The sight of massive cruise ships passing in and out of New Zealand ports is one that can often attract thousands of excited people to the waterfront throughout the summer.
On some days, there will even be more than one enormous ship gliding into Auckland and towering over the smaller boats surrounding it.
If you enjoy sitting in the sun and watching the comings and goings of the cruise ship world from the comfort of dry land, then this guide is for you. If it isn't something you've ever done, then maybe some of these images will inspire you to do so.
Where and when to see the biggest and best ships arriving in Aotearoa this summer:
Ovation of the Seas
Auckland:
- December 8: 5am-8pm
- December 23: 6am-6pm
- January 12: 6am-4pm
- March 8: 7am-7pm
- March 16: 7am-5pm
Tauranga:
- December 9: 7.30am - 6pm
- February 6: 7.45am-5pm
Wellington:
- December 31: 7pm-5pm
- January 20: 11am-8pm
- February 8: 7pm-3pm
Dunedin:
- December 12: 8am-5pm
- January 1: 11am - 5pm
- January 20: 11am-5pm
- January 19: 6.30am-5pm
- February 9: 9am-5pm
- March 4: 6.30am-5pm
- April 6: 8am-5.30pm
Norwegian Jewel
Auckland:
- December 11: 5.30am-6pm
- December 31: 5.30am-6pm
- January 13: 430am-6pm
- February 4: 430am- 6pm
Tauranga:
- January 11: 9.30am-8.30pm
- January 15: 6am-5.30pm
- February 3: 9am-8.15pm
- February 5: 7pm-6pm
Wellington:
- February 7: 8am-6pm
- February 25:8am-6pm
Dunedin:
- December 17: 11am-8pm
- December 26: 9am-7pm
- January 7: 9am-7pm
- January 19: 8am-6pm
- January 30: 10am-7pm
- February 10: 8am-6pm
- February 23: 9am-7pm
Explorer Dream
Auckland:
- December 15: 9.30am-9pm
- December 22: 7.30am-9pm
- December 30: 5.30am-6pm
- January 5: 7.30am-9pm
- January 19: 7.30am-9pm
- January 26: 7.30am-9pm
- February 2: 7.30am-9pm
Wellington:
- January 31: 8.30 am - 4.30 pm
- February 4: 2pm - 10pm
Dunedin:
- December 12: 7am-3pm
- December 19: 6.30am-2.30pm
- December 26: 6.30am-2.30pm
- January 2: 6.30am-2.30pm
- January 9: 6.30am-2.30pm
- January 23: 6.30am-2.30pm
- January 30: 6.30am-2.30pm
- February 5: 2.30pm-11.30pm
Golden Princess
Auckland:
- December 16: 5.30am-2pm
- December 29: 5.30am-2pm
- January 19: 5.30am-2pm
- February 8: 5.30am-2pm
- February 21: 5.30am-2pm
- March 19: 5am-2pm
- 15 April 5.30am-6pm
Tauranga:
- October 20: 7am - 6.15 pm
- December 2: 7am - 6.15 pm
- December 15: 6.45 am - 6pm
- December 28: 6.15 am - 5.15 pm
- January 18: 8.45 am - 8pm
- February 7: 6.30 am - 7.30 pm
- February 20: 6.15 am - 6.45 pm
- March 18: 9.45 am - 4.30 pm
- April 14: 7am - 6pm
Wellington:
- November 30: 7am - 4pm
- December 13: 7am - 4pm
- December 26: 7am - 10pm
- January 16: 7am - 4pm
- February 5: 7am - 4pm
- February 18: 7am - 4pm
- March 16: 7am - 4pm
- April 12: 8am - 6pm
Dunedin:
- December 11: 8am-6pm
- December 24: 8am-6pm
