Queen Elizabeth cleaning hull

[need_a_holiday]

It has just been confirmed that the hull is not clean and the Feb 14 trip to NZ will skik Fjordland and Bay of Islands.  Passengers will get a $150 onboard credit and a 20% future cruise credit, less than the 50% offered on the last NZ cruise.  They have known for a couple weeks that this would be the case.

[madfisho]

So we just received an email today that due to the hull cleaning not being completed , Fiordland and Bay of Islands has been removed from our itinerary and replaced with additional sea days.  

They also advise that "As a gesture of goodwill, Cunard will be crediting your on board account with US$300 on board spending money* per guest."

Pretty disappointing but weve never been to NZ or on a cruise so kind of dont know what we are missing out on, that tempers it s bit I guess.  Im wondering if the ship at least goes close enough to those areas so we can have a bit of a look.  I hope so.

 

 

 

 

[roscoe39]

11 hours ago, madfisho said:

So we just received an email today that due to the hull cleaning not being completed , Fiordland and Bay of Islands has been removed from our itinerary and replaced with additional sea days.  

They also advise that "As a gesture of goodwill, Cunard will be crediting your on board account with US$300 on board spending money* per guest."

Pretty disappointing but weve never been to NZ or on a cruise so kind of dont know what we are missing out on, that tempers it s bit I guess.  Im wondering if the ship at least goes close enough to those areas so we can have a bit of a look.  I hope so.

 

 

 

 

I hate to disappoint you but unfortunately you won't see anything, even if the ship is close to land you won't see much as the views are all up the fjords. It just gives you an excuse to come back and visit us again and I hope you will as the Fiordland (Shadowland) is spectacular.

Some pictures and personal experience onboard here"

 

https://roscoesseafever.blogspot.com/2013/09/adventures-into-shadowland-milford.html

 

https://roscoesseafever.blogspot.com/2021/03/man-overboard.

 

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by roscoe39

[Kiwi_Cruisers]

We booked yesterday the Melbourne to Auckland cruise which included Fiordland scenic cruising and no word about change of schedule from Cunard.

[LittleFish1976]

10 minutes ago, Kiwi_Cruisers said:

We booked yesterday the Melbourne to Auckland cruise which included Fiordland scenic cruising and no word about change of schedule from Cunard.

 

But you knew it was almost a certainty, surely when you booked? Plus it was all over social media as soon as passengers started getting their emails from Cunard.

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by LittleFish1976

[madfisho]

10 hours ago, roscoe39 said:

I hate to disappoint you but unfortunately you won't see anything, even if the ship is close to land you won't see much as the views are all up the fjords. It just gives you an excuse to come back and visit us again and I hope you will as the Fiordland (Shadowland) is spectacular.

Some pictures and personal experience onboard here"

 

https://roscoesseafever.blogspot.com/2013/09/adventures-into-shadowland-milford.html

 

https://roscoesseafever.blogspot.com/2021/03/man-overboard.

 

 

Bugger! Oh well I guess you’re right- we’ll just have to come back! Might bring the family and make it a more conventional driving holiday next time 

[MelbTone]

I'm booked on this weekend's 3-night QE cruise from Melbourne <> Burnie (Tasmania) and got this email this morning:

 

... It is our ambition to complete the required hull cleaning in advance of our port of call to Burnie on 13 February, with no impact to your itinerary.

There is however, a small chance that the cleaning operation takes longer than expected, and this could mean we’d be unable to visit Burnie as part of your voyage. Should this happen, we would instead spend an additional day at sea.

We understand that not calling into Burnie would be a significant alteration to your short voyage, and should this happen, as a gesture of goodwill we would add $150 USD per person on board credit to your on board account. As an additional gesture we would also issue you with a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) to the value of 100% of your current voyage fare paid(excluding taxes and port fees). ...

 

It looks like Cunard are making absolutely sure that their Feb 14th New Zealand cruise has no issues, after previous troubles, but I am somewhat surprised at their 'generosity' in offering 100% FCC should Burnie which, with apologies to its residents, is not exactly Milford Sound is skipped. I realise that all the provisioning is in place so the cost of food is zero but with A$210 OBC they're not going to make much money from on board spending. 

