"Why would I take the shuttle for $A35 ($NZ40) when I could get the public bus for almost free," the woman, who declined to be named, said.
She was one of dozens of Grand Princess cruise ship passengers cramming on to the Port Chalmers bus from the Dunedin bus hub at 3.31pm yesterday.
Cruise passengers have been swapping the shuttles for public transport since the first ship - Celebrity Eclipse - arrived for the season on October 26.
While bus company Ritchies has put on more buses on the Port Chalmers route, some passengers were not aware of this yesterday when the scheduled bus left the hub full.
One person was crying and others believed they would have to wait for the next service.
One passenger waiting for the No 14 Port Chalmers bus yesterday decided to wait for the next bus 30 minutes later because of how packed it was.
The woman - who did not provide her name - was a cruise passenger from Australia on holiday with her husband.
A high school pupil was seen on the phone to her mother distraught that she might not be able to board the already full bus.
"Mum it’s so full, I can’t get on, I’ll just have to wait," she said.
Two minutes later, another No 14 bus, which was unscheduled, arrived at the terminal, and both the pupil and the cruise passenger boarded.
The public city buses cost $3 per fare if paying with cash.
Port Chalmers resident Kate Bendall, who raised the issue after the first ship arrived, had pushed her way into the bus line worried she would miss out.
Ms Bendall said yesterday she was unsure if the situation was ongoing as frustration had driven her to buy an e-bike to avoid taking the buses.
Ritchies, which is contracted to provide both the cruise ship shuttles and the Port Chalmers route, said it could not comment on how the prices were set.
It did not respond to questions about how many complaints it had received.
