Dunedin will be the first port of call for the $1.3 billion mega-cruise ship Ovation of the Seas when it visits New Zealand next year.
The Royal Caribbean vessel will start its cruise around New Zealand in Dunedin just before Christmas next year.
The ship will depart from Sydney on December 15, 2016, bound for Dunedin, followed by visits to Wellington, Picton, Tauranga, and Auckland.
The company is still in talks with Ports of Auckland to find a berth long enough for the 348m ship. The port company is fighting to expand its wharf capacity.
Tenders are used to transport passengers in other ports such as Akaroa and in the Bay of Islands, but haven't been needed in Auckland.
Ovation of the Seas will be the largest cruise ship to sail New Zealand waters - if stood up end-to-end she would be more than 20 metres taller than Auckland's Sky Tower.
With almost 6500 guests and crew, Ovation carries more than the total population of some of the towns that it will visit such as Paihia or Picton.
The vessel has 2090 staterooms on board.
Royal Caribbean Asia and Pacific commercial director Sean Treacy said Ovation represented the single largest investment in Australia and New Zealand cruising by any line.
"Unsurprisingly, over 20,000 people have pre-registered their interest since we first announced her local deployment."
In her first season, Ovation of the Seas is forecast to inject more than $12 million into the New Zealand economy with a total of 18 port calls across the country.
The ship will depart from Sydney on December 15, 2016, bound for Dunedin, followed by visits to Wellington, Picton, Tauranga, and Auckland.
About 15,000 passengers are expected to experience the new generation of cruise ship on four itineraries that take in New Zealand and Australia.
The ship is now being built in Papenburg, Germany and will be the third of the Quantum class vessels; sister ships Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas are already running cruises.
Ovation's attractions include robot bartenders and 360 degree ocean views 92 metres above the sea in an observation capsule, bumper cars, a circus school, and 18 different dining options including a Jamie Oliver restaurant.
Last year almost 66,000 New Zealanders took a cruise, up 150 per cent since figures were first compiled in 2006.
- Grant Bradley of the New Zealand Herald
