2023-11-27 00:51:41
Passengers on a cruise from Australian company P&O Cruises that was scheduled to visit New Zealand for two weeks were instead forced to navigate Tasmanian waters after their boat was rejected at the New Zealand border.
The cruise named Pacific Adventure was unable to gain permission to enter New Zealand due to a “biosecurity” threat linked to the ship’s hull allegedly being improperly cleaned, leading to forced organizers to change its route, reports > Australia.
“We know that almost 90% of exotic marine species in New Zealand arrive via the submerged portion of international ships,” says Northern New Zealand Biosecurity Commissioner Mike Inglis.
“The operator did not even attempt to clean the hull in the last few days and abandoned its cleaning due to poor weather conditions and simply chose to cancel the New Zealand portion of the voyage,” adds- he.
For its part, P&O indicates to the Australian media via a press release that it warned passengers before they boarded that the itinerary could change significantly.
However, a traveler named David Curtis, 60, says he received an email only mentioning the removal of two stops.
He claims that the passengers are furious.
“It’s an uproar in the whole boat,” he said. We have to go to Tasmania. We were practically kidnapped by P&O.”
Several passengers denounced the situation on social networks.
“My wife and I are on this cruise that’s going to nowhere, it’s very disappointing,” says one man.
“Honestly, I just want to go home,” adds another user.
After initially only offering passengers a credit on future bookings with their company, P&O has finally offered a 50% refund of the purchase price of their ticket to passengers who are still on board the ship currently in Tasmania.
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