Akjaroa asking for help as Cruising Tourists overwhelm the town

[MicCanberra]

Good night, Mic!:)

 

Good morning, :D

would have been better waking up on a cruise ship though.

[NSWP]

Cruise to nowhere.:rolleyes:

Except there are no drunks or bogans on this cruise to no where, lol.

[MicCanberra]

Except there are no drunks or bogans on this cruise to no where, lol.

 

Aren't I allowed on then?

[NSWP]

Unless it is a P&O Orstralia vessel or Carnival Spirit lol.

 

Standby for incoming !!!

Edited January 23, 2017 by NSWP

[The_Big_M]

One would be Asia to USA for Pacific coastal returns to Mexico, etc.:D

 

Quantum/Ovation to USA for Mexican coastal... _very_ unlikely. Two very different markets, and coastal isn't suited to premium prices targeted for these ships.

[Opua Kiwi]

New cruise $56m cruise ship berth for the Port of Lyttelton

 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/92074027/new-cruise-56m-cruise-ship-berth-for-the-port-of-lyttelton

[MicCanberra]

New cruise $56m cruise ship berth for the Port of Lyttelton

 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/92074027/new-cruise-56m-cruise-ship-berth-for-the-port-of-lyttelton

Fantastic news. I love this comment.

"The cruise lines are doing the marketing for us, they're getting the people on ships to have their holiday, we just need to make sure they have a really good time when they get here so they make the decision to come back."

[Beanb41]

It has always been acknowledged that a new cruise port was required at Lyttleton after the last one was munted, it was all about priorities. Until now the port hasn't been too keen to stump up the millions required and the city council's priorities was getting residents back into their homes.

[MicCanberra]

It has always been acknowledged that a new cruise port was required at Lyttleton after the last one was munted, it was all about priorities. Until now the port hasn't been too keen to stump up the millions required and the city council's priorities was getting residents back into their homes.

Yes, money should always be directed to getting the tax payers on their feet first, but getting tourist dollars in is also important. It is a tricky balance.

[The_Big_M]

Wow 6 years already. Only 2 more to go for the new port - that's quite an investment.

[Beanb41]

Since the new port facilities were announced yesterday the decision hasn't met with universal approval especially from the business community in Akaroa. The rhetoric is that the larger cruise ships will use the new terminal and the smaller ships will continue to use Akaroa. The practice is IMO is that once built cruise ships will bypass Akaroa completely as money and excursions will be the determining factor for the cruise lines. Whilst the residents of Akaroa may be happy with this the business community is far from happy as the loss of the numbers of passengers will result in reduced hours and/ or lay off of staff. Whilst the earthquakes had a silver lining for Akaroa business the sun is about to set

[Opua Kiwi]

Once the large cruise ships leave, Akaroa will once again attract the same type of visitors it did prior to 2011; although in larger numbers.

 

NZ is straining at the seams in many areas trying to keep up with the tourism boom and the demands this places on our communities.

 

I see the Lyttelton announcement as an overall positive for Akaroa.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I too am positive for the future of Akaroa . It will be able to enjoyed for what it has always been , a delightful and peaceful destination. Lyttleton is only a short and very pleasant 1 hr drive from Akaroa ,so its up to the business operators in Akaroa to sell themselves to the passengers. They have already built up a wonderful reputation and thanks to cruising have become players on the world stage.

Come on Lyttleton get that cruise terminal up and running.

With a ship being able to dock, passengers will be ashore and can be bussed over to Akaroa, if they wish, before they would have even landed ashore from the tenders in Akaroa..

[MicCanberra]

I agree, I see it as a plus for both areas, Akaroa just needs to place themselves (with cruise passengers) as one of the attractions to go to.

[Beanb41]

I have to disagree about ships excursions going to Akaroa. There is insufficient fiscal return for cruise ships to go from Lyttleton to Akaroa and as most of the cruise ship visitors will be USA passengers whose knowledge of the area will be limited they will be whisked away to the big city and beyond as they were pre the earthquake. The Christchurch City Council have been accused for some time now about neglecting the infrastructure upgrade required in Akaroa as a result of 6 years of hosting cruise ships. The chances of getting that upgrade now will I fear now be nil.

