Cruise ship

Viking Orion first docked in New Zealand in mid-December.

RNZ reports Biosecurity New Zealand environmental health manager Paul Hallett said approved ports can manage risk better than special marine environments, like Fiordland.

"Approved ports have regular surveillance, our teams are based there, and ships stick to regular vessel pathways," he said.

Despite the restricted status, Viking Orion still visited commercial ports in Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga and Auckland.

But Hallett said the ship was given a final departure date.

Ministry of Tourism Permanent Secretary Shaheen Ali said the return of the cruise line to Fiji signified a crucial development in the country's post-Covid recovery, FBC News reported.

The Pacific Explorer was in New Zealand last week and is scheduled to make a further stop at Fiji's Dravuni Island before returning to Sydney, Australia.

Police in French Polynesia have seized almost $US50 million worth of methamphetamine on a cruise ship from the United States.

A  27-year-old Tahitian passenger has been arrested after the discovery of 21 kilograms of the drug in his luggage.

The authorities say the man had wanted to offload a suitcase when the ship, the MS Zuiderdam was in port in Uturoa on Raiatea.

More than four kilograms of the drug was found in the suitcase.

A subsequent search of his cabin turned up a further 15 kilograms of methamphetamine in other luggage.

Last week, an inquiry found New South Wales health authorities made "serious mistakes" in allowing about 2,650 passengers to disembark when the ship docked in Sydney in March.

Those people were not tested for the virus, despite suspected cases aboard.

The ship was ultimately linked to at least 900 infections and 28 deaths.

Prior to Australia's second wave of the virus - which emerged in Melbourne in June - the cruise ship had been the source of Australia's biggest coronavirus cluster.

Last night, the 200 passengers on the Paul Gauguin were asked to stay in their cabins and the ship bound for Rangiroa returned to Tahiti.

Local media said all on board would need to be tested.

There has been no official statement about the situation.

Cruises resumed two weeks ago.

In mid-July, French Polynesia became the first destination in the South Pacific to accept travellers without imposing any quarantine.

The taskforce's Russel Tamata issued the warning after the Carnival Splendor berthed in Port Vila on Friday despite not being scheduled.

The Vanuatu Daily Post reports the Carnival Splendor arrived in Port Vila the day after the Golden Princess had visited.

There were rumours on social media of suspected coronavirus cases on the Golden Princess.

Mr Tamata confirmed 14 passengers on board the boat had flu-like symptoms and were kept in isolation in their cabins.

Some 3,700 people are on board the Diamond Princess, which is quarantined in Yokohama for at least two weeks.

The checks began after an 80-year-old Hong Kong man who had been on the ship last month fell ill with the virus.

He boarded the cruise ship in Yokohama on 20 January and disembarked in Hong Kong on 25 January.

A separate cruise ship - the World Dream - has been quarantined in Hong Kong after eight former passengers caught the virus.

It has around 3,600 people on board, but none have tested positive so far.

Young people on the island of Mare put up banners opposing ship visits, which prompted the island's contractor to cancel the stop-over as a precaution.

Mayor Pierre Ngaihoni said missing the ships' visits, from Australian company Carnival, would have an impact on stall holders.

Last month, New Caledonia's authorities banned access for ships with people onboard showing symptoms of the coronavirus.

A planned charter flight from China to Noumea last week was also cancelled, purportedly because of problems finalising documentation.

The deputy prime minister and tourism minister Joe Natuman is visiting China and told his hosts cruise tourism is the biggest development industry in the South Pacific.

The Vanuatu Daily Post reports Mr Natuman said Vanuatu is gearing up to benefit from the industry with the completion next year of the Lapetasi international wharf in Port Vila.

Susan Brown, 65, told maritime police that she and her husband had decided on Saturday to fly home early from their cruise aboard the Marco Polo, which had stopped over that day in Madeira, Funchal port harbour captain Felix Marques said.

However, Marques said Brown told police she later lost sight of her husband at Funchal airport after they argued and was "feeling desperate".