- January 14: 8am-6pm
- February 3: 8am-6pm
- February 16: 8am-6pm
- March 14: 8am-6pm
Noordam
Auckland:
- January 14: 7am - 6pm
- January 27: 10am - 6pm
- February 13: 2pm - 5pm
- March 12: 7am - 5pm
- March 19: 7am - 5pm
- April 11: 7am - 5pm
Tauranga:
- November 22: 10.15 am - 4.45 pm
- November 24: 7.45 am - 5.45 pm
- December 20: 9am - 8.15 pm
- December 22: 6.45 am - 5.45 pm
- January 13 6.15 am - 5.30 pm
- January 26: 10.45 am - 4.45 pm
- February 12: 6.45 am - 6pm
- March 10: 9.30 am - 10pm
- March 13: 7.15 am - 4.45 pm
- March 20: 7.30 am - 4.45 pm
- April 10: 10am - 4.45 pm
Wellington:
- November 20: 8am - 5pm
- November 26: 10am - 11pm
- December 18: 8am - 5pm
- December 24: 8am - 5pm
- January 11: 8am - 4pm
- January 24: 8am - 4pm
- February 10: 8am - 5pm
- February 17: 8am - 7pm
- March 8: 8am - 5pm
- March 17: 8am - 5pm
- March 22: 10am - 11pm
- April 8: 8am - 4pm
Dunedin:
- November 14: 9am - 6pm
- November 29: 8am - 6pm
- December 15: 9am - 6pm
- December 27: 8am - 6pm
- January 8: 8am - 6pm
- January 22: 8am - 6pm
- February 7: 9am - 6pm
- February 19: 8am - 7pm
- March 6: 9am - 6pm
- March 25: 8am - 6pm
- April 6: 8am - 6pm
Ruby Princess
Auckland:
- October 15: 7am - 6pm
- December 1: 7am - 6pm
- December 27: 7.30 am - 6pm
- December 30: 7am - 6pm
- February 20: 7am - 6pm
- February 28: 7am - 6pm
- March 17: 7am - 6pm
- April 12: 6.30 am - 6pm
Tauranga:
- October 16: 6.30 am - 5.30 pm
- November 30: 7am - 6.30 pm
- December 26: 9.30 am - 8.30 pm
- December 31: 6.30 am - 5.45 pm
- January 31: 7.30 am - 6.15 pm
- February 19: 6.45 am - 5.45 pm
- February 29: 6.30 am - 5.45 pm
- March 16: 8.15 am - 7.30 pm
- April 11: 6am - 5.15 pm
Wellington:
- November 28: 8am - 6pm
- December 24: 7am - 6pm
- January 2: 7am - 6pm
- February 2: 8am - 6pm
- February 17: 8am - 6pm
- March 2: 7am - 5pm
- March 14: 8am - 6pm
- April 10: 8am - 6pm
Dunedin:
- October 19: 8am - 6pm
- November 26: 8am - 6pm
- December 21: 8am - 6pm
- January 5: 8am - 6pm
- February 4: 8am - 6pm
- February 15: 8am - 6pm
- March 4: 8am - 6pm
- March 12: 8am - 6pm
- April 8: 8am - 6pm
Majestic Princess
Auckland
- October 9: 7am - 6pm
- November 10: 7am - 6pm
- November 23: 7am - 6pm
- December 27: 7am - 8pm
- January 17: 7am - 6pm
Tauranga
- October 8: 5.45 am - 5.15 pm
- November 9: 8am - 7pm
- November 22: 5.45 am - 5pm
- December 26: 9.15 am - 8pm
- December 28: 11am - 9.30 pm
- January 16: 6.30 am - 6.30 pm
Wellington
- October 6: 8am - 6pm
- November 7: 8am - 6pm
- 20 November 20: 8am - 6pm
- January 14: 8am - 6pm
Dunedin
- October 4: 8am - 6pm
- November 5: 8am - 6pm
- November 18: 8am - 6pm
- December 23: 8am - 6pm
- December 31: 8am - 6pm
- January 12: 8am - 6pm
Queen Elizabeth
Auckland
- December 31 7am - 5pm
- January 21: 7am - 11pm
