Senior Sergeant Bruce Ross, of Dunedin police, said Customs officials and police were alerted when it was found a man in his 50s on board Radiance of the Seas had left New Zealand in the 1990s without paying about $3700 worth of reparations.
The man had moved to Australia, but was visiting New Zealand on the cruise ship, Snr Sgt Ross said.
"The moral of the story is, don't leave the country with unpaid fines."
The man was taken to the Dunedin District Court where he was given the opportunity to pay the fines before reboarding the cruise ship.
Snr Sgt Ross declined to say how police and Customs were notified of the man's visit.
It is not known if the man paid the reparations owed.
The man was one of about 6000 passengers and crew from Radiance of the Sea and Pacific Dawn who visited Dunedin yesterday.
