For those early risers, a picnic breakfast in Pilot Bay at Mount Maunganui this week is a great opportunity to watch two of the last three cruise ships of the season arrive in port.

Returning in the early evening to capture the last rays of the day’s autumn sun will also coincide with the ships' scheduled departures.

Brilliance of the Seas is due to arrive at 6.45am on Tuesday April 16 and it departs again at 6.30pm. The following day, Majestic Princess makes its last royal appearance of the 23/24 season, sailing into the Tauranga harbour at 7.30am, and leaving at 7.15pm.

Following this, it’s a six-month stretch until we can expect cruise ships back in port in mid-October 2024.

Spiderman...and Spiderman joining passengers on board the Pepi Toot Beach Express for a ride around Mount Maunganui. Photo: Supplied.

For tourist operators, this week is an opportunity again to put on tours and activities for over 2000 passengers from Brilliance of the Seas and around 3500 passengers who will be on board Majestic Princess. Each ship also carries around 850 and 1360 crew members, respectively.

Downtown the Mount will be a flurry of activity with the influx of passengers enjoying the stroll along The Mall, around Mauao and into the main shopping centre. Local businesses in the iconic coastal town have been able to thrive this season, with a minimum of four cruise ships a week, of varying sizes, up until late March.

Passengers checking out tourist rides and activities on the corner of Salisbury Ave and The Mall after disembarking from their cruise ship.  Photo: Supplied.

Passengers have also jumped aboard the city’s public buses and headed 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.

V8 Trike Tours NZ waiting to collect passengers from Celebrity Edge which visited Tauranga twice during the 23/34 cruise ship season.  Photo: Supplied.

Two new ‘kids on the block’ this year have been Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Edge, and quickly popular Resilient Lady from the Virgin cruise line.

On their two visits to Tauranga, the Resilient Lady’s enthusiastic and energetic crew engagement and communication manager Carl Dickinson led a team of crew volunteers on a rubbish collecting mission to the summit in January and along part of the base of Mauao in March.

Celebrity Edge debuted in Tauranga on December 14, 2023, on the first of 12 itineraries from early December through to April 2024, visiting an impressive collection of 22 ports.

The Pacific Adventure was turned away from New Zealand due to not meeting strict biosecurity requirements. Photo: Sean McGrady.

Tauranga’s cruise ship industry missed a much anticipated economic opportunity in November due to an Australian cruise ship failing to meet NZ’s strict biosecurity requirements.

Thousands of passengers and crew on board the Pacific Adventure were turned away from New Zealand shores, heading back to Australia instead of spending the day enjoying Tauranga.

The ship had left Sydney for hull cleaning off the Bay of Plenty, however the weather didn’t allow this to happen, so the itinerary had to be amended. Local Bay of Plenty tourism operators were affected by the cancelled visit to Tauranga with tours to Rotorua, Hobbiton and Western Bay of Plenty cancelled.

V8 Trike Tours NZ offer a unique, fun and thrilling experience exploring the Bay of Plenty. Photo: Supplied.

Since the first cruise ship of the season, Royal Princess, arrived in port on October 18.2023, more than 100 cruise ships have visited between then and mid-April 2024, with more than 290,000 cruise ship passengers and crew during the six-month season.

Tour bus driver Murray Guy with tourists at Mount Maunganui. Photo: Supplied.

Port of Tauranga is consistently voted by passengers as one of the best cruise ship destinations in New Zealand. The port is one of the few ports in the Southern Hemisphere where passengers can walk straight off their ship and into one of New Zealand’s top holiday spots within a matter of minutes.

Staff from the popular Sponge Drop Cafe enjoying a ride on the Pepi Toot Beach Express on a non-cruise ship day, before the season ends. Photo: Supplied.