Live from the Orion Auckland to Sydney Dec22 - Jan5

[katlew]

11 minutes ago, Pushka said:

And now exactly the same has happened to Regent Explorer today. Refused entry at a port in NZ. And also coming to Adelaide for cleaning. 

I think this is going to start happening a lot!

[Pushka]

10 minutes ago, katlew said:

I think this is going to start happening a lot!

Mars is about to arrive into New Zealand so watch this space. 

[les37b]

Ships catching the equivalent of Covid!

 

I’m due to sail on Orion in March 2024. Hope it has its jabs and boosters sorted before then!

 

Something to be concerned about if Regent also being refused? Is it the tip of an iceberg? How is it being discovered? I assume it’s not something immigration usually search for routinely?

[katlew]

15 minutes ago, les37b said:

Ships catching the equivalent of Covid!

 

I’m due to sail on Orion in March 2024. Hope it has its jabs and boosters sorted before then!

 

Something to be concerned about if Regent also being refused? Is it the tip of an iceberg? How is it being discovered? I assume it’s not something immigration usually search for routinely?

They say it was caught in a routine hull inspection.

[katlew]

39 minutes ago, Pushka said:

Mars is about to arrive into New Zealand so watch this space. 

So, it sounds like the Regent is having a bad a time as us. They did Sydney & Melbourne then found out they can’t go to NZ. They get cleaned off shore of Adelaide on the 5th & 6th & then just sail to get to Auckland on the 12th! 

[les37b]

5 minutes ago, katlew said:

They say it was caught in a routine hull inspection.

I suspect these routine checks will become more frequent and thorough in the future!

[Serendiptydesign]

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/481818/algae-ridden-cruise-ship-ordered-out-of-new-zealand-waters

The latest update from an interview with a Nz department employee with permission to speak on the matter of the Viking Orion biofoulling.

This is worth a read and puts Viking in a bad light and other cruise ships

Edited January 2, 2023 by Serendiptydesign

[katlew]

We walk on land tonight! We got into Melbourne & immigration started a 1/2 hour earlier than planned. It was super easy & quick. The immigration folks were so nice about the time we’ve had. There is very much a party atmosphere on the boat with champagne being handed out once you complete immigration. 
 

People are still smiling & laughing, but there is a bit of punchiness behind it. Eight days on a boat at sea is a lot even with someone you really love. 
 

If you read back you’ll see the Regent Explorer had a similar issue just happen as well. We hear there passengers are getting 50% cash & 50% voucher. An Azamara ship may have been turned away as well. I was told by someone on board who was doing some research that 126 ships have had this issue recently, many not cruise ships. I’m no sure how cruise lines can afford to keep going to New Zealand if this keeps happening. 

[katlew]

5 minutes ago, Serendiptydesign said:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/481818/algae-ridden-cruise-ship-ordered-out-of-new-zealand-waters

The latest update from an interview with a Nz department employee with permission to speak on the matter of the Viking Orion biofoulling.

That is a very confusing article. It almost sounds as if Viking knew there was an issue before our cruise even left Auckland. But it also says it stuck to commercial ports & didn’t go to restricted areas & was still told to leave. What a mess. I certainly hope Viking didn’t just put us all through this knowing we wouldn’t be able to go to most ports.

[uktog]

36 minutes ago, katlew said:

An Azamara ship may have been turned away as well. 

Not seen any reports of this, Azamara Quest has been in Sydney as scheduled for the last two nights.  Will be interested to hear though of evidence of more issues on other vessels as it sure puts sailing in this part of the world into a new risk bucket for the upcoming season

[dides]

6 hours ago, uktog said:

The issue is now on main page BBC in the UK today.  It will be interesting to see how Viking deal with UK guests who will have very particular consumer rights protections in relation to this cruise. 
 

Viking Orion: Cruise passengers stranded after marine growth halts ship https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-64138743

Matt Roberts, one of the passengers mentioned in the article, just did a live interview on BBC News here in the UK:

 

 

Here is what was discussed:

 

BBC News: Hundreds of passengers have been stranded on a cruise ship off the Australian coast after potentially harmful growth was found on its hull. The Viking Orion was reportedly denied permission to dock in Adelaide after authorities discovered biofoul, a cumulation of microorganisms plants or small animals. Well, it’s since stopped in Melbourne, where passengers passed through Australian customs before returning to the ship.  I am joined now by one passenger on board the Viking Orion, Matt Roberts. Matt, thanks so much for joining us on BBC News. What's it been like for you?

