I remember, about 20 years ago, there was great excitement when it was announced the cruise liner MV Marco Polo would be calling at Napier.
It was such an historic event in the tourism scheme of things that I was despatched to meet it aboard one ofthe pilot launches to get a story together. I think it made seven visits that season. Nowadays, the sight of a sparkling cruise liner gliding into the harbour is no longer a reason to race to stop and gape.
During this current cruise ship season, 55 of them will have called in. They are now a major part of the tourism landscape. And they have been embraced by the tourism industry.
Hawke's Bay is firmly on the "must go to" map for the cruise lines and, as Jane Libby from i-Site said of the way the locals had combined to make the visits memorable, "it's a well oiled machine".
I've spoken to many a visitor and "hey, nice talking to you", is often the parting line from them. I think they enjoy having a chat with the locals to not only learn more about the lie of the land, but also to just simply chat. Because the conversation will be right out of left field. They are from faraway and their temporary home is in a hotel that floats.
So, as I've found, they kind of like to tell you a bit about where they come from and make comparisons. And from what I heard during a chatabout on Thursday, they are mightily impressed with Hawke's Bay.
One chap said coming into the bay and seeing the bluff, the Norfolks and clear mountains beyond was "just remarkable". And even the six- or seven-minute drive aboard the coach from the dockside to the i-Site centre had the cameras clicking. The underlying word which was repeated from person to person was "nice".
On the home front, it's simply nice to hear that, and nice to see so many people stepping ashore to have a wander or a wine (the tours to the wineries are very popular). And I also heard a lot of appreciation for the architecture in Napier's CBD.
It's the "Art Deco thing" of course and these visitors, even the first timers, are up with it.
Except for one chap I had a natter with who said he'd heard about how the "tidal wave" wrecked the city and it was all built again in just two years. Buy hey, he got 50 pe rcent of it right.
We've got it pretty right, because three out of five I spoke to vowed to return and next time would "stay longer".
