The calm after the storm: on the Pacific Star

A report in the Sunday Star Times at the end of July by journalist Karen Arnold says that she was also on board the Pacific Star, but an iron stomach made her experience almost enjoyable.

She says that it was an adventure that no travel brochure could ever promise, starting with sheet ice in Invercargill and ending in Auckland with surly airport officials and a bus driver who threw a tanty.

In between, a hurricane and a cancelled South Pacific cruise were thrown in for good measure. Sound like the holiday from hell? Not for my family – we had a blast.

For when the P&O Pacific Star set sail straight into the path of a severe storm, there is no doubt in my mind anyone could have predicted the chaos that would follow.  Confined to our cabin, we spent the night sliding up and down and from side to side in our beds, as the ship was tossed about in the high winds and sea.

Our troubled sleep was broken by the sound, at times, of smashing glass, the crashing of waves against the bow and the threat of being tossed on to the floor.  We woke to our first morning on the Pacific Star, greeted by a shambles.

The ship had been temporarily crippled by the forces of nature.  Gone, overboard, was a satellite dish. Cracked and broken were windows, glassware and crockery. Sick and frightened, dozens of passengers either lay incapacitated in their cabins or sat in the corridor outside the medical centre. 

Captain Ivan Jerman explained the ship has battled hurricane-force conditions – with winds averaging 75 knots, gusting to 90 knots and sea swells up to 9m. They were the worst he had endured in 35 years at sea, he told passengers.

The storm had delayed progress and the first stop at Lifou, part of the Loyalty Islands, was cancelled. The new plan was to sail straight to Vanuatu, where we arrived in calm and warm conditions on Saturday, having enjoyed two days of normal ship activities and services.

By Sunday morning, after a day assessing the damage at Port Vila, the cruise was over, the Pacific Star in need of dry dock and repair.

As the logistical nightmare of sending more than 1200 passengers home began, I settled in for two glorious days poolside, reading a book, supping on bubbly and cocktails while my son spent hours swimming. Bliss.

But with limited air services Vanuatu, P&O’s plans for minimal disruption lay in the hands of the airlines and ground people it contracted to make it happen.

As hundreds of passengers were gradually offloaded during the next three days and transported to hastily arranged charter flights to Noumea in New Caledonia, Vanuatu airport struggled to cope with the influx.

On top of that, some aircraft were delayed or suffered technical difficulties. Flights ran behind schedule and at least one was cancelled, meaning all the passengers had to return to the ship.

A direct flight from Vanuatu to Auckland had to turn back because the plane had technical difficulties. The same passengers were offloaded from an alternative flight hours later, after a bomb scare.

None of it was P&O’s fault. The company tried its darnedest for us.

For my family, confirmation of our travel arrangements came with a phone call to our cabin at 1am on Tuesday morning. Our bags had to be outside our door at 5am, meaning a 4.30am start.  Some time after 9am we were in the air, destination Noumea.

We were put up at a hotel where lunch was waiting for us and any tour we wanted to take, paid for by P&O.  Our 5.30pm transfer to Noumea airport was followed by more delays and our 9pm flight on an Air New Zealand 747 didn’t leave until after 10.30pm.  It was after 4am on Wednesday when we finally hit the hay at our Auckland hotel. 

But throughout our ordeal we were supported by P&O staff.  They were on our buses and at the airports and hotels in Vanuatu and Noumea, genuinely concerned about our welfare and comfort.  They were at Auckland airport too, and in the morning they were at our hotel, arranging our connecting travel home.

It is their efforts my family will remember, along with the many pleasurable hours we spent on board the Pacific Star, eating, drinking, chatting and relaxing – doing as much as we wanted or as little as we liked.

And we will remember conversations with new friends, warm days by the poolside and an adventure, coupled with mystery that no travel brochure could ever promise.

Report by The Mole

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