Majestic Princess, Thursday 31 January, Wellington NZ

Here's our tug to help us in

Well, another wonderful day. Sunny with a slight breeze, it is windy Wellington after all. We docked at the container terminal so had to catch the free shuttle into town as we hadn't booked anything for here. I thought we'd be able to walk around, hey dad, and catch the cable car. Wellington's a busy little city on a beautiful harbour. It'd be a lovely place to live I think except maybe when it is cold and windy but nowhere's that nice when it's cold and windy!

Cuba St fountain

After being dropped in town walking was the go. Through Cuba Street and passed the funky fountain we then headed for the cable car and queued up with many other people, probably a lot of cruisers as again the Viking Orion was also here. There was a delightful little girl screaming her lungs out that we did hope would be in the same cable car as us, thankfully by the time we did get on board she had quietened down. We saw them later in the day, when we got back to the shuttle stop, and the little girl was screaming her head off again. The poor mum, what a terrible day it must have been.

Wellington Cable Car

Anyway, up the hill we went and 5 minutes later we were at the top. What a fun little trip. We checked out the museum at the top and then started the walk back down to the city through the botanical gardens. It was a pretty easy walk, especially as we were going down hill, and not too warm. Once at the bottom we were right at the Beehive/parliament house. This was something I definitely wanted to see. Mum and I did a quick guided tour of parliament house while dad sat in the shade outside. That was interesting and well worth doing plus it's fee. You don't actually see the beehive except for the ground floor, that's where you enter into, as this is for the prime minster and her helpers. The main parliament building is very english in style and just lovely. Unfortunately you had to leave your camera/phone in a locker so I couldn't take any photos!

Beehive

Once outside we spotted dad headed back into the main part of town. We went down to the harbour and walked along the foreshore there. It's been done up really well. A great place to spend time with friends and family. It was hot though, should have brought our swimmers.

Time to think about getting some wine and finding the shuttle stop so we can head back to the ship. After doing a bit of a loop we found a fancy wine shop and got a couple of bottles of NZ savvy, now where was the bus stop again?? A shuttle bus went passed so we followed it!

Back to the ship and straight to the buffet, we were hungry as we hadn't stopped anywhere for lunch. I think we were too hot to eat but now we're back on board with air con our hungers kicked in!

We sat on our balcony and watched everyone arriving back from their various outings and when it was time to set sail we were still waiting for people to get back. We could see a few of the officers down on the port talking into phones and walkie talkies and looking at the watches. Apparently a few people were 'stuck in traffic'. I think they just misjudged how long it would take them to get back from where ever they had been. Luckily it also looked like the Orion was waiting on a few stragglers so we didn't lose our tugs to her. Finally the last few passengers were on board and off we went. They didn't mess around once everyone was on board. Gang plank was pulled away, doors were secured and the ropes dropped. Full steam ahead, next stop Akaroa and Christchurch!

Majestic Princess, Wednesday 30 January, 3rd Sea day

Sea day!

The weather gods were certainly looking after us, what a glorious day! We spent a lot of it walking around the ship, eating, playing ping pong and speedy scrabble, people watching, eating and discussing our plans for tomorrow in Wellington and then before we knew it, it was drinks time at the Wake View Bar.

Having fun yet?

And then dinner in the buffet, I love cruising!

Majestic Princess, Tuesday 29 January, Tauranga NZ

What's one of the best ways of starting your morning on a cruise, brekky on the balcony of course!

Balcony with room service brekky

Mt Manganui

It was a tight squeeze for the captain and pilot, not only is the port quite narrow but we had followed the Sea Princess in so had to park in front of her. We could see a ship waiting up ahead as we were nearing Mt Manganui and later found out from the captain that there is a very short window for ships to get into the port, The Sea Princess was early so was waiting until we arrived and the tide was right.