 

Matt: Thank you for having me. Well, it's been frustrating to say the least. We found out on December 24th that we would not be going to any of the ports of call that we had hoped in New Zealand and then missing Tasmania. And then we intended to go to Adelaide. And then after three days at sea, actually, four days at sea, we were told, oh, Adelaide won't take us either.

 

BBC News: So, how has life been for you being stuck on board that ship?

 

Matt: Well, I will say that, you know, it's a privilege to be on the ship and life has not been as bad for us as it's been for all of the staff and crew who have been working really, really hard to take care of us and have been putting a great face on a very difficult situation. They don't get to go outside, like we do. Their free time is spent below deck in their quarters.

So, but that said for us, it's been… I don't think many of us would have chosen to fly halfway around the world for this kind of once in a lifetime opportunity, if we knew we're going to be bobbing at sea through the New Year.

 

BBC News: Okay, so what have you been told about the coming days? When do you think you'll be able to disembark and go on your way?

 

Matt: We won't be able to get off the ship until, we understand, January 4th. So that will be from the last time we were, well, I mean, aside from this literal three-minute, excursion off the boat into Melbourne, to get our passports looked at and then sent back on the boat. We haven't been actually able to be free on land since Boxing Day. So January 4th will be the first day we've gotten to actually go for a walk.

 

BBC News: And what the company been saying, the cruise company, about compensation?

 

Matt: There hasn't been a lot. I have to be honest with you.  Some senior members of the crew, very senior members of the crew describe their roles as being, this is a quote, glorified bus drivers and they said that they are kind of at the mercy of what the company tells them to do. And they don't get to choose where they go.

We were told very early on in the trip when we thought there were just going to be a couple of ports that we were going to miss, that they would give us a 50%, voucher toward a future cruise which if you do the math is really, 25% discount off of two cruises.

 

BBC News: I want to ask you is put cruising now for life?

 

Matt: You know, I don't think I'm gonna sign up for anything right away.

 

BBC News: Okay, well fair enough. Matt thank you, once again I would say, for taking the time to talk to us but obviously, I think you've got quite a lot of that going right now.

 

Matt: Nowhere to go but thank you for having me.

 

 

[eddieg07410]

Called Viking today and rep read me an official statement by Viking. It is indicated that the anti scaling should take place the next few days and that all future NZ cruises should be unaffected by the issue.

[Jim Avery]

Just speculating but could this be a way to work into banning/limiting cruise ships without the trouble of actually passing laws to that effect?  And if this hull cleaning and delays becomes common you can bet prices will go even higher for tickets.  They would have to or just avoid NZ all together.  It ain't cheap to hire tugs/divers, etc.  Also, how many of us want to go on a difficult to get to , expensive cruise that has a few days at anchor cleaning the hull?  Just questions for discussion.  

[TrulyBlonde]

Regent link to same issue:

 

[Twitchly]

Made its way into the NY Times today.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/02/world/australia/biofoul-cruise-ship.html?unlocked_article_code=OrR0ZoayLHFOzzkJ4Ax9zGuLRALItHwn8hFc_AaIGnVcf8_sxJjRGCVCdO-Gz4whbAVzo_9v4mebqjNP3ncqISqMzszKO8weHRTkZnE2mehmR29Hynrblp-L-mdYLyOhZzQJiNlwnr_ismJWZNHFzpyCd6VEUKHj1rko4W4xou9TirMgzGDFhT6-rkU7kkqWh6uGPTcgMjz9WusRdI6wVXUjLjYLBItgXrNJIt_T8MuLRtLOUQxJHz69iJ53PLMTiBe0iaTAGDAnQINSqoxHIWRUAFe7Cfed6JYDVQNSbeVegupKlsb0Vv_M0mlOioIksSKmxFQjfyiU8KFYe1unIGZFoMaa&smid=share-url

[OneSixtyToOne]

3 hours ago, Serendiptydesign said:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/481818/algae-ridden-cruise-ship-ordered-out-of-new-zealand-waters

The latest update from an interview with a Nz department employee with permission to speak on the matter of the Viking Orion biofoulling.

