The first cruise ship of the 2016/17 season Sun Princess arrived today, four days earlier than originally scheduled

The ship's New Zealand cruise is re-routed to begin with North Island ports because of poor weather in the South Ialand.

Caption: Sun Princess arriveing in port today. Photo: Rosalie Crawford.

The Sun Princess arrived from Auckland at 7.30am today and is expected to depart for Napier at 7.15pm.

Tourism Bay of Plenty CEO Kristin Dunne says while the schedule change has placed pressure on the timelines and preparation of the i-PORT facility, the tourism organisation is doing everything it can to ensure the season gets off to a smooth start.

'While we anticipate this shift may have an impact on our industry, we're confident they will rise to the occasion and tackle this challenge head-on.

'Our doors are always open to engage with our operators and the industry, and are happy to support them in any way we can to ensure the cruise ship season is a success.”

Photo: Rosalie Crawford.