Once docked and after our lovely breakfast we headed off the Majestic in search of our bus that was taking us to Rotorua. It hadn't arrived yet, we were earlier than the meeting time so did a bit of sight seeing plus were scoping out where a bottle shop was for our wine later in the day :-) Mt Manganui is a nice little place, apparently quite pricey to buy property but a favourite for holiday makers and retirees.

We found a bottle shop so made our way back to the port to see if our ride was there, it was. With everyone on board (or so we thought) we headed off towards Rotorua. We had a brief tour of Mt Manganui before the drive got a call saying there were two more passengers for him. They had been at the bus but there was a miscommunication (obviously) so they weren't going to catch the bus, things changed. We waited for them to catch up to us and then finally we were really on our way. When you have a tight schedule you don't like to waste time waiting for late passengers. 

It was about an hours drive to our first drop off stop which was Hells Gate, the two late arrivals got off here (I think this is where the miscommuication had come about as the bus wasn't coming back here - even though it was technically a HoHo bus - so the girls didn't know how they were going to get back to the ship, they must have worked things out as we picked them out at another stop later in the day). As a family we had been to Hells Gate, it looked smaller than I remembered even mum thought so but we did only see the outside.

Next stop were two Thermal Spas where a few of the other passengers got off at and the rest of us got off in the heart of Rotorua. We didn't catch the bus again until it was due to o back as we decided we could walk to the other three stops. I'm sure dad wouldn't have mined catching the bus as it was HOT. I had jeans and a t-shirt on so went in search of a shop to buy a cheap dress, no luck. We didn't think it would be so hot but it was a glorious day much better than cold and rain!

We spent a few hours walking around and then decided a spot of lunch was in order seeing as the ship was nowhere to be seen. Fush and chups it was, well for dad and me, mum had chucken and chups. Not bad and it was air conditioned. I popped into a department store and bought myself a cap as I'd forgotten mine.

Rotorua Lake

We walked down to the lake and then the gardens where we met Kev and Gayle with the daughter and son in law. They'd hire a car. There was a thermal pool where you could soak your foot, or body if you liked, so we did just that (feet only). The water was hot but did help ease the tiredness after so much walking. An ice cold pool would have been nice but you're not going to get that at Rotarua with all the thermal springs around!

Gardens - thermal pools

More walking and sight seeing. We left dad to relax in the shade and checked out a few more springs and the Rotorua Museum although it's currently closed getting earth quake proofing done. Apparently a lot of buildings throughout NZ are having the same thing done. The building regulations changed quite dramatically since the last major earthquake so many of the old buildings now need to be brought up to code.

Back on board the bus and off to our lovely ship. After arriving back in Mt Manganui we walked back to a bottle shop we'd spied on the drive back in and grabbed a couple of bottles of wine.

No problems getting back on board. We made for our cabin to have a freshen up and getting ready for drinks on the balcony and sailaway. Another masterful effort from the captain and pilot and off we head. Sea day tomorrow. Time for dad to recover from the hot day we had today.

Tug helping us out

The Sea Princess and Tauranga all lit up

Another wonderful day!

Majestic Princess, Monday 28 January, Auckland NZ

There was a regatta on the harbour in Auckland so I time of arrival is 1.30pm which means we could have a leisurely start to the day, when don't we when we're on a cruise! Breakfast in the buffet and then a spot of golf. Morning tea on the back deck to watch us making our way closer to land and closer to our first NZ port.

It was a glorious morning and stayed to be a glorious day. I had organised the HoHo bus which also included a ferry trip to Devonport. I thought it'd be a good way to see more of Auckland than we can do just on foot.

Devonport - we'd be back here by ferry later in the evening

Sail in was lovely, we stayed out the back for the most part, had some lunch, watched the tugs help us in and then grabbed our bags and made our way off the ship and over to the HoHo bus. 

If we had of had more time we would have actually hopped on and hopped off the bus but as it was we just stayed on for the full two circuits. There are two HoHo bus circuits, one around the town and along the water and the other does the out suburbs, museum, gardens etc. We did see a lot and some of the things more than once as we did back track a bit due to there being a traffic jam near Kelly Tarlton aquarium. I was a public holiday plus two cruise ships were in, us and the Viking Orion, so the place was busy busy busy.