[MelbTone]

To reply to my own post, on reflection perhaps the key thing is that what might be offered is 100% FCC, not a refund (under the standard T&C they can skip ports with no compensation), and given that this is only a three-night cruise, the chances are that the FCC will either not be used or used against a longer and more expensive cruise. Perhaps a cleverer response to a potential problem than I first thought.

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for the update, I hope the cleaning is successful this time.  

[roscoe39]

On 2/9/2023 at 10:33 AM, Host Hattie said:

Thanks for the update, I hope the cleaning is successful this time.  

unrelated but was told last night at a party by one of the bridge officers that we (The QV) had been given clearance for the Bay of Islands, which is great news. our bum is as clean as a whistle.....of course IF we can get in as there is a cyclone bearing down on NZ as we speak that is apprently one of the worse weather events on record. Apparently Auckland and Northlanders are sandbagging as we speak.....hope someone has taken care of my cat!

 

I

Edited February 10, 2023 by roscoe39

[subaru94]

On 2/9/2023 at 7:36 AM, MelbTone said:

I'm booked on this weekend's 3-night QE cruise from Melbourne <> Burnie (Tasmania) and got this email this morning:

 

... It is our ambition to complete the required hull cleaning in advance of our port of call to Burnie on 13 February, with no impact to your itinerary.

There is however, a small chance that the cleaning operation takes longer than expected, and this could mean we’d be unable to visit Burnie as part of your voyage. Should this happen, we would instead spend an additional day at sea.

We understand that not calling into Burnie would be a significant alteration to your short voyage, and should this happen, as a gesture of goodwill we would add $150 USD per person on board credit to your on board account. As an additional gesture we would also issue you with a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) to the value of 100% of your current voyage fare paid(excluding taxes and port fees). ...

 

It looks like Cunard are making absolutely sure that their Feb 14th New Zealand cruise has no issues, after previous troubles, but I am somewhat surprised at their 'generosity' in offering 100% FCC should Burnie which, with apologies to its residents, is not exactly Milford Sound is skipped. I realise that all the provisioning is in place so the cost of food is zero but with A$210 OBC they're not going to make much money from on board spending. 

Will be interesting to see as we got an email saying not calling into Sounds and Bay of Islands due to not being able to have the hull cleaned, would be a lovely surprise if they manage to do it.

[LittleFish1976]

On 2/11/2023 at 10:26 AM, roscoe39 said:

unrelated but was told last night at a party by one of the bridge officers that we (The QV) had been given clearance for the Bay of Islands, which is great news. our bum is as clean as a whistle.....of course IF we can get in as there is a cyclone bearing down on NZ as we speak that is apprently one of the worse weather events on record. Apparently Auckland and Northlanders are sandbagging as we speak.....hope someone has taken care of my cat!

 

I

 

Can confirm gale-force winds in that area. Have just this morning made an early retreat back to Australia from a weekend wedding in the Northland/Auckland region. Rain has started and Air New Zealand have been cancelling as many domestic flights as possible and also some international ones. The seas will be wild including, I should assume, as far south as the Sounds as the cyclone's effects wend their way south.

 

I'm departing Melbourne on Tuesday on QE for Auckland, so am looking forward to seeing what itinerary we end up doing - could be quite the adventure! (My best guess at the moment is that we stay docked in Port Phillip Bay for a week!).

 

I also notice Tropical Cyclone Freddie is swirling around to the west of Australia. An eventful end to our sumer season of cruising in the wider region!

[bluemarble]

On 2/8/2023 at 3:06 PM, MelbTone said:

I'm booked on this weekend's 3-night QE cruise from Melbourne <> Burnie (Tasmania) and got this email this morning:

 

... It is our ambition to complete the required hull cleaning in advance of our port of call to Burnie on 13 February, with no impact to your itinerary.

