New Zealand’s Summer Cruise Season

New Zealand’s 2016-17 summer cruise season “will welcome a record number of ships, including many first-time visitors, most notably the biggest vessel ever to sail in local waters, the 4,180-passenger Ovation of the Seas, which was launched this year,” writes Louise Goldsbury for Cruise Critic.

“We expect to welcome 11 ships new to New Zealand, and another three new ships are scheduled for the following season,” said Kevin O’Sullivan, Cruise New Zealand’s outgoing chair.

“Although we are expecting to experience a slight dip in passenger numbers despite this new capacity in 2016-17, it will rise by 11% to a new record in the 2017-2018 season.”

“What is exciting about the 2016-2017 cruise season is that the ships will make 791 port visits, an increase of 13% from the season before,” said Brett Jardine, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia commercial director.

In November the 3082-passenger Emerald Princess, the largest Princess ship to visit NZ this summer, will sail into Milford Sound.

Article Source: Cruise Critic, Louise Goldsbury, October 4, 2016

Image Source: Wikipedia