Kawau Cruises & Kawau Water Taxis — Attraction in Rodney

Did this cruise a couple of weeks ago on a Monday, a beautiful day. Lovely booking ladies in the office, helpful and friendly. As it was a Monday they used a small ferry, the website describes their boats as luxurious, this boat was far from it, a morning start and the windows were so dirty with a build up of salt water could hardly see out of them, the boat smelled a bit fishy, cleaning gear piled up by front side window, in between join of seats dirty with crumbs etc. It was explained the sound system was broken so a crew member would come around every now and then to say what bay we were in, so there was no full commentary which was disappointing, I believe we only called at about 4 wharves. At 12 midday we were given the option to get off the boat or continue cruising for another 45 minutes, as we had prepaid for a BBQ lunch we chose to get off as the lunch would now be available at the cafe not BBQ. We had the choice of steak or salmon, the steak was very nice, it came with a small salad and bun plus a cold drink, although nice it wasn't what was described on the website. Most reviews of this cruise were good so would recommend to anyone considering doing it to ensure you are going on their bigger boat as probably more upmarket with tea and coffee facilities. I have been on a mail cruise from Havelock in the South Island and would highly recommend but would not recommend the Kawau Cruise from my...

For what we paid as a family of 5, I was disappointed and didn’t feel that it was worth the price. For starters, being mid week (school holidays) in winter, the mail run cruise boat was downgraded to a smaller vessel, which was loaded up with deliveries to houses on the island leaving very few seats at the windows and there was no outdoor seating. The highlight was standing at the stern of the boat, but houses and bays on the island mail run stops are nothing spectacular to look at, so being on a mail run cruise offered nothing special. We only found out that the Mansion House was closed mid week once we arrived at the pier but fortunately (thanks to the advice of the staff at the pier) we managed to hunt down the local DOC worker who kindly gave us paid access to look inside the old house. The gardens are so-so but the peacocks offered a short round of entertainment. The lunch provided by the cruise operator was okay and it was good that they still attended to providing us a cooked meal. The staff were polite and attentive. It was nice to have to most of the place to ourselves but it definitely is not a winter activity for the family that I would recommend. While the Mansion House has some historical merits, I just think we could have better spent the $560+ price tag. Now I understand why Sir George Grey sold up and moved back...

We had a terrible experience with Kawau Cruises today. We booked our tickets online and arrived in Sandspit to take our cruise to Kawau Island. When we checked in, we were told we would be on a different boat to usual. The boat was so small and didnt have enough seating for people. This was to be a 2 hour cruise so standing was not an option. When I complained about the lack of seating to the driver, he was rude as and said there was no other option as their main ferry boat was not working. The driver of the other boat was also so rude and said the company were under no obligation to have enough seating for those on board a 2 hour cruise! His attitude was appalling and he really made a bad situation so much worse. The woman in the main office was the only helpful person which is why I have given this experience one star. She has organized a refund for us. This is really so poor, people are paying over a hundred bucks each for a 2 hr cruise only to be stuffed into a small boat with rubbish facilities and hardly any seating. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this company is also breaking health and safety regulations with the way they were cramming people on...