We boarded our cruise ship in Auckland, New Zealand. For the next 13 days, the cruise ship would be our home away from home. This trip was going to be the longest cruise we had ever taken…13 days is quite a lot of days on board a cruise ship! We found our room, dropped off a few items, and then found the large food area. (It was very easy to find! LOL!!) Lunch was being served for all of those starving tourists just boarding the ship! We then walked around the massive ship (The Majestic Princess), trying to see exactly what the ship had to offer. When we sailed away from the dock in Auckland, we were headed for our first port of call, Tauranga, New Zealand.
Auckland, based around 2 large harbours, is a major city in the north of New Zealand’s North Island. In the centre, the iconic Sky Tower has views of Viaduct Harbour, which is full of superyachts and lined with bars and cafes. Auckland Domain, the city’s oldest park, is based around an extinct volcano and home to the formal Wintergardens. Near Downtown, Mission Bay Beach has a seaside promenade.
Mission Bay Beach
Aerial view of Auckland's Mission Bay, New Zealand, showing the beach, park with fountain, and Rangitoto Island in the distance.
People are enjoying the sunny day. AUCKLAND, NZ
Auckland has a worldwide reputation for its quality of life. In large part this is because of its outstandingly beautiful natural environment and the lifestyle opportunities it offers.
We booked a tour to see Wai-O-Tapu (Sacred Waters) Thermal Wonderland. Wai-O-Tapu is part of a scenic reserve and has the largest area of surface thermal activity in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. We walked along boardwalks surrounded by boiling mud pools, craters, geysers, and steaming fumaroles. The whole area is a geothermal zone with some ground temperatures reaching up to 300 degrees. Due to different mineral elements, this area also had some very interesting colors of steaming hot waters and really smelled, at times, like rotten eggs. We still enjoyed the tour (even with the rotten egg smell) and took many pictures of the strange colored waters, pools of boiling mud pots, craters and geysers. After a very interesting and informative tour, we headed back to our ship to clean up, relax and get ready for dinner. That night we just planned to walk around the Majestic Princess so we could get a better idea where everything was located on the ship. Sometimes, on large cruise ships, it does take a few days to figure things out! (We also enjoyed the wonderful live music on board the ship every night.)
The next day…was a day at sea. So, we did what every tourist does on those days…we walked around the cruise ship (still trying to figure out where everything was located), ate way too much food, and went to see a show. There is always something fun to do on large cruise ships. In the morning, my husband and I usually exercise on the Promenade Deck (after breakfast). I also like to hit the dance floor for some line dancing lessons, do some arts & crafts (if available that day), and then play some BINGO later in the afternoon! You can also sample the “Drink of the Day”, gamble (on most ships), relax on your balcony (or in your room), get some sun by the pool, and/or listen to some great musicians playing and singing on several different levels of the ship. That evening, we went to see a “Salute to Freddie Mercury and Queen”. It really was a fun show! The singer actually looked and sounded just like the late Freddie Mercury!
(FYI: We were going to spend our first ever Halloween on a cruise ship! So, I made sure we packed our festive Halloween shirts we were going to wear during the day, and our costumes we were going to wear (and compete in during the Halloween Costume Contest) later in the evening. I will write more about our fun Halloween night later in this article.)
The next day, we were going to dock in Wellington, the third-largest city and the capital of New Zealand. We booked a tour called the Zealandia Eco Reserve and Otari Wilton Bush Tour. Zealandia is the world’s first fully fenced urban ecosanctuary. This eco reserve wants to restore Wellington’s valley forest and freshwater ecosystems as closely as possible to their pre-human state. We walked with our tour guide through this protected area filled with many amazing (feathered) creatures. Most of the birds we encountered we had never seen before.
