Engaged couple on P&O cruise forced to turn back from New Zealand fume after dream Lord of the Rings wedding was ruined
A couple’s wedding plans were torn to pieces after the cruise ship taking them to their dream wedding venue was denied entry to New Zealand.
Janine Sherriff and Kyle Risk were among the thousands of passengers who boarded P&O cruise ship The Pacific Adventure in Sydney on Monday for the 13-day Kiwi Adventure voyage.
The couple planned to use one of their stops to get married in Hobbiton, the film set for The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, before returning to the ship for their honeymoon that same day.
However, the cruise was halted by New Zealand Border Control before entering the country’s waters due to biosecurity concerns over an unclean hull.
The plan was to have the boat’s hull cleaned in the Bay of Plenty, southeast of Aukland, but harsh weather prevented divers from completing the job.
The vessel only needed three young mussels and a single hydroid, commonly known as lace coral, to be removed from the hull, which still met New Zealand’s strict entry requirements.
Janine Sherriff and Kyle Risk (both pictured) have had their dream wedding plans canceled after the cruise ship they took to their venue was refused entry to New Zealand
The couple had come up with the idea of getting married in Hobbiton after Janine jokingly brought it up to her Lord of the Rings-obsessed partner.
What would have been their dream location features the original sets from the $6 billion franchise next to New Zealand’s famous rolling green hills.
However, they were the only ones not in Hobbiton on their special day, with friends and family sending photos from the film set just 20 minutes before they were told the boat would not enter New Zealand.
‘I was furious. I saw Janine’s face when we got the news, I was ready to explode,” said Mr. Risk ABC news.
“It would have meant a lot because it was a beautiful setting.”
Mrs. Sherrif told the publication that she was “so excited (and) so ready to officially call him my husband.”
‘I am devastated that this day has been taken from me.’ said Mrs. Sherriff.
“Now we have to figure out what to do with our wedding, we have all this money in the hole.”
The happy couple planned to celebrate their special day at Hobbiton (pictured), the film set for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies on New Zealand’s North Island.
They were among thousands of passengers on board the P&O cruise ship, The Pacific Adventure (pictured), on a NZ-based cruise when customs denied them entry due to an uncleaned hull.
Other passengers were equally upset and took to social media to express their anger over the last-minute change to the itinerary.
“The holiday has become a nightmare,” one passenger wrote.
“We’re not allowed to dock in New Zealand, so we’ll be on the ship for another three days before we finally see land… Definitely not what I signed up for.”
“This is just a turd covered in gold glitter,” someone posted.
“Get me off this boat and give me a full refund,” another passenger commented.
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises Australia said the company has “listened to feedback from our guests and understands that not everyone will want to cruise with us again.”
“We apologize for the change to the itinerary and thank our guests for their patience and understanding,” a spokesperson for P&O Cruises Australia said.
The cruise is currently en route to Tasmania via the modified route, stopping in Hobart, Port Arthur and Eden before sailing back to Sydney.
P&O offered each customer $300 in shipboard credit and a 50 percent credit on a future cruise will be converted into a refund.