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Mystery Island

Elorac123
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SinbadThePorter

SinbadThePorter

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Hi,in my research for upcoming cruise I am reading that this island more often than not unaccessible,

Why then do they put it on the itinerary if this is so and do they do an alternative

Cheers

 

I don't know where you got that from, but I don't think it's true.

 

Mystery Island (Aneityum) is a tender stop, so it is affected by weather, but it has to be pretty bad to prevent landings there. Much worse than some other spots that ships stop at.

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Elorac123

Elorac123

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I don't know where you got that from, but I don't think it's true.

 

Mystery Island (Aneityum) is a tender stop, so it is affected by weather, but it has to be pretty bad to prevent landings there. Much worse than some other spots that ships stop at.

 

I have read several reviews from cruisecritic and also TripAdvisor,one poster says that they could only tender on 2 of their 4 cruises due to rough seas. I will be really pleased if they are all telling fibs

Cheers

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Duck Creek

Duck Creek

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Have been to Mystery Island many times but ships do miss the island sometimes. It took my brother 3 goes to get there but he sailed during cyclone season.

It all depends on the weather. It is not sheltered and the wind can cause havoc with the ship being at anchor. Also if the water is too rough they will not drop the tenders. It is all about safety.

Also depends on the time of year you go, but weather is unpredictable.

 

I have missed Isle of Pines and Lifou for the above reasons.

Still enjoyed my cruises and it gives you a reason to book another one:D

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The_Big_M

The_Big_M

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I've never had issues with landings there, and haven't heard it as a complaint, so believe it's pretty rare as well.

 

If the reviews are around cyclone season though, any island can be skipped due to cyclone weather, so there's a risk at any stop in that area at that time of year. Could be the cause if reviews you've read relate to then.

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ozmonkeyboy

ozmonkeyboy

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Just getting off Emerald Princess today and we had to miss Mystery Island on Australia Day due to strong winds. The seas were pretty calm but it was the wind that made the captain continue past the stop.....

 

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Edited by ozmonkeyboy
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Gwendy

Gwendy

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Have been to Mystery many times, no problems. Funny the only port I have missed due to tendering problems was Port Douglas. I watched the cataramans trying to tie up beside the ship and with the wave movement going on knew the answer before the captain made his announcement.

He did do a slow cruise up the coast close to the Daintree as a consolation.

All tender ports are dependent on weather.

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Vader1111

Vader1111

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4 for 4 for Mystery Island. Only one port missed for us - Isle of Pines in Nov '16.

 

Guess we have good luck on our cruises to Pacific Islands.

I've missed Mystery Island twice, both due to ship issues. I've also missed Wala and Bay of Islands, once each, due to strong winds.

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MrYellowDuck

MrYellowDuck

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They can only land you on one side of the island and if the swells are too big to allow the least physically mobile person you can think of to exit the tender onto the jetty then they won't stop.

 

We've been there twice. Most recently was two days ago as an unscheduled stop due to the programmed Island having polluted water from recent run off.

 

If you missed this island and went somewhere else then nothing is lost - it's a tiny island that offers nothing but somewhere to swim just like a great many other similar islands. It's nice but so are lots of other places.

 

The challenge for some is that they cruise at a time of the year where tendering to any island is going to be a problem. If you take this type of cruise then you risk getting an extra sea day rather than an alternative stop. The cruise fare will be attractive though...

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MrYellowDuck

MrYellowDuck

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I've missed Mystery Island twice, both due to ship issues. I've also missed Wala and Bay of Islands, once each, due to strong winds.

 

We missed a port due to a gas turbine generator failure meaning the ship's top speed was not enough to get to the end in time if it stopped for the day. There were some very upset passengers - the cruise line had engaged in bare faced lies though so I could understand their reaction.

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Vader1111

Vader1111

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We missed a port due to a gas turbine generator failure meaning the ship's top speed was not enough to get to the end in time if it stopped for the day. There were some very upset passengers - the cruise line had engaged in bare faced lies though so I could understand their reaction.

The first time I missed it was on the Carnival Spirit. They had a problem with one of the desalination plants and couldn't generate enough fresh water, so we had to divert to Noumea so they could fill the tanks. They were completely honest about it, gave us OBC compensation, and the only reason for being upset was having to spend a day in Noumea rather than somewhere nice.

 

The second time was on Rhapsody. They hit something in the middle of the night going in to Champagne Bay. My parents were woken by the impact. I don't know what they hit. May have been a coral reef, may have been a rogue cargo container floating like an iceberg submerged in the water. The following day we were forced to overnight in Luganville, while they did repairs. We weren't told the reason for the repairs until the Captains Corner on the last sea day. The Captain lied to our faces, giving us some cock & bull story about corrosion in a rarely used compartment in the bottom of the ship. It wasn't even a good lie, given that the ship was only a few months out of a major dry dock refurbishment. I have always hated Captain Rob Hempstead ever since, because of his dishonesty.

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cruisin-m

cruisin-m

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I have read several reviews from cruisecritic and also TripAdvisor,one poster says that they could only tender on 2 of their 4 cruises due to rough seas. I will be really pleased if they are all telling fibs

Cheers

 

Have been to Mystery Island 6 times and never once missed it, guess they like to keep it a mystery if you will dock :p

 

Norfolk Island on the other hand has a 95% failure rate!!

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