NZ volcano tragedy: sad journey home for surviving cruise guests
Ovation of the Seas has left Tauranga Harbour minus almost 40 passengers who were caught up in Monday’s volcano tragedy.
With three solemn blasts of its horn, Ovation of the Seas weighed anchor and shunted out of New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty on Wednesday morning as its began the long journey home minus almost 40 passengers caught up in the White Island volcano tragedy.
It will be a sombre trip home for the 4000 passengers who remain aboard, as the cruise ship continues on an abbreviated schedule before finally docking in Sydney as planned next Monday.
READ MORE: More Australian victims of NZ volcano named | ‘I feel nerves inside me’: dead tour guide’s volcano warning | Grieving father tells of last days with son | Tour operators decided when visits were safe | Sad journey home for surviving cruise guests | Boatloads at White Island after alert raised | 120 square metres of skin for grafts | Cricket’s tribute to volcano victims
The liner was due to depart Tauranga Harbour at 6.15pm on Monday but remained docked for an additional two nights following the disaster.
Of the 47 people on White Island at the time of Monday’s eruption, 38 were cruise passengers.
It is understood friends and family have left the ship to comfort those affected by the tragedy.
A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean, which owns the liner, would not comment on how many additional passengers had stayed on in Tauranga, about 91km west of White Island.
However, she confirmed a number of cruise employees would also stay on to assist them.
“The ship stayed in Tauranga to allow our personnel to assist local authorities and support those affected by this unforeseen natural disaster,” she said.
“A team will remain onsite in Tauranga and all hospital locations to ensure those affected by Monday’s incident are taken care of in terms of medical help, counselling, accommodations, and transport.
“Our priority continues to be to ensure that all guests and crew impacted are well taken care of and we assist the local authorities in any way we can.”
She said the liner would visit Wellington and Picton before returning to Sydney. “We thank our guests onboard for their patience and understanding during this tragic situation,” she said.
Compensation for cruise guests
Guests onboard the Ovation of the Seas cruise liner will receive hundreds of dollars worth of refunds after the ship’s schedule was derailed by the deadly White Island volcano eruption.
In a letter to passengers, the ship’s captain Henrik Loy apologised for not being able to take the ship’s 4000 remaining passengers to Dunedin and the Sounds.
“We will be providing you with a refund in the value of 1 day of your total cruise fare paid as a refundable credit to your onboard account,” the letter reads.
“If unused, you can expect to receive a refund to your credit card...after this cruise ends.”
The offer of a one-day refund comes after the ship left the dock at Tauranga early Wednesday morning, 36 hours later than planned.
Passengers that were caught up in the volcanic eruption on Monday and are still unaccounted for have been presumed dead by authorities.
How Israel and Iran are waging war in the shadows
The arrest of seven Israelis paid hundreds of thousands of pounds by Iran to take photographs of sensitive military sites highlights the intensifying espionage war in the Middle East.
How Israel flushed Sinwar out of Gaza’s tunnels to his death
The IDF attacked strategic underground complexes in Gaza, pushing Yahya Sinwar to leave the safety of Hamas’s labyrinth. Finding his DNA showed they were in the right location.