This was a bucket list trip for us and we were not disappointed. New Zealand is a very scenic country and all of the locals we met were very warm and welcoming. Enjoyed Australia as well and are very glad we had four full days to explore Sydney before the cruise began. The Noordam is a midsized ship that is getting older, but the recent refurbish gave the ship a newer feel (we also sailed on the Noordam in 2014 and it seemed more worn at that time).
Embarkation
5 out of 5
20 minutes from taxi drop off to inside our stateroom, with our luggage.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Main dining room service was good, and quality and variety of dinner menu was good to very good. Buffet restaurant seemed to have larger crowds and longer waits than we we’ve experienced on other cruises.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Enjoyed the fitness center and some of the classes offered. A number of the “talks / lectures” were very good and a nice improvement over what I’ve seen on other cruises. Did not use the pool, although every time I walked by there seemed to be plenty of open seating available.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
On most nights Holland offers a jazz type nightclub, BB Kings. Performances were good, although seating was limited. The Lincoln Center performances were very good, but again the seating is very limited. Entertainment on the main stage was typical, some nights very entertaining and some just average.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our first time is a larger veranda stateroom (Holland calls this a Signature Suite) and the extra space in the bathroom and veranda were great. With two desk areas and all of the drawers and cabinets this was the first time we didn’t use all of the storage space available.
The ship does not dock or tender in Milford Sound, unless you sign up for the overnight excursion. The first part of the day is spent cruising in three of the sounds along the SW coast of New Zealand and some of the views are amazing.
The only tender port on this cruise and we were told most ships will return to using the port at Christchurch once repairs from the earthquake are completed in 2020 or 2021.
The pier is right in town and using the free shuttle to the center of the city made this the perfect port to do on your own. The Te Papa museum should not be missed. The line for the cable car at the lower station was so long we took a taxi to the top station (no wait time at all). The views of the harbor and city from cable car museum and top station were worth it, but the ride itself was just okay. Very friendly locals, and a very walkable downtown.
We took an excursion to see some of the areas out of town, although just taking the port shuttle into town might have been a better use of our time to explore Napier on our own.
Our flight out of Auckland was late the same day we disembarked so we booked the Tower and Aquarium excursion. Turned out to be a good way to see some of the city and still get to the airport with plenty of time.
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