In looking at this season's cruise ship programme, the Carnival group, the world's biggest cruise ship operator, once again has the largest slice of the cake.
For of the 57 vessels that will visit Port Chalmers, 44 of those calls will be made by 11 of the group's vessels.
They will represent the brand names, Holland-America, P&O Cruises, P&O Australia, Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruises.
The latter company operates five vessels and its newest vessel, Seabourn Sojourn, which only entered service this year, will be here next January.
The Holland-America Line commenced cargo and passenger ship operations at Rotterdam in 1872, but today the name is only linked to the cruise market.
It has been a wholly owned Carnival subsidiary since 1989 and the present fleet numbers 15 vessels.
Its local presence began when Maasdam made a one-off visit in October 1994.
This ship was followed by Rotterdam, NieuwAmsterdam, Prinsendam Statendam, Amsterdam (back for the fourth time next February), and Volendam due later this month on its 17th visit.
The P&O name has been around since 1837.
Last century, it grew to become one of the biggest British groups that included cargo liner and passenger fleets as well as bulk carriers, tankers and tramps.
Important links with this country were through the British India, Federal Steam Navigation and New Zealand Shipping companies, plus the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand.
Today, the name and house flag still survive but there is little else left of this once vast shipping empire.
Cruise ship operations teamed up with Carnival in 2002, and P&O Ferries, whose fleet operates out of British ports, was taken over by Dubai-based DP World in March, 2006.
However, P&O first ventured into cruising after the 5013-ton steamer Rome, built in 1881 for the Australian service , was lengthened in 1892.
Two years later, it was converted for cruising and renamed Vectis.
Seventy years later, it was quite an occasion when the Orient Line's 23,696gt Orion, built in 1935 and then the port's largest visitor, berthed at Port Chalmers.
The vessel on a cruise from Australia and then in its twilight years in the P&O group, arrived on December 27, 1962, and departed the following day.
The next of the group's cruise ships to call here, and not until October 1991, was the 20,636gt Pacific Princess built in 1971.
To date, 12 Princess vessels have made 153 calls here.
And before the season ends a further 22 calls will be made by four of these vessels.
Princess Cruises operates a fleet of 17 vessels of which the largest, the sister ships Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess, in service since 2004, are now very familiar here.
Other Princesses seen here are Golden (a chartered vessel), Island, the sister ships Dawn and Sun, a second Pacific, Regal and Star.
Two others acquired when P&O took over the Vlasov-owned Sitmar Cruises in 1988, called here as Fair Princess and Sky Princess, while a third acquisition retained the name Fairstar.
Sky Princess was later transferred to P&O Australia as Pacific Sky.
This fleet now operates Pacific Dawn (formerly the Regal Princess) and the Pacific's Jewel, Pearl and Sun.
P&O Cruises has a fleet of seven vessels.
Its Artemis was here in December 2005, Arcadia last February, with Aurora scheduled to call in March of next year.
The 6200gt bulk cement carrier Milburn Carrier II, built by Hyundai in 1987, made its first visit to Dunedin on August 19, 1989.
Last week, the vessel was back again on its 200th visit.
