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Sydney Harbour closed due to extreme weather, Carnival Spirit’s entry delayed

Sydney Harbour closed due to extreme weather, Carnival Spirit’s entry delayed
Carnival Cruise Line’s resident ship Carnival Spirit, which was due to dock in Sydney at 6 a.m. today, has been forced to wait outside the Heads and will not be able to enter Sydney Harbour until Wednesday.

The Sydney Harbour master has closed the port because the wild weather that is battering Sydney with raging winds and torrential rain has prevented the harbour pilot from boarding the ship.

It is a mandatory maritime requirement for a harbour pilot to board any cruise ship before it enters Sydney Harbour.

Carnival Cruise Line has been advised by the Port Authority of NSW that Sydney’s port will not reopen Tuesday tonight.

Carnival Spirit, which carries 2,680 passengers, has completed a 12-day cruise to New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji.

She was due to sail again this evening on an eight-day voyage to Mare, Isle of Pines and Noumea in New Caledonia.

The cruise line has worked directly and with its agent partners to contact passengers booked on this cruise.

It is working on a revised itinerary to Noumea and Isle of Pines, pending a further update on the weather.

It plans to offer passengers a one-day refund and A$50 onboard credit and passengers will also have the option to cancel with a full refund.

When Carnival Spirit’s sister ship Carnival Legend sailed from Sydney to Honolulu last night at the end of a successful first Australian summer deployment, crew members joked that the rain was symbolic of Sydney crying at her departure.

Carnival Legend, which arrived in Sydney last September, carried more than 50,000 Australians on 22 roundtrip cruises and injected an estimated A$20m into the local economy.

She will make a repositioning voyage from Honolulu to Sydney on September 26 when she returns for a second 2015-16 season.