The $1.4 billion Ovation of the Seas, with 4905 passengers on board, will make its second attempt to visit Dunedin. The giant vessel had been due to make Dunedin its first port of call during its inaugural visit to New Zealand on December 22 but the plan was aborted when bad weather threatened.
That disappointed tourism operators, including Dunedin Railways chief executive Murray Bond, who suggested it might be time to reconsider turning away public bookings in favour of cruise ship passengers after a string of cancellations.
Plans for dignitaries including Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull and Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse to welcome the ship at Port Chalmers have been dropped.
However, the second attempt at the vessel’s inaugural Dunedin visit would still be marked by a "plaque and key" ceremony, in which Port Otago and the ship’s captain would exchange plaques to mark the event, a spokeswoman confirmed.
Dunedin i-Site visitor centre manager Louise van de Vlierd said tourism operators were still "absolutely" looking forward to the ship’s visit.
It would be less of a "logistical exercise" than initially expected on December 22, when Ovation was to be joined in Dunedin by a second cruise ship, Radiance of the Seas, on the same day.
The two ships had been expected to deliver more than 10,000 passengers and crew to the city, but tomorrow’s visit would still be "fantastic", she said.
"I mean, getting one ship bringing that many people is just amazing, and it will have a real impact, for sure."
She was disappointed Dunedin had missed being the vessel’s first port of call in New Zealand, "but unfortunately, when the weather does its thing, we’re no match for it, are we?"
Mark Kinchley, the New Zealand manager for cruise company Royal Caribbean, said he was "delighted" the vessel would make it to Port Chalmers after Mother Nature’s earlier intervention.
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Heard of The Flying Dutchman?
Where is 'Ovation''s home port? Is it carrying a new cargo of passengers, or the same as December, which must remain until the megaship finally makes Port Chalmers?