Christchurch Gondola — Attraction in Christchurch

Looking to take in the entire city without dealing with the traffic; then visit the Christchurch Gondola. It doesn't take long to get a ticket and find yourself climbing the hill to the top. The ride was fairly smooth and occasionally you will yourself stopped on the way up or down but it is only temporary and a good opportunity to get in some panoramic shots. Once up the top of the station there is a gift shop you have to traverse going in and out while trying to avoid any trinkets or memorabilia. The range is diverse - I got through the jungle of items with New Zealand printed on it by holding to the philosophy of go away and if it still feels like a good idea in 5 minutes come back and spend big. The cafe and station with viewing balcony is very scenic. I nice place to sit back and look at the two sides in relative peace and warmth with a coffee. For a bit more of a slap on the face New Zealand feeling you can walk out of the station and across some uneven paths (not suited for those with mobility issues) of the mountain and take in the views. When I arrived it was a little overcast and the vista was a little restricted but I waited a little on the rocky seat and more and more of the city and beaches...

We chose to do the Gondola ride as an excursion from our cruise ship. We wanted a streamlined experience (rather than negotiating the local buses). We had our bus tickets and our Gondola tickets in hand. The bus ride from the cruise port went quite well. I can't say the same however for the Christchurch Gondola! Having paid the premium price to ride the Gondola as a Princess Cruises excursion (costing far more than the usual ticket price), we were shocked and disappointed that there was a VERY long queue when we arrived at the venue. The long queue did not seem to reduce in size and being stuck in the crowd on a hot day with nowhere to sit was in no way appealing. Needless to say, we did not get to experience the Gondola ride. If customers have their tickets (especially having paid much more than the usual price), they should not have to line up once again at the ticket box. There is no point. We saw a number of carriages heading up the hill with no-one in them. An extremely long wait was inevitable - yet very much avoidable! We were also not the only ones that chose to NOT endure the long wait. Get your act together guys. It's simply not good enough! Here are some photos of the ride that...

Horrible horrible! They operate at a snails pace. Firstly when you arrive even you have pre purchased tickets you still have to line up with people who haven’t even got tickets. And even you have a pre purchased ticket you still need to exchange it for another ticket that they provide… why???? If I have purchased tickets in advance then I shouldn’t have to line up behind people who haven’t even got tickets. The whole process was so slow. They load the gondola so slow and they keep stopping them so you stop maybe 6-7 times on the way up and down. If it’s a busy day you can line up for around an hour before you even get on. By the time you get up there you need to line up again for another hour to get back down it’s ridiculous. Also witnessed and experienced the staff be very rude when we had to have older people sit down while waiting for our turn. When they tried to join us the staff was very rude and told them they should have lined up with us. You expect old people and young kids to stand for an hour in line? You need to change this system to speed it up. Have a separate line for people who haven’t even paid and...