The boat arrived at Port Chalmers about 8am this morning.
It is 345m long, has a gross tonnage of 148,500 tonnes and has 18 decks with capacity for 2695 passengers and 1253 crew.
The $882 million vessel contains elegant suites and state rooms, 15 top-of-the-line restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, a ballroom, a theatre and the first planetarium at sea.
Port Otago Ltd commercial general manager Peter Brown said it was the liner's first visit to Dunedin and port staff were excited about receiving it.
''It's a similar scale to Ovation of the Seas so it does pose some challenges in terms of bringing it in.
''The weather and tidal conditions need to be right for it, but we're not expecting any issues.''
The vessel is scheduled to depart for Akaroa at 7pm today.
The cruise ship Seven Seas Voyager, capable of carrying 706 passengers and 447 crew, berthed at the container terminal at 9.17am yesterday from Milford Sound and is expected to sail for Akaroa at 5pm today.
