LIVE: Dec 23 2019, Solstice, 12 Night Holiday New Zealand Cruise

[countess5]

How did the Tazman Sea treat you crossing? We found crossing it on Ovation it was a bit rough.

 

Cheers! 

[mahdnc]

On 12/24/2019 at 10:52 AM, magpies66 said:

Thank you for your review. I am enjoying following along. We are boarding on Jan 14 for our third cruise on this beautiful ship. We have been told that the Captain has changed since last time we were on. We had been looking forward to Captain Tasos’s entertaining reports and am wondering what the new Captain is like?

 

As you saw, when I posted the officers biography that was published for this sailing, Captain Frantzis is now in charge. My only interaction with him is listening to his greeting during the muster drill, so I have nothing of substance to tell you. At least not yet. 

[mahdnc]

We are a couple of hours away from reaching our first port of call (Picton). 

 

The Welcome Committee (aka Pilot Boat) rushed out to greet us. 

 

 

Edited December 25, 2019 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

5 hours ago, countess5 said:

How did the Tazman Sea treat you crossing? We found crossing it on Ovation it was a bit rough.

 

Cheers! 

 

The Tasman Sea has been very very smooth for the entire crossing which you can see in the few pictures I've posted. 

[mahdnc]

Grand Foyer last night

 

Edited December 25, 2019 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

My first impressions of New Zealand is that reminds me of Kauai, the Garden Isle. Very green, lush, and verdant with tall coastlines and mountains draped in clouds. Australia must be jealous of the rain they must get here. 

 

[villauk]

We found that NZ was so much like being in different parts of the U.K., more so than any other place we have visited in the world (I realise others may think differently).

[mahdnc]

It's a slow affair to debark Picton. New Zealand Border Control authorities do a more thorough job in checking the passengers before allowing them off the ship. Your bags are first sniffed by dogs for contraband and then your bags are visually inspected while you are lined up on the ship. 

[mahdnc]

 

You could get off the ship at either Deck 2 or Deck 4 which helped speed things along (see photo). But you had to line up to board a shuttle bus which took you out of the industrial port that Solstice used and into the town of Picton. 

 

Little hand made brooches were given out to all the women by New Zealanders who were there to greet us as we got out the ship (bottom photo). 

 

By the time we came back, only Deck 4 was available because the tides had dropped the level of the ship. 

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

 

We rented a car from Hertz near the Ferry Terminal and drove to Havelock for lunch and then we drove back along the Marlborough Sound where we got scenic views of the sound and then the ship. 

 

We left the ship at 1130 am, got to Havelock by 1:15 pm, and returned to the ship by 5:30 pm

 

The drive was interesting for an American who's used to driving on the other side of the road and who is used to driving with the steering wheel on the other side as well. I don't know how many times I turned on the windshield wipers in an effort to signal my turn!

 

The weather was magnificent. 

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

Here's the industrial view of our port which explains why the shuttle buses are required to transport you from the ship to Picton and back. 

 

[debshomespun]

Was there a charge to ride the shuttle busses into town?  How long did it take? TIA

[mahdnc]

14 minutes ago, debshomespun said:

Was there a charge to ride the shuttle busses into town?  How long did it take? TIA

 

 

No charge for the mandatory shuttles. The ride was short, perhaps 10 minutes, not counting loading and unloading. 

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

@debshomespun

Here is a map showing where Solstice docked in Picton and the shuttle drip of point. Note the scale at the bottom of the map.

 

Interestingly, I noticed that Google Maps labels the docking location as "RCCL Port".   

 

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by mahdnc

[chemmo]

11 hours ago, villauk said:

We found that NZ was so much like being in different parts of the U.K., more so than any other place we have visited in the world (I realise others may think differently).

 

We found parts of it like the Derbyshire, Cheshire and Lake District of our childhood 55+ years ago....Other parts we found totally unique. When we briefly visited we promised ourselves we would return someday.

[mahdnc]

 Marlborough Sound, evidently at low tide. 

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

 

It is just past midnight. Solstice (blue dot on the map) is going around the southern tip of the North Island as we head to our next port, Napier. .

 

 

The seas are calm and the sky is very clear. The Southern Cross hangs above the horizon off the starboard bow while the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, is ablaze directly overhead. Both Magellanic Clouds should be faintly visible during this moonless evening, but the ship's lights make that impossible. 

 

 

The night air is chilly. Earlier this evening, the ship's pool deck was completely devoid of passengers. There was no one watching the outdoor movie on the lawn because of the cold and the hour. 

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by mahdnc

[hcat]

Great photos! 

Appreciate the sky watch!

Sometimes folks  overlook that cruising is about the sea and also  the stars and planets, etc !

Edited December 26, 2019 by hcat

[missm]

4 hours ago, hcat said:

Great photos! 

Appreciate the sky watch!

Sometimes folks  overlook that cruising is about the sea and also  the stars and planets, etc !

The light pollution from the ship makes it difficult to see much. We saw the most from our balcony around twilight. A fellow stargazer also introduced us to a neat free app called SkyViewLite that was especially helpful in identifying Southern hemisphere constellations we don't usually see here in Virginia.

[hcat]

Thanks for the app info.

We had a Sunset Veranda on EDGE..We had very nice sky views at night and even  better in very early morning hrs

[mahdnc]

Good morning from Napier! Clear skies and smooth seas!

 

[mahdnc]

I didn't realize this: we dock at an industrial port which will require a shuttle bus just like at Picton. 

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

@debshomespun: here is the shuttle information published yesterday for Picton:

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

[scrapcreator]

Great photos and wonderful details. Thank you!