Two back-to-back ship arrivals marked the start of the Tauranga cruise season, as the region prepares to welcome up to 230,000 passengers and crew over the next seven months.

Celebrity Edge, carrying up to 4300 passengers and crew, was the first to glide into the city’s harbour on Thursday morning and was due to depart for Auckland at 5pm. Celebrity Solstice docked at 6am on Friday for a 12-hour visit.

Both ships were on 20-day voyages from Honolulu to Sydney, carrying mainly American and Australian passengers. French Polynesia was their last port of call before Tauranga.

The Bay of Plenty’s tourism sector is excited about the steady influx of international visitors, as other parts of the country anticipate a noticeable downturn in cruise passenger numbers this season.

Tourism Bay of Plenty said Tauranga has always been one of New Zealand’s most popular cruise ship stops.

Two ships that are visiting the country for the first time will make the Port of Tauranga one of their first or only NZ stop.

Anthem of the Seas, owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises, will dock in Tauranga Harbour on Labour Day, October 27, carrying up to 4180 passengers and 1500 crew.

It will be the ship’s only NZ port of call, with its passengers starting their voyage in Vancouver and finishing in Sydney.

Discovery Princess, one of the newest ships in the Princess Cruises fleet, will also make Tauranga its third port of call on December 14 during its first NZ visit.

Tourism Bay of Plenty has been busy preparing for the start of the cruise season.

Tourism Bay of Plenty cruise team members (from left) Danielle Goodall, Mary Tolley, and Nicole Ellis, prepare to welcome visitors from the Celebrity Edge. Photo / Supplied

Destination management head Mary Tolley said 82 ships were due to dock in Tauranga between now and early May.

“We’ve been working hard in the background — alongside our key partners and stakeholders, NZ Cruise Association, Port of Tauranga, Tauranga City Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Downtown Tauranga, Mount Mainstreet, cruise lines, and local tour operators — to ensure a smooth season ahead.

“We’re operating a pop-up isite visitor centre and tour operator station inside the port gates, supported by our fabulous staff and volunteer ambassadors. We’ll also assist with traffic management outside the gates on the busiest ship days.”

Tolley said cruise ship visits were a much-loved and vital part of our city’s communities and economy.

She said these ships, and the people they bring, contributed an estimated $111.8 million to the region during the 2023/2024 season.

“Many employees and businesses rely on this revenue, so we’re all saying ‘bring it on’ as we kick off this next cruise season.”

See the cruise schedule here: https://www.bayofplentynz.com/cruise/cruise-ship-schedule/ or https://www.port-tauranga.co.nz/operations/cruise-ship-schedules/.