Kaka Parrot
Kakariki Bird
Kiwi
There was the Kaka Parrot, Kakariki bird, and many more. We did not, however, see the elusive (almost extinct) Kiwi. However, they did have a stuffed Kiwi for everyone to look at so they could get an idea of just how big and odd-looking the Kiwi is in real life. (If you ever happen to come across a live one, that is!) The most amazing creature we encountered was the biggest cricket we have ever seen: the Weta Cricket! It was the size of our hand! At the end of the tour, we went to the Otari Wilton Bush area. It was a very beautiful forest area filled with many nature trails, odd-looking plants, and many beautifully carved totem-type poles. We returned to our ship after another wonderful tour for a great night of fun.
Zealandia Eco Reserve & Otari Wilton Bush
Weta Cricket
Cable Car
Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, sits near the North Island’s southernmost point on the Cook Strait. A compact city, it encompasses a waterfront promenade, sandy beaches, a working harbour and colourful timber houses on surrounding hills. From Lambton Quay, the iconic red Wellington Cable Car heads to the Wellington Botanic Gardens. Strong winds through the Cook Strait give it the nickname "Windy Wellington."
Our next port was Akaroa, New Zealand. We booked a tour to the Canterbury High Country on 4-wheel-drive vehicles (provided by Alpine Safari Tours). This all-day tour also provided a pretty good lunch and a crazy (exhilarating) super-fast jetboat ride. (We were in the front seat during the jetboat ride, and the jetboat was c-r-a-z-y fast!) Our driver would spin us in fast circles (at times), and we would get really soaked! (The water was not warm…it was really cold water!) After the jetboat tour, we headed up to the high country to see the beautiful snow-topped mountains, huge sheep, and some of the most amazing scenery anywhere in New Zealand. It was cold and windy up there in the mountains, too! We were very glad we brought our jackets and wore heavier clothing for this tour. After returning to our ship, we ate dinner and prepared for a fun night filled with a lot of live music and a comedy show.
Akaroa is a town on the Banks Peninsula, southeast of Christchurch, New Zealand. Akaroa Beach is on the eastern shore of Akaroa Harbour, where rare Hector’s dolphins swim. The Akaroa Museum includes 3 heritage buildings and chronicles the town’s development, especially its 19th-century British and French colonial history. The Giant’s House has terraced gardens and features colourful sculptures and mosaics.
Canterbury High Country
The next day, we dropped anchor at the port of Dunedin, New Zealand. Our half-day excursion was a Nature’s Wonder Tour. On this tour, we drove small 4-passenger green vehicles around a beautiful coastline area so we could see the New Zealand Fur Seals. We got to see a lot of fur seals in their natural environment. Of course, they were doing what they do best…lay around and swim in the cool New Zealand waters! They were all different sizes…the pups, of course, were the cutest! I took some great photos of the fur seals and, I also took some great pictures of a nearby lighthouse on top of a mountain by the coastline! After a very fun excursion, we headed back to the ship to get ready for another great evening on the Majestic Princess!
Dunedin is a city in New Zealand, at the head of Otago Harbour on the South Island’s southeast coast. It's known for its Scottish and Maori heritage, Victorian and Edwardian architecture, and a large student population. Hiking and cycling trails crisscross the dramatic landscape of the adjoining Otago Peninsula, home to colonies of albatross, sea lions and rare yellow-eyed penguins.
The next day, we were going to do some Fiordland National Park scenic cruising before our ship headed to our next stop, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Our ship was leaving the beautiful country of New Zealand on a two-day crossing of the Tasman Sea. Hobart is in Australia, however, it is located on a smaller island right below the larger continent of Australia. It is also home to the famous Tasmanian Devil! I am sure you remember the Tasmanian Devil character on the vintage Bugs Bunny cartoons! FYI: It did not look too much like the cartoon character…besides, it was not spinning in a circle (like the cartoon character). When we saw the Tasmanian Devil…it was silently sleeping! LOL!!
Tasmanian Devil
Hobart, capital of Australia's island state of Tasmania, sits on the River Derwent. At its fashionable Salamanca Place, old sandstone warehouses host galleries and cafes. Nearby is Battery Point, a historic district with narrow lanes and colonial-era cottages. The city's backdrop is 1,270m-high Mount Wellington, with sweeping views, plus hiking and cycling trails.
