We started our journey to the South Island of New Zealand, which meant about 3 days at sea. The cruise ships do a great job of offering different activities for everybody.

This will come as no surprise, but our legs were super sore from the bridge climb. I also had a touch of a cold, thankfully the symptoms were really mild. Just sinus congestion, not enough to ruin a trip – but did make me want to rest a bit more.

We love playing Deal or No Deal – you purchase the cards and you can be the main contestant or just play along for a chance to win small prizes all the way up to $5,000 or a free cruise!

I can’t believe I’m even writing this – but the last round WE WON THE FREE CRUISE! We are still waiting to find out more, as being at sea and Christmas makes it challenging to get in touch with the folks who can give us the specifics. It sounds like it’s typically a 7-night cruise, just not sure on destination, etc.

There were a few shows in the evening that were fun – one called Kaleidoscope that showcased different musicians, dancers, and acrobats. There was a Christmas special with the Cruise Director, Giuseppe and the ship’s entertainers. It was really cute – and of course Christmas themed.

There were special meals planned for us on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner. The crew made it extra special and dressed up really festive.

The last day that we were at sea – we were going through the Doubtful, Dusky, and Milford Sounds. (Although the Milford Sound was inaccurately named – it’s actually a fjord!) They were absolutely stunning and we could watch them cruise by from our room, which we really enjoyed!

Because the Sounds were a few hours apart, one of them we actually were able to view from the rooftop hot tub, which was a really fun and unique experience!

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Dunedin Panorama