disappointed in missing 4 ports, but the ship was fantastic and we still had a great time. 

 

That's a very impressive story about how Viking handled the situation.

 

Certainly beats a company making promises regarding compensation they don't keep and then forcing passengers to have to battle at length to get any resolution.

 

Wish Viking were in my price range!