Picton Interislander Vehicle Check-In — Attraction in South Island

Recently traveled on the Kaitaki and we thought we'd treat ourselves to the premium lounge, and it certainly wasn't premium. And we weren't the only ones to complain, the food was terrible especially since we paid $74 each only to be served with freezer food. Deep Fried spring rolls, mediocre meat pies and dried up lentil chips. The 2 tiny bowls of salad, one was packet lettuce and the was full of tins of beans and corn. The only sea food was a bowl of dried up tiny green muscles, deserts were all pre made cakes from the super market cut into tiny servings. The cheese platter was small and the cheese was dry and old. All of the food can be brought from the super market for a lot less then the $74 per person. We sailed on Kaitaki in premium lounge 4yrs ago and the food was great, that time we were served ample, proper cooked hot food consisting of bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns, toast and cereals. An hour after serves they then served hot savoury snacks and plentiful deserts. This time by far was very disappointing and to be honest it was a total rip off. As the boat was coming in other premium longe customers were complaining about the food. Not...

One of the worst experiences of our lives. After travelling for about an hour the captain states that we can't go any further as the weather is really bad so we have to turn around saying I don't know what this means for everyone which I understand? So after another announcement saying we don't know what this means for you we are working on letting you off. So pretty much everyone on the boat starts panic purchasing hotels, Airbnb etc. So we get told we are going to wait 3 hours to see if the water is ok to cross. Literally just after booking something thinking we are being let off only to be told hours later we are leaving. After we leave at 12am at night is was the worst experience practically every 2nd person was throwing there guts up was the roughest boat I've been on. The food was gross so buy food beforehand. My main problem is, is they should have been clear about what was happening surely this would happen alot? We were just happy in the end to just be on the other side I guess regardless It could of been worst and not actually leave but if I ever come back to NZ will never go on this boat ever...

Mayhem. November 24, 2022 I went to board the ferry with my 9 m caravan. Oops, the whole town was under construction, with multiple roads closed and detours on top of other detours. BEWARE! The old blue signs pointing you to the vehicle ferry terminal are still up and have not been shrouded, but they are telling you the wrong way, and you will end up doing a U-turn when you get trapped in the wrong place if you follow them! If you slow down to a crawl in 1st gear, you may be lucky enough to see the tiny dark blue rectangles pasted on the orange detour signs. These little scraps of blue say 'interislander ferry', and you have to squint to follow them. Of course, they peter out at critical junctions, so all you can do is follow your nose. I eventually got to the terminal, but with a 9 m tow, I was an emotional basket case by the time I got there. I suggest doing a reconnaissance mission on foot or in a car before you take a big rig to the ferry terminal so that you know the way beforehand and don't get into a sticky...