Kristen Olson Stone
The New Zealand Cruise Workshop February, 2026
The New Zealand Cruise Workshop February, 2026
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I'm very excited to announce that I will be teaching a watercolor travel painting workshop onboard Holland America Line's M.S. Noordam, to New Zealand! Right now, it seems like the most beautiful, peaceful place to visit with all that is going on in our world! Bob and I have done several New Zealand cruises together and we lived in New Zealand for 3 years so we know that part of the world very well!
I found a fabulous itinerary on February 1st, 2026 that sails from Auckland to Sydney with stops in New Zealand, Tasmania and Australia and no tender ports which means that at each port, you can walk on and walk off the ship without getting into a small tender boat first.
I am working with a wonderful cruise planner, Miles Schoedler of Holland America Line who will be able to book our staterooms with special group incentives and pricing, 10-15% off. They will also request a room for us to use for painting if we want it and a cocktail reception on the first day. Miles will arrange for us to sit together at dinner each night. I always paint on cruises and I can imagine us painting in a lot of different locations around the ship including poolside, at one of the many cafes and restaurants, The Crow's Nest and others. We can also paint from photos we take while on shore.
I will teach every day for 2 1/2 hours for 14 days! I will teach on the ship on sea days and when we are in port I will teach for a couple of hours and then we can tour for the rest of our time onshore. My plan is for everyone to have the perfect balance of sightseeing and painting!
Day 1 Auckland, The City Of Sails, Devonport, the Viaduct Harbour and Queen Street
Day 2, Tauranga/ Mount Maunganui, One of New Zealand's most beautiful resort towns
Day 3, Napier, A beautiful seaside town known for it's Art Deco style
Day 4, Wellington, The Capitol city, the San Francisco of New Zealand
Day 5, Timaru, An artist colony known for it's blue fairy penguin colony
Day 6 Dunedin / Port Chalmers, a gorgeous town with a Scottish heritage, art & woodworking
Day 7 Fjordland National Park (Scenic Cruising). This is the best way to see the majestic fjords!
Day 8 Sea Day
Day 9 Sea Day
Day 10 Hobart, Tasmania, known for its art galleries, botanical gardens, seafood and beaches
Day 11 Sea Day
Day 12 Burnie, Tasmania, Known for rare wildlife, a Unesco Heritage area with rain forests
Day 13 Melbourne, Australia, Botanical garden, wildlife, shopping, river walk and more!
Day 14 Sydney, The Sydney Opera House, gardens, the Tauranga Zoo, the Harbour Bridge, The Rocks neighborhood and so much more.
Each of you can book the cabin of your choice through Miles. His email is MSchoedler@hollandamerica.
A separate workshop fee of $1,500 will cover all of your classes and supplies so you won't need to pack any art supplies. I will give each of you a tote bag printed with one of my paintings. It will contain a 3" x 2", watercolor travel set pre-filled with my signature collection of 12, professional Rembrandt watercolors, a travel sized silicone water cup, Micron pens, a sketchbook and a Silverbrush Voyage Black Velvet #6 travel brush! We will all be painting with exactly the same colors and materials.
Everyone will have plenty of time to paint and learn travel sketching in depth while still having a lot of time to spend with their travel partners. By the end of our trip, you'll have a book filled with beautiful travel paintings from each day of your trip!
Here is a link to the itinerary E-Brochures (use this and click the Australia New Zealand brochure for 2025/2026)
Would you be interested in coming along on this cruise? Let me know if one of these dates would work for you!
Workshop space is limited. This fee is payable when you book your cabin or by October 1, 2025. If you should need to cancel the workshop portion of this adventure, I can offer a partial refund of $1,300 up to 3 months prior to departure or no later than October 31st.
Email me at Kristenpaints@gmail.com with any questions or to schedule a call.
