Bluebridge

Reasons to love Bluebridge:
- it’s cheaper than the other options
- the Wellington terminal is right across from the train station (and the backpackers)
- free movies

Do you remember when Bluebridge first started taking passengers? Well, passengers that weren’t truck drivers. You might remember that they weren’t so fancy. Not so now. I was lucky enough to sail on the Straitsman, the newest ship in the Bluebridge fleet and on the Cooks Strait.

The Straitsman is beautiful, it reminded me of a cruise ship. And they even have cabins that you can book! (Or if you’re lucky, and some aren’t booked, get one for free). It is a huge step up from what I remember.

I was planning to nab one of those cabins on my return but was sadly on another boat. They still had free movies to entertain me the whole trip (the same movie on two screens – the other boat played different movies so you had a choice). My one complaint was that the toilets blocked on this sailing. Honestly, I think the passengers, me included, were too embarrassed to tell the staff otherwise it would’ve been fixed. I know people complain about the price of food but it is comparable to a café on shore.

This was the first time I drove my car on the boat. As you can imagine I was nervous. Both terminals were very well organised though it is much easier at the purpose built terminal in Picton. They do a great job of working with what they have on the Wellington wharf. I was most worried about actually driving on the ship but whenever I wasn’t sure where I was meant to go a staff member would appear as if by magic.

Both sailings were fully booked full everyone was well behaved. We were lucky to not experience adverse weather or any delays that it could have caused.

The Bluebridge sails daily between Wellington and Picton
Prices vary