Port shuttle in Wellington

Hi all,

I'm told there will be a shuttle to CBD from port for about $10. Is this round trip or one way? How do you pay for it? Do we need a ticket or pass before hand or will they take cash?

Carol

I stand to be corrected , but have been to Wellington several times on a cruise and never been charged for the shuttle into the CBD. It has always been free as far as I can recall. Its only about a 10/15 minute walk to the drop off point in the CBD . The shuttle takes about the same time as its a circuitous route through the port loading area.

The drop off point is usually in a side street beside the Department Store of Kircaldie and Stains . The walkway to the cable car is just across the road and up a bit.

Hi all,

I'm told there will be a shuttle to CBD from port for about $10. Is this round trip or one way? How do you pay for it? Do we need a ticket or pass before hand or will they take cash?

Carol

Honestly I can't remember if there was a fee as we walked to the CBD, it is so close.

Hi Carol,

I did this a couple of weeks ago. When you get off the ship in Wellington, there is a shed directly in front of you. There will be ladies selling tickets for the Cruise Shuttle. They will tell you that you have an option of a 20min walk into Wellington or you can buy tickets for the shuttle. We went for the shuttle. Yes, tickets are $10 return. We paid in NZD. We had only a 1 or 2 minute wait for the next shuttle. It offered two stops. The first stop was in the city centre near the isite and the 2nd stop was across the road from the laneway to catch the famed Wellington cable car. 50% of cruisers got off at the first stop and we got off at the second stop. At the end of our day in Wellington (actually it was just after lunch) we made our way back to where we had been dropped off in the morning and caught the return shuttle back to the ship. Easy peasy.

Btw, customs check your seapasses whilst you are on the bus returning to the port so if you are not wearing them whilst you are in Wellington, put them back on for the return shuttle trip. Your driver will remind you to do this though as you approach the port.

Can you let us know what ship you are cruising on? To make things complicated, the shuttle arrangements vary depending on the line and the vessel. So starting from the beginning: most ships berth at Aotea Quay (only very small ones in the city at Queens Wharf). It's about a 25 minute walk to town but a lot of that walk is getting out of the port and then along a busy road into the city. So to make the most of your time here, I'd recommend getting the shuttle in the city and then doing your walking around the city - it's compact and easy to get around. Go long first - down to the Courtenay Place or Te Papa end of town, and then make your way north through the city back towards the cruise terminal.

Royal Caribbean ships including Solstice, Voyager and Radiance have a paid shuttle service - $NZ10 cash (but AUD and USD also accepted) which you pay to the ticket staff just after disembarkation. They make two stops - the first at the information centre where local Ambassadors can point you in the right direction, and the second stop is in Brandon Street near the Cable Car and right in the retail district. It's just 10 minutes walk through downtown between stops.

Most Princess ships including Sun and Dawn also use a paid shuttle as above but they currently only make one stop in Brandon Street.

Holland America's Oosterdam does not offer a shuttle at all this season. And some of the other ships like Queen Mary and Victoria, Silver Seas etc include the shuttle costs within the cruise.

And a tip on the Cable Car - it's always better to leave taking the Cable Car until at least late morning. Queues can be long early, and it seems like such a waste of a day to queue up for what is quite a short ride. This

There are taxis at port for hire, but no rental cars and no tours are sold at port.

Hope that helps,

Wellington is very compact; most people won't notice the walk to anywhere you'll want to go.

We made the mistake of taking the port shuttle at $5 each way. We took it to the stop nearest the cable car, walked a few blocks, then paid $4 to ride the cable car up to the top of the botanical gardens. Total for two of us, one way: $18. Our friends went in a group of four and took a taxi from the port to the exact same location. Total for the taxi: $18! (It's about $18-$20 for a taxi to/from the port to the museum.)

The cable car was definitely not worth the time. But the gardens are lovely and the museum is fabulous! I'd definitely recommend maximizing your time there, and use a taxi to get to/from the port.