A leaked cruise ship order form reveals passengers are paying premium rates for Dunedin excursions, including more than $300 to play a round of golf at St Clair Golf Club - not that anyone is complaining.
Passengers aboard Diamond Princess last month were given tour order forms listing 16 onshore excursions options ranging in price - all in US dollars - from $59 for a Dunedin walking tour to $199 for a Taieri Gorge trip and a Larnach Castle trip.
Other outings included a tour of Dunedin houses ($119), a pub tour ($79) and a Dunedin Scottish tour ($99).
All bookings had to be made two days before disembarking with no refunds or exchanges available after this period.
This week, passengers from Diamond Princess' sister ship Dawn Princess told the Otago Daily Times while pre-booked options were expensive, they opted to book a Taieri Gorge excursion for fear of missing out.
"We picked the ones we wanted to do in New Zealand, and this was one," Kaye Goldsmith, of Tasmania, said. The $A400 "was worth it" to secure a place, she said.
Peter Forth, of South Australia, said due to the initial expense he had cancelled the Taieri Gorge train trip before boarding the cruise ship, but decided to rebook it earlier this week rather than miss out.
Both passengers said they were selective about what trips they booked with the cruise ship operators as they knew prices were inflated.
Carnival Australia spokesman Anthony Fisk said the global cruise company constantly reviewed prices "based on feedback from passengers and will continue to do so".
"Our passengers continue booking shore tours with us because we work with small tour businesses in each port we visit to present a suite of offerings that are easy to access and book."
Albatross Golf Tour spokesman Alan Rose said the cruise ship operators set the charge for the tour, which included transport, club hire, green fees, and lunch.
"We don't make what they are charging, but they are getting good value."
At least eight independent cruise ship passengers played the 18-hole course this week - paying $50 each in green fees and $15-$35 for equipment hire.
Tourism Dunedin chief executive Hamish Saxton said while the prices for Dunedin excursions might seem excessive to locals, they often included ancillary items such as food, beverages, transport and "peace of mind".
"This is not a Dunedin issue and not a Dunedin tourism operator issue.
This is about the choice passengers make when they opt for a premium tourism product on board a cruise ship that is giving them peace of mind."
An independent information centre was available at Port Otago to cater for independent travellers, he said.
