Missed ports

[Tansy Mews]

It seems that weather issues can mean several missed ports in NZ . At least it has for a trip I am monitoring. (We leave Sydney on Feb 3 on our cruise, same ship, cruise line). Is this unusual at this time of year?

 

Frances

[Chiliburn]

53 minutes ago, Tansy Mews said:

It seems that weather issues can mean several missed ports in NZ . At least it has for a trip I am monitoring. (We leave Sydney on Feb 3 on our cruise, same ship, cruise line). Is this unusual at this time of year?

 

Frances

New Zealand can get some pretty wild weather straight off Antartica .

Which ports are you talking about?

East coast ports are usually reliable.

[Tansy Mews]

18 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

New Zealand can get some pretty wild weather straight off Antartica .

Which ports are you talking about?

East coast ports are usually reliable.

 

Coming from Burnie, Tasmania, the ship went to Picton rather than Milford Sound. Then missed Dunedin, I believe. They visited Akaroa, Napier and Wellington but it looks like they missed Gisborne, based on ship mapping sites. En route now for Tauranga.

 

Frances

 

 

Edited January 17, 2020 by Tansy Mews
spelling

[Chiliburn]

13 minutes ago, Tansy Mews said:

 

Coming from Burnie, Tasmania, the ship went to Picton rather than Milford Sound. Then missed Dunedin, I believe. They visited Akaroa, Napier and Wellington but it looks like they missed Gisborne, based on ship mapping sites. En route now for Tauranga.

 

Frances

 

 They usually pick up a pilot in Milford and drop him off in Dunedin.So must have been pretty rough.we getting so wild weather here..

The fiords are spectacular but because they are exposed to the southern ocean they do get dropped.
 

[Tansy Mews]

Thanks, Chiliburn. We did see there was a forecast of 5 metre waves (or swells?) But rough.

 

Frances

[OzKiwiJJ]

54 minutes ago, Tansy Mews said:

Thanks, Chiliburn. We did see there was a forecast of 5 metre waves (or swells?) But rough.

 

Frances

It's not just high seas that can cause problems, it's high winds as well. There are usually a few NZ cruises each year that miss ports, and a heck of a lot more that get into every port. I've done three NZ cruises and had no problems.

[Chiliburn]

Fog and rain also.

5 meter swells are pretty substantial.

[MMDown Under]

On 1/18/2020 at 4:54 AM, Tansy Mews said:

It seems that weather issues can mean several missed ports in NZ . At least it has for a trip I am monitoring. (We leave Sydney on Feb 3 on our cruise, same ship, cruise line). Is this unusual at this time of year?

 

Frances

February is in our cyclone season, so missing ports if not unusual.  

Our ship missed Akaroa on a December cruise, because of forecast weather conditions. 

 

 

[Tansy Mews]

Thanks, 

 

Frances

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

February is in our cyclone season, so missing ports if not unusual.  

Our ship missed Akaroa on a December cruise, because of forecast weather conditions. 

 

How is late March normally?  We are boarding in Dunedin on March 21 and sailing through the Sounds over the next few days before crossing between the islands to Picton on March 25 and proceeding up the East coast of the North Island to Auckland on March 30.

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

How is late March normally?  We are boarding in Dunedin on March 21 and sailing through the Sounds over the next few days before crossing between the islands to Picton on March 25 and proceeding up the East coast of the North Island to Auckland on March 30.

The official cyclone season is from November to April.  The cyclones started later than normal this year.  It is hard to predict when the cyclones will form and where they will track to in advance.   Sounds like a great cruise.  Bon Voyage for smooth seas.  

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

How is late March normally?  We are boarding in Dunedin on March 21 and sailing through the Sounds over the next few days before crossing between the islands to Picton on March 25 and proceeding up the East coast of the North Island to Auckland on March 30.

I forgot to mention that cyclones need warm weather to form, so NZ tends to get the effects of the following low, rather than the cyclone. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

How is late March normally?  We are boarding in Dunedin on March 21 and sailing through the Sounds over the next few days before crossing between the islands to Picton on March 25 and proceeding up the East coast of the North Island to Auckland on March 30.

