Wellington (New Zealand)
Cruise Port schedule, live map, terminals, news
Region
Australia - New Zealand - Pacific Ocean Islands
Local Time
2023-02-02 10:22
67°F 19.3°C
Mod. breeze7.1 m/s
74 °F / 24 °C 63 °F / 18 °C
Wellington Harbour cruise port is located on the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. The harbour is among the world's best harbor waterways and is the center of an extinct, flooded volcano. Wellington is also known as "Windy City" as winds and fog are common for the region. Wellington is NZ's 3rd largest containership port and also has a large-capacity tanker terminal. The city is served by Wellington International Airport (aka Rongotai Airport, approx 3,5 ml / 5,5 km southeast from city centre) and also by Interislander ferries, with regularly scheduled daily crossings to Picton.
The port's cruise ship schedule lists major companies' vessels from the fleets of RCI (Royal Caribbean), Carnival Australia, Cunard (visiting on world cruises), P&O Australia, Celebrity, Holland America, Princess. The port benefits from the city's compact size, good infrastructure, popular among the day visitors activities and typical NZ vacation experiences on various shore excursions.
Port Wellington
CentrePort Wellington is jointly owned by Wellington Regional Council (77%) and Horizons Regional Council (23%). The port authority company also owns major inland freight hubs (New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Whanganui, Blenheim) allowing it to handle over 1/4 ( 27%) of NZ's domestic product, with reported over 14,000 shipping movements annually. Port's cruising season runs April through October.
Season 2017-2018 started with the RCI ship Radiance of the Seas - among the largest liners ever visiting Wellington NZ. The cruise port handled 82 ship calls and around 320,000 tourists (passengers and crew). This was a 12% increase over season 2016-2017 (with estimated USD 65,7 million added to the local economy). The 2017-18's inaugural calls were from NCL's Norwegian Jewel, Viking Ocean's Viking Sun and NYK Line's Asuka II.
For season 2018-2019, the port had booked 110 ship calls (estimated 320,000 passengers+crew), with scheduled inaugural visits by Norwegian Jewel (NCL), Viking Sun (Viking Ocean) and Asuka 2 (NYK Line). Port's schedule had 24 "two-ship" days. On March 16th, the port celebrated its 100th handled cruise ship call (by Golden Princess) made during 13-day NZ itinerary roundtrip from homeport Melbourne Australia.
For season 2019-2020 are already booked 120+ ship calls.
Wellington cruise terminal
Wellington cruise port has 3 main docking piers – Aotea Quay (largest), Queens Wharf and Overseas Terminal (smallest). For arriving cruise passengers, the port authority provides free shuttle bus service running between the terminal and downtown Wellington. Taxis are also available as an alternative transportation.
Aotea Quay Terminal
The port's most booked by cruise ships passenger terminal is Aotea Quay Terminal as it has capacity to handle larger vessels. The terminal is located between Inter-Island Ferry Terminal and the port's train station (approx 5 min walking distance). The station complex has cafes, small shops and bus terminal serving the line to the city.
The city center is less than 1,5 ml (2,5 km) from the terminal, or approx 25 min walking distance (8 min drive by car or bus). The nearest shopping complex (on Lambton Quay) is approx 1 ml (2 km) away. The airport is located approx 6 ml (10 km) from the cruise terminal. Aotea Quay is also close to Westpac Stadium (aka Cake Tin).
Queens Wharf Terminal
Queens Wharf is the closest to the city center cruise terminal (0,6 ml / 1 km away) but it can serve smaller vessels. The nearest shopping area (Lambton Quay) is at 10 min walking distance, and the airport is around 2,5 km (4 km) from the passenger terminal.
Overseas Terminal
This pier is very rarely used as it can handle only the smallest cruise ships.
Port Wellington cruise ship schedule shows timetable calendars of all arrival and departure dates by month. The port's schedule lists all ships (in links) with cruises going to or leaving from Wellington, New Zealand. To see the full itineraries (ports of call dates and arrival / departure times) and their lowest rates – just follow the corresponding ship-link.
| Day | Ship | Arrival | Departure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 February, 2023 Wednesday |  Ovation Of The Seas | 07:00 | 15:00 |
| 2 February, 2023 Thursday |  Majestic Princess | 08:00 | 18:00 |
| 2 February, 2023 Thursday | Grand Princess | 08:00 | 18:00 |
| 3 February, 2023 Friday |  Viking Mars | ||
| 3 February, 2023 Friday |  Silver Whisper | 08:00 | 19:00 |
| 3 February, 2023 Friday |  Pacific Explorer | 08:00 | 18:00 |
| 5 February, 2023 Sunday | Viking Neptune | ||
| 5 February, 2023 Sunday |  ms Zuiderdam | 08:00 | 19:00 |
| 9 February, 2023 Thursday | Pacific Adventure | 08:00 | 18:00 |
| 11 February, 2023 Saturday | Viking Mars | ||
| 11 February, 2023 Saturday | Silver Whisper | 08:00 | 19:00 |
| 12 February, 2023 Sunday | Viking Orion | ||
| 13 February, 2023 Monday | Coral Princess | 09:00 | 19:00 |
| 14 February, 2023 Tuesday | Island Princess | 07:00 | 17:00 |
| 17 February, 2023 Friday |  Norwegian Spirit | 08:00 | 17:00 |
| 17 February, 2023 Friday |  Carnival Splendor | 08:00 | 18:00 |
| 19 February, 2023 Sunday | Ovation Of The Seas | 08:00 | 17:00 |
| 20 February, 2023 Monday | Viking Orion | ||
| 20 February, 2023 Monday |  Queen Elizabeth | ||
| 20 February, 2023 Monday |  Seabourn Odyssey | 08:00 | 18:00 |
| 21 February, 2023 Tuesday |  Oceania Regatta | 08:00 | 16:00 |
| 22 February, 2023 Wednesday |  Celebrity Eclipse | 07:00 | 17:00 |
| 23 February, 2023 Thursday | Norwegian Spirit | 08:00 | 18:00 |
- Accidents
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January 12, 2023 - Accidents
Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth is the 4th cruise ship hit with biofouling in New Zealand
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January 11, 2023 - Accidents
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December 30, 2022 - Accidents
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November 3, 2022 - Cruise Industry
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April 3, 2022 - Cruise Industry
Silversea introduces 86 new cruises for winter 2021-2022
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June 6, 2020 - Cruise Industry
Ponant's Le Laperouse finds sanctuary off New Caledonia
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April 15, 2020 - Accidents
Radiance of the Seas Fuel Spill in Wellington NZ
Nearly 100 litres of diesel has spilled into Wellington Harbour while Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas ship was taking on fuel. According to...
November 26, 2019 - Accidents
Ovation of the Seas Stranded in Wellington Harbour
The largest cruise ship to Wellington NZ - Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas, left the harbour after coming to halt due to an engine issue. ...
November 19, 2019 - Cruise Industry
Port of Wellington Expects Another Record-Breaking Cruise Season
As the last cruise ship of Wellington port's record-breaking season docks in the capital, 2020 numbers are expected to rise higher. Over 220,000...
April 24, 2019 - show more news