Embarkation was fine and we were on the ship within 45 minutes. Cabin was fine. Staff in all the bars and restaurants were great. The buffet is not big enough for the amount of people on the ship with the usual walking around and around trying to grab a trouble at breakfast and lunch was a pain!!!!!! Especially with so many days at sea people were using the tables to play cards.

First port of call was Tauranga where we did the tour to Hobbiton was good even though I've never seen any of the films!!!!! When we got back to the ship then was an announcement from the captain that we wouldn't be stopping at Akora because of high winds and the ship would be staying in port until 4am the next morning and you could get off but had to be back onboard by midnight. We then spent 3 days in rough seas,caused by cyclone Gita, to get to Port Chalmers for Dunedin. We used the shuttle to get to Dunedin from the ship good value at $15. Didn't do any excursions but had a walk around the station and town then got a cab to the castle which cost $110 round trip and the driver gave us a bit of a site seeing trip great value for four people. Not a lot to see or do in port Chalmers just a couple of pubs and some takeaways. The scenery leaving port is loving .

Next day was cruising fjord land which was spectacular and one of the highlights and we we told only one in four ships gets in due to weather. The next two days were spent crossing the Tasman Sea in really rough seas!!!!! Next stop Hobart where we got a cab to Bonorong wild life park where we fed kangaroos see koalas wombats and Tasmanian devils. Great few hours and can easily be done on your own. This was followed by another sea day on which we were told we wouldn't be going to Melbourne because of winds and the narrow channel that is used to get to the dock so more circling around the Tasman sea for two days until we reached Sydney. We only heard from the captain when it was to make an announcement that we weren't going to dock somewhere,it was his last cruise before retiring. Read more