Cruise Season about to start ion NZ

[Beanb41]

Article from local newspaper this morning

 

Cruise ships eagerly awaited but doubts on tourism benefits

 

The first ship of the summer cruise season arrives in Wellington on Tuesday but the value of the industry to New Zealand is being questioned.

 

The 2000-capacity Radiance of the Seas is the first of 82 cruise ships visiting Wellington over the coming seven months.

 

CentrePort chief executive Blair O'Keeffe said the visits, which bring with them 150,000 cruise passengers, would boost the local economy by more than $30 million.

 

"The cruise trade is an important part of the region's economy and we work hard to ensure tourists have a safe experience from the moment our pilot guides the vessels into port to the moment they leave," he said.

 

Popular attractions include the Wellington Cable Car, Te Papa, Zealandia and the Weta Cave.

 

Last year, Market Economics estimated that the cruise trade injected more than $36 million into the Wellington economy in the 2013-14 season, made up of $28m from passenger-related spending, $3.7m from crew spending and $4.4m from vessel-related spending.

 

Positively Wellington Tourism chief executive David Perks said: "It's important that we remain an attractive tourist destination for cruise passengers, who spend an average of $130 per person while docked in [Wellington]."

 

Nationally, a total of 278,000 passenger and crew arrivals in New Zealand ports are forecast in the upcoming year, industry body Cruise New Zealand said, adding an expected $373.4m to the economy, $8.1m more than last year.

 

Cruise New Zealand general manager Raewyn Tan said the organisation was expecting a 21.7 per cent increase in passenger numbers by the 2015-16 season.

 

However, with direct international tourism income to New Zealand totalling $7.1 billion annually, the cruise industry's contribution is relatively modest.

 

AUT associate professor of tourism Michael Lueck said the benefit to New Zealand was not only small, but fraught.

 

"They portray themselves as a big money earner for the countries they visit, but a lot goes back to cruise industry investors based in America," Lueck said. "The vast majority of the money is not spent in New Zealand."

 

He cited Dunedin's Taieri Gorge railway as an example.

 

"Last year on the railway's website, they were charging about NZ$89 per person for a trip.

 

"Cruise lines which stopped in Port Chalmers offered the trips as excursions for passengers for anything from US$100 to US$200 (NZ$128-NZ$256).

 

"And the cruise lines won't pay the NZ$89 per person to the railway, because they come in regularly and bring large numbers.

 

"They probably pay between $29-$49 or so."

 

The cruise industry's economic contribution was not only overblown, but it also exacted huge costs, Lueck said.

 

Among those were infrastructure demanded by cruise companies that had no guarantee of being used, and passengers flooding small tourist destinations and deterring other, bigger-spending visitors.

 

He said another aspect of the industry was that more than 70 per cent of the international cruise market was owned by two American corporations - Carnival Corp and PLC, and Royal Caribbean International.

 

Both registered their ships in countries such as Panama and Liberia, where employment laws allowed potential exploitation of workers.

Edited October 4, 2014 by Beanb41

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

The article should mention that the local operators aren't scared to put up prices either.

[TLCOhio]

We super enjoyed our adventure "down under" earlier this year. My live/blog, connected below, just went over 80,000 views. Appreciate those who have dropped by and especially to those who have asked good questions, posted added info/experiences, etc. Keep it coming!! Happy to share more.

 

From the Sidney Morning Herald newspaper in Australia late last month, they have this headline: "Ships ahoy: record-breaking cruise season begins". It is the start of another big cruising season for Australia and New Zealand.

 

Here are some of their story highlights: "As daylight broke over Sydney on Monday, the Carnival Legend sailed between the Heads for the first time, signalling the start of what is expected to be a record-breaking season. The vessel is the first of at least 290 cruise ships to visit Sydney this summer, up from 119 visits five years ago. Ann Sherry, chief executive of Carnival Cruises, recalled a stagnant, 'very, very small' industry in Australia, with 'a couple of ships' and 100,000 passengers a year. In 2006, the industry sought to kill off the boozy image, cater to families and couples and, with any luck, grow to a million Australian passengers by 2020. At its rate of expansion, it is set to reach that milestone next year. The number has grown by 20 per cent a year for 11 years in a row, hitting 833,348 last year."

