whimsy7

was not keen on cruising as I knew that I would be feeling queasy/sea sick etc.

the first day of sailing is usually not too comfortable for me.

I take Kwells (over the counter meds) for preventative measure for the first two days.

by second sea day, all is well and I then start to really enjoy the cruise.

as you can see, we're up to 6 cruises now and counting....

yes, mid ship location for your cabin and not too high is also good advice.

did the Alaskan cruise from Vancouver (Inside Passage) - calm waters, no seasickness at all.

I think that one secret is to walk like a drunk...like the men do.....follow the sway of the ship and you'll not feel so sea sick.

by the end of a cruise, I'm wobbling all over as I walk (and not from any alcohol).......

go on that cruise...and enjoy

thank you for your very detailed review and all your photographs.

we were also on that Nov 26th cruise and we loved it.

the food in the MDR was very good. the steaks were so delicious that I had them twice......not because of poor choices on those nights but because I enjoy a well prepared steak.

we found the ice creams at the OceanView buffet to be of very good quality (for complimentary offerings).

had oyster chowder at the buffet one lunch time......yummy!

did you sample the hamburgers at the Mast Grill? brilliant!!

we did not feel pressured to buy food/drink packages or have our photos taken during this cruise.

classy cruise.

Thank you for your very detailed report that mentioned the good and bad points.

It pushed me to do a review of our cruise in November.

We found an upper deck that was a lovely quiet place to sit and read....think it was called the Solstice Deck.....close to those delicious burgers at the Mast grill.

Even though the ship carried a large number of passengers, we did not find it to be crowded....except at the lift lobbies after the shows....this only encouraged us to take the stairs.

Loved the huge tree they had near the Library.

your question was for things to do in or around Auckland...

is your cruise going to Tauranga?

many cruisers visit Rotorua from there but you could use one of your days in Auckland to visit Rotorua...either with a tour or driving there/back yourself

if you are not interested in visiting Rotorua, then spend time visiting Maunganui itself which has a nice shopping strip.

we found it more interesting to browse around the shops of Maunganui than Tauranga.

on our second visit to Maunganui, we hiked up Mount Maunganui....it is steep in parts, there is a path/trail and steps in some places.

the view back to the port is lovely. it took us about 45 minutes to get to the top

Wellington offers free wifi in the city area

Dunedin - free wifi near the tourist information centre

Auckland -free wifi for 30 minutes in city area. we went to the central library and used the free wifi there

Tauranga is listing free wifi in the city area too

Napier -found free wifi near the park (Clive Square)

it seems that many of the cities in NZ are offering free wifi.

look around at other people in the street........if they're looking at their phones etc, probably on free wifi

You could go to the Blue Mountains on your own via the train and travel on your own schedule. Once you arrive in Katoomba, there is a HO/HO bus you can take to the various sights.

I agree with post #3. this way, you do not need to stress out about joining your independent tour.

take the train from circular quay. you might need to change trains at central.

the journey up to Katoomba takes about 2 hours. get the hop on hop off bus and wander around.

most popular spot there would be scenic world for the scenic railway.

take the train back to circular quay.

points to remember.....it can be cooler up in the mountains so bring a light jacket.

be aware of when you need to be onboard. will Solstice be anchored (so tendering needed) or will it be at OPT (so much easier for you).

still no replies to your post so I'll give it a go...

we visited these falls three years ago.

a group of us bargained at the port for a bus to take us to the falls and then return to pick us up three hours later. payment was made upon return to the ship. bargain hard.

there is a fee to enter these falls. a cheaper price for the locals and about double (or more) the price for the tourists.

we walked up to the pool at the base of the waterfall.

it was not a very difficult climb but there were parts where we had to wade in water to get up along the path. at times there were thick ropes for us to hold as we walked through these wet areas.

you would need to wear shoes that you do not mind getting soaked. the rocks were slippery in some places.

we enjoyed soaking in the cool water up in the pool.

would I say that it was a 'must see' at Vila......meh, not really, if there was something else that caught your eye.

we were on the Diamond Princess and tendered into Port Arthur.

no tickets were needed or asked for when we disembarked at Port Arthur.

it was a February when we were in the beautiful fjordlands.

the day was sunny but it was windy and cold on deck.

we were glad that we had packed our thick jackets, scarves and gloves just for this one day of scenic cruising.

this day was the highlight of our NZ cruise.

one tip we read and found useful is to put the bridge webcam on the TV with the sound muted.

when you wake up, you can look at the TV and know if it is daylight or still dark outside.

@ Blue Elephant,

after research and discussion, we have decided to go on a Mediterranean ocean cruise (instead of a river cruise) in 2016.

we like a port intensive itinerary and the facilities that you have on a big ship so have shelved our plans for river cruising for now.

we always enjoy the sail away from Sydney.

the views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge when you are on the water are fantastic.

we also have anytime dining so we have pre-booked our dinner in the MDR for 7.30 pm. in this way, we can be on deck for the 6.00 pm sail away.

I thought you had to have photo ID for getting back on board the ship. So a passport or a drivers licence would be needed.

Would a photocopy of a passport be good enough?

In Wellington, do go to the Te Papa museum. Free entry and worth your time.

thank you for all your prompt and helpful replies.

it would not have been an issue to bring in my own supplies...just wanted to be prepared.

it was on RCL and the room attendant probably forgot.

looking forward to our first time on the Solstice. it looks beautiful.

we will soon be on the Solstice in an interior stateroom.

for those of you who have been in an interior room - should we bring our own shampoo/conditioner and soap?

on one of our past cruises, we found that due to cost cutting, our interior stateroom did not have shampoo/conditioner provided. thanks to our obliging room attendant, this was resolved.

would like to be prepared this time around.

thanks for your replies.

on our last cruise to NZ, our first port was Auckland and we changed our dollars there at the money changers along Queen Street (most of them do not charge a commission - check first before your transaction).

easy .....

the best day of our new zealand cruise was the day spent cruising in the fiordland national park in the south island especially Milford Sound.

we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day and also a pod of dolphins

am not too keen on the Boulevard hotel as it sits there by itself on Williams St.

it is walking distance from Kings Cross which is the red light area of Sydney.

transportation would be taxis or buses from here.

have a look at the travelodge hotels- phillip, wynyard

if not interested in spending $$$ on the bridgeclimb when here in sydney, consider going to visit the pylon lookout instead.

great views too but at a fraction of the price.

thanks for your replies.

will head to the river cruising forum and start reading there....especially the posts on tips on how to choose a cruise/time of year/etc.

many of the posts there are asking about a specific cruise that has already been chosen.

we're about two steps before that...

on this cold winter day, my thoughts are turning to a possible river cruise in Europe in 2016

yes, I know that there is a separate forum for river cruising....but would like to get advice from those on this forum who have done river cruises

any advice would be appreciated...

eg. best months to go? take a fly/cruise package or do separate components yourself? which company is better?

many thanks.

for our first cruise to NZ, we obtained some NZ dollars here in Sydney.

for our second cruise to NZ, our first port of call was Auckland, and learning from our first cruise experience, we changed our Australian dollars there in Auckland.....many money changers in the main street, no commission, probably was a better rate too.

signed up and attended two roll calls on RCI cruises.

sadly, everyone stayed seated in their own groups, no mingling was encouraged, collected some free gifts and then left as on both occasions it did not seem as if we were going to meet any new people....