I don't think that anyone would not welcome the growing number of cruise ships visiting our port. I have, however, noticed that a number of them this year are shortening the time their passengers spend with us, which is a great pity because many don't now have the time to get the full Hawke's Bay experience.
I do have to question the planning of the cruise ship companies. Holland America liner Zaandam arrived in Napier on Saturday at 5:30am, to depart again at 2pm.
Realistically what do the cruise companies expect passengers to do at, say, 6am on a Saturday, other than walk around Napier looking at closed shops?
I noticed a couple of mini bus tour operators trying to take passengers up to the Bluff lookout, good idea, but Armourguard doesn't open the gates until 7am.
I would hate to think that some of the ships stopped coming here, because of reduced bookings, where prospective passengers were put off by current passengers commenting "there was nothing to do in Hawke's Bay". While our business community does its best to cater for these tourists, it would be unrealistic to open shops and other attractions at 5:30am with all the extra staff and wages required.
