From Tahiti to Tauranga (Rotorua, New Zealand), thousands of cruise ship tourists are expected to arrive this weekend on the first liner to dock in two-and-a-half years.
In spite of the hiatus, this cruise season is set to compare to some of the busiest, and travelers are expected to boost the Bay of Plenty economy by millions.
Majestic Princess makes the first of a total of 103 ship calls scheduled for this season, carrying ~3500 passengers and ~1300 crew. The boat arrived from Tahiti at 5.30 am on Saturday, October 15th.
It is the first of Princess' 19 calls at the port this season.
Princess Cruises' Asia Pacific, UK & Europe senior vice president Stuart Allison said the company was thrilled to return to New Zealand as well as contribute to the restart of cruise tourism.
Princess was due to bring 50,000+ passengers to Tauranga over 19 visits this season.
During the next 6 months, it was estimated the economic impact of the line's guests and crew members would be above US$17 million in the Bay of Plenty alone.
The Majestic Princess ship left Los Angeles (Long Beach-San Pedro, California) on September 24, 2022. More than 65% of guests are from North America.
1500+ passengers were booked to do tours in Auckland, the Bay of Plenty, and the Bay of Islands as part of the cruise.
According to Leonard Sampson (Port Tauranga's CEO), it was the first liner in port since Regent Seven Seas' ship Seven Seas Navigator visited on March 17, 2020.
The 2019-2020 cruise season was cut short, at 106 liners, by the COVID crisis. The season before there was a record 116 calls.