Forty years ago we visited New Zealand but only the North Island part of the country. It was time to go back and explore the South Island. We began our journey in Auckland and had beautiful weather exploring this exciting harbor city.
We boarded the NCL Norwegian Sun in Auckland to continue our explorations. The Norwegian Sun is an older ship in NCL’s fleet but it has a great crew dedicated to ensuring the 1900 + passengers enjoy their time aboard.
There are some areas that could use improvement…the food other than the specialty restaurants is fairly mediocre. There are 6 specialty restaurants for an additional cost but are well worth it. Our most fun meal was at Teppenyaki..an enjoyable experience with our very entertaining chef!
The technology on the ship is definitely not 2025…only one electronic device could be used at a time. Quite a surprise and really inconvenient.
Unfortunately, the ship advised us that they did not have the license to air the Super Bowl. As Philadelphia Eagles fans we were incredibly disappointed especially since Monday was a day at sea. We paid extra for streaming hoping to see it and we were able to watch it in real time but in Spanish!!!??
Also, there’s a great fitness center and many classes to participate in.
Our itinerary took us to Tauranga, Napier, Picton, Wellington, Dunedin, Doubtful Sound, Dusky Sound, Milford Sound, Hobart Tasmania and we docked in Melbourne Australia.
We had lots of time in each port and visited some on our own and others on an NCL shore excursion. Each port offered a different experience from one street tourist towns to big cities.
And in most cases, the ship docked where we were able to walk right into town.
Our fun experience in Wellington was discovering Bohemein Chocolates where we indulged in hot chocolate and I purchased a chocolate high heeled shoe filled with chocolates! Yum!
And much to our delight we walked into Riverside Market in Christchurch which was a mini version of our Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. And what should we find when walking around Hobart Tasmania but a Target store!
Perhaps our most enjoyable shore excursion was the Hawkes Bay Express train which traveled through Napier with our driver regaling us with history and fun facts before ending at the Customs House.
The scenery through the three Sounds was breathtaking and provided us with some relaxation while we enjoyed the fabulous views.
The New Zealanders we met were extremely friendly and welcoming. Although halfway around the world, this is not a destination to miss!
