Norwegian Star broken down near Melbourne; cruise ship to be towed and repaired

[MicCanberra]

She made it to Auckland, looks like she is running well.

[Kiwi_cruiser]

She made it to Auckland, looks like she is running well.

 

Yep: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2458909

[MicCanberra]

Yep: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2458909

Cheers, busy day fro Auckland.:D

[SinbadThePorter]

She made it to Auckland, looks like she is running well.

 

I should have jumped on that cheap inside single.

[MicCanberra]

I should have jumped on that cheap inside single.

Depends on what you want but yeah, maybe you should have. They have cheaper water now as well.

[magpie9]

ahhh- sick in bed with a cold..good entertainment reading this....I had only heard about all this a few days ago..funny read. I like NCL. Why do the smaller ships come here? Do they think we don't have the money to spend or there is not enough of us to fill the bigger ships?

[The_Big_M]

A mix of things. Not a primary market - their main markets want the largest ships. And our ports are better suited to smaller ships, since cruising is not as well established here as elsewhere, so we don't have massive infrastructure in the region where they do in areas which either have much more shipping than we do, or much more cruising.

[Vader1111]

ahhh- sick in bed with a cold..good entertainment reading this....I had only heard about all this a few days ago..funny read. I like NCL. Why do the smaller ships come here? Do they think we don't have the money to spend or there is not enough of us to fill the bigger ships?

At least partly because so many of our local ports just can't handle the bigger ships. Have a look at the Voyager and Explorer of the Seas itineraries to see how limited they are.

[MicCanberra]

At least partly because so many of our local ports just can't handle the bigger ships. Have a look at the Voyager and Explorer of the Seas itineraries to see how limited they are.

Agreed, and the Ovation is even more limited to the ports it can go.

[Aus Traveller]

Agreed, and the Ovation is even more limited to the ports it can go.

.... and some people here keep crying out for larger ships. ;) Maybe they might see the limitations of the larger ships, now that we have some operating out of Australia. :)

[MicCanberra]

.... and some people here keep crying out for larger ships. ;) Maybe they might see the limitations of the larger ships, now that we have some operating out of Australia. :)

I don't know of anyone crying out for larger ships.

What I do here and I agree with is for Newer ships to come here and not just for a season but for all year round.

Of course part of being a new ship is that they tend to be larger.

[The_Big_M]

.... and some people here keep crying out for larger ships. ;) Maybe they might see the limitations of the larger ships, now that we have some operating out of Australia. :)

 

True to the first.

 

Though I suspect they're not the type too interested in "details" like that...

[Vader1111]

I don't know of anyone crying out for larger ships.

What I do here and I agree with is for Newer ships to come here and not just for a season but for all year round.

Of course part of being a new ship is that they tend to be larger.

They don't seem to be building many panamax size ships these days. All of the new ships seem to be larger, taking advantage of economies of scale.

[MicCanberra]

They don't seem to be building many panamax size ships these days. All of the new ships seem to be larger, taking advantage of economies of scale.

That is correct, although some lines are still building the smaller ships, they just happen to be out of my price range though.

[MicCanberra]

Duplicate post

[Mr&MrsCookie]

I don't know of anyone crying out for larger ships.

What I do here and I agree with is for Newer ships to come here and not just for a season but for all year round.

 

 

Would love to have some new ships here year round instead of some recycled 3 star ships past their use by date. Cairns in winter is perfect and don't have to worry about cyclones.

[MicCanberra]

Would love to have some new ships here year round instead of some recycled 3 star ships past their use by date. Cairns in winter is perfect and don't have to worry about cyclones.

Agreed, although most ships (that come to Australia) cannot dock there and need to do the Yorkey's knob tendering business. Would love to have them here all year round anyway.

[karoo]

Not that this comment is about the ship breaking down, but just letting everyone know we had a wonderful day in Port Kembla/Wollongong. We had a free shuttle into Wollongong with volunteers onboard each bus to explain what we could do, another free shuttle around the town. Some of us hopped off and went to the botanical gardens, then got back on. There were friendly volunteers all around town to answer questions, give directions or just have a chat. The city beach was easy to walk to- lovely surf beach with nice clean sand. Lifeguards/ flags marking the safe supervised areas to swim. You could also walk or take the free shuttle to the North Beach. We all commented how surprised we were and what a great day we all had. Some went to art galleries, the mall, walked along the esplanade , lunches at the lifesaving club or the many restaurants or takeaway cafes along the beach etc. Swimming in the salt water pools between the two beaches. Us Aussies actually thought it was better than a stop at Brisbane. We also had a beautiful sunny day!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[SuitesRbest]

Agreed, although most ships (that come to Australia) cannot dock there and need to do the Yorkey's knob tendering business. Would love to have them here all year round anyway.

