Doug Wright

The visit last Friday by the 77,441gt Sun Princess that marked 50 years of calls to this harbour by international cruise ships, could not have happened at a more appropriate time in the cruise ship calendar.

The cruise ships Celebrity Century, here for the first time last Tuesday, and Radiance of the Seas, on its third visit on Friday, have more than one thing in common. They are from two arms of the Royal Caribbean group and both were built in the covered, state-of-the-art shipbuilding facility of Jos L. Meyer Werft, at Papenburg, on the River Eems, 40km inland from the North Sea.

Now a familiar visitor to the port, Holland-America's Volendam makes its 27th visit today. And in two days' time sister ship Zaandam will be making its first appearance here.

To date, the suffix Princess has been linked to the names of 13 cruise ships that have made 204 visits to Port Chalmers under the P&O or Princess Cruises banners.

Despite being held on a wet English summer day, an event at Southampton earlier this month has been described as grand and memorable.

Time is running out for a Southeast Asian container ship line that has been involved with operations here over two separate periods.

It was a scene never to be repeated at the George St wharf, Port Chalmers, 60 ago this Wednesday (Anzac Day, 1952).

Azamara Quest is the second cruise ship to be disabled by an engine room fire in recent weeks. Until taken in tow, Costa Allegra, on a voyage from Madagascar to the Seychelles, drifted with no power at all for three days in an incident at the end of February.