Cruise New Zealand aboard the Norwegian Jewel start of cruise

Cruise New Zealand- Auckland

The day had finally arrived for us to board our New Zealand cruise to Australia. The 10 day trip was on the Norwegian Jewel. This was our “make up” cruise from the disaster of our previous cruise breaking down at sea for two day in 2017 and requiring us to fly home early.

The Itinerary

This cruise left Auckland and traveled to Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Picton, Akaroa, Dunedin, Milford Sound, Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound and ended in Sydney, Australia. We will detail each stop in upcoming blog posts.

Auckland

Before we boarded the ship we had a some exploring of Auckland to do and by exploring I mean food exploring. So off we went to find the No. 1 Pancakes for Korean Pancakes. If you have never had Korean Pancake they are like crepe as the have savory and sweet options but they are fulling enclosed into a tight packet of goodness. Half the fun is watching the make the Korean Pancakes from their tiny stall.

After that we had to go back to Best Ugly Bagels as it was delicious the day before. We tried different Bagels and they were just as good as yesterday. Again, highly recommend Best Ugly Bagels in Auckland.

Boarding the Ship

We were so excited to finally be able to board the ship. We took a Uber to the cruise terminal which was 5 mins away from our hotel. It was easier to take an Uber with our baggage but we could have walked. At the port there were tons of lines and lots of hustle and bustle. The delay on getting the cruise ship was grating on everyone’s nerves. I think it would have been better if they didn’t tell everyone to arrive at noon.

Finally on board we were able to check out the NCL Jewel and put our things in our cabin. For this trip we choose an ocean view room which is what we expected. We have cruised in every cabin type and don’t really mind any of them. Then we headed up to grab lunch before the Muster call.

Cruise Cost

Since I am breaking down most of the costs on our trip I need to tell you how much one of our major budget items was the cruise. We paid $915 total for this cruise including port fees. I know that sounds low but it was a great deal as I watched the cruise and kept rebooking up until the last day. I could have saved more if I was willing to wait to the last minute. We also used our cruise credit from our previous 2017 trip aboard NCL . The cruise credit was half of the cost from our last cruise minus the port fees. So about $600 per person or $1200 total. This is one of the main reasons our cruise cost was so low.

Sailing away

Around 4pm the ship’s horn sounded and we found a good spot on the top deck to watch the sail away from Auckland. We really loved Auckland and wished we could have spent more time seeing the sights and enjoying the amazing food but there will always be the next time.