New Zealand 2026

The next country on our Circle Pacific cruise was New Zealand.  We had visited in 2024, and three of our stops were the same.

Auckland

Our first stop was Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, a repeat from our last World Cruise.  We were docked with direct access to the city for a long day, so we took advantage of the opportunity to come and go a few times.

Our first time ashore, we ran several errands, a necessity on a long cruise such as the one we are on.

After returning to the ship to drop off our purchases, we went back out for lunch.  We walked along the waterfront passing many busy restaurants until reaching a local seafood place, Swashbucklers Restaurant & Bar.  We had a nice lunch and enjoyed having our meal with many local families on a Saturday.

After returning to the ship for a nap, we went back out later in the afternoon for happy hour.  Many of the nearby bars and restaurants were full, did not have shaded seating, did not have comfortable seating, had extremely loud annoying music, or didn’t have anything we wanted to snack on.  After almost giving up, on the way back to the ship we found The Lula Inn.  It had quieter music and ambiance than the party scene at most other nearby locations, and we had some very good food and beverages with a view overlooking the outdoor portion of the maritime museum.

Mount Maunganui

The only land stop that was new for us was Mount Maunganui, a suburb of the port town of Tauranga on the east coast of the North Island.  It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in New Zealand, and I can understand why!  It is beautiful, has a great beach, and many good restaurants.  It was busy, being a summer Sunday and having two cruise ships in town.

We had planned to hike around the mountain (not suburb) Mount Maunganui, but all of the trails were closed due to “slips.”  Slips are the term used in New Zealand to describe what we call landslides in the US.  We learned later in the day after talking to another passenger that the landslides had killed several people a little over a year ago, and the trails have been closed since then.

Instead, we walked the waterfront boardwalk along the beach, and then walked across the beach to Moturiki Recreation Reserve, an island accessible by a man-made land bridge leading from the beach.  Even though it was busy, it was a nice nature walk and had nice views.

After our walk, we ran a few errands for things we didn’t find in Auckland and then had lunch at the restaurant Latitude 37.  The meal was better than our lunch in Auckland and we enjoyed people watching while eating.

Picton

Our next top was in Picton, another repeat from 2024.  Last time we regretted not having more time for the waterfront hike we discovered late in our outing, so this time we went directly there.  We enjoyed some wonderful nature time with spectacular views.

After our hike, we went to Sisu Eatery and Bar for lunch.  It was a creative gourmet feast!  We originally ordered three plates to share; they were so good we decided to have two more!  The restaurant also had a great view to enjoy while having our meal.

After returning to the ship, the Captain informed us that we would have about 90 minutes of great scenery as we exited. We went up on deck to enjoy it, and it was spectacular!

New Plymouth

Our final land stop in New Zealand was also a repeat, the city of New Plymouth.

Similar to or stop in Picton, we decided to visit a walk that we discovered late in the day during our first visit.  New Plymouth has a wonderful waterfront walkway that you can take for just about as long as you would want in either direction.  We chose to walk further away from the center of town.  We walked to a beach, did some beach combing, and then returned for lunch.

We had lunch at the same place as last time because we enoyed it so much, the Shining Peak Brewery.  This time, we each had a “beer taster,” samples of four beers, and then shared some plates.  Everything was creative and delicious, like almost all of the food we have had in New Zealand, on this trip and the prior trip.  New Zealand is an excellent choice for foodies!  And, the wine and craft beer is also top notch.  With prices considerably less than in the US for similar (or often better) quality, I highly recommend New Zealand as a travel destination!

Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park

Our final visit in New Zealand was several hours of what is called “scenic cruising” in Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park.  This means that we stay on the ship, but the ship does a slow tour of beautiful scenery.  This was on the schedule for our 2024 World Cruise, but it was canceled due to a storm. Milford Sound receives some of the highest rain totals in the world year round, but we were blessed with a sunny day!

There was a ranger from the National Park on board to give us information over the public address system about some of the things we were seeing.  He also gave a presentation in one of the venues onboard, but we preferred to stay outside looking at the view.  It was spectacular and photos do not come close to doing it justice.