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State of NZ Cruise

2024/25 (year to 30 June)

The economic footprint of cruise tourism in Aotearoa — national and regional, with year-on-year change.

Source: NZ Cruise Association / CLIA — The Value of Cruise Tourism 2024/25 (AEC)
National headlines

The big picture

Economic output$1.23b-9.8%
Jobs supported8,253-15.3%
Wages paid$384m-9.8%
Ship visits860-14.9%
Cruise ships46-14.8%
Ports & destinations25+19%
Passenger visit-days1.26m-19%
Spend per passenger~$1,700
2026/27 outlookEstimate

Modelled projection

-25.3%projected vs last audited season (2024/25)

Modelled projection based on about 642 cruise-ship visits scheduled for 2026/27 (NZ Cruise Association preliminary schedule — 2025/26 saw 662), applying the per-visit economics of the last audited season (2024/25).

Economic outputest.
~$920m
-25.3%vs $1,232.1m (2024/25)
Jobs supportedest.
~6,200
-25.3%vs 8,253 (2024/25)
Wages paidest.
~$290m
-25.3%vs $384.2m (2024/25)
Passenger visit-daysest.
~940k
-25.3%vs 1,258,703 (2024/25)
How this is calculated: Visit count is the NZ Cruise Association preliminary 2026/27 schedule (updates when NZCA finalises it). Per-visit economics — $1.43m output, 9.6 jobs, $0.45m wages, ~1,460 passenger-days — come from the 2024/25 audited NZCA/AEC economic-impact report. Cruisey estimate — modelled, not audited.
Year on year — 2023/24 to 2024/25

What changed

Ports visited
21→25
+19%
Economic output
$1.37b→$1.23b
-9.8%
Total wages
$425.8m→$384.2m
-9.8%
Employment
9,743→8,253
-15.3%
Ship visits
1,011→860
-14.9%
Cruise ships
54→46
-14.8%
Passenger visit-days
1,553,880→1,258,703
-19%
Crew visit-days
318,438→204,534
-35.8%

More ports were served, but fewer ships and shorter deployment pulled visits, jobs and passenger-days down.

Economic output by region

Where the money lands

Auckland
$601m
3,930 jobs
Otago · Dunedin
$129m
893 jobs
Canterbury
$117m
806 jobs
Hawke's Bay
$72m
499 jobs
Marlborough
$36m
246 jobs
North Island
$916m
6,000+ jobs
South Island
$316m
2,100+ jobs
Where passenger money goes

Spend breakdown

Retail·27.5%$108.4m
Food & beverage·25.3%$99.6m
Shore excursions·18.1%$71.2m
Accommodation·13.2%$52.1m
Transport·7.3%$28.7m
Other·8.6%
Who did what · 2026/27

Line movements

Pulled out
Disney Cruise Line

Leaving Australia & New Zealand after the 2025/26 season — Disney Wonder's final regional sailing is 2 Feb 2026, with no planned return.

Cruise Critic
Virgin Voyages

Exited the Australasian market after a single season.

Cruise Passenger
P&O Australia

Brand retired in 2025 and absorbed into Carnival, shrinking the region's home-ported fleet.

Cruise Passenger
Scaled back
Royal Caribbean

About 6 New Zealand cruises in 2026/27 — down roughly 70% from a few years ago (22 in 2021/22).

Cruise Passenger
Carnival Cruise Line

Around 6 New Zealand cruises in 2026/27 versus 46 to the South Pacific, with itineraries shortened to about 9 nights.

Cruise Passenger
Came in / returning
Cunard

Returning to the region — Queen Mary 2 and Queen Anne call New Zealand in 2026 on world voyages, including Queen Anne's maiden NZ visit.

Cruise Critic
Carnival Cruise Line (Carnival Adventure)

First Carnival ship to homeport in New Zealand — Carnival Adventure is based in Auckland 25 May–29 July 2027, the first ship home-ported in the city since 2023, running nine round-trip cruises to the South Pacific plus a one-way Auckland–Sydney voyage.

NZ Herald

Bright spot: ultra-luxury and expedition lines — Hapag-Lloyd, Ponant, Seabourn, Regent, Oceania, Swan Hellenic and expedition operators such as Coral, Aurora and Heritage — remain the most consistent callers as big-ship contemporary deployment thins.

Source: NZ Cruise Association / CLIA — The Value of Cruise Tourism 2024/25 (AEC)· 2024/25 (year to 30 June)Latest published annual economic-impact report; updated each season.