There is however, a small chance that the cleaning operation takes longer than expected, and this could mean we’d be unable to visit Burnie as part of your voyage. Should this happen, we would instead spend an additional day at sea. ...

 

I see you've arrived at Burnie this morning. Have any announcements been made about the hull cleaning? I noticed QE did a pirouette and several large loops around Bass Strait yesterday. But I'm not seeing anywhere in your past track where QE came to a stop as I would have expected for hull cleaning to be done. I'm sure any updates will be welcome for those on the next voyage, just in case Cunard might be able to restore the originally planned calls to Fiordland and Bay of Islands.

[MelbTone]

Yes, after all the expectation management I was amazed to pull back the curtains and find us docked. Just had a bridge announcement but it the usual don't take food off the ship and shuttle bus reminders.

[madfisho]

Just regarding the comments about the cyclone…we are on the QE departing tomorrow. Arrive I believe at Dunedin on Saturday. My reading of the weather forecasts is that by then the weather will be back to normal. There’s a pretty good weather website called windy.com which can show you what the winds will be like up to 11 days out. I use it a lot for fishing out of cairns and it’s pretty good. So just looking at that and the bom forecast I think we’ll be fine.

[lissie]

Sounds like the cruise due to start tomorrow Tuesday - has been cancelled because QE is not allowed into NZ waters because of the dirty hull.  More than one passenger has got the email. Bummer if you were planning on flying out of Auckland. 

 

Presumably the cruises starting from Auckland in a week or so are also cancelled. 

[LittleFish1976]

31 minutes ago, lissie said:

Sounds like the cruise due to start tomorrow Tuesday - has been cancelled because QE is not allowed into NZ waters because of the dirty hull.  More than one passenger has got the email. Bummer if you were planning on flying out of Auckland. 

 

Presumably the cruises starting from Auckland in a week or so are also cancelled. 

 

I was booked on Q309A which was the 8 night leg from Melbourne to Auckland. I have been totally cancelled as I was due to disembark in Auckland but Q309 - the full circuit Melb-Melb - has been re-routed to Queensland for 13 days in the sun. I've rung Cunard, and despite my absolutely knowing for certain that my Q3 cabin was not booked for the second leg of Q309 (AKL to MEL) they will not let me book the longer Q309 with the new itinerary. They're 'looking into it' for me which I think is call centre code for putting me off until it's too late to board at all. So I have a suitcase packed and nowhere to go. The irony is that I flew home yesterday from Auckland after a family wedding there over the weekend so I could join this long-ago booked and much-anticipated cruise, the product of a large credit from a cancelled cruise from February 2020. Drove to Auckland airport directly from the wedding (on the southern edge of Northland) to make a 6am flight so we wouldn't be trapped by the cyclone.

 

So now I'm looking at all and sundry as I was so looking forward to re-starting cruising now. Maybe this will be what pushes me to try Princess cruises?

[LittleFish1976]

38 minutes ago, lissie said:

Presumably the cruises starting from Auckland in a week or so are also cancelled.

 

No, they're not going to New Zealand now. Due back in Melbourne on the 27th February from the newly routed Q309 and I doubt will be back in NZ this season. Someone in the know said weeks ago they would do the hull cleaning in Singapore once they get there after the Australia and NZ season.

[AussieVoyager]

Yes, I just received the email from Cunard. It must be a huge amount of work for the staff to make all the last minute changes. We we still be travelling, even though the whole trip will be within Australia. 

[need_a_holiday]

The Queen Elizabeth trips departing Melbourne 14th of February to Auckland then back to Melbourne have been cancelled as Cunard have been denied access to Auckland due to a dirty hull.  Cunard tried to clean the hull during the previous NZ cruise but only completed 40% of the work.  They were going to try to clean it again during the 3 night trip to Tasmania currently underway and it looks like that also did not eventuate.

