The newest and largest Princess Cruises ship to ever visit New Zealand enters Tauranga Harbour this Sunday.

The Discovery Princess was launched in 2022 and its visit is part of its first Aotearoa voyage.

A crew of navigators from Te Kura Waka – a local school dedicated to reviving and advancing traditional Pacific celestial navigation – will sail out to greet the ship.

Te Kura Waka was announced earlier this year as the first cultural partner in Princess Cruises’ Princess Local Partnerships programme.

The initiative supported three grassroots conservation and cultural preservation projects in Aotearoa.

Princess Cruises’ senior director of destination management Michael Mihajlov said the meeting of the traditional waka and the cruise ship represented a unique moment of connection between seafaring of the past and present.

“This will be a truly special moment – the coming together of two navigational worlds that celebrate the spirit of exploration and the deep cultural heritage of Aotearoa.

“Through our partnership with Te Kura Waka, we’re honoured to support the preservation of traditional seafaring knowledge. It’s these authentic cultural connections that make visiting New Zealand so meaningful for both our guests and our crew.”

Te Kura Waka was announced earlier this year as the first cultural partner in Princess Cruises’ Princess Local Partnerships programme. Photo / Supplied

Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Oscar Nathan said the unique welcome for the Discovery Princess’ inaugural arrival will be an impressive highlight during the region’s busy cruise season.

“Tauranga has always been one of New Zealand’s most popular cruise ship ports, and between October and May, we’ll be welcoming a similar number of passengers as we had last season.”

Discovery Princess would visit Tauranga six times over the 2025 to 2026 summer season, bringing more than 20,000 passengers to the region.

“These cruise ship visits provide a vital economic boost for many local businesses – like retail, hospitality, transportation, attractions and tour operators – and they add a noticeable multinational vibrancy to our communities."

Sister ships Crown Princess and Coral Princess would also visit Tauranga, with the May 5 departure of the Crown Princess expected to mark the season finale.

Nathan said Pilot Bay and Mount Maunganui would be ideal vantage points to witness the arrival of the Discovery Princess.

“It’s such a rare opportunity to watch a traditional waka interacting with a modern-day passenger ship. We’re expecting it to be a beautiful, memorable moment.”

Discovery Princess would be met by the waka around North Rock about 8.30am on Sunday.

The ship would then be officially welcomed to the port with a traditional Māori welcome performed by Tūtara Kauika ki Rangataua.

It departs 9.15pm the same day, sailing overnight to Auckland.

– Content supplied by Princess Cruises