One ship alone is set to deliver more than 34,000 passengers to the city.
Port Otago already has more than 90 ships booked for next season, as the 2016-17 season winds down.
The last visit, from Sirena, is due on April 17.
The 2017-18 season will include seven visits by the massive Ovation of the Seas, which can carry almost 5000 passengers. This season, the $1.4billion ship — at 168,000 tonnes the largest cruise ship to visit New Zealand — was booked for three visits, although it came only twice.
One visit was cancelled because of bad weather.
Port Otago commercial general manager Peter Brown said while more than 90 ships were booked, there would be "a wee bit of movement" in numbers before the season started, so he could not be more accurate.
Early last year, 96 were expected for 2016-17, but that dropped to 87. Only 80 were expected now, because of weather cancellations, and it was possible there could be more cancelled.
Mr Brown said the cruise ship industry was continuing to grow and the Australia and New Zealand destination was one of the most popular around the world.
"Here, the passengers are coming to see Fiordland, Milford Sound, and that’s still the jewel in the crown for New Zealand."
At Port Otago, cruise ships, like all ships, paid fees to use the channel, tie up at berths and use facilities.
"It’s very positive for the local economy, and Port Otago is very happy to be the South Island’s main cruise port."
Asked if there was a limit on the number of ships the port could handle, Mr Brown said there was still room for growth.
"There is a saturation point for New Zealand we have to be mindful of."
However, while ship numbers might not increase, the size of the ships and the number of passengers would.
Mr Brown said the season had gone "extremely well" in terms of port operations in Port Chalmers, and in Fiordland, where Port Otago provided pilots for ships.
The only negative was the "awful" summer weather this season, making it difficult to get into those destinations.
He said new passenger facilities at Port Chalmers meant passengers were well looked after when they disembarked, even in bad weather.
Otago Peninsula Trust marketing manager Sophie Barker said its tourism operations, which include the Royal Albatross Centre and Glenfalloch garden, had been "hugely busy" because of cruise ship numbers this season.
"We’ve had a lot more bookings than in previous years, which has been fantastic."
The days when Ovation of the Seas visited had been particularly busy.
Dunedin i-Site visitor centre manager Louise van de Vlierd said the expected increase was good news for the Dunedin economy.
"It supports what’s already here," she said.
