CW for Wed 04 Jan 2023 - Third ship denied entry into New Zealand, Holland America Alaska 2024

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Cruise Weekly today

Cruise Weekly today features two pages of all the latest cruise news.

HAL AK ‘24 season

Holland America Line (HAL) is heading to the Arctic Circle, and debuting longer cruises, as part of its Alaska 2024 season.

HAL is debuting a new 28-day Arctic Circle itinerary which includes 12 Alaska ports, as well as longer, 14-day voyages, and 117 week-long journeys.

From Apr through Sep 2024, guests can embark on HAL’s cruises to Alaska aboard Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam, Westerdam and Zaandam.

HAL’s 2024 season is now open for booking, with cruisetours to go on sale next month.

Third ship denied entry into NZ Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ (RSSC) Seven Seas Explorer (pictured) has become the third ship in under a month to be refused entry into New Zealand due to a “dirty hull”.

Explorer is in the midst of her first cruise season in the Australia & New Zealand regions (CW yesterday), but like Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess (CW 23 Dec 2022) and Viking’s Viking Orion (CW yesterday), RSSC has been required to perform a cleaning operation on the ship’s hull due to NZ regulations, which will see her miss a number of port calls.

New Zealand authorities refused Explorer’s operations in Nelson, forcing RSSC to modify the Explorer’s itinerary - mainly due to the unavailability of recognised diving companies required to fulfil the operation, the line said.

Explorer is now rerouting to the

coast of South Australia, near to where the same operation was performed on Orion, and due to the time needed to perform the cleaning of the ship’s hull, she will afterward proceed directly to Auckland, foregoing the remaining ports of call from the originally scheduled itinerary.

A letter to guests from RSSC’s new President Andrea DeMarco said the line will provide a 50% refund on each guest’s cruiseonly fare, and will also issue a

50% future cruise credit based on the cruise-only fare.

If any portion of the booking has previously applied credits, they will be returned to the guest’s account, and are non-refundable.

“We apologise for modifying your itinerary and any inconveniences this has caused,” the letter said.

The cruise is still expected to disembark in Auckland, meaning return flights will remain unchanged, RSSC added.

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Wednesday 4th Jan 2023

PORTHOLE

NCL back in New Zealand

Azamara Cruises’ Azamara Quest performed some graceful “circle work” in front of the Sydney Opera House this week - the first time any ship has ever undertaken such a manoeuvre.

Upon arriving in front of Circular Quay, Quest performed a pirouette, before continuing onto her berth at White Bay Cruise Terminal.

View the feat HERE.

Euro Waterways’ record sales

European Waterways’ record sales are being powered by some of the new year’s travel trends, including travel bubbles, relaxed luxury and multi-generational travel.

The cruise line said its private charter bookings have increased more than 45% as many travellers are still preferring to create a travel bubble with their family and/ or friends.

Travellers are also seeking experiences which take them “off the beaten path”, immersing them in the local culture, gastronomy, and history of the region in which they’re travelling.

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Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has marked its return to New Zealand after three years, with Norwegian Spirit (pictured) sailing into Dunedin on Thu. The cruise called at ports including Lyttelton, Wellington, Napier, and Tauranga, as well as Auckland, where New Zealanders yesterday embarked on their first local Norwegian voyage since the pandemic.

Spirit’s maiden arrival marks a significant milestone for the New Zealand cruise industry’s comeback, with a number of open-jaw sailings between Dec 2022 and Mar 2023 set to explore destinations like Napier, Tauranga and Fiordland.

New Zealand departures will also visit Melbourne, Burnie, and Eden in Australia.

Spirit will then return for a second homeporting season from

EDITORIAL Editor in Chief and Publisher – Bruce Piper Associate Publisher – Anna Piper Senior Associate Editor – Adam Bishop Associate Editor – Myles Stedman Contributors – Janie Medbury info@cruiseweekly.com.au info@cruiseweekly.co.nz

Auckland in Dec. “We’re thrilled to finally welcome Norwegian Spirit to New Zealand - she is well and truly worth the wait,” said Vice President & Managing Director APAC Ben Angell.

“We know New Zealanders love our contemporary, laidback style of cruising, as well as the outstanding value only an NCL cruise can offer.

“Importantly, we’re delighted to be part of an industry that contributes a significant amount to the New Zealand economy each year.”

Added President & Chief Executive Officer Harry Sommer: “New Zealand is an incredibly important market for us, both as a source market and a destination, and we are committed to this region for the long term.”

Bar Harbor battle

Businesses in Bar Harbor are suing the town to overturn its new limit on cruise ship visits (CW 14 Nov 2022), claiming the cap is “unconstitutional” and will hurt the local economy.

The law was adopted by voters in Nov, and limits cruise ships to 1,000 passengers per day in town during the season.

The cap was proposed in response to complaints about downtown congestion during Bar Harbor’s cruise season, when more than 150 ships typically visit.

However, according to a local report, complainants believe it “immediately renders the town an unviable destination port-of-call”.

Bar Harbor for years has long tried to promote itself as an attractive destination for cruise ships, with the complaint noting the cap will lead lines to shift their calls to other ports.

Once that’s done, “it could take years to re-establish cruise line confidence in calling at the port of Bar Harbor,” the complaint said.

Arvia problems

Passengers aboard the United Kingdom’s P&O Cruises’ Arvia’s inaugural voyage have described the experience as a “disaster”, with some waiting until almost midnight for their Christmas dinner, The Times of London has reported.

Other complaints made included lost restaurant reservations and wi-fi issues.

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