March is usually the mildest month unless a cyclon affects the weather. We did an NZ cruise from Auckland last year that departed 29th March. I really didn't expect to get into Fiordland on that cruise but we had perfect weather.

 

It's unusual to have an embarkation in Dunedin. What cruise line?

[Host Jazzbeau]

9 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It's unusual to have an embarkation in Dunedin. What cruise line?

 

Ponant:

https://us.ponant.com/cruises/pacific-and-oceania-the-best-of-new-zealand-r210320-4

 

Don't know what's going to happen to the White Island day.  Landings are out obviously, but I don't know if they are allowed to do a sail-around?

[OzKiwiJJ]

An unusual itinerary. You'll have to report back as to how the sea day was going up the west coast of the South Island. That's the wild side.😄

 

It should be OK to cruise around White Island although it will probably depend on how active it is at the time as to how close in you get to it.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Just got notification today:  White Island is out, Gisborne is in.

 

Looking for ideas in Gisborne.

[Tansy Mews]

32 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Just got notification today:  White Island is out, Gisborne is in.

 

Looking for ideas in Gisborne.

 

I found the i-Site (local tourist bureaus) very helpful. Here's Gisborne's - https://tairawhitigisborne.co.nz

 

And we have an upcoming tour with Nisbet - http://www.gisbornetours.nz

 

Frances

Edited January 22, 2020 by Tansy Mews

[oskarNZ]

Weather here in New Zealand can be notoriously fickle.  Unfortunately, trying to find a pattern is a bit like asking “How long is a piece of string?” 
 

My experience over 40-odd years of living in different parts of the country: 

 

- The wind could blow from the North in the morning and the South in the evening.  And on the other side of a mountain range, it could be doing the exact opposite.  

 

- Summer should be warm - but not always

 

- Spring and early Summer can be rainy - but not always

 

- Autumn winds in the South tend to be calmer - but not always

 

- Expect anything and plan for anything and you are less likely to be disappointed - always 

 
 

 

[the_travel_locks]

On 1/22/2020 at 3:26 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

Just got notification today:  White Island is out, Gisborne is in.

 

Looking for ideas in Gisborne.

Hi Jazzbeau,

our Le Laperouse cruise last week was to visit Gisborne instead of White Island, but due to remnants of Cyclone Tino and heavy seas, the Gisborne stop was also cancelled last minute.

 

However, if had we gone to Gisborne,  Ponant had advised that  the stop would include (at no cost) a scenic journey around Gisborne's bay to Muriwai on a vintage steam train.  So perhaps that is what they will do with your cruise as well ?  They just asked people to register their interest in advance.  So might be worth checking if that interests you, to be sure to get a spot, if they are offering that again.

 

With our White Island and Gisborne stops both not happening, the Captain did a great job sailing us around the area safely and timed things such that we were able to view White Island early evening. He made a fitting tribute to those who had lost their lives in the spirit of adventure there, with one minutes silence on the viewing deck. It was an emotional situation handled very well in a surreal landscape.

 

Edited January 29, 2020 by the_travel_locks
adding image

[Host Jazzbeau]

Wow, great picture.  That's actually what I was hoping we would do – have a sea day with viewing of White Island from a safe distance.  We'll play it by ear – the steam train sounds ok (particularly for free).

 

What times did Ponant announce for Gisborne (if you had been able to go)?

[roothy123]

Tansy is talking about our cruise.  It had a lot of schedule changes, plus the one we were on that went down the western coast of Australia didn't go totally to plan. But the bush fires impacted some stops, and weather other stops.  I was pretty frustrated but what can you do.  However, I partially tracked the same ship going the same itinerary (in reverse) right after I got home, and it looked like it went all the places we didn't make.  So I guess you just have to take your chances, be flexible and patient, and try not to get angry.  However, I might think twice about paying for third party excursions you can't be reimbursed for if the ship doesn't make port.  I lost some money in one port. But certainly it was a wonderful cruise.