- February 6 9am - 11pm
Tauranga
- February 7 8am - 6pm
Wellington
- December 29 8am - 6pm
- January 18: 8am - 6pm
- February 9 8am - 6pm
Dunedin
- December 27 9am - 6pm
- January 16: 9am - 6pm
- February 11 8am - 6pm
Radiance of the Seas
Auckland:
- January 14 8am - 6.30 pm
- January 25: 8am - 6pm
- March 23: 8am - 6pm
- April 3: 8am - 6pm
Tauranga:
- January 26: 8am - 5pm
- March 22: 8am - 5pm
Wellington:
- October 5: 8am - 5pm
- December 12 7am - 1pm
- March 11: 7am - 4pm
- March 20: 8am - 5pm
- April 22: 8am - 5pm
Dunedin
- November 23: 8am - 5pm
- December 13: 8am - 5pm
- January 11 8am - 5pm
- January 22: 8am - 5pm
- March 9: 8am - 5pm
- March 18: 8am - 5pm
- March 31: 8am - 5pm
Ocean Dream
Auckland
- January 29: 6am - 9pm
Celebrity Solstice
Dunedin:
- December 30: 7.30am-5pm
- January 29: 9am-7pm
- February 13: 9am-7pm
- February 22: 7.30am-5pm
- March 6: 9am-7pm
- March 15: 7am-5pm
- April 19: 6.30am-5pm
Auckland
- February 17 6.30 am - 6pm
- March 10 6.30 am - 6pm
- April 1 6.30 am - 8pm
- April 14 6.30 am - 6pm
- April 29 7am - 4pm
Tauranga
- February 1 8am - 7.30 pm
- February 16 8am - 6pm
- February 19 8am - 6pm
- March 9 8am - 6pm
- March 11 8am - 6pm
- April 15 8am - 6pm
Wellington
- December 28 8am - 7pm
- April 17 8am - 6pm
Sea Princess
Auckland
- January 8 7am - 10pm
- February 12 10am - 10pm
- March 4 7am - 10pm
- May 8 10am - 8pm
- August 23 12pm - 10pm
Dunedin
- January 3 8am - 6pm
- February 7 8am - 6pm
- February 28 8am - 6pm
Wellington
- January 5 8am - 6pm
- February 9 8am - 6pm
- March 1: 8am - 6pm
Tauranga
- January 7: 7.30 am - 6.15 pm
- 11 February 11am - 10pm
- March 3: 8.30 am - 7.45 pm
Arcadia:
Tauranga
- February 14: 8am - 7pm
Auckland
- February 15 7am - 10pm
Crystal Serenity
Auckland
- February 18: 8am - 6pm
Tauranga
- February 20: 6.15 am - 11.15 pm
Wellington
- February 23: 8am - 11pm
Dunedin
- February 26: 8am - 6pm
Columbus
Tauranga
- February 18: 5.45 am - 9.30 pm
Auckland
- February 19: 7am - 10pm
Wellington
- February 21: 7am - 11pm
MSC Magnifica
Auckland
- March 7: 9am - 9pm
Tauranga
- March 8: 8am - 6.30 pm
Wellington
- March 10: 7am - 2pm
Artainia
Auckland:
- March 18: 7am - 8pm
Pacific Princess
Auckland
- February 10: 7am - 6pm
Dunedin
- February 14: 10am - 8pm
Pacific Aria
Auckland
- April 12: 7am - 4pm
- April 22: 7am - 4pm
- April 30: 9am - 6pm
- May 4: 7am - 4pm
- May 12: 7am - 4pm
- May 22: 9am - 6pm
- May 25: 7am - 4pm
- June 2: 7am - 4pm
- June 12: 7am - 6pm
- June 15: 7am - 4pm
- June 23: 7am - 4pm
- July 4: 8am - 4pm
- July 12: 7am - 4pm
- July 22: 7am - 4pm
- August 5: 7am - 4pm
- August 15: 7am - 4pm
- August 23: 7am - 4pm
- September 4: 7am - 6pm
- September 7 : 7am - 4pm
- September 17: 7am - 4pm
- September 25: 7am - 4pm
- October 4: 7am - 4pm
- October 12: 7am - 4pm
