The Ovation of the Seas docks at Napier Port on Monday. Photo / Paul Taylor
The Ovation of the Seas docks at Napier Port on Monday. Photo / Paul Taylor
OPINION:
The return of an enormous cruise ship on the Hawke's Bay horizon is something few would have contemplated two years ago.
The Covid-19 pandemic came to Napier via a cruise ship called the Ruby Princess. It very nearly spread to a population who had no protection, and no knowledgeof how to treat it.
Disaster was narrowly averted.
Time moves on. The pandemic shifted, vaccinations provided protection from serious illness, antivirals were developed, and things slowly returned to a version of normal, with caution.
And as Ovation of the Seas peeked out of the Hawke Bay blue on Monday morning, it symbolised in some ways just how far we have come.
And for the most part it felt rather good, actually. The streets swelled, the dancers jigged, the tills rang, the smiles of Emerson St retailers were broad.
In 2020 we would have welcomed them with pitchforks. In 2022, we gave them a party.
Of course, it is appropriate and important to still be wary of Covid-19.
Cases were last week starting to edge up in the Hawke's Bay community, albeit from what was a very low base, with warnings of new immunity-evading subvariants sent in recent weeks.
On Monday, the streets of Napier heaved, dancers jigged, tills rang, and 2020 faded to a memory. Photo / Paul Taylor
Te Whatu Ora, the former Hawke's Bay District Health Board, says the virus is not spiking in Hawke's Bay, as far as it can see.
Covid, which upended our lives for so long, undoubtedly still has the potential to be dangerous.
But I think, in 2022, with borders open and the virus in every corner of the world, we need to keep calm about the idea that we need to be specifically wary of cruise passengers.
In fact I'd argue that judging them as a hazard to be avoided at all costs would be patently unfair.
This pandemic has changed the cruise industry a lot. There's a recognition among all operators that they need to do better at preventing onboard viral circulation, not just to be good corporate citizens but to actually encourage passengers back.
The livelihoods of those who own these floating giants depends on winning back trust, and they appear to be going all out.
The sheer number of hoops visitors now need to jump through before they get on board shows just how seriously they're taking it.
Challenges await Hawke's Bay throughout the summer as more arrive, and some of those ships will undoubtedly have Covid cases on board.
But it's probable that the challenges they will bring are more likely to be of the pre-pandemic variety.
How do we fully staff the venues that play host to these thousands, to give them the best Hawke's Bay experience?
How do we ensure Napier is not out of reach for locals on a cruise day?
How do we spread across the region the benefits that cruises bring?
On a bellbird Labour Day, even those questions could be tucked into the pocket for another day. Cruises were back, as was the warm Hawke's Bay welcome.