 

Full story at:

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/ships-ahoy-recordbreaking-cruise-season-begins-20140922-10k8rn.html

 

Super loved both New Zealand and Australia!! Very special parts of the world. Great sights, wonderful people, etc. My pictures and reports prove it!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 80,096 views for this fun posting.

[dancinman66]

Maybe money goes back to the parent companies but that is what business is all about

Plus the mark that cruising puts on an area to make others want to come back and spend more time in an area seems firgotten here

That part of that 6.1 billion is due to the desire of people to go there from cruising

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I think this paragraph says a lot...

 

 

Among those were infrastructure demanded by cruise companies that had no guarantee of being used, and passengers flooding small tourist destinations and deterring other, bigger-spending visitors.

 

What does a small village like Akaroa do when 2 or 3 ships are in for a day and 3 or 4 thousand people want to go to the toilet?

How would you like thousands of people descending on your village or suburb just for 1 day?

They overflow the sewerage system and beat the traders down to the lowest price , even though the traders have given up their day to set something up.

I know of a taxi in a small town that when cruise ships visit , the owner locks it away in his garage. He is sick and tired of arguing the price with rude cruise ship passengers who don't recognise how much it costs him to run his business.

 

 

[MicCanberra]

Thanks Beanb41 for posting the article.:D

[MicCanberra]

I think this paragraph says a lot...

 

 

 

 

What does a small village like Akaroa do when 2 or 3 ships are in for a day and 3 or 4 thousand people want to go to the toilet?

How would you like thousands of people descending on your village or suburb just for 1 day?

They overflow the sewerage system and beat the traders down to the lowest price , even though the traders have given up their day to set something up.

I know of a taxi in a small town that when cruise ships visit , the owner locks it away in his garage. He is sick and tired of arguing the price with rude cruise ship passengers who don't recognise how much it costs him to run his business.

 

 

 

Yes, it is difficult to run a business on sporadic custom, let alone passengers that are ungrateful and cruise lines wanting to make profits minimal for you but optimal for them. we have discussed this before when I mentioned that some small places , just cannot cater for some of the larger ships or multiple ships.

Edited October 6, 2014 by MicCanberra

[goodycruising]

I have been to Dunedin from the cruise ship, and I have also done the gorge railway trip. I think Dunedin does very well overall. While the train trip is cheaper direct, the ship excursion includes a nice lunch and drinks. So may be there is more money flowing into the local coffers than it may look at first. The train comes all the way to the ship as well, whereas if you go direct you need to get into Dunedin. Any company that organises trips will add a margin. That is just business.

 

For a small place like Akaroa, there are some good points for and against, but I think they are making some good dollars, and the likelihood that we would ever have gone out of the way to get there on one of our land based trips is very slim. I doubt they would be charging some of those prices if the cruise ship custom wasn't there, as we know prices in a place like Lake Taupo are much cheaper for souvenirs and clothing items. If they are taking bookings for 2 or 3 ships, then they are well and truly making enough money to build a few toilets.

 

That goes for all the infrastructure. If the economy was not getting a good boost, then they would just stop taking the port bookings.

 

The continuing debate about workers' conditions rages on, and I don't know why so many staff we speak to keep signing back on for more contracts. They are either doing ok with what they earn on board, or they are happy to get a bit less money, free accommodation, food, and see the world. Sorry, I am sure there are some problems, but there are lots of positives for cruise staff.

[Beanb41]

[quote

The continuing debate about workers' conditions rages on, and I don't know why so many staff we speak to keep signing back on for more contracts. They are either doing ok with what they earn on board, or they are happy to get a bit less money, free accommodation, food, and see the world. Sorry, I am sure there are some problems, but there are lots of positives for cruise staff.

