New Zealand is a beautiful country to visit. I would recommend visiting later in their summer season. Our trip in the fall had cooler weather than I expected.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
The ship had some norovirus problems on the prior cruise that required extensive cleaning which delayed our boarding times. The boarding was very chaotic and unorganized. It took us around 2 hours to board after we arrived at the port on our designated time.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The main dining room had excellent food and service. The buffet was always crowded and chaotic. The buffet food was marginal at times with cold food, spoiled milk, and curltilled sauces.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The weather was not condusive to many of the available outdoor activities.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The production shows were excellent. Daniel, the Philippine singer was outstanding, and was by far the best entertainer.
Children's Programs
No children in our group
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Our dining room wait staff was excellent. The wait staff in the buffet was just okay. Our room steward could have cleaned better, but was very accommodating to our needs. The cruise director could have provided more information on a daily basis, and also needed to pay attention to small details.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ships design and layout was somewhat confusing but you got used to it. The common areas seemed clean. I was surprised to see the buffet operating as normal the first couple of days, but then the norovirus broke out again and serving yourself was not allowed. I acquired the virus on our 3rd day and was ill for 3 days.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The overall comfort and size were excellent. The cabin lacked in cleanliness upon our arrival, and required some maintenance on the cabinetry. The bathroom was very generous in size and storage. The closet and drawer area was lacking.
Ship tip
The beverage promotional package offered (classic) does not cover many choices in cocktails. Celebrity then tries to upgrade you to the premium package at $12/person/day.
Better than expected. We did a bus tour of the highlights of Dunedin. This tour was delayed over an hour, but we were assured our tour would not be cut short. This was not true, our tour was cut short. After complaining we were given a token 20% refund for a 4 hour tour that lasted 3 hours...go figure!
We visited Christchurch for the day on our own. It was a 90 minute bus ride to and from Akaroa which got us to see the countryside. Christchurch is still in a state of repair from the earthquakes of a few years ago.
Capital of New Zealand with many government buildings, etc. to see. Took a bus tour of the city and surrounding area. Tour was marginal because our tour guide was marginal.
Took a tour of the highlights and glow worm caves. Very poor guide and very poor tour organization. There did not seem to be much to see on this tour, and the guide was really just a driver offering little information.
Used the hop on hop off bus tour. These buses were the best buses of any tour we took. Spend about 3 hours touring Auckland on these buses, but found little attractions to revisit.
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