A total of three cruise ships in recent weeks in Australian waters have been denied entry to New Zealand and forced to change their itinerary due to buildup of marine fungus.
The Seven Seas Explorer, a luxury liner in the Regent Seven Seas Cruises fleet, was denied entry into New Zealand waters this week due to what the company described as “higher than permitted levels of algae, barnacles, tube worms and possible oysters present”. “in the hull of the ship, RNZ reported.
The ship left Sydney, Australia, on December 29 with plans to stop at eight ports and three fjords, and spend three days at sea, but an American passenger on the ship told Fox News Digital that the voyage “will be turned into a nightmare” and will now consist of 11 days at sea and just one port after the ship was required to wait in the open sea for a clean-up crew to eradicate marine life.
The passenger explained that the trip has become a frustrating ordeal with changing plans, inconsistent messages from the crew and uncertainty about being compensated for the derailed vacation.
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The Seven Seas Explorer anchors in Alanya, Turkey on September 4, 2022.
(Mert Canturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“We’ve been in limbo all day with land in sight, going nowhere,” the passenger said. “Very little information is available and what we hear keeps changing.”
“As an option to stay on board for the remainder of the cruise, we are now being told that when we arrive in Adelaide, we can disembark and make our own plans to return home, all at our own expense and with no one on board to help us with the plans. “. said the passenger. “Regent Seven Seas claims that her luxury cruises are ‘unrivaled experiences.’ This is not what we had in mind.”
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The Seven Seas Explorer docked in Adelaide, Australia.
(Fox Digital News)
A spokesperson for Regent Seven Seas Cruises told Fox News Digital that the ship “is currently sailing a 14-night cruise with guests embarking on December 29, 2022 and is scheduled to disembark in Auckland, New Zealand, on January 12, 2023”. “
The company said it is “committed to working with our local partners around the world to minimize our impact on the environment in the destinations we visit” and explained that local regulations in New Zealand required a hull cleaning for the Seven Seas Explorer.
“Cleaning must be carried out by a company recognized by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, none of which have been available in ports the ship has recently visited or would have visited prior to its scheduled entry into New Zealand waters. “said the spokesman.
The spokesperson said that all guests on board have been offered a 100% refund of their paid cruise fare and “a number of guests have opted to disembark in Adelaide to continue their voyages.”
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“We understand and apologize for the inconvenience, frustration, and disappointment this outage has caused our valued guests, and we appreciate your continued understanding,” the statement said.
In recent weeks, two additional cruise ships have failed to meet New Zealand environmental standards, including the 14-deck, 930-person cruise ship Viking Orion, which was prevented from entering New Zealand ports and stranded for eight days on the sea last week due to what the company told Fox News Digital it was a “limited amount of standard marine growth”.
viking cruisers confirmed to Reuters which will provide passengers with a voucher equal to what they paid for the cruise.
Two weeks ago, a Princess Cruise Lines ship known as the Coral Princess was barred from entering New Zealand due to a buildup of sea snails which resulted in an apology from the cruise line and a refund of approximately $100 to passengers and 15% discount on their next trip: an amount that most on board “were not very happy with,” one passenger told the outlet.
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The Viking Orion cruise ship docked on April 16, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia.
(Udo Weitz/Image Alliance via Getty Images)
The three cruise ships failed to meet New Zealand’s “biofouling standards,” which are designed to prevent invasive species from damaging reefs.
“If they reach our reefs, they could decimate the environment and cause some serious problems,” said Flinders University Associate Professor Sophie Leterme. told the AAP.
Fox News Digital contacted the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
