The cruise ship season opens tomorrow with the arrival of Princess Cruises' Bermuda-registered Star Princess, a former local record holder. Port Otago's cruise ship schedule to April 5, 2010, lists 46 visits by 16 vessels to Port Chalmers and seven by four smaller ships to Dunedin.
Most of the lower harbour visitors have been here before. The only new names on the list are Arcadia, Pacific Dawn, Pacific Jewel and Saga Ruby which is the oldest of the season's visitors.
It was built in 1973 as the Norwegian-America Lines' Vistafjord.
And Pacific Dawn really needs no introduction to the port.
Before being transferred to P&O Cruises Australia two years ago and renamed, the ship had made 19 calls here from November 2000, to September 2007, as Regal Princess.
It will also be interesting to see NYK's 1995-built Crystal Symphony back on two visits at the end of the season.
The ship has previously called here only once, on February 16, 1998.
Star Princess was the last of three similar vessels built by Italy's state-owned Fincantieri Cant.
Nav. shipyards.
First of the trio, the 108,806gt Grand Princess was built at Monfalcone and completed in May 1998.
Only the aft sections of the other two were built there.
And while the forward section of the 108,865gt Golden Princess, delivered in April 2001, was built at the Breda yard at Venice, the same section of Star Princess was constructed by the yard at Castellammare di Stabia.
Fitting out and completion was carried out at Monfalcone.
