In April Mardi and I decided to cruise from Sydney around New Zealand and back to Sydney. I’d had a couple of very tough months. Well, not only me, my brothers and our respective partners were in the middle of a very tough time.
In February, our father who was aged 89 and after a short illness in hospital left us. His death was sudden and unexpected, so it hit us all for six. So the best thing Mardi and I could do was to get away from it all for a couple of weeks.
It was the best decision. The right decision and perfect timing.
We set sail on a glorious Sydney afternoon out through the Heads and on our way to Fjordland. Although the weather wasn’t as pleasant once we got off the coast of Sydney, there were significant winds coming from the south which buffeted our ship, the delightful 8Celebrity Edge, for the next two days. Sadly, we didn’t get to Fjordland. Instead, the captain took us through the Cook Strait and we turned southward down the east coast of New Zealand before chucking a U-turn and heading all the way up the east coast. We enjoyed stops in Dunedin, Tauranga, Christchurch, Auckland and Bay of Islands. Once the windy weather system passed, we enjoyed beautiful weather at each of our stops.
First, let’s talk about Celebrity Edge.
Here’s a clean, simple summary you can drop straight into a board-style blog post. It keeps the same tone you’ve used in your other cruise write-ups.
Celebrity Edge is one of those ships that feels more like a floating resort than a traditional cruise liner. The design is modern, open and calm, and the spaces flow together in a way that makes exploring it part of the fun.
The standout for us was The Retreat, the ship-within-a-ship reserved for suite guests. It gave us a quiet base with a private sun deck, hot tubs, a pool, a dedicated lounge, and a dining room that felt more like a boutique hotel than a cruise ship. We spent a lot of time unwinding there, enjoying the views and the sense of space. It was the perfect spot to decompress after a busy few months.
Beyond the Retreat, the ship has plenty to keep you busy. The Magic Carpet is one of the most talked-about features, moving up and down the side of the ship as a bar, restaurant, or tender platform depending on the time of day. There are multiple pools, quiet shaded areas, and a bright Solarium for adults who want a peaceful swim.
Inside, you’ve got a wide choice of restaurants, including Edge’s main dining rooms, specialty venues, and quick casual spots. The bars are well spread out, each with its own feel, so it’s easy to find a corner for a drink before dinner. The theatre hosts big production shows, and smaller venues offer live music, comedy, and late-night entertainment.
There’s also a full spa and fitness centre, shops, art installations throughout the ship, and enough little nooks to make each day feel a bit different.
Overall, Celebrity Edge is a ship built for comfort and slow wandering. The combination of beautiful design, great service and the calm of The Retreat made it one of our most relaxing trips in years.
Now onto some of our shore excursions. We didn’t arrange any shore excursions through Celebrity; we simply chose to get off the ship at a variety of ports and walk around.
We enjoyed our visit to Christchurch. We hadn’t been there for 15 or 16 years. I think in Christchurch, they call that pre-earthquake because, as everyone knows, Christchurch was devastated by a horrendous earthquake in 2012.
Notwithstanding that, we had a great day walking through Hagley Park and the town centre within Christchurch. We could see remnants of where the earthquake had struck with the new structures and also the central church that is still being refurbished after all these years. Christchurch is a beautiful city.
Our day in Tauranga was as eventful as any day on any trip we’ve been on. This year it coincided with Record Store Day, and as many of my readers would know, I’m an avid Pink Floyd fan, so I was on the hunt that day for some rare Pink Floyd vinyl releases which would only be available at Record Store Day. Now you can’t say that Tauranga is the place to buy vinyl. It’s a small New Zealand city. Its main feature is Mount Montaguey, a beautiful extinct volcano that I walked around, and a couple of streets of shops and a couple of shopping centres. Nonetheless, Marty by my side, we trekked to every record store we could find in pursuit of these rare vinyl albums. Throughout the day, I was in touch with my brother David and his daughter Mardi. The good news is that by day’s end, we’d all secured the records we wanted. I didn’t have much success in New Zealand, only getting one of the three that we’re after, but David and Mardi secured the other two for me, which I was very thankful for. Thank you, David and Mardi.
The next day we caught up with my nephew, Kurt, and his family in Auckland. The day was punctuated with looking for more vinyl. We were sort of hoping that the day after Record Store Day there may be some left, but alas we couldn’t find any. However, the day wasn’t about records; it was about spending time with family. We walked around the city, popped in and out of shops, had a coffee, an ice cream, and a beautiful sit-down lunch, and caught up with my grandnieces and nephews, Audrey and Archer. It was an awesome day.
Our day at the Bay of Islands, you really couldn’t call it a shore excursion day. We did get off the boat and on the bus into the city, but then straight back on the bus, straight back to the boat. It was freezing cold and it was pouring with rain, so we thought hot chocolates in the lounge were a better option for us on our last day in New Zealand before we headed back to Sydney.
This retreat was more than just a holiday; it became a personal healing journey for both of us. Over the course of our two weeks in April 2025, I could literally feel the decompression happening day by day. At the start, my mind was still racing with to-do lists and unresolved worries. But as we immersed ourselves in the slow pace of ship life, I began to let go of that mental clutter. By mid-week, I wasn’t checking my phone at all and I realised I hadn’t thought about work in days – a truly liberating feeling. By the second week I’d resolved some of the trauma associated with dad’s death. You can never “move on” from these things, but you can “move forward”. This is what these two weeks allowed me to do.
