Have you tendered on Solstice, Bay of Islands, NZ?

[TMLAalum]

I am looking at booking a Hole-in-the-Wall cruise operated by the Explore Group that departs Pahia at 9am. We arrive at Bay of Islands per our itinerary at 7am, sailing from Auckland the night prior.

 

The boat operator indicates the Solstice does not tender directly to Pahia, but to a dock that is closer to the treaty grounds, and that we take a shuttle from there to Pahia.

 

If you have been to Bay of Islands on the Solstice, please advise on how difficult it is to get a tender (does Elite status help?) and whether or not we should be able to catch this boat?

 

Thanks!!

[Pushka]

The dock the ships tender at is about a 10 minute drive to Pahia wharf. Many people walk there. About a 30 minute brisk walk. I would ask the tour boat if they could drive over and get you at say 9.30. Cruise boats into Pahia are big business and they know it.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Pushka

[Member123]

To answer your question, yes we tendered from the Solstice at Bay of Islands. The tender does take you to a dock that is near the treaty grounds; there is a very, well-organized shuttle service that will take you to Pahia.

 

Just to put into perspective. I can't remember the full details of that day, but I can tell you that we sailed on The Phantom, a charter yacht from Russsell. This meant that we had to (1) tender to the dock, (2) shuttle to Pahia, (3) water taxi to Russell. We were supposed to meet The Phantom for a 10:00am sailing; we were early. We had to walk around Russell for almost a half hour (if memory serves), enjoy some coffee, take a few pictures… before we boarded the yacht. An extremely enjoyable day.

 

I did stress about the time. Shouldn't have. It went very smoothly. I do recall that we tried to be off the ship as soon as allowed and Elite status did help because we picked up priority tender tickets. That operation was run very smoothly, and I commend them (although I understand that it can vary with staff onboard). If our experience is any indication, you should be able to be in Pahia in time for your sailing.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Member123

[cruzzzinma]

Yes, elite status makes a difference! On our cruise on the Solstice last Fall, elites met in the Ensemble Lounge for priority tendering and were escorted down to the tenders, sometimes ahead of the Celebrity shore excursions. Bay of Islands is gorgeous. Enjoy!

[UniPac]

I am looking at booking a Hole-in-the-Wall cruise operated by the Explore Group that departs Pahia at 9am. We arrive at Bay of Islands per our itinerary at 7am, sailing from Auckland the night prior.

 

The boat operator indicates the Solstice does not tender directly to Pahia, but to a dock that is closer to the treaty grounds, and that we take a shuttle from there to Pahia.

 

If you have been to Bay of Islands on the Solstice, please advise on how difficult it is to get a tender (does Elite status help?) and whether or not we should be able to catch this boat?

 

Thanks!!

 

You should be fine. If you are early, it could be possible that no tender tickets are needed because of no lines - Elite meeting point won't be of any use then. When disembarking the ship, it's a short walk to the shuttle busses. However, we decided to walk as it was such a beautiful day and we met friends on the ship (hello annie and brian! :)). Think it was about 30mins.

[chemmo]

Celebrity run this trip too. If you were first trip of the day you were collected from the Solstice directly onto the craft to take you to the hole in the wall. It dropped you off at the tender point later and you then had a big chunk of the day to do what you wanted.

 

May be slightly more expensive than going independently but very, very easy.

[Jacs]

From memory we got one of the first tender off the ship, I just went down about 20 minutes before the tender tickets were due to be handed out and got number 1 or 2. We got into town just as shops were starting to open so it had to be around 8.30 or something. It was easy and there was no rush to get off the ship.

[TMLAalum]

Thanks, everyone. I think the 9am departure will be makeable. I really prefer the itinerary of Explore's "hole-in-the-rock" cruise in comparison to Celebrity's because it includes a lunch and time on Urupukapuka Island as well as a ferry ticket back from Russell to Paihia.

 

Explore also provides a ferry service to Urupukapuka. The schedule isn't out until NZ's Labour Day in October but that is another possibility for us to consider.

[UniPac]

Thanks, everyone. I think the 9am departure will be makeable. I really prefer the itinerary of Explore's "hole-in-the-rock" cruise in comparison to Celebrity's because it includes a lunch and time on Urupukapuka Island as well as a ferry ticket back from Russell to Paihia.

 

Explore also provides a ferry service to Urupukapuka. The schedule isn't out until NZ's Labour Day in October but that is another possibility for us to consider.

 

I wanted to go to Urupukapuka too and was in contact with Explore because of the schedule - but they only had one ferry going at the time the ship would be thereand only one chance to get back - to risky for my.

I also asked them to provide a better schedule as a cruise ship will be there - but they didn't. Weird. I know other ports that set up more frequently transfers just because of a cruise ship on a particular day - which makes sense to me.

Maybe they don't like the cruise ship visitors? :confused:

[Pushka]

Pahia is very busy with land tourists and the boats are usually very busy.