And on Tuesday, February 18, Voyager of the Seas made its stately way into the Port of Eden with its 311 metre length taking up much of the new extension, although the wharf is capable of taking larger ships.

Originally scheduled on a 14-day round trip South Pacific cruise, Voyager of the Seas left Sydney on February 5 and called into Eden as the last port of call before it returned to Sydney on February 19.

The late addition to Eden's cruise schedule was due to the closure of the South Pacific Islands to cruise ships because of their concerns around coronavirus.

There were 3,461 passengers and over 1100 crew on board and Ms Godward said over 4000 got off the ship, "doubling the population of Eden" during the visit.

As passengers and crew streamed off the ship, stalls around the port were busy with customers. Gradually they made their way into town, filling shops and cafes.

Several hundred passengers took tours.

This is the first time that a Royal Caribbean cruise ship has visited Eden and a representative from the company's head office was on board.

Ms Godward said it had been a great opportunity to show what the area had to offer particularly at relatively short notice for an unplanned visit and she was "very confident" that the company would return.

On Friday, February 21 the Explorer Dream will visit Eden. Explorer Dream is one of the larger ships to visit Eden with a 2800 passenger capacity and 1300 crew although passenger numbers will be considerably less at about 800. It is due to return on February 28.

Cruise Eden, in conjunction with the Eden Chamber of Commerce and Eden Visitor Information Centre recently held an introduction to the Chinese visitor market in preparation for the February visits of Explorer Dream carrying a large number of Chinese passengers. The ship however has been in Australian waters since October.