This morning we had breakfast with an Australian couple who told us what had happened to them on a previous cruise. They had decided to fly to Los Angeles to sail on the relocation cruise of the Diamond Princess to Australia. On the voyage, the ship called in to Akaroa in New Zealand which is just a little town of about 400 people. There’s no appropriate berth so the ship anchors out in the deep water and it’s about a 25 minute tender ride to the jetty. The weather wasn’t too good but the captain decided he wouldn’t disappoint the passengers who wanted to go ashore.
Unfortunately, the weather turned nasty and the tenders weren’t able to pick up the passengers to bring them back to the ship. The Princess crew on shore organized the passengers to gather in the local school gymnasium and allocated whatever space was available in local inns, etc. When these ran out, local people turned up and offered overnight accommodation in their homes. The couple we spoke to had a nice room with an ensuite and were delighted. Two ladies also came to the same house. Their husbands had gone back on an early boat which beat the bad weather.
The sad thing was that many Americans refused to go with the locals and demanded ‘proper’ hotel accommodation so Princess organized buses to collect them and take them to Christchurch, almost 2 hours away. The buses didn’t arrive until 10.30pm and the captain decreed that everybody had to be ready to leave at 7am, in case the weather improved. So the precious group only had about 4 hours sleep and had to get back in the buses at 5am. As it happened, the weather didn’t improve until mid-afternoon.
Those who had stayed with locals had a comfortable home to relax in, and many residents took their guests on tours of the area while they were waiting. The ones who had insisted on going to Christchurch had a very boring time.
It seems to me to be an excellent example of the Anzac spirit. I’m sure Australians would have responded in the same way if the tables were turned.
Unfortunately, the weather turned nasty and the tenders weren’t able to pick up the passengers to bring them back to the ship. The Princess crew on shore organized the passengers to gather in the local school gymnasium and allocated whatever space was available in local inns, etc. When these ran out, local people turned up and offered overnight accommodation in their homes. The couple we spoke to had a nice room with an ensuite and were delighted. Two ladies also came to the same house. Their husbands had gone back on an early boat which beat the bad weather.
The sad thing was that many Americans refused to go with the locals and demanded ‘proper’ hotel accommodation so Princess organized buses to collect them and take them to Christchurch, almost 2 hours away. The buses didn’t arrive until 10.30pm and the captain decreed that everybody had to be ready to leave at 7am, in case the weather improved. So the precious group only had about 4 hours sleep and had to get back in the buses at 5am. As it happened, the weather didn’t improve until mid-afternoon.
Those who had stayed with locals had a comfortable home to relax in, and many residents took their guests on tours of the area while they were waiting. The ones who had insisted on going to Christchurch had a very boring time.
It seems to me to be an excellent example of the Anzac spirit. I’m sure Australians would have responded in the same way if the tables were turned.
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