I have just read the piece in ‘Maritime Log’ in the October 2016 issue of Sea Breezes; ‘An Armada of Passenger Ships in the Tyne’.
We in the Port of Tauranga, New Zealand, have had a great start to our summer season.
The Ovation of the Seas, the fourth biggest cruise ship in the world at 348m and grt 169,000, was the biggest to visit here when she arrived on Boxing Day. On 13 January, the Ovation of the Seas returned with Holland America Line’s Noordam in her wake. What a grand sight as they berthed amid the hundreds of people lining the port’s beaches at Mount Maunganui, the entrance to Tauranga Harbour.
As TL Proudfoot mentioned in the November 2016 issue of Sea Breezes letters pages, referring to “Cruise ships of today”. From my veranda, I daily see the coming and goings of cargo and cruise vessels alike in the Port of Tauranga. I have sailed as a passenger on many Cunard liners and come from a long line of Mariners. Having worked in shipyards in the UK, I find that today’s cruise ships are likened to floating hotels, built for the masses with no thought for beautiful lines and elegance of yesteryear’s liners.
Thank you for your great magazine.
PETER PRATT
Tauranga 3110, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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