This Content Is Only For Subscribers
Tauranga’s 2025–26 cruise season is officially underway, with two ships arriving back-to-back last week and more than 230,000 passengers and crew expected to visit the region over the next seven months.
Celebrity Edge, carrying up to 4300 passengers and crew, arrived in Tauranga Harbour on Thursday morning and departed for Auckland at 5pm on the same day. Celebrity Solstice docked at 6am on Friday for a 12-hour visit.
Both vessels are on 20-day voyages from Honolulu to Sydney, carrying mainly American and Australian passengers. Their last port of call was French Polynesia.
Tauranga remains one of New Zealand’s most popular cruise destinations, with the Bay of Plenty preparing for a steady season while some other regions anticipate a decline in passenger numbers.
Tourism Bay of Plenty head of destination management Mary Tolley says 82 ships are scheduled to call between now and early May.
“We’ve been working hard alongside our key partners — including the New Zealand Cruise Association, Port of Tauranga, Tauranga City Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Downtown Tauranga, Mount Mainstreet, cruise lines and local tour operators — to ensure a smooth season ahead,” Mary says.
“We’re operating a pop-up isite visitor centre and tour operator station inside the port gates, supported by our staff and volunteer ambassadors. We’ll also assist with traffic management outside the gates on the busiest ship days.”
Two ships will make their first New Zealand visits this season, both calling in Tauranga.
Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas will arrive on Labour Day, Monday, October 27, carrying up to 4180 passengers and 1500 crew. The vessel’s voyage begins in Vancouver and ends in Sydney, with Tauranga its only New Zealand port of call.
Discovery Princess, one of the newest ships in the Princess Cruises fleet, will make its inaugural New Zealand visit on Sunday, December 14, with Tauranga as its first port of call.
Mary says cruise tourism remains vital to the local economy.
“Cruise ship visits are a much-loved and vital part of our city’s communities and economy. These ships, and the people they bring, contributed an estimated $111.8 million to our region during the 2023–24 season. Many employees and businesses rely on this revenue, so we’re all saying ‘bring it on’ as we kick off this next cruise season.”
