On December 14, people are invited to register for a chance to win one of just three overnight stays in Hobbiton. Video / NZ Herald
A couple from Sydney missed their own wedding on Saturday after the New Zealand cruise they were booked on was held up at the border.
P&O’s Pacific Adventure was unable to enter New Zealand due to biofoul detected on the hull, which barred the ship under MPI’s strictbiosecurity rules.
Music teacher Kylie Risk, 30, and beautician fiancé Janine Sherriff, 25, were onboard the 2636-passenger ship, planning to be wed in Waikato this weekend at the Hobbiton Movie Set. They had booked the 13-day “Kiwi Adventure” itinerary, to meet friends and family at The Lord of the Rings tourist attraction, after which they intended to spend their honeymoon sailing round Aotearoa.
Unfortunately MPI’s marine bioscreening had bad news for those on the Australian liner: You shall not pass!
Kylie Risk, 30, and fiancé Janine Sherriff, 25, missed their own wedding in Hobbiton after a P&O biohazard foul-up.
Instead the Tolkien fans were offered a trip to Tasmania and a partial cruise refund from the Carnival Australia owned liner, but their dream wedding had been ruined.
Flying home from Hobart Airport, the couple said that there was little they could do to salvage the trip.
“We had friends and family over there who ended up having a holiday without us,” said Risk. “I told them ‘go ahead and enjoy yourselves’. There was nothing we could do.”
The couple said that P&O were as good as “they could be”, given the situation, and had offered to pay for flights to New Zealand but by this time most of their guests had already returned to Sydney.
Kylie Risk, 30, and fiancé Janine Sherriff, 25, dressed up in wedding finery on the Pacific Adventure, after missing their ceremony in Hobbiton.
The sailing had been a present from his mother-in-law-to-be. Risk said his fiance’s parents had sailed with P&O before and never had any problems but the couple would not be returning to sea any time soon.
Setting sail last week the couple were trapped at sea on an itinerary they had not booked.
“This has been my first and last cruise. 9 days of open water are enough for me.”
The couple now intend to tie the knot back in Sydney, with friends from the metal music scene.
Hobbiton Movie Set Had been in touch after what happened and offered a full refund, or alternate dates to suit the couple.
“They [the Hobbiton Movie Set Tour] have been nothing but amazing, the celebrant we had booked is a wonderful human being and the photographer was so helpful as well,” said Risk.
Though sadly they had no plans to visit Hobbiton any time soon.
“As for holding the event in Hobbiton the cancellation made it a very pricey adventure. We don’t have the money for it, but it would be great to go one day.”
Instead the the couple said they had plenty of support from friends in the New South Wales music scene to hold an alternate celebration, with metal band Thraxas offering entertainment and the Sydney venue Metal Evilution offering their hall for a function.
Risk told the Herald that, though Janine was disappointed to miss out on their fairytale forest wedding, the backup would have a Lord of The Rings theme, calling it “there and back again”, in honour of their cruise to nowhere.
A spokesperson for Hobbiton Movie Set Tour said they had been in communication with the couple and were “disappointed they couldn’t join us to celebrate their wedding but hope to welcome them to the Shire for an adventure one day soon.”
Biohazard foul-up for New Zealand cruise
Guests aboard the 2600-passenger Pacific Adventure were furious to learn that they would not be allowed to enter New Zealand on Friday, after five days at sea.
Passengers were told there could be “significant changes to the itinerary” after hard and soft organisms were found growing on the ship’s hull.
Imagery of 'high-risk' biofouling on the hull of Pacific Adventure submitted to Biosecurity NZ before the planned sailing to New Zealand on 20 November. Photo / MPI
A spokesperson for operator P&O told the Herald that they had upgraded their compensation since the detour to Hobart. The offer of 50 per cent refund in cruise credit would be changed to a 50 per cent cash refund.
“Again, we apologise for the change in itinerary, and thank our guests for their patience and understanding,” they said, adding that passengers could keep their AU$300 in onboard credit.
“We have listened to the feedback from our guests and understand not all of them wish to cruise with us again.”
The Herald understands that operations on the Pacific Adventure had been affected by adverse sea conditions, meaning that the required cleaning could not be completed for safety reasons.
MPI’s Biosecurity New Zealand said they had warned P&O over “concerning levels of biofouling on the vessel the Pacific Adventure” in the weeks prior to the departure. Photo inspections conducted in Australian waters had revealed “high-risk organisms” on the ship, including mussel and oyster growth.
Mike Inglis, Biosecurity New Zealand’s northern regional commissioner said that MPI staff had been in Sydney earlier this year to discuss biofouling rules with Carnival Australia, the parent company of P&O.
“Biofouling continues to be a major biosecurity threat. Our biosecurity rules are in place to protect us against pests such as exotic caulpera which can impact New Zealand’s environment,” said Inglis.
“We appreciate that cleaning the hull of a cruise ship is a difficult and complex task often dictated by the weather. We need to all we can to protect New Zealand from biosecurity threats.”
Biosecurity New Zealand said it had increased efforts to alert cruise companies about biofouling and cleaning requirements to since last year.