During the 2-day crossing, we experienced the wrath of the turbulent Tasman Sea! The Ship’s Captain told everyone on board that he was putting out the stabilizers on the ship. The seas were going to be rough and the stabilizers would help in the high waves. (On this part of the trip, we were very glad we wore our motion sickness patches behind our ears.) The Tasman Sea was the roughest sea we have ever encountered on a big cruise ship. I have some friends who crossed the Tasman Sea in a smaller ship, and it was a miserable two-and-a-half days because they were so seasick from the rough waves and turbulent seas. They could not wait to get to calmer waters. So, remember that information if you plan on crossing from New Zealand to Australia in the Tasman Sea. It may be worth booking your cruise on a bigger cruise ship! We did experience rough seas. However, our bigger cruise ship handled them extremely well.
One evening, during the crossing, we had reservations at one of the (upgraded) Italian restaurants on board the ship. We were seated at a very beautiful table next to a window. While we dined at the restaurant, we watched the wild waves crest over our window and watched our silverware and place settings dance around on the table. To say the least, it was a very interesting dinner! The food and service was awesome, however, we were constantly having to grab one thing or another on our table so it would not fall over or roll onto the floor!
Finally, after our first day of our 2-day crossing of the Tasman Sea, the seas were starting to calm down, and it was finally Halloween day. Even with all the craziness, we were still very excited about celebrating our first Halloween celebration on a cruise ship! I do not think we cared too much that the ship was still rocking and rolling more than usual, because we felt fine! Those motion sickness patches really do work!
My husband and I dressed in our “daytime” Halloween shirts and roamed around the ship all day long enjoying the Halloween festivities. I also had a blinky lighted ghost necklace I wore on the ship that everyone thought was the most amazing thing they had ever seen. Even one of the crew members mentioned my festive blinking ghost necklace during Bingo! (I guess they do not have those lighted necklaces in New Zealand and Australia?) I was quite popular wearing that lighted ghost necklace on the ship all day long!
Before dinner, we went back up to our room to change into our official Halloween costumes, which we were going to wear for the cruise ship’s Halloween contest. Richard was going as “King Richard the Lionhearted (from Florida)”, and I was going as “His Lady” or should I say, “My Lady (from Florida)? I had packed those crazy costumes in our luggage a few weeks ago, just for Halloween night! (I was amazed that they were not too wrinkled for us to wear.) We went downstairs on a glass elevator for dinner and received a lot of stares from other tourists as soon as we stepped out of the glass elevator. My husband, in tights and his King Richard costume, was more than a little uncomfortable by all the attention and stares he received. I assured him that he looked quite “knightly”, and everyone was looking at us because we looked great! We were, of course, their competition, and we were hoping to do well in the costume contest! Thank goodness that worked…because he did not run back to our room to change into normal evening attire (like I really thought he was going to do)! LOL!!
Well, it was finally time to be voted on by hundreds of people enjoying the festivities/costume contest in the ship’s atrium area. My husband and I won 3rd place overall (not bad), and he took First Place in the men’s costume contest. (Yep, he was voted #1, and he was both amazed and delighted!) He had never won anything in his life! (Well, except for me, that is!! LOL!!) He received a lot of attention that night, and many thought he really looked like a “Knight in Shining Armor (from Florida). Some even said he looked like Sean Connery (dressed as a Knight in one of his many movie roles). Also, a lot of women came up to him during the evening requesting to take a picture with him (of course, he really enjoyed that! What man wouldn’t?). We still talk (and laugh) about the fun Halloween Contest on board the cruise ship. In fact, I think we just might have to plan another cruise during Halloween week, real soon! (Just to see, of course, if we can win once again!) LOL!!
The next day, we were going to visit Hobart, Tasmania in Australia. So, do not forget to read my BLOG next month and see the fabulous pictures of the wonderful LAND DOWN UNDER! “CRIKEY”, AUSTRALIA is a super fabulous place to visit!!
Alma's Photo Album
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