3 cruise ships are scheduled to visit Napier Port (New Zealand) on Saturday, January 7th, setting a new record at the bustling hub.
A Port spokesperson said previously they had had double cruise days where 2 cruise ships had visited, but that was the first time 3 were berthing the same day.
Silver Muse, Star Breeze, and Viking Mars cruise ships are scheduled to arrive at the port Saturday morning and early afternoon, which will provide a boost to Napier shop owners.
Port Napier opened its new $175M wharf, Te Whiti, in July 2022 which allows it to service other boats while welcoming 3 cruise ships.
With Te Whiti wharf, they can now have 3 cruise ships in "and still accommodate container, log and bulk cargo vessels calling."
The trio of cruise ships coming to Napier boast a capacity for 1700+ passengers in total and the liners will likely all be in the port at the same time at ~01:00 p.m. on Saturday, pending any changes to schedule.
So far during the summer season, which runs from October through to April, there have been a total of 22 cruises visiting Napier Port.
Another 65 cruises are due to dock during the rest of the season including 8 between this Saturday-next Friday.
One of the world's largest cruise vessels - RCI-Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas, was the first to visit the port in 2 and a half years when she docked on October 24th last year, after the COVID crisis shut down the industry. It was later revealed it had ~130 Coronavirus cases onboard.