By Krissy Moreau
More than 700 stranded cruise ship passengers are glad to be back on board in Akaroa Harbour tonight. They weren't able to reach their cruise ship last night because of bad weather.
But the generous hospitality of Akaroa locals made it a unique Kiwi experience for some.
Stranded cruise ship passenger Dorothy Ransom was treated to a good ole Kiwi fry up for breakfast this morning.
“Amazing, I think this will probably be the best part of our trip in the end,” says Ms Ransom.
It was a meal similar to last night, when locals fed 713 passengers and 50 crew from the Sea Princess, who were taking shelter in a local hall.
“We rallied and went down there and set fire to about five barbecues and started feeding them with sausages,” says Akaroa local Mark Toomey.
The group was stranded on land because bad weather proved too much for transfer boats.
“It would literally be dangerous to try and load folks,” says stranded cruise ship passenger Meredith Young.
Some passengers were furious the captain didn't account for the bad weather.
“I think the captain did a wrong decision because, the people in Akaroa say, they had known about the bad weather,” says stranded cruise ship passenger Elmar Schmuelling.
But the hospitality brightened spirits when some were billeted to local homes for the night.
“We're hoping maybe we can stay here for a couple more days,” says Ms Young. “We haven’t told them that yet!”
“You just pitch in and do what you can,” says Mr Toomey.
In total, 296 were shuffled into homes and motels in Akaroa. The other 467 bussed into Christchurch for beds.
Sea Princess' management says it will discuss compensation with passengers once they're back on board.
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