The Dunedin cruise ship season is winding down and the last
multi-ship visit was yesterday.
Celebrity Solstice and Pacific Pearl delivered
more than 5000 visitors to the city yesterday.
It was the last deluge of the 2012-13 cruise ship season.
Just five visits are left on the schedule before it ends next
month.
It will be a record cruise ship season. The Dunedin City
Council estimates 161,000 passengers and 69,000 crew will
have visited Dunedin on 84 cruises by the end of the season.
A group of Jamaican friends, now resident in the United
States, spent the morning in the sun at the Dunedin Railway
Station after disembarking from Celebrity Solstice.
''We always like to do a tour around the cities we get off in
to get a feel for the place,'' Joan Harris, of New York,
said.
''We all grew up in Jamaica, so we've always wanted to come
to New Zealand because of the cricket connection. We're huge
cricket fans,'' Phyllis Parsons, of Georgia, said.
''Your country is absolutely beautiful. But do you know what
the best thing here is? No snakes and no lizards,'' Zona
Coley, of Georgia, added.
Pacific Pearl passengers Jackie Pace and Diana Carey,
of Sydney, were visiting Dunedin for the first time on their
maiden cruise.
''Cruises are great fun. There's everything you could want in
one place,'' Ms Carey said.
''The food's really nice on the ship, but we thought we'd get
some chips for lunch because we were looking for something
quick and easy to eat.''
Celebrity Solstice left Dunedin at 5pm and Pacific
Pearl at 6pm yesterday. Three more ships arrive this
weekend: Marina tomorrow, Oosterdam on Sunday
and Dawn Princess on Monday.
Council business development visitor industry adviser Sophie
Barker said yesterday cruise ship visits to Dunedin grew 18%
last year.
''That's a huge increase and it's growing every year.
''It adds so much vibrancy to the centre of the city. Dunedin
is also very fortunate that we're either the first or the
last port.''
About 90% of passengers disembarked when ships berthed in
Dunedin.
Cruise ship visits now comprised 8% of all visitors to the
city.
Passengers spent an average of $125 a day and crew $45 a day,
Ms Barker said.
''At the end of the every season, the cruise action group
sits down and works out what went well, what didn't and what
we could do better.''
The final visits of the 2012-13 cruise ship season are
Radiance of the Seas on April 4 and Oosterdam on April 5.
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