Good experience all round from boarding to cruise to disembarkation. The Premium Lounge was well worthwhile with comfortable seating and inclusive good food, wine and other drinks.

OMG Interislander your food was rubbish! $48 for 2 burgers that taste like rubber! Madness! Frozen fish, packet patties what next…ohh run out of salad as well

Kaiarahi premium lounge. DONT GO THERE. it's worse than cattle class. Small uncomfortable seating no privacy not enough tables to eat from. Food good but very little and no variety. After 20 years of being a nautical miles member I'm very dissapointed. We do 20 return trips a year. If this is the way they are going with the premium customers. I'm moving my business to bluebridge.

Pleasant sailing in the Lounge. Comfortable seating, nice buffet and attentive staff. Only disappointment was the lack of good views from the Lounge.

Staff are so lovely. Loads of entertainment for the children - face painting, playground, balloons and colouring competitions. Great seating options. It’s a necessity for us for accessing the South and would highly recommend anyone if you had options. Our trip over and back was on the Aratere.

Nice, smooth crossing through the strait. Plenty of food options on board. Enjoyed the views, hospitality and convenience of the ferry.

We were really impressed. Great service getting our vehicle on the ship. Helpful and professional. Food on board was well priced and healthy. We will definitely be back!!

Took the car ferry south to north and enjoyed the fairly smooth embarkation and disembarkation...as much as we could being in a queue of hundreds of vehicles! On board, the seats were comfortable, the food reasonably priced and the views terrific. We took our rental vehicle onboard, bur it would also be easy to drop at one side, walk on and pick up a rental on the arrival side. Good service and great scenery.

We booked passage for two (2) seniors on the Kaitaki Ferry from Picton (South Island) to Wellington (North Island) with an upgrade to the Queen Charlotte Lounge at a total cost of $224.93 NZD ($164.93 ferry cost plus $60.00 for Lounge access). Check-in was easy, but the terminal's air conditioning was not working that day, so it was extremely hot while we were waiting to board the ferry. Called one of the most scenic ferry journeys in the world, the Cook Strait ferry crossing is 96 kilometers (52 nautical miles) and takes around three and a half hours. The Queen Charlotte Lounge is located on the Deck 7, towards the front of the ferry and an adults-only space (18 years and older) with comfortable leather recliners. As part of the lounge entry, we received a $15 each food and beverage voucher to use at any of Kaitaki's cafés and bars. Everything was wonderful, except a person in the Queen Charlotte was consistently coughing and was not wearing a mask. We had to move seats, so we didn't have to listen to it.

This trip was excellent - have never taken notice of which ferry we took before, but now that we have had a great experience, we will definitely be choosing the KAITAKI ferry again. It must have had an upgrade because it was in great condition, nice choices of places to sit, more room than we've experienced before, warm and cosy. The staff were friendly, the food choice was ample for the short trip, price not too bad, good place to sit and play cards or read, comfy chairs. The sea was reasonably calm for this trip (not that we should rate this trip due to weather) and it left and arrived in the time stated on the ticket.

We decided to treat ourselves to the Premium Lounge during the ferry crossings on a recent sojourn to the South Island. It wasn’t cheap, but we thought it was worth every cent. We were on the Kaitaki for both crossings. We parked very close to the passenger entry, as I have limited mobility. The staff were so helpful, both at check-in and driving onboard the ship. The staff onboard were very friendly and professional. The food was nice and it was a very relaxing way to spend the three and a half hours journeys There were only about 15 of us in the big lounge each way, it was great. We had a morning sailing Wellington to Picton, and an afternoon sailing Picton to Wellington. We are very glad we paid the extra for the peace and tranquillity. The seating is very comfortable and you have a small table in front of you for meals, spreading stuff out, etc. I would definitely pay the extra $$ to use the Premium Lounge next time we cross Cook Strait.

The staff on the Aratere could not be faulted. Friendly, helpful and professional. Great scones available for only $5 and clean and comfortable seating areas. Thank you.

WOW!!! What a service! Very organised/ on time & helpful. Accessing the terminal is very easy & clear signs everywhere. We got ourselves there early & lined our car up. Once the cars were about to board, our hire cars battery decided to die. We had fast service from the team who jump started our car & got us on the ferry. The lounge areas/ the food / viewing decks were all amazing. Such a beautiful boat trip - which didn’t feel long at all. Once we had to get into our cars, staff checked on us again to make sure our car started. We had such a great experience - thank you.

Picton is one of the prettiest ferry ports in the world, and this added to well run ferry creates an amazing journey. These ferries offer good food, drink seating and run a very smooth sea trip. This journey can be bumping where the Tasman sea hits the pacific, but 90% of the time it’s calm and stunning .

Easy transportation from Picton to Wellington. Plenty of seating and cafe for light fare. Beautiful views but it does get quite cold and windy, so it’s impossible to stay on the outer deck for too long. Checking and claiming bags was a breeze, but you do need to make sure your bag is 50 lbs and under, otherwise a fee will be required. Free transportation to the Wellington train station is provided upon arrival.