Golden Princess at anchor in Poverty Bay
THE Golden Princess came and went yesterday and more than 2000 passengers who came ashore had a memorable day. As one of them put it, “thank you so much, we’ve enjoyed your city”.
The huge cruise liner lifted her anchors and sailed from Poverty Bay at about 5pm, bound for Wellington.
Captain Nicolo Bommarco was making his final visit to New Zealand ahead of retirement after 30 years in the cruise ship industry.
“It was nice coming in here yesterday morning and it was very easy.
“There was no other shipping traffic, so we were able to anchor in the harbour channel,” Captain Bommarco said.
“With more than a metre of swell we would not be able to load our tenders. Today it was perfect.”
Eastland Port general manager Andrew Gaddum presented the captain with a special token to mark the ship’s first visit to Gisborne.
He was accompanied by Gisborne District Council chief executive Judy Campbell and Tourism Eastland chief executive Stuart Perry.
The gift was a patu (club), designed and made by Maori artist Nick Tupara.
“On behalf of Eastland Port and the people of the district, welcome to Gisborne. We’re very glad to be able to have you and your ship here in the Bay,” Mr Gaddum said.
The ship’s customer services director James Eaton responded.
“It was great to be here and we look forward to coming here for the rest of the season.”
The ship brought 2650 mainly Australian passengers into the Bay yesterday and more than 2000 were ferried ashore for the day.
“It’s a pleasant town and we’ve done a bus tour of your beaches, which are lovely,” said Dave and Jan Loveday from Geelong in Australia.
“I’ve just bought my wife a piece of your jade (greenstone) to show her how much I love her.”
Paul Azzopardi from Melbourne: “You’ve got such a big shopping centre for a city of 35,000 people. I’m surprised, and it’s nice and clean.”
His wife Marlene: “It’s beautiful and green and so picturesque. It gets the thumbs-up from us that’s for sure.”
Fellow Aussie Joe Winiecki said he and his wife Maria appreciated the free buses.
“We love it here and we’ve really liked the people (ambassadors) who have helped us find our way around.”
Margaret and Eddie Good from Melbourne: “Everyone is so friendly. You’re all so kind and nice.”
Tourism Eastland chief executive Stuart Perry said it was a great day.
“A lot more passengers went shopping than we expected and a lot more came ashore than expected, so there was a bit of a bottleneck with the buses at times.
“Some liked the buses so much they stayed on for more than one trip,” Mr Perry said.
“But the feedback we’ve been getting is that it was a really good day. A lot of retailers were really happy.
“There are one or two wrinkles to iron out but nothing insurmountable,” he said.
“Several visitors said how spectacular Wa165 was and how lucky Gisborne was to have it.”
Lana Davy from Heart of Gisborne echoed his comments.
“It was a very successful day. The market in Treble Court was well supported by the visitors.The stall holders appreciated it and they can’t wait for the next visit,” she said.
“Our ambassadors did a great job and huge thanks should go to them and everyone on the ground who helped make the day such a success.”
View our extensive coverage of the interior of the Golden Princess this weekend, online and in the Weekender.
The Golden Princess is due back on December 14.