Brisbane-bound cruise ship passengers are forced to spend days at sea as former tropical Cyclone Alfred throws his holiday plans into chaos.
People on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas were scheduled to arrive on Australia’s coast on Friday.
Instead, they returned to Noumea, New Caledonia, hundreds of kilometers from their destination.
One Australian passenger traveling with her family told Newswire that she enjoyed the days of calm seas and blue skies throughout the first day of the holiday, but it was rumored that Alfred, the looming cyclone, had swirled the journey while on the trip.
The first sign may not be all smooth sailing a few days before your scheduled return to Brisbane.
“On Tuesday, the captain announced he was trying to go through Noumea to avoid any possible cyclones, but he told everyone to prepare it in a really rough manner,” she said.
“The workers tied up all the deck chairs and closed the pool.
“At lunch Wednesday, the captain made another announcement that he had decided to extend the cruise as Brisbane Port was closed. Frankly, there was no way to get through the ocean, let alone (docking) in Brisbane.”
In a notice to passengers from the Royal Caribbean, the cruise line said they and their leading meteorologists were monitoring the progress of the tropical Cyclone Alfred of the time as they and their leading meteorologists slowly moved towards the coast.
“The storm has started and the closure of Brisbane Port has made us decide to stay at sea and safely leave the storm until we move on land by the end of the week,” the notice reads.
“Instead of Friday, I will return to Brisbane on Monday, March 10th. I will also revisit Noumea on Friday before returning to Homeport.
“We are terribly sorry about the last minute changes caused by the weather, and your safety is our number one priority.
“Please contact us, being on board is one of the safest places as it allows the ship to move quickly so it doesn’t get in the way of bad weather.”
The schedule given to the guests indicated that the ship was scheduled to cruise on all Saturday and Sunday before it arrived in Brisbane at about 6:30am on Monday.
Passengers were advised that the cruise company would cover US$200 for domestic flight changes and US$400 for international flight changes.
Former tropical Cyclone Alfred was previously expected to maintain Category 2 strength when crossing the coast.
Instead, it weakened to Category 1 as it approached the mainland on Saturday morning and then again became tropical low.
News of the system that forces delays on Quantum elicit mixed reactions from inside the ship, accepting extra days at sea, with others rushing to book new flights and accommodations suddenly.
It also caused concerns about how fares for passengers on Alfred’s road will be for Alfred’s road.
“It’s a bit scary to learn how badly the (Gold Coast) was hit during the Christmas Day storm in 2023,” the passenger said.
“Thankfully, my partner is at home and can keep an eye on that, but I know we won’t be back and we don’t know if we’ll be back on Monday.
“My parents’ home is on Elanora (Southern Gold Coast) – fortunately on a hill, but it should be one of the most difficult areas (and) there’s a flood very often.”
Glitter strips actually emerged as one of the areas affected by Alfred, with power outages and damage to homes, trees and beaches becoming widely popular.
Brisbane appears to have been the brunt of the power of the system so far, but Brisbane Port has confirmed that restrictions remained on Saturday afternoon.
“While it remains safe, all possible efforts are directed at getting the port up and running if it’s appropriate to do so.”
In a statement provided in the Travel Market report, Royal confirmed that he would spend three extra days at the seas in the South Pacific Ocean before returning to Brisbane.
Passengers were provided with 1 hour of free internet access per Stateroom to assist with new travel arrangements.
Alfred has caused confusion for travelers both in the ocean and in the sky, and hundreds of flights have been xed as airports on Brisbane and Gold Coast were closed to high storm risk.
The crew is working to run at both airports on Sunday.
