Golden missed Fiordland today 26 March???

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Golden Princess was scheduled to visit the Fiords today but her cam now says bound for Port Chalmers and AIS tracking shows her just cruising down the coast and not going into the fiords. Weather looks OK .....but they have just had bucketfulls of rain.....like - 400 mls in one day  -  many roads are closed or have been washed away.

Edited March 25, 2019 by Kiwi Kruzer

[Brisbane41]

Maybe conditions are not right for it to enter. If the weather has been foul lately that could put it off entirely. I have once been in Milford Sound where it was almost no good visibility due to clouds but outside the fiord it was a bright sunny day.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

 Milford Sound is reported to have recorded 450 mm with predictions of 750-800 mm possible. More rain  than Christchurch gets in a year.😲

 

Heres a link to the Milford Sound cam .Its really closed in and looks like most of the tourist boats have stayed at the Marina.

http://www.takeabreak.co.nz/webcams/197/milford_webcam

Edited March 26, 2019 by Kiwi Kruzer

[MicCanberra]

Wow, I suppose they have to get that rain sometime as they do get many metres of rain per year. Shame for the pax aboard though.

[erewhon]

She is on her way here (PC). Queen Elizabeth about to leave and going straight to Melbourne without stopping in Fiordland.

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, erewhon said:

She is on her way here (PC). Queen Elizabeth about to leave and going straight to Melbourne without stopping in Fiordland.

A shame for them as well.

[erewhon]

13 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

A shame for them as well.

She took a pilot and appears to be in Fiordland today.

[MicCanberra]

Good.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

48 minutes ago, erewhon said:

She took a pilot and appears to be in Fiordland today.

Looks like she is cruising the Fiordland coast . AIS shows her not going into Dusky, perhaps by the time they get to Milford it will have cleared enough for them to go in? If so the waterfalls will be a once in a lifetime show.

Further up the coast the rain was so heavy that it washed big chunks of ice off the glaciers and thats what came crashing down the river to take out the bridge. Parts of the coast now have no access in or out and several tourists are stranded. Its also the main tourist loop road for the West Coast and that is now closed.

[CupcakeSusie]

Understandable that they skip it! We saw a small avalanche when we were on one of the glaciers and it was frightening - the thought of chunks being washed away is petrifying!

 

How often do cruises skip the fjords in NZ? If we book a NZ cruise the fjords would be one of the main motivators. Knowing how often they’re cancelled would play a part in our decision. 

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Marine Traffic shows them entering Doubtful Sound so it looks like they have the all clear.

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

Looks like she is cruising the Fiordland coast . AIS shows her not going into Dusky, perhaps by the time they get to Milford it will have cleared enough for them to go in? If so the waterfalls will be a once in a lifetime show.

Further up the coast the rain was so heavy that it washed big chunks of ice off the glaciers and thats what came crashing down the river to take out the bridge. Parts of the coast now have no access in or out and several tourists are stranded. Its also the main tourist loop road for the West Coast and that is now closed.

Wow, but understandable with those rainfalls.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

Marine Traffic shows them entering Doubtful Sound so it looks like they have the all clear.

Excellent.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, CupcakeSusie said:

Understandable that they skip it! We saw a small avalanche when we were on one of the glaciers and it was frightening - the thought of chunks being washed away is petrifying!

 

How often do cruises skip the fjords in NZ? If we book a NZ cruise the fjords would be one of the main motivators. Knowing how often they’re cancelled would play a part in our decision. 

I would put missing them at around 25%

[Aus Traveller]

3 hours ago, CupcakeSusie said:

How often do cruises skip the fjords in NZ? If we book a NZ cruise the fjords would be one of the main motivators. Knowing how often they’re cancelled would play a part in our decision. 

Mic suggested that around 25% of cruises miss the fiords. That could be about right, or maybe it is closer to 30%. We have done probably 10 or so NZ cruises and only missed the fiords once but unfortunately that doesn't mean that only 10% miss them. Maybe you have more chance of being lucky if the cruise is in mid summer (say December, January or February).

[strathnaver]

Looks like the weather over there has been pretty gnarly

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

Mic suggested that around 25% of cruises miss the fiords. That could be about right, or maybe it is closer to 30%. We have done probably 10 or so NZ cruises and only missed the fiords once but unfortunately that doesn't mean that only 10% miss them. Maybe you have more chance of being lucky if the cruise is in mid summer (say December, January or February).

Agreed, I have managed to get in every time but of course that means nothing if you count how many ships are actually cruising there every summer.

[mr walker]

3 minutes ago, strathnaver said:

Looks like the weather over there has been pretty gnarly

 

Amazing! We were there in January, ahead of our cruise from Auckland on Jan 23rd. We drove right up the west coast [SH6] from Queenstown, thru Haast, Franz Josef, Greymouth & Westport.

We drove over that bridge & actually stayed overnight nearby!

 

Sad to see this happening - the West Coast folk were extra nice people.

[MicCanberra]

10 minutes ago, strathnaver said:

Looks like the weather over there has been pretty gnarly

Wow, that was natures' awesome power on show.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The bridge is a Bailey bridge ,ie comes in prefabricated sections, so it not be too long before it’s repaired/replaced .

[MicCanberra]

2 minutes ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

The bridge is a Bailey bridge ,ie comes in prefabricated sections, so it not be too long before it’s repaired/replaced .

They may need to catch it first.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

1 minute ago, MicCanberra said:

They may need to catch it first.

They just roll in another one. They keep plenty in reserve 

[MicCanberra]

4 minutes ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

They just roll in another one. They keep plenty in reserve 

Good planning.

[2CtheC]

On 3/27/2019 at 11:03 AM, Aus Traveller said:

Mic suggested that around 25% of cruises miss the fiords. That could be about right, or maybe it is closer to 30%. We have done probably 10 or so NZ cruises and only missed the fiords once but unfortunately that doesn't mean that only 10% miss them. Maybe you have more chance of being lucky if the cruise is in mid summer (say December, January or February).

Well we got 3 out of 3, so 100% for us.

2012, 2015 and 2019 (we even thought third time lucky 🙄)

You just never know.

PS No one wants to cruise with us to NZ now

[PurpleTraveller]

I am none from 2 and my father-in-law is none from 3! We joke that whoever manages to get into Milford Sound on a cruise will get a prize. 😀 My father-in-law is going for his fourth attempt in January so fingers crossed for him!