 

We continuously read that cruise ship staff only get paid $US 50 per month and need tips to make their livelihood. I don't know how many waiters there are working each day in the main dining room but they share around $US8500 per day in compuslory gratuities paid by passengers irrespective whether they eat there or not. Not unreasonable money with food and board also provided.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Beanb41

[MicCanberra]

The continuing debate about workers' conditions rages on, and I don't know why so many staff we speak to keep signing back on for more contracts. They are either doing ok with what they earn on board, or they are happy to get a bit less money, free accommodation, food, and see the world. Sorry, I am sure there are some problems, but there are lots of positives for cruise staff.

 

We continuously read that cruise ship staff only get paid $US 50 per month and need tips to make their livelihood. I don't know how many waiters there are working each day in the main dining room but they share around $US8500 per day in compuslory gratuities paid by passengers irrespective whether they eat there or not. Not unreasonable money with food and board also provided.

 

It is off topic for this thread, but the main reason they work on the ship is that it pays better than where they and their families live, and the work is steady and constant. I am sure that some may choose the lifestyle but many would rather be at home with their families if they could earn the same there.

[goodycruising]

No, it is on topic, the last sentence of the initial post...

 

"Both registered their ships in countries such as Panama and Liberia, where employment laws allowed potential exploitation of workers."

 

The newspaper article casts aspersions that the workers are exploited. Typical lazy sensational journalism with no factual evidence.

 

The article throws as many stones as it can. I am not saying there are no issues, but lets get real, NZ is making good money. This article is thin on facts and heavy on innuendo.

[Beanb41]

No, it is on topic, the last sentence of the initial post...

 

"Both registered their ships in countries such as Panama and Liberia, where employment laws allowed potential exploitation of workers."

 

The newspaper article casts aspersions that the workers are exploited. Typical lazy sensational journalism with no factual evidence.

 

The article throws as many stones as it can. I am not saying there are no issues, but lets get real, NZ is making good money. This article is thin on facts and heavy on innuendo.

 

If the article is so flawed why is it that many passengers on cruise ships arrange their own excursions in ports rather than take what is often referred to as overpriced ship arranged tours.

[kiwipete]

If the article is so flawed why is it that many passengers on cruise ships arrange their own excursions in ports rather than take what is often referred to as overpriced ship arranged tours.

 

This is good for local trade though! Another benefit from visiting ships.

[MicCanberra]

No, it is on topic, the last sentence of the initial post...

 

"Both registered their ships in countries such as Panama and Liberia, where employment laws allowed potential exploitation of workers."

 

The newspaper article casts aspersions that the workers are exploited. Typical lazy sensational journalism with no factual evidence.

 

The article throws as many stones as it can. I am not saying there are no issues, but lets get real, NZ is making good money. This article is thin on facts and heavy on innuendo.

 

I can't answer as to where this journalist got their evidence, if any. However, there is a trend to write opinion pieces rather than articles.:(

[sab01]

Well just having spent a day in Wellington and Picton (currently onboard The Radiance) I can honestly say I contributed many $$$ to the NZ economy , and I enjoyed the friendly hospitality of the locals who were very excited at having some 2000 visitors :-)

PS - I will return

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MicCanberra]

Well just having spent a day in Wellington and Picton (currently onboard The Radiance) I can honestly say I contributed many $$$ to the NZ economy , and I enjoyed the friendly hospitality of the locals who were very excited at having some 2000 visitors :-)

PS - I will return

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

NZ has certainly gotten plenty of my hard earned over the years.:D

[kiwipete]

NZ has certainly gotten plenty of my hard earned over the years.:D

 

Great news. We need as much as we can get!!!!!!!! LOL

[MicCanberra]

Great news. We need as much as we can get!!!!!!!! LOL

 

I am happy to oblige, love travelling to and around NZ.:D

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Picton is an ideal call for a cruise ship and is the sort of port cruise lines should be taking their passengers to . It has the InterIsland ferries calling there daily. Some are as big as small cruise ships. Hundreds , and in the season , thousands of people move through the town , so it has the infrastructure to cope with large numbers. Some of the souvenir shops and galleries are the best in NZ.