After making it back to the port we found where the ferry to Devonport left from and grab our tickets just in time to catch the next ferry, we just about the last people to board. Perfect timing.

The trip across is about 20 mins and a great way to see the harbour from a different perspective, much closer to the water than being on the Majestic that's for sure! Devonport is a lovely little town and again, if we had more time we could have explored a bit more but that's the thing with cruising you have a limited time in each place so need to try and make the most of it. I think we did.

Upstairs on the Ho Ho bus

Auckland museum

Devonport

Devonport main street

Back to Auckland on the ferry and we decided we'd go and find the pub we had seen earlier with happy hour from 5-7pm. The ship wasn't leaving until 9.30pm so no rush to get back on board. While having our first happy hour drink one of the cruises from Port Mac was also there and came over to give us a great tip. He suggested getting a couple of bottles of wine to bring back on board (seeing as the wine on the ship is so expensive). They've done lots of Princess cruises and say they always do it and have never had a problem. Great tip Kev, it worked a treat :-) So after another glass of NZ sav blanc we headed off in search of a supermarket (they sell alcohol unlike in Australia) to get out wine. There wasn't one too far away so we made our selection and then back to the ship for a sailaway drink on our balcony! This is the life.

Auckland Bridge

The Auckland bridge had a fabulous light display as we were leaving, probably part of their day's celebration but a great send off for us. Next stop Tauranga!

Majestic Princess, Sunday 27 January, 2nd Sea day

Breakfast on the back deck this morning, sheltered out of the wind. The skies were blue as was the sea and super calm but the wind was a bit blowy depending on where you were on the ship.

We went up to the putting green on Deck 18, very tricky conditions up there. I don't think anyone would have got a hole in one,well in the right hole any way!

Did anyone see where my ball went??

We found a free ping pong table so had a few games (?!) they're really well set up as each table has it's only little room so you're not in anyone's way and your ball doesn't going miles away when you do a winning slam. 

Mum means business

Luckily not far from the ping pong tables is Swirls, the soft serve icecream kiosk.

Yum - vanilla and chocolate swirl

It must be lunch time by now! I thought I'd check out the Noodle Bar and dad checked out the Lobster Shack, which also had burgers and snags, mum went to the buffet and we all met back on the Lido to eat. 

Lunch done and dusted for another day we headed into the Hollywood Conservatory for a spot of speed scrabble. I'm hopeless but it is a much funner way to play scrabble. No time for fluffing around and taking forever to make a word, it's just go go go. 

Back to the cabin for a quick freshen up. I met them up at The Wake View Bar dad with his bucket of beers and mum with the most expensive wine we have every bought! Of course they didn't have the cheapest ($42!!) available the next cheapest (!!) was $52! Oh my word. Disappointingly it wasn't very nice and wasn't even a New Zealand wine. We did enjoy another lovely evening sailing towards NZ after we got over the price of the wine. We won't be buying any more wine on board that's for sure (luckily for us we were given a great tip while in Auckland, more on that tomorrow) Tomorrow is our first port day, Auckland!

Dinner was in the buffet. I had a below par risotto only because it was too salty for me but the rest of the meals was yum, especially the bread roll! We all enjoyed our dinner and were looking forward to tomorrow. Look out NZ here we come!

Majestic Princess, Saturday 26 January, 1st Sea Day

Happy Australia Day!

First order of the day was opening the door to our lovely room service steward so they could deliver our brekky order, gotta love breakfast on our balcony.

Balcony service

Then next up was a spot of exercise and a wander around this lovely ship

Watch that hip!

There were some Aussie Day decorations up and a bunch of balloons in the atrium ready for the balloon drop later tonight, which we managed to stay up for!

It was a beautiful day on board the Majestic and with nowhere to be and no plans we spent it very leisurely. Pretty much all of our sea days!

