Seven Seas Explorer - Vintners & Artisans of the Pacific: Auckland to Sydney

Where this cruise calls, day by day

11 ports and 4 sea days over 14 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Auckland

   New ZealandDepart
   Auckland port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
2. Day 2

   Bay of Islands

   New ZealandPort

   Ships anchor off Waitangi in a scattered archipelago at the top of the North Island and tender in. This is where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, so the day has real historical weight alongside the boating. Paihia and Russell face each other across the water, connected by a constant passenger ferry.

   • Waitangi Treaty Grounds, the meeting house and the ceremonial war canoe
   • Hole in the Rock boat trip through Motukokako island
   • Ferry over to Russell, once a lawless whaling port, now very quiet
   • Haruru Falls and the boardwalk through the mangroves

   Getting ashore

   Tender only - no wharf in the bay takes cruise ships. Ship's tours generally land at Waitangi Wharf and independents at Paihia; a free shuttle links the two, or it is a pleasant 25-minute beach walk between them.

   Best months

   Nov-Mar (southern summer)

3. Day 3

   Tauranga

   New ZealandPort
   Tauranga port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
4. Day 4

   Napier

   New ZealandPort

   An 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)

5. Day 5

   Wellington

   New ZealandPort

   New 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)

6. Day 6

   Picton

   New ZealandPort

   Picton 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)

7. Day 7

   Christchurch (Lyttelton)

   New ZealandPort
   Christchurch (Lyttelton) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
8. Day 8

   Dunedin (Port Chalmers)

   New ZealandPort
   Dunedin (Port Chalmers) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
9. Day 9

   Fiordland National Park (Scenic Cruising)

   New ZealandPort
   Fiordland National Park (Scenic Cruising) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore

10. Day 10 · At sea

11. Day 11 · At sea

12. Day 12

    Hobart

    AustraliaPort

    Macquarie Wharf drops you a ten-minute walk from Salamanca Place, which makes Hobart one of the easiest port days in Australia. The city sits under kunanyi/Mount Wellington on the Derwent estuary, and it has an unusual amount going on for its size - a serious art museum, colonial sandstone, and the best produce in the country. If your call falls on a Saturday, the market alone justifies the day.

    • Mona, reached by the catamaran up the Derwent from Brooke Street Pier
    • Salamanca Market on Saturday mornings
    • Drive or shuttle to the kunanyi/Mount Wellington summit
    • Port Arthur historic site, about 90 minutes each way

    Getting ashore

    Docked at Macquarie Wharf, within 800m of the CBD and about 15 flat minutes from Salamanca Place - no shuttle needed, which makes this one of the best walk-off ports in Australia.

    Best months

    Dec-Feb (southern summer; Tasmania is cold outside it)

13. Day 13 · At sea

14. Day 14 · At sea

15. Day 15

    Sydney

    AustraliaArrive
    Sydney port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore