All i can say is we had the Most amazing cruise holiday on the Explorer.
Getting on the Ship in Sydney was about the only time we had to line up for any period of time the whole holiday. It took about 2 hours from the beginning of the line up until we were on the ship. The longest part was Check in. One we were on board it was hard to tell the Ship had 3000+ passengers.
Getting on and off was not really a hassle. The Security crew did a great job getting people through security at each port and they always had a smile.
-Roomy enough for 2 adults and 2 kids. Bathroom was clean and did the job.
-2 US power points and 1 Euro power point on the desk.
-Small bar fridge that didnt really get very cool.
-Beds were comfortable.
Picton was a great little town.
Grab some towels when leaving the ship as there is a nice little beach to have a swim, and there are places to hire SUP's and canoes and the like.
It was the first stop, So the line up for the ATM's were understandably long.
Plenty of places in the main street to grab a bite to eat.
20c train rides behind the iSite.
Easy but a long wait to get on board.
We arrived to get on board at around 11am. It was raining, so that may have contributed to the long line up.
Getting off at conclusion of cruise only took 20 mins.
Mt Maunganui is where the ship actually docks.
Great little seaside town. Great cafes and restaurants along main street. Some good shopping. The surf beach looked great. Plenty of things to do. Hire a bike. Walk up the small mountain at the end of the main street
We took the bus into Tauranga, but there is not much to see there.
Wellington Tourism bureau put on shuttle Busses ($10 per adult. Kids free) between the Ship and Cable car lane and the iSite. Im glad we got this as we did a heap of walking around Wellington. We caught the Cable car up to the gardens and walked down and had lunch at the Rose Garden Cafe, then we walked to Te Papa Museum(free entry) then caught bus back to ship.
Awesome City.
Nice little town. Great Art Deco buildings to look at. Good shopping in the main street.
Great kids park along marine parade next to the beach.
We grabbed the Auckland Explorer bus ticket. Best way to see Auckland. ($100 family ticket) Plenty of stops to pick from.
We went to MOTAT, The kids loved it. Plenty of exhibits to look at and play with. Entry includes rides on Tram that go past Auckland Zoo. We only had a few hours here, Wish we had more time.