Photo: Nigel Kennedy
A mother with three kids under four stranded after a last-minute ferry cancellation on Sunday night said a heads up from the company would have been nice.
Unseasonable southerly swells have caused significant disruption to Cook Strait services in recent days with several Interislander and Bluebridge sailings canned.
Hannah Eising said passengers were told their 8.30pm Bluebridge service was called off around the same time it was due to depart Wellington.
With the state of the weather an earlier decision to cancel would have been helpful, she said.
"Luckily we had accommodation, but there were all those people who wouldn't have had anywhere to stay last night.
"We have three kids three and under and they'd fallen asleep in the car.
"It would have been nice to have a bit more notice before we all lined up and checked in, and all that rigmarole."
Eising said trying to immediately rebook another service had not been easy.
"The phone lines shut at 8pm, so we couldn't ring through and the website crashed."
She said an attempt to rebook in person was abandoned with lines almost out the door at the Wellington terminal.
She said they learned on Monday morning that they would not be able to get their car on a service until 12 January, so had requested a refund and were now booked on an Interislander on Tuesday.
Bluebridge spokesperson Will Dady said thousands of passengers have been affected by the ongoing cancellations, and said the company was as frustrated as them by the relentless southerlies.
He said the company was doing everything in its power to reschedule those affected but the volume of calls was "putting huge pressure on our call centre".
"We know it's very disruptive for passengers and we appreciate how understanding they've been."
Bluebridge said it was reviewing the scheduled to see if additional sailings could be added and confirmed the website was briefly down last night due to sheer volume of people online at one time.
Nano, who only wanted her first name used, and her partner had driven from Kaitaia to ensure they got on a Bluebridge service.
"They gave me emails at 3am and 4.30am telling me no you can't go until the 12th. I just didn't take no for an answer.
"I had perseverance and decided 'I'm coming in person'."
She said their 1.30pm sailing on Monday had been cancelled but they were now booked on a crossing later in the evening.
"I feel very fortunate that I can make it to the South Island, but that water is big and we don't want to be stuck in the middle of the Strait."
Meanwhile, a family on the other side of the Cook Strait has planned to abandon their car and boat in Picton to fly home.
Nic Widfeldt said his family was meant to be on the Bluebridge crossing on Sunday night, but with no options to rebook for more than a week, they were leaving their vehicles in Picton and flying back to Wellington mid-week.
He said the plan was to return on the 15 January to collect the vehicles and cross the Strait.
Widfeldt said Bluebridge staff had been helpful, but there had been no offer of compensation, and there were long waits to get through by phone.
Bluebridge had cancelled five sailings on Monday due to the weather in the Cook Strait and said its Connemara sailings would be delayed.
An 8.15am service managed to depart at 10.30am when swells had reduced.
Bluebridge said customers impacted by the disruptions would be contacted and warned customers of delays on its phone line.
"Please note that our call centre is extremely busy and there will be longer than usual wait times.
"These cancellations will be disruptive to our customers travel plans and we apologise for this, and thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this disruption."
Passengers booked on Interslander services on Sunday night waited several hours for swells to calm down before departing Picton and Wellington.
Two Aratere sailings have also been cancelled on Monday.
Interislander said all passengers affected by ferry cancellations on Monday had been rebooked on alternative sailings.
A spokesperson for ferry operator KiwiRail said almost all of those passengers on the two cancelled Aratere sailings would still sail within 24 hours of their original booking.
Kaiārahi's departure from Wellington was delayed until about 12.30pm on Monday, and Kaitaki's departure from Picton until 2pm.
"The safety of our passengers and crew is paramount and we do not sail unless it is safe to do so.
"In the event of weather disruptions such as this, we do all we can to re-book people as quickly as possible on alternative sailings and appreciate the patience of our passengers during this busy holiday period."
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