Ovation of the Seas cruise to New Zealand experiencing multiple itinerary changes

[DT1304]

This cruise left Sydney on Thursday 23/11 headed for Milford Sound.

 

On Saturday 25/11 it arrived back in Sydney for 3 hours for a medical evacuation of a passanger.

 

They then headed back to New Zealand, and will be missing the Sounds and Dunedin, and heading straight to Wellington.

 

Arrived into Wellington this morning, and were told that due to the high winds and conditions they were unable to dock, and they are now skipping Wellington too and now heading to Napier.

 

 

[Aus Traveller]

That is most unfortunate. If bad weather continues it is likely they will have to skip Napier as well because it is a difficult port for ships to get into in high winds.

[MicCanberra]

Bummer, it seems NZ is being a very difficult place to visit lately

[getting older slowly]

 

it reminds me our 1st cruise to NZ in 2016 Melbourne to Auckland  4-5 m seas and a few times 60+ knot winds across the deck... then got as far as wellington, and storms on the east and west coasts of the south island... so headed to picton   big storm arrived as we were leaving there... then headed back melbourne.... after heading north almost as far as sydney before following the coast down to miss the storms to get back home

 

Cheerds Don

[Chiliburn]

26 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Bummer, it seems NZ is being a very difficult place to visit lately

The fiords are the highlight and they seem to be a hit and miss.

As a few Americans pointed out , most of the rest of the ports are industrial ports well out of town.

[Aus Traveller]

6 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

The fiords are the highlight and they seem to be a hit and miss.

As a few Americans pointed out , most of the rest of the ports are industrial ports well out of town.

The NZ fiords are sometimes missed because of weather.

 

I wouldn't agree with the comment that 'the rest of the ports are industrial ports well out of town'. Dunedin - dock in Port Chalmers (but not an industrial port). Lyttelton - not really an industrial port. Wellington - dock very close to the middle of town. Napier - a working wharf but only 5 minutes' drive form the centre of town. Tauraga - dock in Mt Maunganui (not an industrial port). Auckland - dock in the middle of the CBD.

[Chiliburn]

Auckland is nice but larger ships use the container port now.

But in the eyes of international visitors and as a few Americans said to me .

It’s a long flight and a big expense they expected better.The fiords are spectacular but some of the of the other ports are only just.

I have to agree,it’s not Hobart ,circular quay or say cairns where you just about step off on to the Main Street.

As I always say the best way to see N.Z.  is by road 

[tuffyiscruisin]

I watched them trying to dock this morning, with 2 tugs trying to help, looked like they tried but the angle of the wind was not making it easy.  Wasn't surprised they turned around in the end.  Having been on a ship trying to dock in high winds that hit another cruise ship in the process, when the wind catches them they are like big sails and hard to control.

[MMDown Under]

47 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

Auckland is nice but larger ships use the container port now.

But in the eyes of international visitors and as a few Americans said to me .

It’s a long flight and a big expense they expected better.The fiords are spectacular but some of the of the other ports are only just.

I have to agree,it’s not Hobart ,circular quay or say cairns where you just about step off on to the Main Street.

As I always say the best way to see N.Z.  is by road 

I agree and have done a lot of road trips.  My memories of our car trips of NZ include the friendly locals, little bottles of fresh milk in every motel fridge, baches right on the beachfront, Hot Water Beach where my daughter made warm water baths, sheep as far as the eye could see, whitebait, delicious seafood, Huka Lodge, where we had a memorable dinner, when we couldn't afford to stay there, liver the size of a dinner plate, bull dust which got in every corner of our hire car, mosquitos the size of little helicopters.  NZ is a beautiful country to cruise around, but even nicer to amble around,   

[shireboi]

So… since last Thurs it hasn’t arrived anywhere ??  They should join the P&O passengers and revolt /s

when one thing goes wrong,,,,

 

 

 

 

we got lucky on its 3rd cruise out of Sydney that it rushed between Picton and Dunedin arriving a night earlier Jan 2017 due to expected bad weather 

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/look-what-turned-time-dinner

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by shireboi

[lyndarra]

6 hours ago, DT1304 said:

This cruise left Sydney on Thursday 23/11 headed for Milford Sound.

 

On Saturday 25/11 it arrived back in Sydney for 3 hours for a medical evacuation of a passanger.

 

They then headed back to New Zealand, and will be missing the Sounds and Dunedin, and heading straight to Wellington.

