Cyclone leaves Kiwi stuck on cruise ship

Large waves forming near the coast in Tweed Heads, Australia, as a product of Cyclone Alfred....
Large waves forming near the coast in Tweed Heads, Australia, as a product of Cyclone Alfred. Photo: Getty Images
By Ashleigh McCaull of RNZ

A New Zealander stuck on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean due to Cyclone Alfred says he has no idea how he will return home.

The Pacific Encounter was supposed to berth at Brisbane's port on Saturday, but may not disembark until Tuesday.

Cody Hampson, from Waitara, said he was stressed because he had no way of getting home after missing his flight back to Aotearoa.

"To be honest I've run out of money, I don't know if they're going to refund me for my flight back home from Brisbane, I haven't received confirmation for that.

"Yeah, so I'm a bit stuck, I'm suppose to be starting back up on Wednesday at work and my boss sort of doesn't understand that I'm stuck on a cruise ship," Hampson said.

The 20-year-old plumber said he did not have travel insurance

He said trying to keep in contact with his family had been hard because of poor wifi and the extra time onboard was very nerve-racking.

"It's very hard to sleep at night, I miss my family, I know they miss me too, they're very worried about me. Half the time I can't even get in contact with them because of the wifi on this boat. Very, very stressed at a minimum," Hampson said.

He said other passengers onboard were experiencing similar feelings.

"There's many, many people that are missing flights, lots of people are running out of money, people have left kids at home and stuff that are sort of unable to be supervised any longer cause work is starting back up... It's quite havoc on here really," Hampson said.

Carnival Cruise Line Australia took to social media to thank its customers currently on the Pacific Encounter for their patience.

RNZ has approached Carnival Cruise Line Australia for comment.