 

Australia HAS to invest in some NEW port infrastructure especially in QLD.

 

Imagine the ships we have over here and more often if there was a BIG cruise terminal on the Gold Coast !!!!

 

International cruise goers would line up to have the GC for a port on an Australian Itinerary don't you think?

[karoo]

Australia HAS to invest in some NEW port infrastructure especially in QLD.

 

Imagine the ships we have over here and more often if there was a BIG cruise terminal on the Gold Coast !!!!

 

International cruise goers would line up to have the GC for a port on an Australian Itinerary don't you think?

 

 

You are so right. For Brisbane the average sized cruise ships can't get under the Storey Bridge so you're at a freight port a fair (not passenger friendly) distance out. Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast (love both those areas) are an hours drive away. Lovely beaches at both those places, plus plenty of other stuff to do, theme parks, wildlife places etc. I guess that's why Aus tends to get the older, smaller boats which rock around in the water too much. The larger, newer ships tend to be much more stable. Star feels very stable.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[SeaDog-46]

Australia gets the hand me down SHIPS because our market is so small.

There is nothing wrong with the current older SHIPS we have permanently in Australia.

We also get more modern SHIPS during the summer.

The idea that the Gold Coast should have a cruise SHIP port has been proved to be unviable on cost alone. The new Brisbane cruise terminal opposite the grain berth will no doubt go ahead as the deep water berth & turning basin is already available.

[SinbadThePorter]

Australia HAS to invest in some NEW port infrastructure especially in QLD.

 

Imagine the ships we have over here and more often if there was a BIG cruise terminal on the Gold Coast !!!!

 

International cruise goers would line up to have the GC for a port on an Australian Itinerary don't you think?

 

 

Geography is against it.

 

The Gold Coast exists for two reasons.

 

 

Firstly, it was cheap swampland that could be drained and canaled economically.

 

Secondly, it is a long straight stretch of coastline that allows sand brought down from the mountains by the Richmond and Clarence rivers to migrate north along the coast without a barrier. That sand forms the beaches on the coast and eventually plies up into the Straddie, Moreton, Bribie and Fraser islands.

 

This means that there is no natural deep water port along the Gold Coast. If you try to construct one it will silt up with sand too quickly to be of any use. You could build one that extends straight out to sea, but that would last until the first serious storm came along.

 

That is why the Gold Coast is probably the worst populated stretch of the Australian coast on which to put a cruise terminal.

[The_Big_M]

Agreed. Brisbane is likely to get an upgraded port and there is a lot to support it; well located, close to infrastructure and so on.

 

Gold coast was looked at, but is not viable.

[Mr&MrsCookie]

Australia gets the hand me down SHIPS because our market is so small. - apparently it's the fastest growing cruise market in the world so surely we are worthy of new ships.

There is nothing wrong with the current older SHIPS we have permanently in Australia. I don't think everyone would agree with that - especially those who have been on broken down ships or had to deal with overflowing toilets...

We also get more modern SHIPS during the summer. Yep - need them year round

The idea that the Gold Coast should have a cruise SHIP port has been proved to be unviable on cost alone. The new Brisbane cruise terminal opposite the grain berth will no doubt go ahead as the deep water berth & turning basin is already available.Yep there are negotiations still about Luggage Point in Brisbane so still long way off. Poor Tom Tate - Gold Coast Mayor -is pulling his hair out trying everything to get a terminal on the Gold Coast. Tourists want to go to the Gold Coast - not Brisbane. The latest project which looks like a really huge jetty at Southport might just happen.

 

 

karoo - glad to hear you had a good day at Woollongong- lovely place. Good to hear the locals are supportive

[BrissyCruiser]

You are so right. For Brisbane the average sized cruise ships can't get under the Storey Bridge so you're at a freight port a fair (not passenger friendly) distance out. Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast (love both those areas) are an hours drive away. Lovely beaches at both those places, plus plenty of other stuff to do, theme parks, wildlife places etc. I guess that's why Aus tends to get the older, smaller boats which rock around in the water too much. The larger, newer ships tend to be much more stable. Star feels very stable.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

No cruise ships can get under the Storey Bridge...