The cancellation of Dunedin's first cruise ship of the season has disappointed tour operators, and hit them hard in the pocket. The Diamond Princess was to have been the first of...
Cruise ship passengers avoiding what they say are overpriced shuttles to Dunedin city visited Port Chalmers instead yesterday, despite suggestions from cruise ship staff to bypass the town.
Further unrest among Dunedin tour operators about new cruise ship protocols, including claims of bribery and bias, will be addressed at a season-end debriefing.
The hospitality industry has been encouraged to do more research and be ''as prepared as they can'' for cruise ship visits as some Dunedin businesses start to fret at the demand from a ''frightening'' number of cruise ship customers coming past their counters.
Despite a drop in the number of cruise ships expected to visit Dunedin in the 2013-14 season, local tourist operators have been told to expect a 6.2% rise in passenger numbers.