My husband and I toured New Zealand for our honeymoon way back in 1996 so many of the ports on this cruise we had visited back then with the exception of Akaroa. In 1996 we only had 3 weeks to fit as much as we could in, so Akaroa was missed and I was really looking forward to seeing it this time.
We left Brisbane on the 16th December 2012, with 3 full sea days before scenic cruising in the Fiordlands.
The following morning we arrived at Port Chalmers and caught the shuttle bus into Dunedin. The bus ride was about 20 minutes. Once in Dunedin we did a Cadbury factory tour, checked out the railway station, Chinese garden, and the Otago Settlers museum.
Looking back at the Cadbury factory from the Dunedin railway station
Old computer game at the Otago Settlers museum
Dunedin Chinese garden entrance
Our next day was Akaroa, a tender stop. As we had been to Christchurch in 1996 and the damage from the earthquake still fresh, we enjoyed poking around Akaroa. The day started out cold but it warmed up to beautiful day. We walked up to the light house, had lunch at a cafe and browsed the shops.
I bought a beautiful necklace at Fire and Ice.
The following day, the Sunday before Christmas, we were in Wellington. We caught the shuttle into the main street and walked from there. There is plenty to see and do in Wellington. We caught the cable car up and back, visited the Te Papa museum and generally had a great time. The shops all had their Christmas decorations up and it was very festive.
The next port was Napier. To keep my child entertained we booked a Duck tour which was a lot of fun. The amphibian vehicle drives on the road and into the water. I had previously traveled on one of these at the Town of 1770 in Queensland many years ago so knew what to expect but it was great fun for a 9 year old.
Napier put on a great welcoming for cruise ship visitors including period costumes, old cars and bands to showcase the art-deco architecture it's famous for.
The next day was Christmas day. Docked at Tauranga we booked a tour through the ship to Rotorua for the cable car and luge. We had a terrific day and was exhausted when we arrived back at the ship.
The final port day was in Auckland and we didn't have too many plans. All the port days in a row made us slow down and look forward to that 3 day sea only cruise back to Brisbane.
While we were in Auckland we did ride the old trams, browsed the shops (it was Boxing day after all) and dodged the rain.
Overall we had a fantastic cruise. We loved the 14 nights and really felt like we had been on holidays. We didn't feel we had to see it all because I'm sure we will be back some day.
The boring stuff...
Ship: Sun Princess
Cabin: D614, obstructed view deck 8
Captain:Andrew Froude
Cruise director: Dave Webster
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