Celebrity Solstice - Best of New Zealand: Auckland to Sydney
Sailing as part of her 2026 Grand Voyage season, Celebrity Solstice works down the length of New Zealand from an overnight start in Auckland - six ports across both islands, then a full day of scenic cruising through Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds before crossing the Tasman to finish beside the Sydney Opera House. It is the classic end-to-end New Zealand route on the ship that pioneered it.
Price Range
$
Budget
*Prices vary by cabin type, sailing date, and availability. Confirm rates with Celebrity Cruises before booking.
Ship Details — Celebrity Solstice
View full Celebrity Solstice details
Year Built
2008
Tonnage
121,878 GT
Passengers
2,852
Crew
1,253
Decks
16
Class
Solstice
Itinerary & Route Map
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Where this cruise calls, day by day
10 ports and 4 sea days over 13 Nights.
- Day 1Auckland port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
Auckland
New ZealandDepart - Day 2Auckland port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
Auckland
New ZealandPort Day 3 · At sea
- Day 4Tauranga port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
Tauranga
New ZealandPort Day 5 · At sea
- Day 6
Napier
New ZealandPortAn earthquake flattened Napier in 1931 and the town was rebuilt over the following few years, which is why an entire small city centre is coherent 1930s Art Deco. It is a genuinely unusual thing to walk around. The port is a working breakwater terminal a few kilometres out, and Hawke's Bay's vineyards start almost immediately behind the town.
- Art Deco walking tour around Emerson Street and Tennyson Street
- Hawke's Bay wineries - Mission Estate, Church Road, Te Mata
- Cape Kidnappers gannet colony by tractor-trailer along the beach
- Te Mata Peak lookout over the plains
- Getting ashore
- Docked at Napier Port, which since the 2022 Te Whiti wharf takes very large ships; town is only about 2km but walking on the wharf is prohibited, so everyone takes the free shuttle to the drop-off where the local operators wait.
- Best months
- Nov-Mar (southern summer)
- Day 7
Picton
New ZealandPortPicton sits at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound, one of the drowned river valleys of the Marlborough Sounds, and the approach through the sounds is the best part of the call. The town itself is small - the ferry terminal, a foreshore, and not much more. Behind it, 30 minutes south, is the Marlborough wine region that made New Zealand sauvignon blanc famous.
- Marlborough wineries around Blenheim - Cloudy Bay, Brancott Estate
- Walking a section of the Queen Charlotte Track from a water-taxi drop
- Edwin Fox Maritime Museum, one of the oldest surviving merchant ships
- Motuara Island bird sanctuary cruise
- Getting ashore
- Docked at Waitohi Wharf, with ships over 245m going to Shakespeare Bay a few minutes further out; you may not walk on the wharf, so a complimentary shuttle covers the 800m into Picton, and Blenheim is about 30 minutes on.
- Best months
- Nov-Mar (southern summer)
- Day 8
Wellington
New ZealandPortNew Zealand's capital sits in a wind tunnel at the bottom of the North Island, wrapped around a harbour with hills coming down to the water on every side. Most ships tie up at Aotea Quay, a container berth a couple of kilometres north of the centre with a shuttle laid on; a lucky few get Queens Wharf downtown. It is a compact, walkable, coffee-obsessed city once you reach it.
- Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum, free and genuinely good
- Wellington Cable Car up to the Botanic Garden and walk back down
- Weta Workshop tour out at Miramar
- Zealandia, a fenced valley sanctuary with kaka, takahe and tuatara
- Getting ashore
- Almost always docked at Aotea Quay, a working commercial berth you cannot walk out of - the shuttle loop is effectively the only way ashore, covering the 2km to downtown; the rare Queens Wharf berth is a straight walk into town.
- Best months
- Nov-Mar (southern summer)
- Day 9Christchurch (Lyttelton) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
Christchurch (Lyttelton)
New ZealandPort - Day 10Dunedin (Port Chalmers) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
Dunedin (Port Chalmers)
New ZealandPort - Day 11Fiordland National Park (Scenic Cruising) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
Fiordland National Park (Scenic Cruising)
New ZealandPort Day 12 · At sea
Day 13 · At sea
- Day 14Sydney port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
Sydney
AustraliaArrive
What to know about this sailing
Drawn from 9 traveler threads about Celebrity Solstice on Australia, New Zealand and Pacific sailings (2015–2025), 121 about the ship generally and 43 about New Zealand routes on other ships, plus the route data and port notes above.