 

In New Zealand, we made Akaroa (one of our best days) despite the always somewhat iffy situation called tendering.  Picton instead of Dunedin was a decent consolation prize.  Golden Princess missed Dunedin and Milford, so I felt a little better about things. Eden, Australia was understandably out because of the fires right there. In Picton I hitched a ride on the delivery boat in the morning, saw a slice of life (little coves served only by boat) I wouldn't have seen by staying in town.  But the town was nice, too - very pretty setting. As for Milford Sound, I heard from others that chances of going there aren't fabulous.  Gisborne got skipped, but that was not a huge disappointment to me.  I hadn't pinned down anything I just had to see.   In Australia,  Sydney was a bit smoky but stop went as scheduled, as did Melbourne & Tasmania (Burnie).  In NZ, Akaroa, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga and Auckland went fine.  We did find that in both countries, the wind and temperature could vary quite a bit, even in the same general area (and month).   In Melbourne, morning in city center, I was sweating.  In St Kilda in the afternoon, and back at the port, the wind was incredibly strong and I was cold. 

 

On the Bali to Sydney cruise we missed Exmouth and Eden (bush fires for Eden) and had our day in Phillip Island (near Melbourne; famous for a fabulous Penguin Parade experience) switched off with another port, and shortened.  Perth, Albany, Adelaide, Melbourne and Tasmania were a bit rearranged but fine.  We were on time to all ports. Had some roughish seas but nothing that bothered us personally. 

Edited January 30, 2020 by roothy123

[noosa_blue150]

In March 19 our  radiance of the seas cruise had to cancel Dunedin port and south to the sounds. Hoping for better luck in March 2020. However , tucked away in my covermore insurance this time as a clause whereby cancelled port will,give us refund of $1000. has to be a port ( so if we miss sounds again, won’t kick in ) . I’m not saying it’s the cheapest insurance around but I use it as my partner has two pre-existing conditions we have to register and I have found them good value ( used it last year to refund my medical,costs on board after getting influenza A)

 

there’s also a missed shore excursion refund -valid for,those,non refundable bookings ?

[noosa_blue150]

In March 19 our  radiance of the seas cruise had to cancel Dunedin port and south to the sounds. Hoping for better luck in March 2020. However , tucked away in my covermore insurance this time as a clause whereby cancelled port will,give us refund of $1000. has to be a port ( so if we miss sounds again, won’t kick in ) . I’m not saying it’s the cheapest insurance around but I use it as my partner has two pre-existing conditions we have to register and I have found them good value ( used it last year to refund my medical,costs on board after getting influenza A)

 

there’s also a missed shore excursion refund -valid for,those,non refundable bookings ?

[noosa_blue150]

Update - pulled out the paperwork and read up on criteria behind missed port (disembarkation)

I now think it won’t cover missed ports due to bad weather , but would,cover if we get back to Sydney for example late and miss ongoing transport home if delay significant and you did allow ample time with initial,booking. The cabin confinement still handy clause as well tho in a travel insurance  for cruising. My apologies if I’ve misled anyone - one should always check fine print closely 

Edited February 6, 2020 by noosa_blue150

[Tansy Mews]

On 1/31/2020 at 7:31 AM, roothy123 said:

However, I might think twice about paying for third party excursions you can't be reimbursed for if the ship doesn't make port.  I lost some money in one port. But certainly it was a wonderful cruise

All of my private excursions on this 14 day trip were refundable if the ship didn’t make it. One I wasn’t sure about so emailed a query and yes, I am covered if the ship doesn’t take me there!

 

i haven’t found that to be the case everywhere but it has been in Australia and New Zealand. 
 

we missed Eden. We had a photography “course” tour with Phill Small. We were sorry to miss it. He specializes in beach and coastal photography.  
https://m.facebook.com/pages/Phill-Small-Photography-Eden/264250610300204

 

Frances