Three cruise ships make for busy weekend

Dunedin has experienced something of a cruise bonanza over the weekend, after three cruise ships stopped at Port Chalmers, with two of those staying an extra night.

When the cruise ships Seabourn Quest, Azamara Pursuit and Le Soleal arrived, it meant the city was looking after about 1420 passengers in total.

Le Soleal arrived on Saturday about 8am, after previously spending time in the Antipodes Island; it will depart about 7pm today to travel to Timaru.

The luxury cruise liner is a French-flagged vessel and has capacity for about 265 passengers, and has specialised in unique, off-the-beaten-path itineraries, including Antarctica, the Arctic, South America, and Asia, focusing on coastal exploration.

The Seabourn Quest is a year-round luxury cruise liner, with capacity for about 460 passengers and is a frequent visitor of Australia and New Zealand shores.

The Azamara Pursuit is a mid-sized cruise vessel with a capacity of 700 passengers, with its publicity detail describing the ship as a "luxurious boutique hotel on the sea".

matthew.littlewood@odt.co.nz