Napier's first cruise ship of the season arrives in port on 14 November. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
The first cruise ship of the season, the National Geographic Orion, arrived in Napier bright and early this morning, met by a cold gusty wind and clear skies.
More than 50 of its passengers headed out on buses to take in the sights, including the gannet colony on Cape Kidnappers, wineries and the art deco walk in town - a boost for the region's economy, and its spirits, after the last cruise season was cut short by severe weather.
"We are excited to be here," one man said. "This is the first trip we've made to New Zealand, and it's beautiful."
"People are very friendly, food's been excellent," said his wife.
Most passengers disembarked immediately when the ship berthed just after 7am, and piled onto Gannet Safaris Overland buses to take them out to the cape.
The National Geographic Orion berths at Napier Port. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
But not everyone was keen on a morning full of birds - a handful of passengers were off to learn about the local culture instead.
"The big part of the day seems to be the art deco walk for us, and that'll be interesting," a Chicago man said. "We're looking forward to seeing what you did, and how you did it."
The port's operations superviser for marine services, access and cruise, David Pons, said they had 92 vessels on the calendar this season.
"That would be a record season, all going well. We have got 20 multiple vessel days, so 18 double vessel days and two triple days this season, so it's going to be a very busy one."
Passengers and crew disembark. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
Last season there were 80 booked in, but the final number fell to 64 because of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Normally, cruise ships made up about 5 percent of the port's business, he said.
"It's not a massive proportion, but we see it as a greater good for the rest of the region as well, because it obviously helps with retail businesses and stuff like that."
Hawke's Bay Tourism chief executive Hamish Saxton said a single cruise could bring up to 5000 people into the region, on up to 70 days of the year.
When the season was interrupted by Cyclone Gabrielle in February, four weeks' worth of cruises were turned away.
Cruise ship passengers are met by buses to take them to the gannet colony on Cape Kidnappers. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
But with badly damaged roads taking longer than that to reopen, ships turned out to be an invaluable way of getting tourists into the region.
"The great thing was that we were able to welcome cruise ships back before the road to Taupō was open, and well before the roads to Gisborne and Wairoa were back open."
Saxton said it was a real shot in the arm for retail and hospitality, and since cruise ships are self-contained, this kind of tourism doesn't make a footprint on local accommodation, already under strain due to temporary housing needs post-cyclone.
"Often those cruise passengers might be visiting the country for a first time, just very lightly, with a desire after having experienced it to come back and experience it more deeply."
The season will come to a close in early April.
