Around New Zealand in 12 Nights

Sailing out through the Heads, past the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, is the best start to any cruise. Board early and there is time for a last walk round Circular Quay and The Rocks first.

The best known of Fiordland’s sounds, with Mitre Peak rising straight out of the water and waterfalls pouring off the cliffs after rain. It is scenic cruising, seen from the deck, and the weather on the day decides how far in the ship can go.

Longer, wider and quieter than Milford, with forested walls, side arms to explore and often a resident pod of bottlenose dolphins. Scenic cruising from the deck: no one goes ashore.

The most remote of the three, scattered with islands, where Captain Cook anchored in 1773. Fur seals on the rocks and very few other boats; scenic cruising only.

Settled by Scots and proud of it: stone Victorian streets, the grand Railway Station and Baldwin Street, one of the steepest anywhere. The Otago Peninsula has royal albatross and yellow-eyed penguins a short drive from town.

Christchurch has rebuilt its centre since the 2011 earthquakes: the Botanic Gardens, punting on the Avon and the Cardboard Cathedral are the easy picks. Banks Peninsula’s harbour villages and the Canterbury Plains make a good day out beyond the city.

The way in to Rotorua, about an hour inland, with its geysers, bubbling mud pools and Māori culture. Closer to the ship, the summit track and surf beach at Mount Maunganui start a short walk from the wharf.

The City of Sails, built between two harbours and over some fifty volcanic cones. Take the ferry to Waiheke Island for its vineyards and beaches, climb Mount Eden for the view, or stay on the waterfront at the Viaduct and Wynyard Quarter.

Some 144 islands, turquoise water and sandy coves, and the ship anchors in the middle of it and tenders you in. The Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where New Zealand’s founding document was signed in 1840, are close by; Russell, the old whaling port, is a short ferry ride across the bay.

Sailing out through the Heads, past the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, is the best start to any cruise. Board early and there is time for a last walk round Circular Quay and The Rocks first.