Another successful cruise ship season in Timaru gets plan off to promising start

March 14, 2026

With some bookings already secured for the next four years, Timaru’s ambitious plan to attract up to 30 cruise ships a year by 2030 is off to a great start, the port’s commercial and marine manager says.

The Zaandam’s stop on Thursday was the 14th and final cruise ship visit to Timaru for the season. That was the most the town had ever seen, and made Timaru the only port in New Zealand to have an increase in cruise ship visits this season compared to 2024-2025.

Late last year, an ambitious plan to attract up to 30 cruise ships to Timaru each year by the year 2030 was revealed with the release of Venture Timaru and PrimePort’s new cruise strategy for the district, Journey to Thirty.

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