KEY POINTS:
Hundreds of New Zealanders on a "holiday from hell" have been forced to wait for flights out of Vanuatu because their storm-damaged cruise ship will not return to Auckland.
The 1200 passengers on P&O's Pacific Star are still in Vila, after the liner sailed through gale-force winds and swells of up to 10m shortly after leaving Auckland on Tuesday.
During the storm 50-knot winds, with gusts up to 70 knots, damaged the ship's bow and some of its windows and external doors, as well as satellite equipment.
P&O spokeswoman Sandy Olsen said the bow was being repaired in Vila, before the ship sailed to Brisbane, without passengers, for a thorough inspection.
"The ship can sail, but we want to inspect it thoroughly, so we are taking it to Brisbane."
She could not estimate the cost to repair the damage. "We have not even looked at that yet. At this stage we are focused on the passengers."
With commercial flights heavily booked out due to the holidays, and a local sporting event, P&O had booked charter flights from Vanuatu, Noumea and Fiji.
"The passengers will leave on charter flights over the next few days," Ms Olsen said.
Asked if passengers had complained about what had happened, she said they had been "very patient".
Passengers became so ill during last week's storm that they were given free doctors' visits and $100 vouchers.
Some are now questioning whether the ship should have set off in the first place. Auckland man Ian Trezise - whose wife Jill, stepdaughters Brooke Atkinson and Ellen Walker and sister-in-law Robin Casserly were on board - last night wanted to know who made the call to go ahead.
"Who makes the decision to cruise the boat through that bloody storm that everyone knew was coming ... when there was absolutely nowhere to go for shelter?
"You can sort of imagine the pressures that might have been brought to bear on a ship's captain to keep the cruise cruising, but look at what happened. It's a disaster.
"I've only spoken briefly to my wife and had a couple of emails, but they were a bit horrified by the weather."
One passenger said the dream trip to Vanuatu had started like the holiday from hell.
Conditions were so bad the ship had to cancel a planned stopover in Lifou, New Caledonia, instead heading straight for Vila for its scheduled Friday night stopover.
The company yesterday announced it was cancelling the rest of the cruise so that the Pacific Star could go in to drydock in Brisbane for a thorough inspection. It had been scheduled to return to Auckland on Wednesday.
MetService duty forecaster Allister Gorman said the first official warning of "storm-force winds" - winds over 50 knots - was issued on Monday at 11am.
"It'd only be a few times a year that we'd actually have to issue a warning of this type of strength for the Hauraki Gulf area."
Ms Olsen said while it might have been uncomfortable, at no time were passengers in danger. Captain Ivan Jerman had more than 35 years' experience at sea, she said.
"The safety and the comfort of passengers would always be the captain's first priority. And the captain would not have departed Auckland if he had any concern whatsoever. The weather, it would seem, took a turn for the worse in quite a short space of time on the Tuesday."
Ms Olsen said the ship had sought shelter behind Great Barrier Island initially, but because of the intensity of the storm had headed out to sea.
"In these sorts of circumstances apparently it's often safer to head to sea and you can ride the waves rather than be buffeted closer to the shore. And he slowed the ship down and he took the course of least resistance."
Auckland Regional Council harbourmaster John Lee Richards said last night he couldn't comment on whether the ship's captain made the right decision to sail, or to take shelter behind land.
He said the ship left the port about 4 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon in winds of about 20-25 knots. The port was closed about two hours later when winds reached 40 knots.
Mr Trezise hopes his wife will be home in time for her father's 80th birthday on Thursday.
"It is not something that we want to miss. We're pretty keen to get her back before then.
"They're not shipbound, they can no doubt take tours and make the most of whatever time they've got there, but I think the uncertainty of what's happening takes the edge off the enjoyment," Mr Mr Trezise said.
P&O said passengers will be given a full refund, as well as a 25 per cent credit on their next cruise.
They were also offered a complimentary phone call or internet time to contact family as a result of the cancellation.
The company is still assessing how long it will take to repair the ship. It will contact passengers if future cruises are in jeopardy.
- additional reporting: Maggie McNaughton
