HAL-Holland America's ship ms Zuiderdam is the second cruise ship to visit Port Nukualofa (Tonga) in 2023, arriving with 2000+ passengers and crew members at Vuna wharf on Monday, January 30th.
MS Paul Gauguin was the first cruise ship to visit Tonga, arriving in Neiafu (Vavau Islands) on January 16th.
MS Zuiderdam arrived in the morning from French Polynesia, with a total of 1388 passengers and 773 crew members for a 1-day visit, before she was expected to leave for Auckland NZ later this evening.
Local handicrafts were being sold at the wharf with tour/taxi operators, buses, and restaurants, getting much-needed clients, as the local tourism industry revives, after being hit when borders closed, due to the COVID crisis.
Nukualofa is the main seaport and capital city of Tonga (an island country in the southern Pacific Ocean). The city is on the northern coast of Tongatapu Island, in Tonga's southernmost island group, and has a population of ~25,000.