A boutique luxury cruise liner set for a nearly $40 million face-lift made its New Zealand debut in Dunedin yesterday.
Port Chalmers was the first New Zealand port to host the five-star Azamara Quest.
Hotel director Philip Herbert, of England, said he was ‘‘very excited'' to be on the maiden voyage of New Zealand.
Dunedin was an essential stop because of its natural beauty and attractions, such as Taieri Gorge Railway, Olveston House, Larnach Castle and Otago Peninsula wildlife, he said.
Most of the 660 guests on Azamara Quest were North American, followed by British, then Australians and New Zealanders.
When the Otago Daily Times visited the vessel yesterday, it found several North American guests had stayed on board to watch an NFL playoff game.
‘‘When we started in 2007, we had mainly North American clientele but over the years we have become a lot more international,'' Mr Herbert said.
He expected Australian and New Zealand guests to outnumber the British guests this year.
Popular activities on board include caviar-tasting and the ‘‘chef's table'' experiences - a seven-course ‘‘wine pairing'' dinner with a different theme, such as Italian, French and Californian.
Although Azamara Quest lacked some of the facilities of larger ships, it was a point of difference which attracted a certain type of clientele seeking the ‘‘softer touch'', he said.
‘‘The contact with the crew and to feel very special rather than one of many.''
Business development manager Steven Garside said the vessel was set for a $38.3 million refurbishment in Singapore in April, including the upgrade of the state rooms.
‘‘We are spending more per state room than any cruise ship in history.''
Royal Caribbean Cruises New Zealand manager Mark Kinchley said Azamara Quest was decorated to a ‘‘higher spec'' and felt like an ‘‘English country manor''.
A night on the vessel costs about $450 per person.
Azamara Quest
- First of the Azamara fleet to visit New Zealand.
- Has 401 crew for 686 passengers.
- Sister-ship Azamara Journey will visit New Zealand for the first time in 2017 and Azamara Quest will return in 2018.
- The industry body, Cruise New Zealand, estimates the industry contributed $35.9 million to the Otago economy in 2014-15 and expects it to rise to $40.6 million for the 2015-16 season.
- If cruising was a country of residence it would be ranked third in terms of numbers of international visitors, behind Australia and China.
- New Zealand economy is expected to benefit from more than $1million in passenger spend from Azamara's maiden New Zealand voyage.
