Photo: Northport
Whangārei's second cruise season ever kicked off on Saturday - with around 400 passengers stopping in on their way to the Bay of Islands.
The Azamara Pursuit cruise was the first cruise of four set to berth at Northport this year.
Whangārei welcomed its first cruise last February - with the district council calling the inaugural season a success.
Mayor Vince Cocurullo was there to welcome the tourists when they arrived at the weekend:
"I was there at the buses when they came off the buses at the waterfront are in Whangarei, so I got to see where they were wanting to go, what they wanted to achieve. I managed to have a chat with a couple of them and they really enjoyed the area"
The city made roughly $420,000 from passenger spending and ship restocking last year - this season revenue is expected to double.
The city's tourist sites are also enjoying the benefits of the added foot traffic.
The Hundertwasser Art Centre kept its doors open late on Saturday evening to accommodate the afternoon travellers.
Director Joost de Bruin called the centre a unique offering for the city.
"There are only about forty authentic Hundertwasser buildings in the world and we have the latest here in Whangārei so it's a really unique architecture that people can experience and also an exhibition of Hundertwasser's paintings, graphic art, architecture, and his ecological work."
However, not everyone is excited to see more cruises enter Whangārei.
Climate Liberation Aotearoa have protested against the ships, citing the negative impact they have on the environment.
"A lot of people think that they are perhaps a better form of travelling than flying, they're in fact four times worse than flying and staying in a hotel for an equivalent holiday. And that's because they're basically giant floating resorts, they have multiple restaurants onboard, they keep the engines running all of the time even when they're in port," spokesperson James Cockle said.
The organisation is calling on the government to charge cruise carriers for their use of fuel, like they do road users.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
