Holiday goes south
SYDNEY: Have you heard the one about the holidaymakers from Melbourne and Hobart who flew to Sydney to go on a cruise to Melbourne and Hobart?
That’s precisely what happened when Tropical Cyclone Pam derailed a Carnival Spirit trip to New Caledonia in the South Pacific in March.
Three hours into the eight-day cruise out of Sydney, the captain announced the upgrading of the storm meant the itinerary had to be changed to steer the ship south, out of harm’s way.
Hobart resident Ewan Sherman ended up shivering in his hometown and said it was a “very expensive way to go from Hobart to Sydney to Hobart to Sydney and then back to Hobart”.
Two passengers said they met a honeymooning Hobart couple who, when the cruise arrived in their hometown, went to work for the day.
Many customers went to a comedy club while ashore in Melbourne, where Mr Sherman said “the comedians had a field day.” Some of the 2000 passengers are suing the carrier, alleging misleading or deceptive conduct.
Class-action documents filed in the NSW Supreme Court say there were warnings as early as March 6 of “the potential genesis of a tropical cyclone” in the area. Pam would go on to devastate Vanuatu on March 13.
Had passengers been advised of the change “in a timely manner, they would have cancelled and claimed a full refund”, the court docu- ments say. Instead, they got a $150 on-board credit and an offer of a 50 per cent discount on another cruise.
A Carnival spokesman said “the safety of our guests and crew is always the highest priority”, and ... it was Carnival’s full intention to deliver a South Pacific cruise itinerary as planned.