Life is returning to a normal routine. A thousand pictures have been sorted, and the Shutterfly book is almost ready for publication. We continue to enthusiastically tell the story of our journey to anyone who asks. Like saying ‘Happy New Year’ well into March, the story has an expiration date, so it’s time to share it here.

Three things attracted us to New Zealand – the geography, the wines, and the laid-back culture. We experienced all of this and more and came away enlightened.

Impressions of New Zealand

I had an idyllic notion of what New Zealand would be like, and for the most part, it lived up to my expectations. Given that we were on a cruise ship and had limited time in ports, I think we made the most of it. The weather cooperated (most days), and between the two cruise ships, we visited many ports of call; some twice. The map below will provide a visual of the area we toured while onboard the Celebrity Edge, and the Norwegian Spirit. The red stars indicate ports of call.

To put the size of NZ into US terms, the North and South Islands combined would stretch from Florida to Pennsylvania and are roughly the size of Colorado. Besides the two main islands, there are a few smaller islands that make up the whole of NZ. Its cities range from cosmopolitan (Auckland) to arts-focused (Wellington), to the post-earthquake modern rebuild of Christchurch, and the art-deco rebuild of Napier. The vibe is casual, eclectic, and even though their economy is export-driven, they are keenly focused on tourism.

Images of New Zealand conjure a sense of adventure and the great outdoors. With its varied terrain, from glaciers and snow-capped mountains in the south, to profound and visually captivating geothermal activity on the north island. This place is an outlander’s dream. It is also quite possibly the most volatile place we have ever visited. Not to offend, but it seems literally one earthquake away from destruction – at least that is how it feels. At one point, I affectionately referred to it as Hell’s Gate. Sitting on tectonic plates doesn’t dispel that notion.

Nothing brought that point home more than the Rotorua region on the North Island. We spent three mesmerizing hours exploring this geothermal valley and marveling at the sights. Save time for the hot springs and mud baths nearby.

New Zealand wines were also an attraction for us, especially those in the Marlborough district. Not all are exported to the US, so it was nice to visit one of our favorites on the wine tour. Whithaven, with their award-winning Sauvignon Blanc, is an outstanding value and a good-tasting summer treat. Sauvignon Blanc accounts for approximately 89% of the country’s wine exports. All of our tours were excellent, and we satisfied a long-time wish to have this experience.

The geography of New Zealand is spellbinding. We took every opportunity to explore the terrain on foot, from cityscapes to protected forests and gravel pathways. There was something to amaze us at every turn.

We felt ‘welcome’ in every port; always greeted by friendly volunteers who helped us find our way to points of interest. The places we visited were clean and offered reliable transportation. Shop owners were helpful, but not pushy, and there were no hawkers on the streets, vying for tourist dollars. In one town, the Mayor boarded the bus that brought us from the port into town and welcomed us with a lively, informative speech. How refreshing!

Charming, colorful, eclectic, and robust describe many of the places we visited. New Zealand is definitely the kind of place where the old adage, “come for a visit, stay for a lifetime”, applies.

If you would like to read more about our impressions of NZ, please click on the previous four posts.

About back-to-back cruising for 48 days

Choosing two cruises to tour New Zealand and one to bring us home accomplished our mission. Could we have done things differently? Of course, but the two port-intensive cruises (27 days) were convenient to explore the destination, and the one to bring us home (21 days) was pure luxury. I’ll admit, we did tire of the routine on the last cruise about three days before we reached Los Angeles – even with stops in Tahiti, Moorea, and Honolulu.

We cruised three cruise lines: Celebrity, Norwegian, and Princess. By far, the Discovery Princess (21 days) was our favorite ship and our favorite on-board experience. Our room was comfortable, with a good closet, a small bathroom, a separate vanity table, and a laundry room just a short walk down the hall. Bars were conveniently located near dining venues, and there was quality entertainment throughout the ship at all times. Full disclosure, we did upgrade to the Premiere Package on this ship. The biggest reason for doing that was to have full access to all of the specialty dining restaurants. We avoided having meals in the buffet, limited our time in the main dining rooms, and had standing reservations almost every night of the voyage.

Norwegian fell into last place due to an inadequate staff-to-passenger ratio and a basic dining experience. The ship was okay, but lacked quiet spaces to get away from the crowd. I can’t say we were disappointed because we weren’t expecting much beyond transportation from this line. The highlight of our time on this ship was cruising through Fiordland National Park. Millford Sound was glorious on the day we visited. Having a balcony room on this ship was a plus, as many port arrivals happened early in the morning.

The Celebrity Edge was the largest of the three ships and had plenty of places to hide away for quiet time, good entertainment, and a casual cafe that was always open. It was perfect for excursion days when we were too tired to ‘dress’ for dinner. The staff was attentive, and the stateroom was comfortable.

The twenty-one-day trip home was more enjoyable than we expected, as we quickly fell into a daily routine, made a few friends, discovered our ‘favorite’ entertainment venues, bars, quiet spaces (indoors and out), and ship activities. Coffee, gym, Mahjongg, Trivia, snack/lunch, fresh air, afternoon Trivia, nap time, cocktail hour, dinner, and a show became the norm for the duration. There were several time changes, we crossed the Equator and the International Dateline, and we longed for home during the final days.

The litmus test for a good trip is always – ‘Would I do it again?’ The answer is yes, with a few tweaks. Friends frequently ask me about cruising and travel in general. My advice to them is to make it personal. Don’t go for the sake of going, or because someone said you should, or because it’s the new hot spot. Go because you have a longing for adventure, for discovery, and knowledge. And, most importantly, do it your way.