The last cruise ship of the season docks in Tauranga on Sunday, but Tourism officials are already casting an eye towards October and the next super-sized season.

This Sunday sees Oceania's Insignia berth at Mount Maunganui, with the luxury liner due to arrive at 8am before departing at 6pm the same day.

Insignia will be the 79th and final cruise ship of the 2014/15 season this Sunday. Photo: File.

Insignia will be the 79th and final cruise ship out of a scheduled 83 since last October – an itinerary that was readjusted due to weather conditions. As a result, ship numbers were down 1.6 per cent on the 2013/14 season.

The Sea Princess was originally expected in port in early October last year, but cancelled its voyage due to technical issues.

The 79 ships bought a total of 144,721 passengers through the gates on Rata Street, plus 61,862 crew – figures that are slightly down on the year before.

Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Rhys Arrowsmith says he is 'very happy” with the way the season has played out, and is pleased with the level of positive feedback from the cruise operators themselves.

Bookings through the I-PORT are up 10 per cent, but the full season numbers are yet to be finalised as Tourism BOP awaits the numbers from the final ship.

It is estimated that 35 per cent of passengers book a ship tour and the remaining 65 per cent of passengers either book a tour through the I-PORT or explore the local area independently.

'This means at least 55 per cent of passengers remain in the local area,” says Rhys.

This might include shopping around the Mount Mainstreet area or taking a bus to Tauranga's CBD.

Tauranga sells the highest number of ship port tours in the country due to the many and varied tour options available within an hour's drive of the port.

An estimated$40 - $45million was spent by cruise ship passengers this season.

Looking ahead to the 2015/16 season, Rhys says 80 ships are tentatively scheduled, commencing with the Diamond Princess on October 7 and finishing with the Insignia on the May 18 next year.

There will be eight double ship days.

During this time, giant liner Ovation of the Seas will make its maiden voyage to the city, thanks to the dredging project about to commence in Tauranga Harbour.

The ship will be the largest cruise liner ever to visit New Zealand, at a length of 348 metres, 167,800 gross tonnage and a maximum capacity of 4900 passengers and 1300 crew - the equivalent of 12 Airbus A380s arriving at the same time.

Voyager of the Seas is currently the largest ship to frequent these waters, at 317 metres long. It has regularly visited the Port of Tauranga over the past few seasons.

Rhys says changes to the harbour will open up further opportunities, with Tourism BOP forecasting newer and larger ships resulting in more passenger and crew visitors.

According to Cruise New Zealand forecasts, the 80 cruise ships berthing in Tauranga will see 160,100 passengers and a further 65,600 crew – bringing in an estimated $40.5m.

This puts Tauranga as the third-busiest port behind Auckland's 105, and Southland with 86.

The cruise sector is currently worth $365 million to the New Zealand economy and is forecast to grow to $422 million by 2016.