Ships ranging from large, international cruise liners to smaller, specialist expedition ships visit New Zealand during the Southern Hemisphere summer. Many stop over in Dunedin for the day. The larger ships berth at Port Chalmers, Port Otago’s deep water container port while some of the smaller ships berth at the city wharves at the head of Otago Harbour.
The busiest months for Dunedin in the 2010/2011 season are:
- December – with ships visiting on 14 days
- January – with ships visiting on 15 visits
- February – with ships visiting on 18 days
The first ship of the season, the Sapphire Princess arrives on the 19th October 2010 and the last, the Pacific Dawn, on the 4th April 2011.
Princess Cruises run a number of short cruises over the summer berthing at Dunedin on a number of occasions. The Sun Princess calls into port on eleven different days, the Diamond Princess and Dawn Princess on five different days and the Sapphire Princess on two days. Holland America line's ship the Volendam is also a regular visitor, berthing on eight different days over the summer.
Visiting Ships Grouped by Cruise Line Company
- Princess Cruises - Sapphire Princess, Dawn Princess, Diamond Princess, Sun Princess
- HollandAmerica - Volendam, Amsterdam
- Regent Seven Seas Cruises - Seven Seas Navigator, Seven Seas Voyager
- Japan Cruise Line - Pacific Venus
- Heritage Expeditions - Spirit of Enderby
- Royal Caribbean International - Rhapsody of the Seas
- Orion Expedition Cruises - Orion
- Cruise West - Spirit of Oceanus
- P & O Cruises - Aurora, Pacific Sun, Pacific Dawn, Pacific, Pearl, Pacific Jewel
- Silversea Cruises - Silver Shadow, Silver Spirit
- Peter Deilmann Cruises - Deutschland
- Coral Princess Cruises - Oceanic Discoverer
- Yachts of Seabourn - Seabourn Sojourn
- Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines - Balmoral
- Crystal Cruises - Crystal Serenity
- Saga Cruises - Saga Ruby
Largest and Smallest Ships
In terms of passenger capacity, the largest ships to berth are the Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess, both of which can host around 2,670 passengers. Rhapsody of the Seas has a passenger capacity of 2,435.
One of the smallest cruise ships to visit is the Spirit of Enderby which takes just 48 passengers and specialises in expedition cruises to New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic islands and the Ross Sea. The Oceanic Discoverer is also a small ship taking around 72 passengers and specialises in South Pacific expedition cruises.
Dunedin Activities and Milford Sound
Most ships berth at 7:00 and depart at 18:00. This leaves time for visitors to take in the sights of Dunedin’s Victorian architecture, explore Dunedin Botanic Garden, meander through the Chinese Scholar Garden, enjoy a heritage train trip through the spectacular Taieri Gorge, visit Larnach Castle, view Royal Albatross at Tairoa Heads, or simply sit back and enjoy the local cuisine at one Dunedin’s many world class cafes and bars.
One of the main destinations for ships departing from Dunedin is spectacular Milford Sound. This is the most accessible of Fiorland National Park's sounds where passengers can view waterfalls tumbling down massive rock walls, rain forest clothing rugged mountains and iconic Mitre Peak rising majestically from the clear, blue water.
For a full schedule of ship arrival and departure dates, and times see the Port Otago website.
Join the Conversation