A bus transporting 31 Celebrity Solstice passengers collided with a car near Akaroa on Banks Peninsula on Wednesday.
A Celebrity Cruises spokeswoman said six passengers, all from the United States, were injured and were taken to Christchurch Hospital.
The drivers of the bus and car were also taken to hospital.
The New Zealand woman driving the car remained in a critical condition yesterday, while the bus driver was serious but stable.
Five passengers had been discharged from hospital. The other passenger was in a stable condition, and remained in hospital.
It was the fourth accident affecting passengers from the ship in the last few months. Celebrity Solstice arrived at Beach St wharf in Dunedin from Akaroa at 7.45am yesterday.The ship sailed for Fiordland at 5pm.
A passenger in Dunedin yesterday, an Australian nurse, who did not want to be named, said she did not know anyone involved in the Canterbury crash but the ship’s management responded "fantastically".
"I can’t say enough about them."
She did not believe the ship was cursed, as she had been on trips with other cruise ship lines and tragedy had struck.
Australian passenger David Masters, of Victoria, said he did not know anyone on board the bus but the crash had "taken the shine off" the cruise.
However, he would happily book another trip on the ship.
"There are about 2500 passengers on the boat plus the crew and when there is that many people, the law of averages says something might go wrong."
Bob McDuffee, of Arizona, agreed and would happily book another cruise on the ship, despite the crash.
"It’s just something that happens and you can’t avoid it."
Related Stories
Comments
Aye. Fatalism. You expect peril on the sea. Nobody expects a bus, on land, to plunge (avoidably) down a ravine, with consequent severe injury. Merde happens. People need to endeavour to make it happen Less Often.