Six port days in a row with no sea day between them is the defining feature of this route: Napier, Picton, Wellington, Lyttelton, Port Chalmers and then the Fiordland morning run back to back from day 6 to day 11, after a gentler North Island opening of an embarkation overnight in Auckland, a sea day, Tauranga and another sea day. The two Cook Strait calls come consecutively, Picton on the South Island side and Wellington back across the strait, and only after Fiordland does the ship get two Tasman sea days before Sydney. Fiordland is the day most at risk. A 2018 thread from a couple on Ovation of the Seas' twelve-night version reported that a South Island storm cancelled the Sounds outright and swapped Dunedin for Picton, while a December 2023 Celebrity Edge passenger who got a perfect day in Milford Sound called it the highlight of the whole trip, which is the range to expect. Napier is the call that separates this sailing from most of the field: Royal Princess's thirteen-night Sydney round trip and Celebrity Edge's twelve-night from Sydney both skip it, and Edge also misses Picton and Wellington. Only Regent's Seven Seas Explorer matches the full port list, at roughly eight times the fare.
The archive's threads about Solstice in this part of the world are about the ship rather than this exact itinerary, and they agree with each other. A 2020 poster called Solstice their favourite of the Australia-based ships for food, and replies rated Celebrity a step above Princess and Royal Caribbean in the region; a January 2024 thread called it an older-style ship with an older crowd but excellent staff; a 2015 poster who had done Solstice to New Zealand remembered mostly adults aboard. The dissent is a British couple whose first cruise was a nineteen-night Solstice run from Honolulu to Sydney via New Zealand in 2023: perfectly fine, not the spectacle friends had promised. From New Zealand threads on other ships, the practical consensus is a full-day Otago Peninsula wildlife tour at Dunedin, Te Papa done independently in Wellington because the ship tour allowed an hour, Hobbiton from Tauranga, and jeans, a sweater and a windbreaker even in November; a December 2023 Edge passenger described tender-ticket queues from 7am at Napier and Christchurch and a 1:30pm Napier arrival after the ramp failed to connect. This sailing suits travellers who want the whole of New Zealand in one pass with a single Tasman crossing and do not mind six consecutive port days; Royal Princess is the cheaper pick for anyone who wants Sydney at both ends, and Anthem of the Seas' nine-night Fiordland loop is the budget taster for the Sounds and the lower South Island alone.
Questions about this sailing
Is the Fiordland scenic cruising day guaranteed?
No. A 2018 thread from a couple on a Royal Caribbean New Zealand cruise reported that a South Island storm cancelled the Milford, Dusky and Doubtful Sound cruising entirely and replaced Dunedin with Picton, while a Celebrity Edge passenger in December 2023 got a cloudless day in Milford Sound and called it the highlight of the trip. It is weather-dependent, so treat it as a likely rather than a certain day.
Does Celebrity run shuttles into the cities from the New Zealand ports?
On the Celebrity Edge version of this route in December 2023, a passenger reported complimentary shuttles from the ports into Napier, Christchurch and Dunedin, organised around tender tickets at Napier and Christchurch. The catch was the queue: they got up at 7am to stand in line until 8am for a first-group ticket, and at Napier nobody landed until 1:30pm after the ramp would not connect, though once ashore some thirty buses moved people quickly. Whether Solstice repeats the arrangement is not confirmed in the archive.
What should I pack for a New Zealand cruise in spring or summer?
Layers. A couple who sailed in early November 2018 said it was cold enough to need jeans, light sweaters and windbreakers most days, with shorts and T-shirts possible on some port days depending on the town, and singled out Wellington as very windy. A December 2023 Edge passenger had a perfect day in Milford Sound and a delayed, ramp-less arrival at Napier in the same fortnight, which is the spread to plan for.
Onboard Amenities
Cruise Highlights
About the Ship
What Travelers Say About Celebrity Solstice
Reviews of the ship itself — the same for every Celebrity Solstice sailing. Distilled from 135 traveler threads, Cruise Critic member reviews and travel blogs.
Celebrity Solstice is the lead ship of Celebrity's Solstice class (2008) and, after a March 2026 relaunch as the first ship in the line's $250 million class-wide makeover, presents itself as a refreshed premium-tier ship for travelers who prize calm elegance over high-energy spectacle. Its most famous feature, the half-acre of real grass on the top-deck Lawn Club, has been retired and reimagined as Sunset Park, an open-air sundeck with turf lawn games, live music, cabanas, and an expanded bar. The vibe is refined and adult-leaning, with tasteful décor, a serene plant-filled Solarium, and a heavy emphasis on service.
What People Love
- Freshly modernized in the 2026 $250M Solstice-class refurbishment, leaving the ship bright and well-appointed throughout
- Standout fine dining, especially Murano's tableside French service, repeatedly ranked among the best meals at sea
- Attentive, polished crew and a generous crew-to-guest ratio that keeps service personal
Common Complaints
- Loss of the iconic real-grass Lawn Club, replaced by artificial-turf Sunset Park, disappoints longtime fans
- Wi-Fi remains sluggish despite the Starlink upgrade
- Included dining feels narrowed post-pandemic, with the best food behind extra-cost specialty restaurants