New Zealand will see a 70% reduction in 2026/27 cruise ship visits as the government battles to win back the lines

• The New Zealand cruise industry is seeing a plummeting number of ship visits.
• Some cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean, are visiting 70% less than they did just two years ago.
• Regulatory costs, ongoing biofouling concerns, and industry uncertainty continue to contribute to this drop in visitation.

New Zealand will see fewer cruise ships in the 2026/27 season, and the local industry is concerned after revealing a massive 40% drop in cruise visitation. 

Royal Caribbean last week announced its 2026/27 deployments. The number of local cruises and South Pacific voyages remains steady, but there has been a reduction in New Zealand itineraries on offer.

At the Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Miami, the New Zealand Cruise Association offered four reasons to the decline of cruise visits.

• Biofouling risks: While fewer ships are being turned away, ships are still concerned about being denied entry after previous cruise seasons had many ships turned away for new environmental protection regulations.
• Uncertainty: Given that cruise lines need to organise years in advance, the constant changing of NZ cruise regulations, as well as a looming possibility of a Milford Cruise ban make it difficult for lines to plan ahead.
• Executive-level perception: The association feels that senior cruise like executives have the perception that New Zealand is a difficult place to operate a cruise line.
• Rising costs: Costs across central government agencies, port fees, regional authorities and more are making it more expensive to cruise in New Zealand, with the association stating “New Zealand is now the most expensive place in the world for a cruise ship to visit”.
• Other factors: Geopolitical disruptions to ship positioning and the weak position of the Australian and New Zealand dollars.

The New Zealand Government has been working hard to win back cruise lines and sent a huge delegation to Miami. The tourism minister met with the Cruise Lines International Association Australia recently, and delegates were impressed with Louise Upston’s grasp of the issue and ideas.

One suggestion to resolve the biofouling problem has been to have divers in New Zealand ports like Auckland inspect and decontaminate ships.

In 2024/24, NZ had 1115 port calls. So far, for the 2025/26 season, the New Zealand Cruise Association’s port schedule has recorded just 100 port calls, though that situation may change.

But a key issue is that Australia will see fewer ships homeport in the region, and many are favouring calling at the South Pacific instead of New Zealand. Furthermore, when ships do visit, rather than longer itineraries that circumnavigate New Zealand and visit ports all around the country, cruise lines are opting for shorter itineraries. 

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What are the figures for the 2026/27 season?

For example, if we look at the Royal Caribbean sailings for the 2026/27 season, there are just six cruises to New Zealand, in contrast to 25 cruises to the South Pacific. 

Whereas, looking at Royal Caribbean’s scheduled 2021/22 season, there were 22 cruises to New Zealand, marking a 72% decrease.

Carnival appears to show a similar trend, with just six cruises set to visit New Zealand for the 2026/27 season, in contrast to 46 that will visit the South Pacific. 

Most of Royal Caribbean and Carnival’s cruises to New Zealand are now only nine nights, which allows for three ports and some scenic cruises. Whereas a few years ago it was more common to see longer itineraries that visited up to five or even six ports, with scenic cruising as well. 

Other cruise lines, such as Celebrity Cruises and Princess, offer more in-depth sailings to New Zealand that visit more ports, particularly Princess, who offer a range of itineraries that are about two weeks long. Princess has nine of these sailings on offer for the 2026/27 season, as well as some much shorter five-day sailings that just visit Auckland and Tauranga. 

Celebrity has a further eight of these sailings on offer, with the shortest being at least 11 nights.

However, it definitely appears that New Zealand is feeling the heat of these reduced visits, both in frequency and in duration. 

This of course, links to Australia’s drop in cruise capacity, which also means fewer ships are available to sail across the Tasman and visit New Zealand. 

The distance in nautical miles from Sydney to Auckland is almost equal to the distance from Sydney to Noumea, meaning that fuelling costs won’t significantly differ. It also appears that New Zealand’s high regulatory costs continue to increase year on year.

This, combined with the strict biofouling regulations, appears to have been enough to repel ships from wanting to visit New Zealand. The country still scores as one of Australia’s favourite international destinations to cruise.

The New Zealand cruise industry, though, is searching for solutions such as building a hull cleaning station in Auckland. But quick and decisive action will be needed as the industry sees such a sharp decline in cruise traffic. It’s also been speculated that a decision will be made on the future of Miflord Sound as a cruise destination shortly, which will be a key factor on if ships continue sailing to New Zealand.

What Cruise Lines International Association said after meeting the NZ Government last month

Cruise leaders and industry stakeholders joined New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston for an on-board discussion on the direction of New Zealand’s cruise industry, putting a focus on close collaboration to achieve future prosperity.

As the summer cruise season draws to a close, the Minister was welcomed aboard Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Edge, part of Royal Caribbean Group’s fleet, during the ship’s latest visit to Auckland. The Minister was joined by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the New Zealand Cruise Association (NZCA), and cruise line representatives.

The forum also included more than 30 tourism leaders and other port and destination stakeholders, who were given insights into the global cruise sector and its current outlook.

CLIA Managing Director in Australasia Joel Kaz said the meeting was an opportunity to highlight the cruise community’s commitment to New Zealand and address some of the challenges faced in the region.

“New Zealand is a jewel among cruise destinations and consistently rates highly among international cruise passengers, which presents huge opportunities for New Zealand communities,” Mr Katz said. “Cruise tourism generates many millions of dollars for local businesses in New Zealand and supports thousands of Kiwi jobs, so we want to create an environment where cruising can prosper responsibly.”

NZCA CEO Jacqui Lloyd said cruise tourism brought hundreds of thousands of international visitors each year, but warned numbers were declining in New Zealand in contrast to strong growth in the rest of the world.

“Creating a successful cruise economy means achieving the right regulatory settings and encouraging close collaboration, so we can thrive in a well-managed way,” Ms Lloyd said. “We welcome the opportunity to discuss how New Zealand can attract more ships to our waters and reverse the decline, so we can strengthen the economic benefits for local communities around the country,” Ms Lloyd said.

Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Louise Upston said the meeting had provided valuable insights.

“Our Government has a clear priority to unleash economic growth. Tourism and hospitality – including the cruise industry – will be key contributors as we get back to 2019 visitor numbers.  We know cruises bring big economic benefits with passengers spending money in our businesses and communities.

“I look forward to further work with the cruise industry and across government agencies, as we jointly explore opportunities and address challenges.”