Mega-cruise ship arrives at Milford Sound
 

Oh dear. I'll have to make sure my visits to port cities don't coincide with this ship's schedule.

Why are they implying this is a good thing?

Lol. How will it get on in Picton? More people on the cruise ship than people in the town.
We are in Tauranga for Christmas so will go for a look. Tender transfers will take an age I'd imagine.

Looks and sounds like my idea of hell. My in laws would love it though!

There's another article in Stuff NZ with more info., indicating some passengers take shore excursions, which pumps money into the economy. It says the mega-cruise ship will depart at noon for Wellington, so it won’t stick around Milford Sound long.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/cruisi...-a-mobile-gore

Fiordland is also getting busier with more scenic flights. 14 helicopter landings a day on Mt Tutoko's Ngapunatoru Ice Plateau (in the Darran Mountain between Milford Sound and Hollyford Valley) are to increase on a trial basis to 80 per day. Some of these will fly over Milford Sound.
https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/magazine/packing-them

I expect cruise ships have a greater economic impact in other ports along their routes, where there are more shops, restaurants/cafes, cultural attractions, transport companies and local tour operators to benefit from their visits. The cancellation of a cruise ship is always a blow for local businesses, and I empathise with them, though, in the case of this mega-cruise ship, I was worried that our local little blue penguins and fur seals, which often feed in the harbour, could possibly collide with and be killed by this behemoth. I don’t know if they know enough to steer clear of it, hopefully they do.

The mega-cruise ship cancelled their Dunedin trip because of a coming storm. Dunedin spent a fortune dredging the harbour and upgrading port facilities to accommodate the mega-cruise ships. With this cancellation, some local tour operators are feeling the pain:
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/c...-tour-operator

Though another cruise ship is still scheduled to arrive, Radiance of the Seas, with a mere 2,146 passengers and 858 crew members.

I read the cruise ship industry generates one half billion dollars annually for the NZ economy (more jobs, more roofs over peoples’ heads, more food at Xmas, so on). By comparison, Australian economist Professor Clem Tisdell (University of Queensland) calculated that nature-based tourism relying primarily on the yellow-eyed penguin returned $100 million annually to the Dunedin economy alone. And the dollars pumped into these nature-based businesses are also used for conservation, such as eliminating predators, upgrading habitat, treating sick penguins.

It’s worth checking the cruise ship schedule if visiting a cruise ship port. It doesn’t it make it more crowded when visiting a city like Dunedin, which is spread out, but I would imagine it does make a huge difference when visiting Akaroa, Stewart Island, Picton, or Bay of Islands. It’s best to check each port for their cruise ship schedule. cruisenewzealand.org.nzd shows only two cruise ships for Dunedin in January, but the Port of Otago website shows 22 cruise ships for January.

Even in Dunedin, if something like the Cadbury factory tour or Taieri Gorge Railway is at the top of one’s must-do list, it could mean missing out on a cruise ship day as these popular tours will tend to book-out. But other visitors with flexible itineraries or must-do lists can always find things to do. I expect the same thing applies for Wellington or Auckland.

I understand it's good for the merchants and general economy. I just hope it isn't too much of a good thing.

One of the things I love about New Zealand is the lack of people. Our best moments were at places we had all to ourselves. When a cruiseship was at port at Bay of Islands, we drove out and explored the bays and beaches along Te Rawhiti Inlet, many of which we were the sole visitors. That's MY New Zealand. Elbow to elbow with other tourists -- not for me.

Cruise season only lasts from October to April, and passengers are just in port for a few hours. As you point out, you can always find a place to yourself, even in peak cruise ship season. Even if planning on doing popular activities, it's easy to work around the cruise ship schedule, especially if you know it ahead of time.

I think most independent travellers visiting NZ, and New Zealanders themselves, look forward to being alone with nature, far from the distractions of other people and the noise and activity of the cities, while fitting in some activities as well that may or may not involve other people. Even those on cruises and in other touring groups must feel a sense of awe when they sail into Milford or Doubtful Sound, and other places where NZ's natural environment can still overwhelm one's senses.

In the above article, "Packing them in," director-general of the Department of Conservation Lou Sanson, shared concerns that "tourism growth could be a threat to the enjoyment of New Zealand's natural environment," describing his March trip with the U.S. ambassador to the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, as an example.

He said, ''Every time we stopped, we were surrounded by 40 people. That is not my New Zealand. We have to work this stuff out. These are the real challenges.''

The most popular places at the top of most first-time visitors' list are busier now, and NZ Tourism hopes to alleviate the congestion, as described in the article. Their strategy is : " to spread the load from peak times (it has marketing campaigns aimed across seasons)...and to disperse visitors from hot spots such as Queenstown, the West Coast, the Bay of Islands and Rotorua to less well-known areas. As a result, we can expect to see more tourists, in more places, more of the time."

We offer advice and exchange info. on this forum because we want to share the NZ travel experience with other people. We're part of this popularity trend and contributing to tourism growth.

I understand EVERYBODY wants a place to be "my" (name the location) and I am no exception. However, last year we actually took a cruise around New Zealand and we enjoyed it a good deal.

Amazingly enough, those places where there were "a lot of people" often had very little to do with cruise ships and more like everything to do with a lot of people visiting New Zealand because of what it offers.

You're right. When some ship pulls in and discharges a lot of people who pay for tours, pay for food, pay for admissions, pay for souvenirs, it can get chaotic. Guess you just have to plan ahead.

I'm selfishly with deSchenke on this one. The thought of enormous cruise ships at Milford makes me shudder.

The attraction of NZ for us has always been the solitude, being the only two people on a remote track, having areas completely to ourselves - but then again - we started visiting NZ in 1993, when it was still relatively unknown, before LOTR introduced NZ to the world - and we learned early that the NI wasn't for us, because there were just too many people up there, too much industry, too much logging, too much of the things we try to avoid. And yes, I fully appreciate that NZ isn't busy by the rest of the world's standards!

We also travel in the low season, because we dislike busy, and that may still be a possibility with the cruise schedules.

I signed the petition to stop the Routeburn tunnel and was appalled at the thought of the Fiordland monorail. I understand the need to make a living, I understand the dairy and wool industries in NZ are hurting and that tourism seems the easy answer....yet, it would absolutely break my heart if NZ actively destroyed the very things that attract most visitors in the first place.