Crowds in Emerson St, Napier, as visitors throng the city centre after the arrival of the Anthem of the Seas, with almost 5000 passengers. Photo \/ Doug Laing<\/p>\n
By late morning on Friday, every shop in Emerson St, and much of Hastings, Market and Dalton Sts, was trading, with up to 30 people in some shops at a time, and more in cafes and at tables in the street.<\/p>\n
Joe Taylor, managing at the Clive Square Pub (aka the Provincial Hotel), said it was the busiest day since the bar reopened at the western end of the golden mile five weeks ago.<\/p>\n
But he also hadn\u2019t seen such brisk cruise ship trade in more than 20 years of business in and around the Emerson St precinct, he said.<\/p>\n
Also in the Clive Square-Dalton St quarter, the more distant part of the cruise-goers city walk in Napier, Jo Mullooly, at the counter of Handmade in the Bay, said it was \u201cbusier than I\u2019ve seen in a longtime.\u201d<\/p>\n
At one stage there could have been 30 people in the shop, which, run by proprietor Maree Copper, trades on behalf of more than 100 Hawke\u2019s Bay craftspeople.<\/p>\n
Veteran menswear retailer Denis Jeffery said customers were in the shop throughout the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve come from everywhere,\u201d he said. \u201cSmall business owners running their own shops will be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Art Deco Trust, which moved house between seasons from one end of the shopping centre to the other, from the corner of Tennyson and Herschell streets to Memorial Square, said all the trust\u2019s bus tours and art deco walks were booked out.<\/p>\n
Art Deco walks were booked out as passengers from the Antem, of the Seas thronged the Napier CBD on Friday. Photo \/ Doug Laing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just a sea of people,\u201d said trust general manager Jeremy Smith, also commenting on the numbers that had spread further than the immediate city precinct.<\/p>\n
Five liners are due at the port in the next week, including two on Tuesday – the Seabourn Quest, which takes up to 450 passengers, and the Norwegian Spirit (1996 passengers).<\/p>\n
Anthem of the Seas, a regular visitor, returns, en route from Wellington to Auckland, on February 22, one of three liners berthing at Napier during the four days of the Art Deco Festival (February 19-22)<\/a>.<\/p>\n It will make its last stop of the season on March 27, arriving from Tauranga and heading for Wellington.<\/p>\n They are among 60 cruise ship stops that were scheduled for Napier this season, significantly less than the record 89 in 2023-2024.<\/p>\n Further decline is expected next season, with just 52 stops expected, according to Napier Port\u2019s schedule.<\/p>\nThe buses and the last of the passengers heading back to the Anthem of the Seas after a few hours in a busy Napier CBD. Photo \/ Doug Laing.<\/p>\n