On Friday morning, the Viking Orion made its first visit to Tauranga. The 229m cruise ship with 47,861 gross tonnage, arrived from Napier about 8.40am.

'Viking have come to Australia and New Zealand very briefly in their world cruise on another ship,” says Viking Orion cruise director Beven Addinsall. 'But this is the first time we're home porting and spending three months in Australia and New Zealand.

'We go from Sydney to Melbourne to Hobart, and then we go right around New Zealand, finish in Auckland, and then do it in reverse.

'It's very nice and quite fun, and most of our passengers are American. A lot of the Americans have on their bucket list to come to New Zealand and Australia. So it's a very special cruise for them.”

The cruise ship has a total of 930 passengers and 426 crew on board.

'It's a very high-end cruise ship,” says Beven. 'Very much like a floating hotel. Inside, it's one of the most stunning cruise ships on the water and we have a very big enrichment programme.

'There's lectures, and it holds the biggest library on the water. It's not about casinos, it's not about bingo; it's about relaxation. We have an incredible spa, and really great entertainment in the theatre and around the ship.”

Throughout 2018, Howard Parkin, the cruise ship's resident astronomer, has given lectures and pointed out constellations in the Explorers' Dome. This new planetarium-like theatre feature was introduced to the Orion, and is planned to be added to the rest of the Viking's fleet of cruise ships.

The space-themed extras which are features of the Viking Orion are a recognition of both the ship's name and astronaut Dr Anna Fisher, who attended the ship's launch in Italy in June 2018.

The ship is the line's fifth ship in three years, and is very similar to the Viking's four other ships – the Sun, Sky, Sea and Star.

It boasts enough room for 930 passengers, with 465 balcony staterooms, eight restaurants, two pools, and a Nordic-inspired spa featuring sauna, steam room, and a snow grotto.

The maiden voyage included sailing around the Mediterranean, before heading to Asia and then on to Australia and New Zealand.

Viking intend to have 16 ocean vessels by 2027, all of which will have similar layouts to the Orion.

The Viking Orion, which is in Tauranga's port for about nine hours has an extensive shore excursion programme.

'We have buses all ready, so people get off and head straight to Rotorua,” says Beven. 'We have some people going to Hobbiton, and actually all over the place.”

Viking Orion departs port Friday evening at 6pm, and is due back again in four days on January 1, 2019.