Stepping off a luxury cruise ship and on to the firm ground of Dunedin on a cold, blustery day proved just the tonic for visitors Joanne and Steve Kicinski.<\/p>\n
The American couple, who hail from Vashon Island, “just outside of Seattle”, have been passengers on the\u00a0Seabourn Quest.<\/p>\n
The luxury cruise ship is known for its intimate size (about 460 guests), all-suite accommodations and inclusive fine-dining from Michelin-star chefs.<\/p>\n
The ship stopped in Dunedin yesterday and the couple were “really impressed” by what they saw.<\/p>\n
They even had a Dunedin connection \u2014 Otago rowing coach Richard Parr taught their children about a decade ago.<\/p>\n
“When I saw [Dunedin] on the map, I went, oh, this is Richard\u2019s town,” Mrs Kicinski said.<\/p>\n
The couple had no firm plans during their stay in Dunedin, although they would be partly guided by their love of geocaching and a need to purchase possum yarn for their daughter.<\/p>\n
They had already experienced Stewart Island and Fiordland National Park. Dunedin was one of their final stops before returning home.<\/p>\n
It had been a huge pleasure travelling with the\u00a0Seabourn Quest, which was bound for Lyttelton today, they said.<\/p>\n
“On these ships, you really get to know the people a lot better, there\u2019s more of a community.<\/p>\n
“And it\u2019s a really nice way to travel; where you don\u2019t have to unpack every day and move and figure out how you\u2019re getting where you\u2019re going.”<\/p>\n
They did not mind the cold weather of Dunedin.<\/p>\n
“This is what we expect at home,” Mrs Kicinski said.<\/p>\n
Seabourn Quest\u00a0was one of two cruise ships which arrived in Dunedin yesterday, the other being the larger\u00a0Discovery Princess, which hosts up to 3650 guests.<\/p>\n