A cocktail was in order, well I though it was anyway, so after perusing the cocktail menu I settled on a Strawberry Daiquiri - delicious!

It's a wonder it doesn't slide off the table!

Dinner was in the Concerto Dining room tonight. It is lovely being waited on, so spoilt. The meals were delicious, a rarity when they're not.

After dinner we headed to the atrium and listened to the fabulous band, the girl singer had an awesome voice, and then waited for the balloon drop.

Majestic Princess, Friday 25 January, Embark Day!

Cruise day has finally arrived and what a glorious day it is. With there being no rush to check out or get to the dock we made our way downstairs and off to find somewhere for brekky. We found a nice little cafe and had a leisurely breakfast.

Back to our room we had a tidyig up, checked we hadn't left anything behind and then checked out. A slow walk to the station were we met a few others also going on the cruise, we jumped on a train and made our way to circular quay.

It's great when the ship is docked here as it is so easy to get to. White Bay isn't quite as convenient. One of the many bonus of going on a big ship, they can't fit under the harbour bridge so have to dock at the OPT.

We dropped our bags off, took a few photos and then headed into the terminal. Being Platinum cruises (mum and me) we had priority check in. I think we were on the ship within 15 mins, got to love that! While being checked in we met some friends from Port Mac. What a small world! They're Elite so their check in was probably even faster!

Once on board we checked out the beautiful atrium and then worked out where our cabin was. I think we came on at deck 7 mid and our cabin was deck 15 aft. It didn't take us too long to find it. It was a little bit disappointing when we walked in as the cabin was a lot plainer that what we thought it would be given that the ship is new but it didn't take us long to step out on our balcony and realise how lucky we are. With the Opera House as our view and a 12 night NZ cruise ahead of us what's a little dull decor?

Our view from cabin M630

 Next stop was, guess, the buffet! And what a buffet. Love the layout. It worked so well with keeping the crowds down and any queues. There was also plenty of seating. Being a Princess cruise they have table service so we didn't even have to get our own tea and coffee. So spoilt.

A yummy lunch was enjoyed by us all, oh those bread rolls! So good. Now that our bellies are full, which they pretty much would be for the entire cruise, we set off exploring this big ship.

A lovely big lido, although there is a large fountain thing in the middle that doesn't seem to get used all that much. Another pool or spas may have been a better idea. There is lots of seating here too as well us up a deck. Some under cover some not, a good mix. There's also a big screen for movies and sporting events.

We went further forward on the ship and found the Hollywood Conservatory, lovely. It's an adults only area with a semi heated indoor pool and spas as well as lovely seating areas and little cabanas around the outside. Very swish and it was included, sometimes these areas are an extra charge. I do have to admit that I think the Solarium on the Ovation was better but that's just me.

Hollywood Conservatory

 Down to deck 7 for the sailaway. We had such perfect weather and sailing out of Sydney Harbour is always a beautful sight. After sailing passed the Opera House, Fort Denison and the Naval yard we made our way back to our cabin and enjoyed a drink on our very own balcony. A girl could get use to this!

We had planned on having dinner in the restaurant but there weren't any tables available even though we had 'anytime dining' so we went to Alfredo's Pizzeria. Delicioso! Great food for our first night on board the Majestic Princess.

Alfredo's Pizzeria

Majestic Princess, Thursday 24 January, Heading to Sydney

Everything went just as planned, thankfully as there had been talk of a pilot strike. Someone turned up as the flight left and arrived on time! Easy check in with the self check in and bag drop, great idea.

Don't let the clouds deceive you, it was hot.

Smooth trip down to Sydney, had a window seat so that was nice. Was on the wrong side of the plane going over the harbour, like I often am, but still had lovely views as it was a gorgeous sunny day. No dramas once at the airport, grabbed my suitcase and headed for the station. Used my Opal card, yay it still worked, and made my way to Central. Easy walk to the hotel, have stayed here before so knew how to get there. Bonus for me, the room was ready. I was there at about midday so didn't expect that. Very handy as I could have a quick freshen up and a cuppa before wandering the streets of Sydney. I had a mini chicken pie from Pie Face and a lovely mini Cheese Tart from Haikkodo (World Square shopping Centre) so yummy.