 

The voyage has apparently been replaced with a Queensland trip but there is no information on the cancellation or updated itinerary on Cunard's website or social media pages.  Right now the NZ cruises are still being offered for sale on their website - it shows up as a late saver fare starting at AUD$100 per night:

Melbourne to Auckland: https://www.cunard.com/en-au/find-a-cruise/Q309A/Q309A

Auckland to Melbourne: https://www.cunard.com/en-au/find-a-cruise/Q309C/Q309C

If you want to take a gamble you could buy a ticket in order to get the 120% future cruise credit or though it might end up being just a refund.

 

Email sent to passengers:

We recently wrote to you regarding changes to your itinerary.  As a reminder; over the past few months, we have continued to take proactive steps to complete additional work on our hull, in order to meet the strict biosecurity arrangements of New Zealand.

We previously communicated that we were unable to understake the hull work required to visit the sensitive areas of New Zealand on your upcoming voyage, however it was our full intention to be able to visit the other New Zealand destinations on your itinerary.

Unfortunately, after extensive consultation with New Zealand authorities, it has now been stipulated that additional work is required in advance of visiting any New Zeland destinations which has not been possible.

As a result, we are no longer calling at Auckland on 22 February and with no suitable alternative ports available, we are regrettably cancelling your voyage A309A.  In addition to the future cruise credit offered in our last communication, you are entitle to a further future cruise credit worth 100% of your cruise fare paid, equalling 120% in total.  This will be set up automatically.

Alternatively you can have a 100% cash refund on all monies paid.

 

The new Itinerary will be:

14 Feb – Melbourne
15 Feb – At Sea
16 Feb – Eden
17 Feb – At Sea
18 Feb – Brisbane
19 Feb – At Sea
20 Feb – Port Douglas
21 Feb – Cairns
22 Feb – At Sea
23 Feb – At Se
24 Feb – At Sea
25 Feb – Sydney
26 Feb – At Sea
27 Feb - Melbourne

Edited February 13, 2023 by need_a_holiday

[bluemarble]

3 minutes ago, AussieVoyager said:

Yes, I just received the email from Cunard. It must be a huge amount of work for the staff to make all the last minute changes. We we still be travelling, even though the whole trip will be within Australia. 

 

Must be a huge disappointment for those expecting a New Zealand cruise and even more so for those who have had their cruises cancelled because they were embarking or disembarking in Auckland.

 

Have they provided you with the details of the revised itinerary or are they still working on it? Inquiring minds would like to know where you will be going each day now on what has become an all-Australia cruise.

[AussieVoyager]

Just now, bluemarble said:

 

Must be a huge disappointment for those expecting a New Zealand cruise and even more so for those who have had their cruises cancelled because they were embarking or disembarking in Auckland.

 

Have they provided you with the details of the revised itinerary or are they still working on it? Inquiring minds would like to know where you will be going each day now on what has become an all-Australia cruise.

Yes, this is the itinerary:

 

The new voyage itinerary from 14 Februaryuntil our scheduled arrival into Melbourne on 27 February will be:

14 Feb – Melbourne
15 Feb – At Sea
16 Feb – Eden
17 Feb – At Sea
18 Feb – Brisbane
19 Feb – At Sea
20 Feb – Port Douglas
21 Feb – Cairns
22 Feb – At Sea
23 Feb – At Se
24 Feb – At Sea
25 Feb – Sydney
26 Feb – At Sea
27 Feb - Melbourne

[MelbTone]

Any OBC or FCC being offered to compensate for the changed itinerary?

[sfred]

1 hour ago, LittleFish1976 said:

I was booked on Q309A which was the 8 night leg from Melbourne to Auckland. I have been totally cancelled as I was due to disembark in Auckland but Q309 - the full circuit Melb-Melb - has been re-routed to Queensland for 13 days in the sun.

 

My sympathies @LittleFish1976.  I hope that the Cunard call centre is able to get you onto the new itinerary.

 

I see that QE will be coming to Brisbane on the 18th.  I think this will be her first time back since 7 April 2020, when she stopped in for provisioning after departing Gladstone to head to Manila during the covid shutdown.

[madfisho]

 I can’t believe that I get to visit my home town of Cairns! Wow. I guess I can see the kids while we are there!