The Royal Princess arrives at the Beach St wharf in Port Chalmers at 1pm.
On board, 3500 visitors and 1300 crew represent the first of what is scheduled to be a record-setting year for cruise ship visitors.
Port Chalmers business owners needed no reminder yesterday.
Flying Whale owner Gillian Elliot said she was very excited.
"We’re a small town, or a small city, at the bottom of the world, so it’s nice to have visitors brought to our doorstep.
"I think it’s a huge bonus for Dunedin City and particularly for Port Chalmers.
"I think it adds vibrancy, a lot more people, of course, milling in the streets.
"It’s lovely to see a flood of new faces."
Those new faces in town, of course, also brought money into shops.
"I don’t think I could be here without the cruise ships," Dr Elliot said.
"I can only speak for myself, because that’s not everybody’s experience, but I couldn’t be here without the cruise ships."
Owners Johnny and Eva Dain added crispy pata (pork hocks), crispy pork belly, and laing (a dish featuring dried taro leaves and coconut milk) to their daily specials.
Emailed reservations had already begun to roll in from crew aboard the ships.
Cruise ship crews were often largely Filipino, Mr Dain said.
And tomorrow’s ship could have up to 900 Filipinos aboard.
The business they brought with them was "very important" to the seven-year-old restaurant.
He said his business picked up by 60% during cruise ship season.
"It’s a big help."
Crew members looking for fare other than what was available on board did stop in, as did the occasional tourist who would order one piece of fish — "just to try it".
2Gypsies owner Robyne Saunders said her adjacent cafe Cafe Santosha often picked up considerably with people looking for the internet, home baking and a decent coffee.
But the furniture, homeware and giftware store also drew increased traffic and smaller items did well.
"Sometimes it’s just a little bit crazy when you get two, or three [cruise ships] in together.
"It can be quite ‘madness’, but it’s really nice to see — and it’s nice to show our town off to other people."
Port Otago chief executive Kevin Winders has previously said this cruise season, from today until April 7, could bring more than 200,000 passengers and up to $100 million in spending to Dunedin.
Yesterday, Enterprise Dunedin manager John Christie said it would bring a lift for tourism, hospitality and "a bit of retail" as visitors looked for souvenirs.
"Look, it’s economically good, but it does bring a variety of different people into the city.
"It makes people aware of what Dunedin has to offer and we do . . . get a high rate of people getting off the ships, which is good."
It has not been all plain sailing for the industry and some misgivings have been raised.
Dunedin’s new destination management plan cautioned about mass tourism placing peak-demand burdens on operators, buses and CBD businesses.
Regarding a cruise action plan, it said consideration should be given to "exploring the consequences of capping cruise ship visits to the city".
A few Dunedin city councillors have also publicly expressed discomfort about the environmental impact of the industry.