Lunch!

I tried to see if I could change some money through a travel agent so I didn't have to pay any fees but the few I went into didn't do that. Oh well, it didn't end up being a problem anyway. I went to Liquorland and got our wine to take on the ship, went back to the room and dropped it off and then it was time to meet mum and dad at Central Station. Their train was due in at 3.41pm and it was right on time. Just as I walked up to the platform the train was coming in,perfect timing. They arrived safe and sound. We grabbed their suitcases and then walked to the hotel, it's only about a 5-10min walk.

Metro Marlow Sydney Central

We had a cuppa and they freshened up before heading to Coles to grab a couple of things and then it was onto Chinatown for a drink and then dinner at the food court, don't forget the cream puffs (as good as I remember!)

Yummy dinner at the food court in Chinatown

 We were back to the room by 9pm and asleep not long after.

Tomorrow is cruise day and we can't WAIT!!

19 days until our Majestic Princess cruise

Just under 3 weeks until we board the Majestic Princess, we're all quite excited. A new ship for us and some new ports too. I've been researching all the tours and things to do at each of the stops we make and finally locked everything in. The only port we aren't going to have anything prebooked is Wellington. None of the tours were really appealing and the things we want to do we can do on our own. Cable car, botanical gardens, visit parliament house and just wander around.

For the other ports I've just booked the HoHo bus (Hop on Hop off) with the exception of Christchurch as it's a tram not a bus! The Auckland one also includes a ferry trip to Devonport which should be nice. We don't get into Auckland until 1.30pm (this was amended from 12pm due to a regatta being on in the morning on the harbour) and the HoHo bus ends at 5pm so we'll be able to travel around on the bus until 5pm and then grab a ferry with plenty of time to get us back on board the Majestic P before it sets sail at 9pm!

Christchurch is a tender port, we actually anchor at Akaroa, and then I've organised a transfer to Christchurch (not through the ship as it was $100 and the one I booked privately was $45) where we can do the HoHo tram as well a walk around the city. Looking forward to this and hoping the weather is nice.

When we get to Tauranga we'll catch another HoHo bus from the dock at Mt Manganui to Rotarua. This seemed like the easiest and cheapest way of seeing the sites of this area. Again, I didn't book through Princess as all of their options were quite prices. I used the same company for all of our shore trips, shoretripsandtours.com, I'd read lots of reviews and they didn't have a bad one plus they ensured no one would ever miss their ship. Very important!

Dunedin, we actually dock at Port Chalmers, is another HoHo bus adventure. I was looking at doing a train trip but decided I didn't feel like sitting on a train for two hours. I'm sure the scenery is lovely but we will have seen lots of gorgeous scenery from our balcony I'm sure. I also thought with doing a HoHo bus (for all stops actually) that at least if the weather wasn't kind and it end up being a rainy kind of day at least we could still do some sightseeing and wouldn't be stuck in the town hiding under an umbrella or wearing fetching ponchos!

So that's it, everything is organised. We've got our transport to and from Sydney, our hotel is booked in Sydney for our overnight stay and the cruise is all checked in. Nothing more to do now but count down the days and make sure we all know where our passports are. Oh there is one final thing to do before we board and that's buy a bottle of wine each (which we'll do one we're in Sydney) as Princess allow you to bring a 750ml bottle of wine or bubble each on board without any corkage charge. You can bring extra bottles for a $15 corkage. Not sure if we'll do that or not, just means more luggage to carry.

I need to find my lanyard and remind dad to bring his beer holder and borrow my nieces suitcase, I've decided mine's too big and is a bit of a pain getting on and off trains!

Think I might go see if Ozcruising have any bargain cruises ;-)

See you soon Majestic P!