[Opua Kiwi]

The Christchurch City Council have been accused for some time now about neglecting the infrastructure upgrade required in Akaroa as a result of 6 years of hosting cruise ships. The chances of getting that upgrade now will I fear now be nil.

Once the cruise ships leave, what infrastructure upgrades are required ?

 

At least they will be able to start losing the derogatory nickname they have been given recently due to cruise ship crowds.

[Beanb41]

What is the "nickname"?

[MicCanberra]

Once the cruise ships leave, what infrastructure upgrades are required

That was one reason why I thought it was a win for Akaroa as well. The area does still have something to offer tourists.

[The_Big_M]

I have to disagree about ships excursions going to Akaroa. There is insufficient fiscal return for cruise ships to go from Lyttleton to Akaroa and as most of the cruise ship visitors will be USA passengers whose knowledge of the area will be limited they will be whisked away to the big city and beyond as they were pre the earthquake.

 

When I sailed to NZ on Celebrity in 2008, our ship visited both Christchurch and Akaroa (though we were the first time a large ship had visited Akaroa).

 

As for the experience, it all went well and the majority of the cruise passengers (from feedback) loved the visit. As for being "whisked away" the main activities were local, with the postman, the Hector's dolphins, harbour cruises and a few other local excursions. Some Christchurch excursions were also offered through, which is fair enough.

 

Given that we visited then, in a smaller, less developed market - with no need to visit, there's no reason to think they can't still get large visitors if Christchurch was open. That said, they'll just have to try and market instead of getting the easy fallback they currently get... and too often, people just want to get things easily...

 

Seriously, what's their alternative - that Christchurch doesn't reopen? Ludicrous!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Lyttleton is a fabulous natural deep water port . With adequate docking and ease of passenger access it could be must call for cruise ships. If they overnighted and spent 2 days there , tours could be organised to;

-Mt Cook (Hobbit scenery)

-TranzAlpine - they could do the full return day trip

-Kaikoura ,. Whale Watching

-Akaroa , dolphins and scenery .

-Chistchurch, the City rebuilding

[MicCanberra]

Some wonderful scenery if you just want to drive around a bit as well.

[Swissmiss6253]

We cruised to Akaroa earlier this year and loved it so much that we will be including it in a land holiday later in 2019. I also dropped quite a few dollars in the jewellery store! Such a pretty, pretty place. IT appears to be a popular holiday home destination for Christchurch folk?

[mr walker]

It's funny how things work out. I must admit until our cruise in 2013, I has never heard of Akaroa. While discussing our future cruise with a Kiwi friend, he mentioned that his family from ChCh have a bach (or crib) at Akoroa, & then he had to explain to me about that - a holiday 'house'.

 

Having visited there on that cruise, we saw how interesting a place it is and look forward to going there again.

 

So Akaroa gained exposure & business as a result of the quakes, that probably would never have come about otherwise.

 

Once Lyttleton is fixed, I hope smaller ships will still call at Akaroa, or as some have suggested it becomes a visit for folks who have cruised into Lyttleton.

[chchgirl]

Hi alll,

 

I havent been on for quite some time, I am back again on the forum, I was only new in case nobody knows who I am!

 

I live in NSW, lived in Christchurch pre earthquake (was married to a chch boy) and have been back a few times post quake.

 

I am excited about the new cruise terminal in Lyttleton, I am thinking just how quick it is to get to the city from Lyttleton as opposed to Akaroa. I like Akaroa but would prefer my cruise to go to Lyttleton. As Kiwi Kruzer has mentioned, there is so much to do if a ship stayed in overnight! I have done most on the list except Mt Cook and would love to do the Transalpine again.

 

I am a little saddened today hearing that the Restart mall closed yesterday, I really liked it!

 

Michelle :)

[MicCanberra]

It is a shame that Christchurch is really struggling to get back on it's feet. With so much liquefaction slowing the building progress, it would be tough.