The towering presence of the Royal Princess in Tauranga’s port this morning is a welcome and refreshing reminder that summer is arriving, and along with it, a flood of tourists keen to experience NZ scenery and meet Kiwis.

Cruise ships are a much-loved part of the Bay of Plenty’s summer vibe, with locals enjoying the Bay tradition of checking out the cruise ship schedule and planning their late-afternoon picnic spot at Pilot Bay – Waikorire – to wave as the big ships leave port.

More than 100 cruise ships will be visiting between now and mid-April 2024 with an expected quarter of a million passengers and crew.

The Royal Princess, carrying around 3560 passengers arrived soon after 6am today and is due to depart at 5.45pm.

The Royal Princess, towering over Rata Street, Mount Maunganui this morning.  Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

The Mount Maunganui shops, cafes, bars and restaurants are expecting an increased buzz and business as lanyard-wearing passengers navigate their way around the town, wander the beach boardwalks and explore Mauao, Moturiki and Mount Drury.

The Bayfair Shopping Centre is also a popular spot for cruise ship passengers, some of whom in the past have been known to wander along The Mall in Pilot Bay looking for ‘the mall’.

Passengers are also expected to jump aboard the city’s public buses and head to Tauranga’s Historic Village, another popular local destination, which has a working village of artists and artisans.

Coaches also take passengers on day outings to Rotorua and a Middle-earth experience amongst the lush pastures of the shire for a guided walking tour at Hobbiton.

Cruise ship passengers waiting to catch a city bus after visiting Tauranga Historic Village. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

There are also local bus tours for passengers to enjoy a day out around the Western Bay of Plenty.

Cruise ships returned to the Bay of Plenty in 2022, after a two-and-a-half year hiatus when the Government closed the maritime border due to Covid-19 back in 2020.

During the 2019/2020 cruise season – which was shortened by the March 2020 Covid-19 border closure – cruise visits contributed an estimated $74 million to our region, and in 2018/2019 season brought $89 million to the region.

In 2022, Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Oscar Nathan said that “a lot of this money was spent on passenger transport, tourism activities, retail, and replenishing onboard supplies, so these types of businesses are eagerly anticipating the return of cruise”.

Oscar says while onshore visits might be short – usually just a day – research shows that many passengers use these voyages to try different port destinations and then return to their favourite places for a longer period later on.

“This highlights the value and importance of these short onshore visits.”

Evening picnics on days that cruiseships leave the Port of Tauranga are popular in Pilot Bay. Photo: Supplied.

The next cruiseship expected into the Port of Tauranga is the Majestic Princess, due in on Tuesday October 31.

The Royal Princess will be back on Friday November 10, with five other cruise ship visits planned for Tauranga during the remainder of November with Heritage Adventurer, Grand Princess, Noordam, Pacific Adventure, and then Royal Princess again on November 27.

There are more than 21 cruise ship visits scheduled for December, 28 during January, 32 during February, 20 in March, and four in April.

Some days during January and February there are two cruise ships in port at the same time, with some staying overnight before leaving the following evening.