Cruise ship city’s biggest visitor
It’s been a quiet summer, but Nelson will finally welcome its first cruise ship for 2018 next Sunday.
Measuring 238m in length, the high end Crystal Symphony carries 858 mainly American passengers and more than 500 crew.
Providing regular tours of North America and the Pacific, the ship is currently on a 14-night New Zealand Explorer Cruise which costs USD$6040 (NZ$8165) per person for one of the 461 ocean view staterooms.
It arrives from Lyttleton for a one day stopover before departing for Wellington.
Significantly, the Crystal Symphony is the biggest cruise in length and passenger capacity to visit Nelson, eclipsing the 225.6m Europa 2 in December 2016 and the 688-passenger Sirena in April 2017.
Built in Finland for Crystal Cruises at a cost of $250 million, the 51,044 ton Bahamas-registered vessel entered service in May 1995.
Its 12 decks comprise of luxury suites and penthouses, numerous restaurants including the Michelin star rated Nobu and indulgent facilities including multiple swimming pools, tennis courts, spas, a golf driving range - right down to a free shoeshine service.
The vessel’s arrival has been welcomed as a great opportunity for our region and a fantastic boost for local retailers and hospitality vendors.
Passengers will enjoy tours in the Abel Tasman, scenic helicopter rides and time to explore the city.
The Crystal Symphony is expected to sail through The Cut at about 8:30am and depart at 7pm.
The summer cruise season has been a comparatively quiet one compared to 2016/ 2017, with only two ships scheduled for three visits to Nelson so far.
The Caledonian Sky arrived just prior to Christmas. However a return stopover which was to include Tarakohe on February 1 was thwarted by the ex-cyclone Fehi, prompting it to shelter in the Marlborough Sounds instead.
Speaking last summer, when eight vessels visited, Port Nelson’s general manager business development Eugene Beneke said that bringing high-end vessels to Nelson offered a niche stopover away from the ‘‘main highway’’ of cruise routes around the country.