 

Arrived into Wellington this morning, and were told that due to the high winds and conditions they were unable to dock, and they are now skipping Wellington too and now heading to Napier.

 

 

Had a similar thing happen to us in 2018, on Solstice IIRC, but it was from Melborne to Fiordland, which had to be skipped

[bretts173]

47 minutes ago, shireboi said:

So… since last Thurs it hasn’t arrived anywhere ??  They should join the P&O passengers and revolt /s

when one thing goes wrong,,,,

 

 

 

 

we got lucky on its 3rd cruise out of Sydney that it rushed between Picton and Dunedin arriving a night earlier Jan 2017 due to expected bad weather 

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/look-what-turned-time-dinner

 

Why should they revolt, who are they going to target, God?

[Flickit]

48 minutes ago, shireboi said:

So… since last Thurs it hasn’t arrived anywhere ??  They should join the P&O passengers and revolt /s

 

Being mindful of the /s.... Medical and weather issues are slightly different to a cheap and lackluster hull clean... NZ has warned the cruise companies about how strict they would be this year so there's no excuses really...

 

I feel for the people that are financially and emotionally invested with weddings or 3rd party tours and the likes... (edit: with the P&O saga)

 

It's the same with any travel or adventure, you need to be prepared to take these things in your stride, mentally prepare for the worst, if it all goes to plan that's just a bonus.. 

 

(it is very trendy to be 'outraged' these days, so I suspect a lot of the people jumping up and down are just acting that way because it gets them attention and such)

 

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Flickit

[bretts173]

Just now, Flickit said:

 

Being mindful of the /s.... Medical and weather issues are slightly different to a cheap and lackluster hull clean... NZ has warned the cruise companies about how strict they would be this year so there's no excuses really...

 

I feel for the people that are financially and emotionally invested with weddings or 3rd party tours and the likes...

 

It's the same with any travel or adventure, you need to be prepared to take these things in your stride, mentally prepare for the worst, if it all goes to plan that's just a bonus.. 

 

(it is very trendy to be 'outraged' these days, so I suspect a lot of the people jumping up and down are just acting that way because it gets them attention and such)

 

 

Absolutely, very trendy to be negative in general, makes you look superior.

[MicCanberra]

18 minutes ago, bretts173 said:

Why should they revolt, who are they going to target, God?

Perhaps but only if you believe God is at fault, then you need to decide which God is the one to blame, otherwise?

[MicCanberra]

....

[Chiliburn]

@bretts173

any idea what’s going on with Port Kembla as a cruise terminal?

[arxcards]

Yeah, nah!

Most normal passengers respond to a medivac with - I hope they are OK.

[rkmw]

41 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

@bretts173

any idea what’s going on with Port Kembla as a cruise terminal?

Bad move if they think about that and only good for people south of Sydney 

[Chiliburn]

28 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Yeah, nah!

Most normal passengers respond to a medivac with - I hope they are OK.

At least they did their best for the patient Geoff.

Royal Caribbean passengers don’t have a Princess Medallion with a built in defibrillator.

 

Full moon last night 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Chiliburn

[arxcards]

6 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

At least they did their best for the patient Geoff.

Royal Caribbean passengers don’t have a Princess Medallion with a built in defibrillator.

 

Full moon last night 

Shhh, that feature doesn't go live until the new version is released on Friday.

[bretts173]

3 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

@bretts173

any idea what’s going on with Port Kembla as a cruise terminal?

All quiet on that one, as a Wollongong local it would be a dream but honestly don't see it happening.  It's just too far away without suitable transport infrastructure. As a port it would be great with plenty of excursion options but as a embark/debark a lot would have to happen.

[MicCanberra]

It may be quicker and easier to get happening than having Garden Island being available.

[Chiliburn]

7 hours ago, bretts173 said:

All quiet on that one, as a Wollongong local it would be a dream but honestly don't see it happening.  It's just too far away without suitable transport infrastructure. As a port it would be great with plenty of excursion options but as an embark/debark a lot would have to happen.

It certainly isn’t the best option but with a government cutting back on projects it’s the best we have.Everyone wants Sydney harbour but there’s nothing really available.

With a terminal and a train station it could be viable alternative.

[Chiliburn]

50 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

It may be quicker and easier to get happening than having Garden Island being available.

The Navy isn’t going anywhere.