A cruise around New Zealand has abruptly ended with passengers removed from the ship and left in Wellington.

Passengers aboard the Le Laperouse, a small cruise ship which docked in Wellington on Monday morning, confirmed the remainder of the trip around New Zealand had been cancelled.

All passengers had been told to get off the ship.

However, New Zealand Cruise Association chief executive Kevin O'Sullivan said the 150 passengers were not kicked off the ship.

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He said they were told the cruise was ending - and most decided they wanted to get off. There was no option to stay aboard for any that wanted to, he confirmed.

One passenger told Stuff no restrictions had been put on their movements in Wellington. There was no known sickness on board.

Some passengers who had disembarked were seen getting onto a sight seeing bus.

KEVIN STENT Passengers on the cruise ship Le Laperouse docked in Wellington today, and passengers were told to leave and get themselves home.

As of this 1am morning, all cruise ships not already in New Zealand waters have been denied entry into the country.

However, Le Laperouse's online itinerary shows the cruise started in Auckland on Thursday and was scheduled to finish in Dunedin on Saturday.

Jack Prim and his wife were onboard and were forced to leavethe cruise ship in Wellington.

Originally from Monett in Missouri, United States, the pair were celebrating their 40th anniversary and had hoped to finish the New Zealand leg of their trip.

Prim said there was not really a choice about disembarking but given the coronavirus situation was constantly changing, it was "probably smart".

KEVIN STENT Passengers get off Le Laperouse and head out on a Wellington tour.

"I think everyone was disappointed, it's a long way to come and a lot of money but we certainly don't blame the cruise company."

The coronavirus pandemic was "like a snowball going downhill around the world", Prim said.

Their plan now was to stroll around Wellington before catching a flight back to Missouri on Tuesday morning, he said.

Speaking on Monday afternoon, director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield said all ships which arrived before the border restrictions would have been cleared by health authorities.

KEVIN STENT The Le Laperouse cruise abruptly ended in Wellington on MOnday.

"Le Laperouse is currently in Wellington. It arrived in New Zealand before restrictions were in place," he said.

"All ships that arrive are cleared by health authorities and over recent weeks there has been a high degree of scrutiny of declarations made by the ship's doctor. All ships have health staff on board with them," he said.

Meanwhile another cruise that had been bound for Wellington with a suspected coronavirus case has missed the capital and is instead heading for Melbourne.

The Golden Princess arrived in Akaroa, Canterbury, on Sunday morning. Three passengers were quarantined on board by the ship's doctor and one was tested for coronavirus, after showing respiratory symptoms.

KEVIN STENT Passengers on the cruise ship Le Laperouse docked in Wellington today, and passengers were told to leave and get themselves home.

Passengers were not allowed off the ship.

A statement from Princess Cruises, which operates the ship, said the result was negative.

Neither the Ministry of Health nor Canterbury District Health Board was able to confirm this on Sunday night.

VICTORIA ANDREWS A passenger aboard the Golden Princess cruise berthed at Akaroa on Sunday was tested for COVID-19.

The ship was due into Wellington on Monday morning but, according to marine tracking site Marinetraffic.com, was at 7am on Monday off the coast of Dunedin heading towards Melbourne.

Le Laperouse is possibly the last cruise to visit Wellington this season. The next two cruise ships due into Wellington - Ovation of the Seas and Queen Elizabeth - are currently out of New Zealand waters so covered by a ban of cruise liners entering New Zealand.

WellingtonNZ general manager David Perks said the ban would mean 10 cruise ships missing Wellington - a cost to the economy of roughly $6 million.

Coronavirus would impact many facets of the Wellington economy.

"This is by far the biggest thing that I have seen that is going to impact the tourism sector.

"But there is good resilience in the sector."