An Australian cruise ship passenger’s New Zealand odyssey was cut short in Dunedin yesterday, when he was refused entry to the city, taken into custody and deported.
Immigration NZ national border manager Stephanie Greathead said the man, a passenger aboard the Radiance of the Seas cruise ship, was in custody and expected to depart on a flight home to Australia last night.
"Immigration NZ can confirm that an Australian male was turned around at [Port Otago] today," Ms Greathead said.
Neither Ms Greathead, police nor Royal Caribbean cruise line would be drawn on why the man was refused entry to New Zealand.
In a statement, Royal Caribbean said it was "co-operating fully with New Zealand police and customs in this matter".
The 293m cruise ship, with a capacity of 2501 passengers and 859 crew, departed Sydney on Wednesday, arriving yesterday in Dunedin en route to Auckland on a 10-night cruise.
There were also reports from police of a sudden death on a cruise ship in Dunedin yesterday, but Royal Caribbean said in an additional statement it was not on Radiance of the Seas.
A police spokeswoman said the death was not suspicious and had been referred to the coroner.
