We decided on a pre Christmas cruise from Sydney to Auckland for two reasons. One we really needed a break from all that was happening at home and two we had coffee cards that were expiring on 31 December. We have family in Sydney so that meant we could have a leisurely start to our break. The itinerary was good even though we had been to all ports except Hobart before. Hobart was uncharted territory so for us this only increased the attractiveness of the cruise. The embarkation went very smoothly with no hold ups. The staggered times was definitely a good idea. We actually arrived a little later than the time specified so that could have helped as well. Our cabin was everything we hoped for. We went for a partially obstructed balcony and found that while looking across the life craft was a little annoying it didn't impede our view all that much. So when we went into the Fiordland National Park we were well able to see Mitre Peak in Milford Sound and most of the other interesting places mentioned from our balcony. The weather was amazing, no rough seas crossing the Tasman and no problem getting into some of the more tricky ports, including Akaroa. We did a privately organised tour in Dunedin. The tour operator was "Book A Tour" and we saw all the sights we had promised we would including Larnach Castle.
The cruise itself was great. The entertainment was excellent, no disappointments. Our only criticism was of our dining experience. Unfortunately the meals were most of the time only lukewarm. The waiters were quite slow which didn't help. Also the senior waiter seemed to think that it was more important to hat to one couple while the rest of us waited, a little impatiently at times, for our meals. The experience was improved when the junior waiter took it upon himself to go ahead and serve the remaining people. It certainly soured our experience. It should be noted that the only two meals that were hot came in the pizzeria and at the Plowman's Lunch.
Majestic Princess is a beautiful ship and certainly had everything we could need. However it still seems to be catering for an Asian clientele. This did have its drawbacks but it wouldn't put us off going on it again.
This cabin is great. It is as large as aregular balcony and for people with limited mobility it suited us well.
Loved leaving from Circular Quay
We went on a walking tour found online. The day was hot but we saw what we wanted to see. A bonus was that we were not rushed and had the chance to talk to one of the locals. He has lived there for a most of his working life and he talked about the changes he had seen.
We did the Hop On HOp Off bus tour from the port and as we had been to Melbourne several times it was an opportunity to revisit places
We walked around the base of Mt Maunganui. a walk we felt we would never get tired of.