The cruise ship Sea Princess sailed arrived in the Newcastle Harbour on Friday morning.
The 2000-guest cruise liner is one of the Princess Cruises fleet and is expected to sail back through the heads on Friday evening around 6pm.
The ship boasts a four-storey atrium on board and Las Vegas-style casino.
Cruise season is well underway in Newcastle. The city is expecting to welcome the Explorer Dream on Monday, with a number of other arrivals throughout the end of the year before Celebrity Solstice - the largest ship of the season - arrives on January 3.
The Sea Princess arrived in Newcastle after several days of the city being shrouded in smoke drifting from a large-scale bushfire at Lake Cathie on the Mid North Coast.
Children, older adults and people with heart and lung conditions are most vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and excessive smoke.
Asthma sufferers or those with a lung condition should stay inside.
NSW Health advised asthma sufferers to seek medical advice if they experienced shortness of breath.
The fire burning around Lake Innes is believed to have ripped through a known koala habitat and breeding ground home to a healthy population of "hundreds" of the vulnerable species.
Koala Conservation Australia president Sue Ashton said the koalas in the area were "of national significance".
"Those koalas are very genetically diverse; that's why it's so devastating," she said.
The number of koalas lost won't be known until rescuers can access the area.
RFS crews fear the fires may flare up again as winds and temperatures pick up later in the week.
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