Bluebridge Cook Strait Ferries - Wellington — Attraction in North Island

We have never travelled on the bluebridge before, but this was our experience. Check in process from wellington was really disorganized we were on the 2am sailing, the guy trying to guide traffic told us it didn't matter that we had a dog in the car. When he told us which lane to park in. They asked everyone to do park up and then walk all the way back to the entrance to check in I thought this was very odd, there was no one I the booth at the entrance. Very strange. The first boat we went on was the feronia. The stairs were an absolute killer !! Completely vertical! This boat had nice seating areas and was a comfortable trip I wish they would dim the lights a little on the very early morning sailings so you could try get a little nap in before traveling. Served hot food to buy as a snack which was welcome. I thought the process to disembark was very slow they don't ask passengers to go down to your cars until the boat has docked completely which i think is a waste of time but they could have reasons for that.

Coming back from picton to wellington we were on the connemara. I was expecting this boat to be fantastic as I'm sure I've heard it's the newest boat in the fleet. I was shocked to get on board and see the only seating areas were chairs and tables like you were in a big restaurant or Cafe. Was not very comfortable at all for the 3+ hours journey. I would recommend purchasing a cabin if you travel on this ship.

All in all ok experience. It was hard to know where you were meant to go when you got out on the car deck. As the signage wasn't clear or there at all. I probably would try to travel on the interislander first as it's more catered to having patrons aboard. Not just the freight as I feel this takes priority for the...

The ferry is really nice, they were organized on boarding. It was the 2 am ferry, so naturally it took nearly 4 hours after we parked our vehicle in line before we boarded. That was to be expected. We had enough seats, the toilets are clean. All of these would have gotten 4 stars..

Except... At 4.45 am, they announced that the Cafe would close in 10 minutes. I was already in the line for a coffee and the really rude lady behind the counter, stopped serving people at 4.50 am, just before me!! There were 5 people in line after me, and everyone was sent away. No explanation, no eye contact. She told the lady ahead of me "you're the last one. I'm not going to be able to serve any of you". She didn't offer an explanation to me, acknowledge that I was standing in line. She put up the "bar closed" sign and pretended I wasn't trying to get her attention as she continued to ignore me. I understand it's the Holiday Season, but it is the same for all the traveller's as well. Do we not require even the slightest courtesy?

One of the other people ahead of me asked a small flat white, and she said "oh no sorry I already put it in as regular so you'll get a regular". It's not the customers fault that she keyed in the wrong size. They had to pay for something they didn't even want. Imagine being that rude while wearing sparkly reindeer antlers and claiming "it's the Holidays. We're really busy."

If you're not going to serve coffee for "10 minutes" as per the announcement,don't make the announcement. This is very rude, unprofessional and horrifying behavior. Not what I would expect from such a company. This will be the last time I travel with BlueBridge. At least the interislander actually serve you when they...

The bluebridge is a fantastic vessel, it contains all the amenities you might desire and it has the ability to take you to the south island in just 3 hours.

The connemara is equipped with a cafe on the main deck, serving hot drinks such as coffee and tea etc... as well as basic food such as a muffin, scones, cookies etc... just what you need to keep you going until you get to picton.

If you have a bottomless pit for a stomach you may want to consider going to the resturant, which has a much larger selection and portion sizes that the cafe does, i would also reserve a toilet on the ship for when you might need to throw it all up, as eating large amounts of food of a rocking ship is generally not recommended.

On the topic of loos... there is a great selction of places to relieve yourself onboard, however during bad weather or choppy seas these toilets may harbour an unbearable stench of vomit as such people mentioned previously are busy emptying their tummys in a voilently rocking ship, a simple trip to take a piss may end up being vomit aswell as the smell of other peoples vomit festering in the toilets will undoubtedly overpower even the strongest of stomachs.

Its definatly not all bad though.... going to the toilet at the start of the voyage usually means you wont have to go until you reach picton.

The outdoor area however is a really cool place to be especially when you are entering the sounds near picton harbour as you can see by the...