Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately the time in Christchurch is dictated by the time the cruise ship has in port. Akaroa is a tender port and when you are on a cruise ship they are often very slow at allowing passengers not booked on their own tours off the ship and have an early departure time. This unfortunately dictates the amount of time we can give you in Christchurch before heading to the International Antarctic Centre. The scheduled tour time is 10.30 to 4.30 pm, I see on the day of travel you were late departing due to the delay coming ashore, however, we did manage to extend the day slightly arriving back in Akaroa after the scheduled excursion time but in plenty of time prior to the last tender for your cruise ship. It is great to hear that you enjoyed the sites and the International Antarctic Centre.

Thank you for your review and I am sorry to learn that you had mixed feelings about the tour. It was unfortunate that on the initial part of the tour you had a problem with the audio system in the coach. As soon as the coach arrived in Christchurch a replacement coach was provided to rectify this problem. I am pleased to hear that you thoroughly enjoyed the International Antarctic Centre and the guide there was both professional and helpful. Unfortunately on your day of travel your cruise ship posted an earlier than normal final tender time and in the circumstances the tour had to be back in Akaroa in time to ensure you did not miss the last tender of the day, although the tour was still the full six hours in duration. On a normal cruise ship day this tour is not so rushed and we can extend the 6 hour tour time which is 10.30 - 4.30 by leaving Akaroa earlier and returning a little later, however, everything is dependent on the tenders and the last tender time of the day. When booking your cruise you should compare the times the various cruise ships are docked in the New Zealand ports, some stay a lot longer in the ports than others, whilst others give you the minimum time in the ports and prefer to have you on board longer spending more money. I do hope you have the opportunity to visit New Zealand again at some future date and have more time to enjoy that all is on offer.

Thank you for taking the time to supply your feedback and impressions of the tour which is important to us to ensure we continue to meet our customers expectations and where possible exceed them. I am pleased to hear our driver, Scotty, represented the company well and that you enjoyed his commentary, Knowledge and good sense of homour. I hope you have the opportunity to visit New Zealand again at some future date.

We appreciate the feedback when it is accurate which this particular review is not, you only need to look at the review below for the same tour that this gentleman was on. The tour itself is very organised in respect of schedules and timings, all of the prebooked cruise passengers are meet and greeted as they come off the tenders in Akaroa and given a boarding pass with a scheduled departure time. The journey into Christchurch is 90 minutes with a 30 minute stop at the botanical gardens and museum, there is then a 45 minute tour of central Christchurch and the earthquake damage of 2011 which is still evident prior to arriving at the International Antarctic Centre where the passengers have around 2 hours, depending on the last tender time in Akaroa (never less than one hour and three quarters). We have received other feedback directly from other customers on this day and have asked that they post this feedback on trip advisor, the other feedback was very positive like below, however, the underlying message was that there was a very loud gentleman on the tour that was continuing talking over the driver and whom the driver eventually asked if he would mind being a little quieter so the other passengers could enjoy the commentary and to which request he took offence. From the other reviews posted or to be posted you can decide for yourselves.

It is always disappointing to receive a negative review, especially on an extremely popular shore excursion which receives very positive reviews. With regard to the matters you have raised I can advise as follows; 1. Akaroa is a tender port and we operate a scheduled departure time of 10.30, returning at 4.30 - 6 hours in total which is more than enough time for the excursion which encompasses Banks Peninsula and Christchurch, together with the International Antarctic Centre. Due to the tendering process passengers arrive on shore at various times prior to 10.30. As you are aware we do the meet and greet, provide tickets for the relevant tour and advise the loading time. In most cases we get everyone loaded and away early. As all of our customers are pre-booked there is not waiting and it is normally the small minibuses who's operators are selling on the wharf who are sitting for ages waiting. 2. Christchurch is interesting and well worth seeing. We do operate a Christchurch tour without any attraction or activity for those passengers who wish to see more and spend more time in the city. It is always disappointing to receive a negative review when someone has simply, in hindsight, selected the wrong shore excursion option. 3. With regard to the International Antarctic Centre, yes it is not Disneyland and is in no way trying to be Disneyland. It is designed as an educational centre so visitors can better understand and appreciate the Antarctic. With regard to the little Blue Penguins you have misunderstood the purpose of the fake eggs. All of the penguins at the centre have been brought there as injured rescue penguins from the wild, to be cared for, nursed and rehibilated and then hopefully returned to the wild fully fit. The fake eggs are part of the rehibilation for some of the female penguins, that are of a certain age and who have been brought to the centre injured.

Thank you for taking the time to submit your review of the tour. This feedback is important to us as it helps us ensure we are meeting our customers expectations and where possible exceeding them. I am pleased you had an enjoyable day and that you felt that the tour was well planned, informative and unrushed. I hope you have the opportunity to visit this very special part of New Zealand again at some future day.