WASHINGTON: Ports of Auckland’s cruise team have had their busiest month ever, which comes shortly after being awarded “Cruise Terminal Operator of the Year” at the Global Port Forum Awards held in Dubai earlier this year. The Ports of Auckland team handled a staggering 31 cruise ship visits for the month of February, welcoming 89,516 visiting passengers and crew to Auckland. This is more people in one month than in the entire cruise season 10 years ago, an indication of how this business has grown.
Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson said “Our cruise team do an absolutely fantastic job making sure people visiting Auckland have a great first impression of our city. Their work is not easy, especially in a month when there were many days with multiple cruise ships in port. I am proud of our team, and I am not at all surprised that they have been crowned Cruise Terminal Operators of the Year at the Global Port Forum Awards.” There were multiple ships in port on 12 days, including the port’s first day with four ship visits.
February included a record week for Auckland, with The World, Seabourn Encore, Norwegian Star and L’Austral all calling simultaneously; three of which undertook full exchanges, bringing in 3,550 passengers to the city. February also saw the largest single full exchange in NZ with 5,990 passengers exchanging on the Emerald Princess on February 24. It has been estimated that this year’s record breaking cruise season will add $490 million to the New Zealand economy; growing from $484 million last season.
