Bay's cruise inconvenience

Australian Kym Godfrey's first impression of Mount Maunganui was whiffy and forgettable.

'Bloody disgusting!” he complained.


Bruce Remnant, George Scott, Murray Harrison and Ian Holroyd. Photo by Bruce Barnard.

Kym was straight off the Sun Princess cruise ship and gazing into the slop of a street-side Portaloo.

He was caught short in Mount Maunganui's Salisbury Avenue – but the main toilet facility for tourists pouring off the liner was out of commission, closed for an upgrade just as the cruise ship season picked up.

'Whose decision was that?” asks Tauranga Cruise Tourism Association chairman Bruce Remnant. 'Why weren't they fixed when they weren't needed – during the winter months?”

Next to the building site, four portaloos are open for business – but they're not popular with the 3000 passengers streaming off two cruise liners in town that day.

'I want to go, but I'm not going in there,” huffs a female tourist.

'I thought this was an upmarket tourist mecca – they didn't think this through” says Kym.

The complaints and disappointment roll on. 'Aren't portaloos for building sites?”

'There are lots of old people filing off the ships and they can't go 100 metres without needing a pee – it's unfair.”

Tauranga City Council agreed the timing could have been better, but it wanted the facility upgraded for the peak holiday season.

'That's the point – the holiday season has started. Five ships and 10,000 people came through town while the work was done,” says Bruce.

It may seem petty, says Bruce, but it's symptomatic.

'We want the cruiseliners to call, but what about the infrastructure to cater for them?”

Tour operator George Scott says he's embarrassed.

'Before they head out on trips, tourists want a comfort stop. I saw the portaloos and I was ashamed.”

The council says the portaloos are ‘top end' but obviously not peoples' first choice. But there were other options handy.

'Handy being 250 and 400 metres away,” says Bruce.

'That isn't handy for an elderly tourist desperately seeking comfort. Let us take care of the people we want to spend money in the region.”

One operator had to drive his clients to the Pilot Bay facility.

'We want the tourists to come back for a more substantial Kiwi experience, but we don't encourage them.”

But there's another issue for the tourists.

Brian Mathew is a security guard from Geelong. He's sitting under a tree in Salisbury Avenue with a can of VB.

'Mate I've been talking up the Mount Maunganui hot pools to everyone on-board.

'I tell them you don't need to go to Rotorua because there are hot pools right next to the ship. But it's closed and no one told us. Stupidity!”

Bay Venues CEO Gary Dawson says no matter what month was chosen for the upgrade there would be an impact.

'November is traditionally quiet and we needed fine weather to get the work done.”

However, he apologised the closure wasn't communicated to the passengers.

The new toilets are expected open any day and the hot pools will re-open this weekend.

You may also like....

22 comments

for goodness sake...

Posted on 28-11-2014 09:29 | By mumof4

There's others loos in the area! Arent there loos on the ship?


grannie watching

Posted on 28-11-2014 09:44 | By Grannie Watching

In my dealings and observations regarding WBDC I have come to the obvious conclusion that for most part they can only be described as dysfunctional at every level.


Is it really that bad???

Posted on 28-11-2014 10:21 | By BullShtAlert

Just 5 minutes walk down the main street and 3 minutes down the mall are other public toilets. And if people really need to pee every 100 metres as one of the whiners suggests, then we'll never satisfy anyone??? The Aussie whingers need to consider the lack of public dunnies in Oz before having a crack at us. The idea that tourists could see the Mount hotpools and therefore not see Rotorua is laughable - they go to Rotorua to see boiling mud, geysers and maori culture shows. Here's a solution to the toilet problem. Have a pee before your ample cruise food enhanced bottoms waddle off the ship, and if you feel the need to go but can't bear a portable dunny, then wobble on down past all those shops you supposedly want to spend money in to the toilets there.


Council Planning at its best

Posted on 28-11-2014 10:56 | By The Sage

Sack the planners.


Yet another...

Posted on 28-11-2014 11:35 | By penguin

...council stuff-up. Hasn't anyone got a calendar and the ability to read important dates? Of course, the answer is...tourists could pay for the bus to the Tauranga CBD and use the loos there. It would help pass the time (excuse the pun) since there is little else to attract them in town. But it makes for a rather expensive visit to the loo, far more expensive than in London. I am in complete support of upgrading the council toilets everywhere in the city - there are some pretty disgustingly primitive ones. Or here's an idea - the plastic waka would have made an excellent loo, except for being too big to put anywhere (perhaps moored in Pilot Bay?).


Simple

Posted on 28-11-2014 11:56 | By RawPrawn

Tauranga has an administration more interested in grandiose, pie-in-the-sky fancies like Museums, Sports Stadiums, Marine Hubs,University Outreaches,Tupperwakas and other dreams than it is in providing decent basics


Also no facilities on the wharf

Posted on 28-11-2014 12:02 | By Murray.Guy

Passengers disembark their ship and of the many thousands to do so, it is quite understandable that some may require access to a toilet prior to departing on their tours, trips into the city - only problem is, there are no easily accessible toilets available so it's back on the ship they go! Seriously, this Council and it's associates fail miserably to apply any reasoned thinking common sense at times. Is the bakery operational in the former Information Centre yet?


