Kiwi traveller books second round-the-world cruise with Coral Princess

On May 31, Ellen Lee waved goodbye to Auckland and boarded the Coral Princess cruise ship for a 107-night, round-the-world trip with her husband Greg and their friend David.

Almost four months, 28 countries and 44 ports later, the ship and its passengers returned on September 16. According to the Kiwi, the cruise wasn’t just good, it was so good she’s already booked it again for 2025.

“I think we just saw some amazing sights and some amazing things and the world’s out there to be explored so we thought ‘let’s go do it again’,” said Lee, who works as a travel agent at helloworld Waipukurau.

Talking to the Herald on her day of departure, Lee said she was most excited to finally visit Petra. Today, she can confirm it lived up to expectations.

“Definitely. I really wanted to go there and this trip ticked it off my list,” she said, adding that seeing Al-Khazneh, a famously elaborate tomb, had been awe-inspiring.

Al-Khazneh is a popular attraction for visitors in Petra. Photo / Unsplash

“I think it was one of those sites where you pinched yourself,” Lee explained.

“You read about it, you see it in a magazine, but it’s not until you’re actually standing there in front of it that you go, ‘Holy heck, it is real’. You’re in the middle of the desert and here’s this carving into a rock face and it was done out of one piece of rock.”

This was just one of several “bucket-list experiences” the couple had, as well as seeing the Northern Lights, posing with Easter Island’s statues, exploring Morocco’s Blue City (Chefchaouen) and enjoying a Guinness in Ireland.

“We went to 25 Unesco World Heritage Sites and every single one didn’t let you down,” Lee said. Greg also got to fulfil his most anticipated experience: flying over the Nazca lines in Peru.

Greg flew over the Nazca Lines while Ellen visited Machu Picchu.

“The little plane was hilarious because the pilot tipped them basically almost upside down so they could see the lines out the window and take the photo,” Lee said with a laugh. “He got off the plane with a little paper bag and he wasn’t sick, but I think he was really close to it.”

That being said, the days at sea on the cruise ship were equally satisfying and Lee said the couple quickly fell into a delightful routine.

“We’d wake up and breakfast was delivered to the cabin every morning so we’d sit there and talk about the day. Greg would go off to Tai Chi at 8am and I’d tidy the cabin then shoot off to my Zumba class at 8.30am. Then the girls at Zumba would go for a coffee afterwards and have a little browse around the shops,” Lee said.

The rest of the day involved table tennis and lunch, reading books and playing mahjong, and ended with dinner and a show.

Travel is always full of highs and lows but when it came to destinations, Lee said she loved all of them but was slightly disappointed by one.

“One place that probably I was disappointed in, and needs some money investment was Papeete in Tahiti,” she said, as the capital city appeared to be struggling with homelessness and damaged roads. However, the solution wasn’t to avoid these places, Lee said, as tourists could provide a necessary cash injection.

“Tahiti is the one place that needs that injection, and it’s gonna come now that tourism’s back.”

Nonetheless, she was eager to share that the couple had already booked the same cruise in 2025, as the itinerary would include new destinations such as Israel.

The couple fitted in dozens of bucket-list experiences during their 107-night adventure.

Since the couple both loved Scotland and wanted to spend some more time exploring, Lee said they were considering booking a one-way sailing, instead of a round trip.

“We’ll go to London, and then that gives us the opportunity to go on and do Scotland,” she said.