Celebrating the return of cruise ships to Dunedin

When Celebrity Eclipse arrived in Port Chalmers last week, it marked the end of a long drought — 955 days since a cruise liner had last visited Dunedin.

The 2700 passengers and 1000 crew were delighted to be greeted by a kapa haka group, He Waka Kotuia. Comprised of Queen’s and King’s High School pupils, as well as senior pupils from Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Otepoti, their performance went down a treat, especially with the Americans on board.

It was a special occasion, too, for Port Otago’s Captain Sean Bolt. In his last public duty before retiring as general manager marine, Captain Bolt exchanged plaques with Celebrity Eclipse captain Zisis Taramas, a cruise captain for 17 years. The exchange ceremony marks a ship’s first visit to the port.

Among those touring the ship during its Port Chalmers visit were Port Otago chief executive Kevin Winders and cruise manager Carolyn Bennett, with Enterprise Dunedin manager John Christie and Gillian Elliot of the Flying Whale, representing Port Chalmers businesses.

Like other ships in the Royal Caribbean line, Celebrity Eclipse is working to reduce its environmental impact, hotel director Mihai Olaeriu explained. That included a bowling green of grass, not artificial turf, and fresh flowers instead of plastic. Bathrooms had refillable container units instead of using thousands of mini shampoos and other toiletries every day, glass had replaced plastic glasses in the dining areas and detailed meal planning helped reduce food waste, he said.

Celebrity Cruises vice-president and managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Tim Jones said "scrubbers" or exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) on funnels reduced particles of matter and harmful gases from the line’s ships.

"Most of the ‘smoke’ you see is only steam," he said.

gillian.vine@thestar.co.nz