On our trip to New Zealand next February we have put a Doubtful Sound overnight cruise on our to-do list. We will be traveling part of our route with another couple, and they are also interested in the Doubtful Sound overnight cruise. The price for a double room on the Fjordland Explorer is about $750 NZD per person. For a quad share it is approximately $395 per person. My question is, how cramped are the quad shares? Will we still be on speaking terms with our friends? Will anyone get any sleep? Does sleep matter in this situation? Any comment from those who have done an overnight cruise in a quad cabin on Doubtful Sound would be appreciated.

The quad shares are actually in a big bunk room, separate from all the others by only a curtain. We were booked for one of those with our family of four, but thrilled to have been upgraded on check-in. We could have tolerated the quad, since you spend very little time there. It's just for sleeping. And since you only bring an overnight bag, you don't need a lot of room. The showers there are group bathrooms. We were up at 6:30 with a call to decks to see the dolphin too. I say, save the money and take the quad unless you are very particular. You will LOVE this cruise. It is wonderful.

Hi Peter, Probably no lakrits in New Zealand. Good to see you're still traveling.

Hej Deb: Great to hear from my lakrits connection again. You're right; I will definitely have to look for something else to capture the sweet tooth in New Zealand. We've been back to Scandinavia a couple of times since we last exchanged travel tips; my old college room-mate is now living in Oslo, which helps. We have, however, never been to Australia/New Zealand, so that will be a treat. First up, in a few months, will be some travels in Germany, Czech Republic, and Northern Italy. I hope you too are still finding new frontiers. From your postings, it looks like you have explored many forums and many areas as well.

I had my heart set on Scotland and Wales for this summer, but my brain could not handle the driving part(even though I'm the passenger/navigator)So now we're heading to Alaska (1st time)Have you been to Alaska? I wish you a great trip to Europe (we've been to southern Germany and Lake Como but not the Czech Republic)We will get to NZ/Australia sometime...but that will involve a better mindset for the opposite side of the road driving.(Hopefully their roads are wider and w/o stone wall shoulders.)