Not the

Posted on 28-11-2014 14:20 | By Pamaxx

This is not the "WOW" factor I was seeking in my submission to TCC on upgrading the visitor experience to the Mount. Max Lewis, Mt Maunganui.


Murray...

Posted on 28-11-2014 15:24 | By earlybird

You're a laugh a minute - how many years were you on council?


Grizzlers Inc

Posted on 28-11-2014 15:33 | By BullShtAlert

Just counted the number of public toilets in the downtown Mount area. Along Pilot Bay there are two, along Marine Parade they are at the surf club and also half way down to Leisure Island, then Mt Drury, then at the Carpark. But wait, everything has to be mobilised to cater not for ratepayers, but some tourists who according to the story are so incontinent they can't go 100 metres without a pee. I wonder how they get on at ports in just about every other country whose dreadful steamy excrement splattered so-called toilets would make our portaloos look luxurious???


Well

Posted on 28-11-2014 18:03 | By Capt_Kaveman

If you voted for them you get what you get, maybe vote a not so "in the light" and look for local and or avg joe to vote next time


toilet options

Posted on 28-11-2014 18:32 | By rotovend

its along just along the boardwalk to public toiletes and the Mainstreet toilets are not very far either. Of course they could have got a couple of the luxury portaloos they are great with sinks and mirrors much nicer than the dodgy green ones this isnt really a problem its just nobody thinking of suitable instructions and a satisfactory outcome,


how it is...

Posted on 28-11-2014 20:54 | By jonath1

I live immediate to where the cruise passengers disembark. Little numbers actually leave the boat let alone return with full bags of shopping. I'm not saying there isn't benefit but.... a big deal out of the park toilets out... come on..


Asia

Posted on 28-11-2014 21:58 | By The Caveman

Head to most Asians ports (other than Singapore) and step off the ship, and your toilet is a hole in the floor!! But yeas a little better is expected by European passengers in NZ, AND yes its about time that the council sorted out its "lack of planning" department. The toilets should have been completed in the off season. Just like the hotpools - start work just when the end of years school trips start and the cruse ships start to arrive. Great "lack of planning department at the TCC.


Finished

Posted on 28-11-2014 22:00 | By Milzie

I went down there today & the work is complete & they look nice. Like other people have said not many visitors off those boats head down the Mainstreet.


Typical Aussies

Posted on 29-11-2014 00:17 | By BennyBenson

Always find something to whinge about. I travel a lot, cruise a lot & guaranteed some stop on every journey will have the inconvenience of an upgrade taking place every time..it's life..get over it! At least there was somewhere to go.


Earlybird, you've lost me?

Posted on 29-11-2014 10:57 | By Murray.Guy

I was one of eleven elected members that did not control TCC outcomes. Takes a majority of 6 or more, plus staff cooperation. Not sure why that strikes you as laughable. Many of the visitors are of retired age and physically disadvantaged, which at times doesn't provide for an early warning of bathroom need or a lot of time to think about it! Just as the airport and bus terminals provide for passengers, so should the City and Port meet the reasonable needs of its clients.


re Earlybird and Murray

Posted on 29-11-2014 11:17 | By Councillorwatch

Murray, maybe Earlybird is looking for consistency. It's all very well to snipe from the sidelines once you didn't get re-elected. So when you were on Council did you vote extra monies for public toilets and their maintenance? Just how many toilets do we need? Did you vote for say extra money for the Historic Village, and for example Village Radio which you now seem to value? By the way, I think toilets at the Port should be provided by the Port, they get the actual berthage fees and all the ratepayer gets out of tourism is some fancy figures on how much the whole community benefits. There are plenty of toilets in the Mount. I believe most tourist don't complain and understand that maintenance happens. It's not as though toilets for cruise ship passengers were overlooked. It's just that for some people, nothing (including portaloos) is good enough.


a very wee factor actually

Posted on 01-12-2014 10:42 | By Annalist

For goodness sake do these seemingly self-entitled amply girthed tourists think that we should provided gold-plated toilets every 100 metres? A quick walk around the area and you find public toilets about every 300 metres as it is. I actually think most tourists are probably quite satisfied as if they were that picky they'd never leave toe comforts of their Aussie and American overblown suburban mansions.


Carcass

Posted on 03-12-2014 20:39 | By Carcass

This takes a bit of a believing


World View

Posted on 06-12-2014 13:48 | By Frostbite

If these people are experienced cruisers. They would fine that is most foreign ports in Europe and the Med. If there are toilets you pay to use them and payment does not guarantee quality. Only and Australian would waste time and energy on this


Frost bitten

Posted on 09-12-2014 11:47 | By YOGI BEAR

Sure far enough, but in NZ there is no cost for a toilet, no excuse for the mess, not explanations. We are meant to be a mod place not third world. Regardless this what you get when officials meddle in commercial activities, a mess of the rather smelly kind.


Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.