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1st March 2010
The biggest cruise ship ever to visit the Bay of Islands arrives this Friday, bringing a record 4000 passengers and crew.
The Queen Victoria attracted 20,000 onlookers when she called into Napier recently and big crowds are also expected to see the Queen Mary 2, which dwarfs any other cruise ship that has entered Northland waters.
To cope with the massive influx of visitors a cruise committee has been set up to plan for the event, which will see 870 passengers head off on pre-booked tours and to tourist attractions for the day. The rest of the passengers and crew are expected to swarm into Paihia and Russell.
Planning for the day includes arranging parking in conjunction with the Waitangi National Trust, managing traffic on land and sea, organising shuttle buses, extra rubbish collections and toilet cleaning, and liaising with Bay of Island businesses.
Heinz Marti, of Business Paihia, said the monster ship's visit was a major opportunity for the Bay of Islands.
"The Queen Mary 2 is making only one other New Zealand stop, in Auckland, so this visit cements the Bay's status as a significant tourist destination."
The 345m liner brought Auckland traffic to a standstill on its first visit to New Zealand three years ago with vantage points around the harbour jammed with thousands of cars.
Facilities include 15 restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, ballroom, theatre, kennels, a nursery and the first planetarium at sea.
When launched in 2003 at a cost of $1.3 billion, the Cunard Line's flagship was the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship
ever built, with a crew of 1250 and a gross tonnage of 150,000 tons.
It will be the 28th cruise ship to visit the Bay of Islands this summer, with two more to come before the season winds down in mid-March.
Cruise ships will have brought a record 35,000 passengers and an estimated $6 million to the Bay of Islands this season.
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