We took this train ride while on the Majestic Princess visiting Picton. We were disappointed in this tour. They were not using the steam train, but really there was not much to see anyway. If you’re just looking for a ride on a train it would be ok, as other then that this tour did not offer much in the line of great scenery, and had a stop in Seddon which there is absolutely nothing there. Save your money, or book another tour when in Picton. Not worth the money we spent. I feel I’m being very generous by giving it a 3/5 star

I was very disappointed. Firstly the train was pulled by diesel engines, not steam, there were no amazing views, when we did stop for photos it was cut short due to overwhelming smell of cow poo( I'm not joking ). For the money I paid I really did expect something more special than a " taste" of local wine, a salad wrap and bottle of water. My local train ride in the Blue Mountains, Australia beats this hands down and costs $2.50.

I'm not sure how much of this was Celebrity Cruises fault and how much was Marlborough Flyer's fault. But it was a majorly disappointing day. First, the event was supposed to begin at 12:45 p.m. I assumed that meant we'd meet in the Theater then and be off by 1 p.m. At 2 p.m., we were in a bus and had not left the dock. We had been arranged in groups, but the Celebrity workers started shouting, "We're going to the same place," and began herding people into random busses. Thus, the group numbers had no meaning. When we got to the train station, another train was there. We waited about 15 minutes for that train to leave. The workers there did not explain to us what was happening, so we waited another 20 minutes for the Marlborough Flyer to appear. The train workers then began handing us vouchers for assigned seats in the train, and at that point, my husband (an American) started laughing, "You can tell we're not in Germany or Switzerland," where our trains ran ON THE DOT. When we were finally seated, we noticed a very hard-working Anna running bottles of water to everyone. She later served us lunch with much efficiency and pleasantly. We were still very excited to see the beautiful views talked about in previous reviews. We saw a trailer park; suburban housing; a corrugated steel wall (in desperate need of paint); beautiful horses, cows, and sheep; and wonderful rows of grapes. But we did not see breathtaking natural beauty. We stopped in a town called Seddon for a ridiculous 15 minutes for "wine tasting." We didn't partake because that is more like wine gulping. Meanwhile, the train workers reversed the seats and reminded us to remain in our assigned seats. This made no sense because if they had just directed us to trade with our neighbor from across the cabin, we'd have had a mountain view after having had an ocean view. Their directions ensured us the same view! Then, the train returned us to the station at a crawling pace after having hurried us out to Seddon! We arrived at the station at 6:00, the time our ship was set to sail! By some miracle, we got to the boat by 6:30. My husband declared this excursion the biggest waste of 550 Amercan dollars ever. I just hope and pray Anna was compensated well, for one American dollar is about equal to .61 New Zealand dollars, and I have a sick feeling Celebrity kept most of that.

Absolutely amazing day on the Marlborough Flyer, amazing scenery, service by all the staff onboard was exceptional. Best value for money in Picton. Tommy, Sharon and Errol were amazing and sorry I don't remember all the other names.

The WW1 Memorial steam train was built in 1915 and consists of carriages from the same period. Our trip departed from Picton railway station and took us up the steep elevation thru the Para Wetlands, across the Wairau River into the Wairau Valley through endless vineyards all the way to Sneddon where we disembarked for approximately 45 minutes just enough time to hop across the road for an ice cream and a quick look at the little market set up by a few of the locals before “all aboard” and the reverse journey back to Picton.

Step back in time on this beautiful steam train. This train has been lovingly restored and was a pleasant journey. Now for the negatives. The only stop was a little village with nothing but a convenience store and tiny craft shop. We were given 45 minutes here, so just sat on the train for 40minutes as nothing to do there. Snack box given catered exclusively for vegetarian and gluten free people, so catered for a small percentage of passengers and the rest of us had to eat the same.

Having missed out on Dunedin and fjordland due to bad weather, our cruise ship altered course, and we found ourselves heading to picton. Immediately we booked for the Marlborough flyer - a heritage steam train that winds its way through the countryside in the northern part of the South Island. The locomotive has great providence and history, and proves its ability in climbing the gradient out of picton. Each carriage has an attendant, and a snifter of wine is complimentary. Every other carriage has a toilet. The carriages have platforms, and especially the last carriage platform is the spot for photographers. The journey is approximately one hour, and you have a few hours in Blenheim to wander round, grab some lunch, a bit of shopping, or just a wander by the river. This was a most enjoyable trip. Tickets are a little on the expensive side, however, It is worth the cost

Nice train ride to and from Picton, but for $125 NZ each return is pretty pricey for the money. It’s a hour each way and they give you a one wine to taste for free, if you want more you pay. Not very good value for money, there are far better value tours available from Picton.

This is a great trip if you appreciate the beauty of stream travel. On this trip my husband was impressed with all the details about the loco(engine). We purchase tickets before leaving our home town. The trip was pretty, we had approx one half hours to explore the township. Also the other detailed I thought was good was that several wineries had carriages named after them and also gave us a sample of the classic wine of the region. Also if you did not get a good window seat on the way down often you get a good one on the return journey.

Too expensive, cost $300 for a couple. Takes half hour each way and we were left for 3 and a half hours in Blenheim before the return trip. Was a Sunday so shops closed. Not happy.Beautiful train but a rio off.

The ride was rather boring. After returning we wished we had spent the time in Picton. Picton was cute and picturesque but we had very little time there (due to time on the train and in Blenheim). The destination of the train was Blenheim (sp). Lunch (not provided) was very uneventful. And, we had problems getting information from anyone. We were very disappointed. Gave 2 stars only because the train itself was nice

Booked this trip through our cruise ship and wished we hadn’t bothered. You’re allocated a seat and a carriage before you board which was fine but on our return after wandering Blenheim it was a free for all and the staff were very unhelpful and not willing to make people move to their correct seats. The journey each way is approx 45 minutes and so we had 2.5 hours to kill in Blenheim. Blenheim itself appears not to be interested in the cruise ship tourists, mainly just shops, some cafes & bars. It’s very quiet with nothing to offer unless you’re doing a vineyard tour. Picton was livelier with a small beach and is worth a look around. An expensive trip for a disappointing 5hr excursion

We enjoyed the trip on the Steam Train which has been beautifully restored. Staff were friendly and fun. Picton is such a beautiful town and really sets a great scene for the train journey. Scenery along the way was just lovely. Blenheim has a lovely board walk along the water, however when we were there the majority of shops were closed as it was late in the afternoon. You can buy souvenirs such as train whistle and caps on board. We were even treated to a sing along on board.

The train ride from Picton to Blenheim return is via a steam engine. It was all booked out due to a cruise in town but we managed to purchase a standing room spot at the end of a carriage, which gave us great views and was keenly priced. The trip is scenic but unfortunately Blenheim is not that interesting and we were stuck there for around 3 hours before the return trip was on. Probably a better bet to stay and walk around scenic Picton

We had a group with ages from 6-87 and everyone really enjoyed it. The staff on board were so friendly and helpful. The restoration of the train has been so well done - no detail overlooked and everything to such a high standard. The view of Picton as you come in is just outstanding. The only thing we felt could be improved is the ticketing situation. The ladies at the information center assured us we didn’t need to switch out electronic tickets for paper ones (no need to line up/check in, they said). Which turned out to be false. And the allocation of seats is such that any party over the size of 2 has a good chance of being split up. We had a group of four...would have made sense for use to have a row to ourselves (4 seats to a row) but we had one sitting in the row behind with a stranger and another stranger in our own row. Still a nice day out. Better if the admin could be improved!