Nine days on from the technical fault that first took her out of service, the Connemara is still not running and BlueBridge has confirmed further cancellations this morning, with the vessel now not expected to resume operations until at least Tuesday evening. For passengers caught in the disruption, the financial and logistical toll has been considerable.
Among those hardest affected were six student rowers from Taupō-nui-a-Tia College, who had just finished competing at the Maadi Rowing regatta on Lake Ruataniwha near Twizel when word came through that their sailing had been cancelled. The group was supervised by five parents, one of whom, Vicki Feeberg, said the priority was getting the students home in time for classes. Last-minute Jetstar flights were booked for the students, while two parent helpers remained behind to sort out alternative sailings for the group's two vehicles.
"We managed to get some Jetstar flights for our kids to get home, [but] it has probably added around about $3000 to our total costs," Feeberg said. Spread across six students, that works out to nearly $500 per child.
The added cost stung largely because of where the money had come from. The students had fundraised to cover their regatta expenses, and those hard-earned dollars were now being absorbed by circumstances entirely outside their control. "It would have been really nice for that to go into equipment for the kids and travel to other regattas [and] not be spending that on last minute travel hiccups," Feeberg said. Rather than enjoying the social wind-down that typically follows a regatta, the group found themselves consumed by stress and urgent rescheduling.
The frustration was compounded by the fact that the group had chosen BlueBridge in the first place because of a special fare offered for the event. "It's not very good business is it? If you give a whole lot of people a discount to snaffle up the market and then don't deliver. So it is disappointing," Feeberg said.
Getting clear and timely information from the operator proved difficult throughout. "It's been really, really hard to get information. We received a text just as we were turning up for one of the races. You had to phone to try and get on to other boats - you couldn't get through on the phones - my husband sent an email as well and we were just left scrambling to look at other arrangements to get our kids back. It would have been really nice to know what was happening and why," Feeberg said.
The experience has also changed how Feeberg thinks about travel insurance. She said she had never previously seen the need to take out cover for domestic travel, but would now be looking into it before any future trips.
A second traveller, who asked not to be identified, faced a similarly costly chain of disruptions after a short holiday and wedding in Nelson. A text message landed at 3am last Monday, advising that the family of three's scheduled 2pm sailing that day would not go ahead. With neither ferry service able to offer a crossing for another eleven days, flights were the only viable way to get home, and those cost $1500.
The disruption did not stop there. A car, luggage, and the family dog had been left with relatives, so one family member was forced to fly back at the end of last week to collect them before catching an Interislander sailing north. That additional journey added a further $600, bringing the total unexpected outlay to around $2100.
"I understand that issues arise with machinery but the lack of support to a [situation] that has been generated by their vessels along with no compensation on extra costs added to travellers in trying to return home... is very frustrating," the traveller said.
The same traveller noted they had another booking with the service later in the week and said they were hopeful the Connemara would be back in operation by then.
