Running a day ahead of schedule due to a one-port cancellation meant an added bonus for Napier businesses with the arrival of the P&O; cruise liner Oriana on Thursday.
Hawke's Bay had not been on the original schedule for the 69,000-tonne liner, which is on the Australiasian leg of a97-day world voyage.
One couple from the ship, from Queensland and who were checking out the "remarkable" Art Deco buildings in the CBD, said the ship had originally been due to call at Christchurch on February 29 but had bypassed it.
"Maybe it was because of the earthquake they had - we weren't told."
The Oriana had been visiting Milford Sound and instead went straight through to Wellington. Then, to re-fit the schedule, the ship made the call to Napier.
It underwent a multi-million dollar refit last year and is described on the company's website as an "adults-only" liner, "designed for British tastes".
