Napier cruise season: The dates, the number of ships and what it means for shop owners

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The Ovation of the Seas and Noordam cruise ships docked at Napier Port last season. Photo / Warren Buckland
A Napier shop owner says she is “very much looking forward” to the upcoming cruise season which triples the sales she gets compared with the off-season.

The 2024/25 cruise season at Napier Port
begins on October 12 with the arrival of Diamond Princess, which has the capacity for more than 2600 passengers.

It is the first of 85 cruise visits scheduled between October and March, weather permitting.
That figure is slightly down on a record 89 cruise visits last season, which was helped by the first season in five years uninterrupted by Covid or a cyclone.
Napier Port chief operating officer Adam Harvey said the slight decrease in scheduled visits was due to demand.
“The NZ Cruise Association has noted that the Australasian market is experiencing a decline in cruise bookings for the upcoming season, with estimates indicating a reduction of approximately 15-20%.”
However, he said it would still be a strong season and a welcome boost for the region.
“We’re excited to kick off another cruise season after a record-breaking last season,” he said.
“A similar level of economic support will be greatly welcomed by our retailers, hospitality, and tourism operators.
“This season is particularly exciting as we will have 11 maiden calls to Napier including the Crown Princess, Silver Nova, Norwegian Sun, Azamara Pursuit, Viking Venus, Aidasol, Scenic Eclipse II, Le Jacques Cartier, Island Princess, Artania and Viking Sky.
“It will be worth keeping an eye out for Silver Nova and Scenic Eclipse II as these are both brand new ships.”
The Quantum of the Seas and its sister ship the Ovation of the Seas are both returning and are the largest ships to dock, with the capacity for nearly 5000 passengers each.
A new 20m-long “gangway” has also been installed at the port for passengers disembarking cruises.
Napier’s main shopping strip, Emerson St, turns into a hive of activity during big cruise days. Jill Harper, the owner of House of Creationz, on Emerson St, said the cruise season was “huge for me”.
“Very much looking forward to the cruises because it is about triple the amount you do in the winter,” she said, of trading over the warmer months.
“Last season was our first full [cruise season] in years – it was great.”
Harper said her best sellers for cruise tourists seemed to be pottery and glass items and New Zealand-made greenstone pounamu.
Napier City Business general manager Pip Thompson said cruise visitors brought a great atmosphere to Napier CBD.
“The past few years have taught us a lot of lessons. Pre-Covid, cruise ships were a bit of a ‘yeah-nah’, whereas now we really welcome them and they do boost not only investment and money into the economy but they also boost our morale.”
She said it had been “a really tough winter” for many businesses in Napier, which was reflective of the challenges globally, nationally and locally with people facing increased costs and struggling financially.
Thompson said street activation activities, such as art deco dancers, would return as part of initiatives to welcome cruise visitors.
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
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