Napier Port will be host to a real slice of shipping diversity over the next fortnight with a sailing ship, a Navy ship and a cruise liner set to tie up amid the more traditional cargo traffic.
On Thursday the three-masted Spirit of New Zealand will arrive in port about 4pm to prepare for a 16-day voyage to and around the Chatham Islands before returning to Auckland.
The sailing ship, built in 1986 and which has made several calls to the Bay, is operated by the Spirit of Adventure Trust and was last here two years ago.
It will depart for the voyage on Saturday.
Four days later, on November 1, the giant Australian Royal Navy logistics and support ship HMAS Choules will stop by for another two-day goodwill visit.
The 16,900-tonne HMAS Choules, with more than 170 crew aboard, stopped by for a two-day visit last Wednesday before heading off to take part in Exercise Southern Katipo which is New Zealand's largest military exercise and staged every two years in varying parts of the country.
Joining it in port - for one day - will be what the local tourism industry is hoping will be the first cruise liner of the new season, after what should have been the first, the 109,000-tonne Golden Princess, was turned away on October 9 by gale-force winds and rain, leaving local cafes and tourism operators disappointed.
It was not the first time the first scheduled passenger ship had been sent packing by strong winds - in 2013 the Sea Princess had been down as the first arrival for that season but the weather had the final say.
The 82,900-tonne Noordam, with 1900 passengers aboard, is scheduled to arrive on November 3 for an eight-hour visit.
Weather conditions permitting, it will be the first of eight visits the liner will make to Napier and the Bay.
The new cruise ship season will be one of the biggest yet, with 59 liners now booked to call.