The road from Careys Bay to Aramoana was lined with cars as people flocked to watch the arrival of the 168,666-tonne behemoth.
It is the largest cruise ship to visit New Zealand and was carrying about 5800 passengers and crew.
Port Otago chief pilot Hugh Marshall said conditions were fine and the vessel berthed without a hitch.
It came a day early because of a poor weather forecast and is scheduled to leave at 5pm today.
