The Ovation of the Seas, the largest cruise ship to ever visit Christchurch, was due to berth at the newly opened cruise wharf this morning.
Facing difficult conditions off the headlands overnight the ship turned north to sail up the country to sail on to Wellington, where she is due tomorrow morning.
“Unfortunately, the Ovation of Seas was unable to berth this morning due to strong north-west winds in the forecast for the day here at Lyttelton, " said a spokesperson for the Lyttelton Port Company.
The vessel made the decision not to call just after 7am this morning. Passengers were due to disembark at 9.30.
“While this is disappointing, the reality is safety is always the first priority and there are wind speed limits for all berths and vessel types here in Lyttelton as at other ports.”
It is not unusual for a small number of cruise calls not to occur due to weather conditions, said the port.
The vessel is due back to Lyttelton on December 28.
She sailed from Port Chalmers, Dunedin yesterday.
One of three Quantum class ships belonging to Royal Caribbean, Ovation is the largest cruise ship to visit New Zealand. She was last in the country in 2019.
On arrival to New Zealand last week the ship confirmed that it was sailing with over 100 confirmed cases of Covid 19 aboard.
Cruise Industry New Zealand CEO, Kevin O’Sullivan told the Herald that Covid cases at the maritime border were planned for and far more heavily managed than airport arrivals.
“It’s something to be expected. The air borders are not controlled anywhere near as closely as maritime borders. If cruise passengers have a notifiable disease of any sort that is a known quantity,” he said.
Cruise Line Royal Caribbean said in a statement that positive cases had to isolate in their quarters for five days with daily antigen tests.
Ship owners Royal Caribbean Cruise Line were contacted for comment on the missed call in Christchurch.
-By Thomas Bywater
