An Azamara Cruises ship carrying 800+ passengers and crew members will make an unscheduled call at Port Timaru as bad weather lashes the upper North Island, and it is possible other vessels visiting New Zealand might be impacted.
After a stop in Port Chalmers/Dunedin on Wednesday, January 11th, Azamara Quest, sailing out of Sydney (NSW Australia), will dock in PrimePort Timaru on Thursday, January 12th, before moving up north to Lyttelton NZ.
The visit comes during a packed cruise schedule for Timaru, with a record-breaking 12 calls to the port during summer.
Venture Timaru operations & destination manager Di Hay confirmed Cyclone Hale had been the reason for the cruise ship’s change in itinerary.
Azamara Quest is currently operating a 17-day voyage from Melbourne to Auckland. The itinerary started on January 4th, 2023, and ends on January 21st, 2023.
This now means Port Timaru will have 3 ships in during 11 days, including Azamara Quest on January 12th, Seabourn Odyssey on January 16th, and ms Noordam on January 22nd.