New Zealand turns away Ponant ship ahead of planned ‘bubble expeditions’

New Zealand turns away Ponant ship ahead of planned ‘bubble expeditions’

Ponant’s long-awaited New Zealand ‘bubble’ cruises are facing an uncertain future after the Kiwi government denied visas to a majority of the crew on board Le Lapérouse.

Having initially been granted permission to sail in New Zealand waters from this month with a maximum of 100 passengers, the ship was forced to turn around 200 nautical miles off the New Zealand coast to head back to New Caledonia after hearing of the decision, according to Stuff

Immigration NZ (INZ) denied visas to 61 of 90 crew members on the ships, as they were working in “hotel” type roles and were considered non-essential.

Ponant’s Asia Pacific chair, Sarina Bratton, told Stuff the cruise line was trying to hire an extra 20 Kiwis to meet INZ’s requirements, but most of those with maritime experience were working on superyachts for the America’s Cup.

Bratton said the line was still talking with INZ about getting visas for 41 crewmembers; however, if INZ refused to budge, the whole cruise season would be cancelled.

The New Zealand Cruise Association (NZCA) said in a statement it was shocked and bewildered by INZ’s “last-minute” decision.

“NZCA believes that all the ship’s crew are essential to its operation and they cannot be replaced by New Zealanders in such a short time,” it said.

“The Minister of Immigration has tried to paint the decision as the fault of Ponant for not following procedure, but it is not so.

“As soon as the exemption was granted Ponant provided information to Immigration NZ on visa requirements for the ship’s crew, giving ample time for a response and following up with an application when they had assembled the information requested more than three weeks ago.

“They did everything that was requested by the New Zealand government in order to offer safe domestic cruising in New Zealand.”

According to NZCA, the ship has been slow steaming from its last port to comply with COVID-19 requirements, testing everyone on board regularly.

“This is a significant and devastating blow to the New Zealand tourism industry and to all those businesses that were relying on this one cruise ship to bring them some small glimmer of hope in the resurgence of regional cruise tourism,” it said.

“Of course, the 700 Kiwi guests who had planned on enjoying a voyage will be most upset too.

“This decision by Immigration NZ tarnishes New Zealand as a cruise friendly destination, undoing years of hard work. It is quite simply not good enough.”

Le Lapérouse was due in Auckland on Saturday for fueling and maintenance work and New Zealand COVID-19 testing, with the first voyage to take place on 8 February.

Travel Weekly understands the ship is now in Noumea in New Caledonia, where it is expected to remain until the immigration issue is resolved.

Latest News

  • Cruise

P&O rescues Rotary volunteers after collapse of Air Vanuatu

P&O Cruises Australia has answered a plea for help from a group of young Australian Rotary volunteers, stranded in Vanuatu following the collapse of Air Vanuatu. The students, many of them teenagers from Albury, NSW, were volunteering for a youth project run by the Hive Rotary Club Australia when the airline abruptly cancelled all flights, […]

  • Destinations

Intrepid continues expansions with launch of first DMC in Jordan

Intrepid has increased its presence in the Middle East with the opening of its first destination management company in Jordan. Based in Amman, the local team will operate Intrepid’s range of nine experiential small group tours in Jordan from this summer, with a view to expanding the range for 2025 and beyond. Zina Bencheikh, managing […]

  • Appointments

Minor hotels appoints Puneet Dhawan to key Asia role

Global hotel owner and operator Minor Hotels has appointed Puneet Dhawan as head of Asia as the group plots its growth in Asia and India. From July, Dhawan will be responsible for the performance of all Minor Hotels properties in Asia, working in close collaboration with the Minor Hotels senior leadership team and will report […]

  • Appointments

Abercrombie & Kent and Crystal appoint Evon Ler to director of sales, Asia

Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group have announced that Evon Ler will join them in the new role of director of sales, Asia. She will work closely with Tony Archbold (VP, Sales, APAC, Crystal) and Susan Haberle (VP, Sales & Partnerships, APAC, A&K) with trade support across the region. Ler comes to the A&K family with more […]