Napier Port has just 50 cruise ships booked for the 2026/27 season, a 44% fall from the record 89 that called in 2023/24, extending a season-by-season slide (89, 78, 55, 50). Its forward bookings show no meaningful rebound before 2028/29, when 58 calls are pencilled in — still about a third below the peak. Port and industry figures attribute the retreat to rising costs, mid-season regulatory changes and biofouling compliance rather than any fall in passenger demand.
Napier Port's cruise programme continues to shrink, with 50 ships booked for the 2026/27 season, down 44% from the record 89 that called in 2023/24, according to reporting by NZ Herald's Hawke's Bay Today (17 July 2026). The decline has been steady across recent seasons — 89, then 78, then 55, and now 50.
The port's forward-booking profile offers only limited comfort: 50 calls are projected for 2027/28 and 58 for 2028/29. Hawke's Bay Tourism has indicated the 2028/29 season should see an upturn, but 58 vessels remains roughly a third below the 2023/24 peak, suggesting stabilisation at a lower base rather than a full return to earlier volumes.
Chief executive Todd Dawson noted that although vessel numbers have fallen, ships calling at Napier have been larger on average, lifting passengers and revenue per call; around 86,000 passengers visited across 55 vessels in 2025/26. Both the port and the New Zealand Cruise Association say the pullback reflects cruise-line deployment decisions driven by rising government, port and council costs, regulatory changes introduced after itineraries were sold, and biosecurity and biofouling complexity — not a lack of passenger demand.
Source: NZ Herald / Hawke's Bay Today, 17 July 2026 — https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/napier-ports-cruise-season-fall-continues-recovery-expected-in-2028/premium/HLXMLVJODZEJ7IZETWU5SIYXGY/