The cruise ships that have already called this season are all purpose-built vessels that have entered service since 1995.
But one hull that was never intended for such a role when laid down more than 22 years ago is Seven Seas Navigator, due for its third visit on Thursday.
Seven Seas Navigator was laid down at the Admiralty shipyard at Leningrad on April 12, 1988 as the prototype of three satellite-tracking vessels for the Soviet Navy.
The vessel was launched as Akademik Nikolay Pilyugin on August 24, 1991.
Then in November 1993, with its machinery and most of its superstructure in place, further fitting-out work to complete the vessel ended.
It was bought by an Italian consortium which included the Genoa shipyard of T. Mariotti SpA.
And in July 1997, the uncompleted ship was towed to Genoa under the name Blue Sea.
After arriving at the Mariotti shipyard, the superstructure and everything inside the hull was removed in preparation for the reconstruction of the vessel as a luxury cruise ship.
Completion of the vessel as Seven Seas Navigator finally took place on August 25, 1999.
Not particularly appealing as far as looks are concerned, it is a 28,550gt 170.69m-long vessel having a loaded displacement of 17,338 tonnes.
Four eight-cylinder diesels with a combined output of 21,120hp, supplied by the Wartsila NSD Nederland works at Zwolle and geared to two shafts, give a speed of 19.5 knots.
The ship has 13 decks, of which eight are for passengers.
When refitted last December, the number of passenger berths were reduced from 542 to 490. Crew personnel number 340.
Seven Seas Navigator started its career registered at Nassau under the ownership of an Italian company, Finship Italy Srl.
In 2001, ownership passed to its current owner, Celtic Pacific (UK) Two Ltd.
The ship was operated by Radisson Seven Seas Cruises until 2006 when this company was taken over by Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
At the same time, the ship was transferred to Hamilton, Bermuda, registry. It made its first visit on October 11, 2000.
A week earlier, it left Sydney, where it shared berths with seven other cruise ships during the Olympic Games.
The ship's next appearance here was on October 17, 2002.
Two years later, it featured as a focal point in the film After the Sunset.
Other cruise-ship visitors completed by the Mariotti yard were Seven Seas Voyager (2003) and Silverseas Cruises' Silver Cloud (1994), Wind (1995), Shadow (2000) and Whisper (2001).
On Friday, Volendam and Pacific Venus will meet at Port Chalmers.
It will be the first of eight times this season two cruise ships are there on the same day.
Pacific Venus is operated by the Japan Cruise Line of Osaka. The 26,518gt, 183.40m-long, 20.8-knot vessel can carry 720 passengers.
It was built by the IHI yard at Tokyo and delivered in March 1998.
This vessel's previous visits were on January 17, 1999, and February 15, 2007.