Heres a grab from today of a ferry leaving. Some of them make several crossings of Cook Strait every day.

The sail in/out is stunning.

 

[MicCanberra]

It will take time and money to get a few more ports to be able to cope with the cruise ship mega crowds.:D

[goodycruising]

If the article is so flawed why is it that many passengers on cruise ships arrange their own excursions in ports rather than take what is often referred to as overpriced ship arranged tours.

 

That is why it is flawed, it makes out like NZ is not getting a good income..."the value of the industry to New Zealand is being questioned" to quote the article.

 

I have no doubt the cruise lines make a huge amount of dollars, they are providing the accommodation, fuel, food, entertainment etc. for all the time the passengers aren't in port. But that is what the article misses, not every passenger is going on tours from the ship. Many organise local tours, hire cars etc, and get about throwing money directly at the locals. But people do want tours provided by the Cruise lines, often as they feel safer, and they don't know what to organise themselves. The cruise line then makes good money from it, but that doesn't stop NZ from getting a good lot of money flowing in as well.

 

As far as them having to get around to building more ports, they already have several ports that can take more ships than you usually see in Sydney at one time. When we have been at Auckland, three cruise ships were in port, and at Tauranga and Wellington there were two, and I am pretty sure there was more capacity. In my opinion NZ already has some very nice port infrastructure as far as cruise ship handling goes.

 

As far as Picton, we will be happily spending money there in Feb 2016 if our plans work out. I have noticed Napier and Picton coming up on itineraries quite a bit. We always love every port we cruise to in NZ, as well as doing several land based holidays. We actually have a bit of a tendency to compare other locations around the world in friends' travel pictures to the diverse places in NZ, and we certainly have a strong bias for NZ! Lots of it we are still planning on coming back to see still though.

 

We will be spending there again next month, and we can't wait!

[chchgirl]

NZ has certainly gotten plenty of my hard earned over the years.:D

 

Me too, I even lived there as well..this Aussie is going back for a visit in April, feeling reverse homesickness!

[chchgirl]

I think this paragraph says a lot...

 

 

 

 

What does a small village like Akaroa do when 2 or 3 ships are in for a day and 3 or 4 thousand people want to go to the toilet?

How would you like thousands of people descending on your village or suburb just for 1 day?

They overflow the sewerage system and beat the traders down to the lowest price , even though the traders have given up their day to set something up.

I know of a taxi in a small town that when cruise ships visit , the owner locks it away in his garage. He is sick and tired of arguing the price with rude cruise ship passengers who don't recognise how much it costs him to run his business.

 

 

 

I've wondered this myself recently when I was reading an article about the Lyttleton port being repaired...I've been to Akaroa by car (not cruise) and it's a beautiful little place, but I can't imagine this many cruise passsengers disembarking there, the place is so tiny! I guess it's catch 22 for the townspeople..

[MicCanberra]

I've wondered this myself recently when I was reading an article about the Lyttleton port being repaired...I've been to Akaroa by car (not cruise) and it's a beautiful little place, but I can't imagine this many cruise passsengers disembarking there, the place is so tiny! I guess it's catch 22 for the townspeople..

 

The thing is if they build the infrastructure to handle for these vast amounts of people, the area loses the innocence and beauty that attracted them in the first place. There needs to be some real planning for what is needed and wanted over just development for progress' sake.

Edited October 8, 2014 by MicCanberra

[chchgirl]

The thing is if they build the infrastructure to handle for these vast amounts of people, the area loses the innocence and beauty that attracted them in the first place. There needs to be some real planning for what is needed and wanted over just development for progress' sake.

 

I definitely agree with you...it would be such a shame to ruin places like Akaroa.