Napier Port hopes for another big cruise season next summer despite national concern

Napier Port is anticipating another busy cruise season next summer despite concern about a potential nationwide decline in cruise visits.

The boss of the NZ Cruise Association said publicly this week there would likely be a drop in cruise visits nationally next season, by as many as 200 port visits.

The summer cruise season runs from November to April and the 2023-24 season was a bumper summer for the entire country.

Napier Port alone welcomed 89 cruise ship visits and 138,000 passengers in what was a record for the port.

A Napier Port spokesman said cruise line companies book well in advance and next season was also looking strong at this stage.

“Napier Port has another strong cruise season planned for the 2024-25 season with 90 current bookings,” he said.

“The 2023-24 season was a record season for us with 89 vessel calls.

“Napier and the wider Hawke’s Bay region continue to drive robust demand as a cruise tourism destination.”

He said bookings tended to be finalised around July or August of each year ahead of the upcoming summer cruise season.

Cruise Association chief executive Jacqui Lloyd attended the world’s largest cruise industry conference, in the US, this week to promote New Zealand.

Speaking to RNZ from Miami, she said rising costs were starting to bite with a projected 20 per cent fall in port visits expected for next season nationally.

“It’s looking lower [for next season]. We are probably around 150-200 port calls lower [nationally] than we are for this season,” she told RNZ.

The Carnival Splendor was the final cruise ship to visit Napier Port earlier this month for the 2023-24 season. Photo / Warren Buckland

“We are concerned and we’re hoping this won’t become a continual trend.

“Some of it is deployment, world cruises tend to move to different parts of the world and some ships will come for one or two seasons and then deploy elsewhere, and then come back.”

She said it was a “very price-driven market” so cruises looked at the cost to operate in each port “and New Zealand costs have gone up”.

Napier Port said it would release how much it earned from the latest cruise season in May.

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.