sweetcarolina

Hi, just got off the spirit. Was a wonderful cruise, but we did have to skip two ports. Lyttelton because the swells were too rough for a ship to dock on the unsheltered dock. Napier because the devastation from the cyclone flooded roads, and bridges were washed out. The infrastructure was so damaged that they could not accept any visitors. Amazingly, NCL gave each cruiser $100 on board credit, and it really was not their fault. Hope those ports have a quick recovery, but the Kiwis said it was nothing they have ever seen in their lives. We still had an awesome time.

I took this tour about 3 years ago and it was very good. You get a leisurely guided tour for about an hour or so, and then get about an hour on your own. Many in our group have knee issues, and they were fine (except for climbing up the Greek theater- but there is plenty to see if you do not not climb). We are not shoppers so most of our free time was snacks and drinks in a lovely cafe. Enjoy!