This is worth a read and puts Viking in a bad light and other cruise ships

This is an interesting observation...

Craig Harris, managing director of McKay Shipping, said it was unusual to see cruise ships needing to be cleaned.

He believed the lay-up of ships during the pandemic may be part of the problem.

"They are generally dry-docked and have their hulls cleaned and painted. At the moment, there's a shortage of facilities all around the world of underwater divers or cleaners.

"My suspicion is that's the reason why the ships just have not been able to comply fully."

It was the first time Harris remembered cruise ships being cleaned in New Zealand as they were normally cleaned to a high standard.

[OneSixtyToOne]

2 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Just speculating but could this be a way to work into banning/limiting cruise ships without the trouble of actually passing laws to that effect?  And if this hull cleaning and delays becomes common you can bet prices will go even higher for tickets.  They would have to or just avoid NZ all together.  It ain't cheap to hire tugs/divers, etc.  Also, how many of us want to go on a difficult to get to , expensive cruise that has a few days at anchor cleaning the hull?  Just questions for discussion.  

I had the same thought. Also, maybe their domestic cruise industry is at play here.

Edited January 2, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[miller1327]

Thank you for all the information on this "adventure." Very sorry you had to miss all those ports. As we are taking the same itinerary a month out, we appreciate your "sacrifice" to give us a clean hull - at least for a little while. I do have two questions if someone on board might answer. What is the current Viking COVID testing protocol and how has COVID been on the trip? And my wife wants to ask how the ride was crossing the Tasmanian sea? 

[Stickman1990]

2 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Also, maybe their domestic cruise industry is at play here.

What domestic cruise industry? 
New Zealand doesn’t have one

[Serendiptydesign]

7 hours ago, katlew said:

That is a very confusing article. It almost sounds as if Viking knew there was an issue before our cruise even left Auckland. But it also says it stuck to commercial ports & didn’t go to restricted areas & was still told to leave. What a mess. I certainly hope Viking didn’t just put us all through this knowing we wouldn’t be able to go to most ports.

That is how I am reading the article,  if this is the case it really puts Viking in a poor light. 

[Serendiptydesign]

1 hour ago, miller1327 said:

Thank you for all the information on this "adventure." Very sorry you had to miss all those ports. As we are taking the same itinerary a month out, we appreciate your "sacrifice" to give us a clean hull - at least for a little while. I do have two questions if someone on board might answer. What is the current Viking COVID testing protocol and how has COVID been on the trip? And my wife wants to ask how the ride was crossing the Tasmanian sea? 

We have not been covid tested yet as a passenger, and regarding the ride across the Tasman Sea sadly my husband was quite sick for one day and stayed in the cabin.

[katlew]

3 hours ago, miller1327 said:

Thank you for all the information on this "adventure." Very sorry you had to miss all those ports. As we are taking the same itinerary a month out, we appreciate your "sacrifice" to give us a clean hull - at least for a little while. I do have two questions if someone on board might answer. What is the current Viking COVID testing protocol and how has COVID been on the trip? And my wife wants to ask how the ride was crossing the Tasmanian sea? 

We found it a bit rolly during the sail, but luckily none of us were sick. They did have things around like ginger & green apples for those who were. It was nothing like when we were in a hurricane off Alaska.

 

No testing has been done as part of the cruise. More people masking than we expected, but it’s a minority. We also weren’t required to mask to get off the boat in Melbourne which had been an Australian cruise protocol when we left.

[katlew]

2 hours ago, Serendiptydesign said:

We have not been covid tested yet as a passenger, and regarding the ride across the Tasman Sea sadly my husband was quite sick for one day and stayed in the cabin.

Oh gosh, I’m sorry he struggled with it!

[katlew]

2 hours ago, Serendiptydesign said:

That is how I am reading the article,  if this is the case it really puts Viking in a poor light. 

The article is worded so poorly it’s really hard to figure out what happened when. Plus they have dates wrong, we knew we were leaving NZ on the 24th, it wasn’t a decision on the 26th.

[katlew]

9 hours ago, uktog said:

Not seen any reports of this, Azamara Quest has been in Sydney as scheduled for the last two nights.  Will be interested to hear though of evidence of more issues on other vessels as it sure puts sailing in this part of the world into a new risk bucket for the upcoming season

It was turned away from the Milford Sound and had a hull cleaning day instead.