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Australia/New Zealand cruise


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We took a January 2018 cruise from Auckland to Sydney, but due to bad weather, we missed the Bay of Islands, I believe.  If you are taking a similar cruise (14 N), it is really two parts, a cruise of New Zealand and a cruise of Australia.  I found it a lot like going to Canada -- not so much history (as in Europe), but slightly different architecture.  Many ports were often urban.  NZ has a lot of Lord of the Rings excursions, which are overpriced in my opinion.  That said, how could we not see the Shire?  We found both Kiwis and Aussies very friendly and welcoming.  Volunteers helped with transportation, maps, and general information at almost every port.  In retrospect, we never really had a "beach day", so that was one mistake on our part.  I would recommend at least one excursion where you see animals.  For example, we saw sea lion pups and penguins in their natural habitat on one excursion on a private ranch.  If you make it to Melbourne, Victoria Market is interesting, and it is easy to ride the trams.  The hop on hop off bus in Sydney will get you around the main attractions of the town (their are two routes, I believe, and one goes to the beach).  The train will take you to the airport.  If I were younger, I would have down more exciting excursions in New Zealand, as it is an awesome country.  As you leave NZ, you will see some fjords on the western side of the south island that are really amazing - waterfalls everywhere.  

If you make it to Brisbane, you can get to the Australia Zoo (Irwin family), which is very nice -- close encounters with many animals.  Whatever you choose, have a wonderful cruise!

3 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

Ok, so looking to book an Australia/New Zealand cruise. There are so many options I don’t know where to start!  Never been and not that familiar with the different ports. Any suggestions on the must have stops on the cruise?  

 

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Haven’t been on my fist cruise yet, but I am Australian and have done quite a bit of travel around the country, so I can at least comment on that! 

The commenter above mentioned Australia zoo, and I can’t reccomend it highly enough. I live in Melbourne where we have a great zoo, but Australia zoo is something else. Do not miss the midday show. It blew me away. 

North of Brisbane is where is really gets beautiful. Cairns is ok (can’t swim in the beach) but just an hour on from cairns is port Douglas and that place is beautiful! Cape tribulation, mossman gorge, the Great Barrier Reef, and the dain tree Forrest are also accessible from cairns as well and are all beautiful. A cruise up north might also include Hamilton island, from which you can see the barrier reef as well, or I’d also reccomend Hayman island which has some of the whitest sand in the world! 

I don’t know much about Sydney, but the blue mountains outside of Sydney and Bondi beach north of Sydney are pretty cool places. Melbourne is great (course I’d say that right?), but would definitely say Melbourne is more of a cultural experience than site seeing. We have art galleries and festivals and food and drink to the brim. 

Adelaide is very great for food and wine. The barossa valley is know as one of the best wine regions in the country. 

I can give more info on the west of the country as well if you like, but the east cost is most certainly where you’ll be going. 

The other commenter also mentioned beach days. And so you aren’t disappointed, I have to let you know that a ‘beach day’ here won’t be like other places that a cruise docs. You likely aren’t going to find a beach that has loungers and umbrellas that you can hire. It’s not a big thing here. We just take out towels and lay on the sand with them. Sometimes we get fancy and bring a small beach chair. I’ve never heard of resorts giving out day passes, and that’s probably because we don’t have many resorts on the beach for conservation purposes, and because they aren’t all inclusive anyway, so they can’t offer it to you in the first place. 

Having said that, the beaches on the east coast, particularly up north, and some of the best in the world! They’ll be beautiful, but if you’re expecting to enjoy a beach day ‘for the service’ you’re probably barking up the wrong tree. 

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9 hours ago, Vanessa77 said:

Haven’t been on my fist cruise yet, but I am Australian and have done quite a bit of travel around the country, so I can at least comment on that! 

The commenter above mentioned Australia zoo, and I can’t reccomend it highly enough. I live in Melbourne where we have a great zoo, but Australia zoo is something else. Do not miss the midday show. It blew me away. 

North of Brisbane is where is really gets beautiful. Cairns is ok (can’t swim in the beach) but just an hour on from cairns is port Douglas and that place is beautiful! Cape tribulation, mossman gorge, the Great Barrier Reef, and the dain tree Forrest are also accessible from cairns as well and are all beautiful. A cruise up north might also include Hamilton island, from which you can see the barrier reef as well, or I’d also reccomend Hayman island which has some of the whitest sand in the world! 

I don’t know much about Sydney, but the blue mountains outside of Sydney and Bondi beach north of Sydney are pretty cool places. Melbourne is great (course I’d say that right?), but would definitely say Melbourne is more of a cultural experience than site seeing. We have art galleries and festivals and food and drink to the brim. 

Adelaide is very great for food and wine. The barossa valley is know as one of the best wine regions in the country. 

I can give more info on the west of the country as well if you like, but the east cost is most certainly where you’ll be going. 

The other commenter also mentioned beach days. And so you aren’t disappointed, I have to let you know that a ‘beach day’ here won’t be like other places that a cruise docs. You likely aren’t going to find a beach that has loungers and umbrellas that you can hire. It’s not a big thing here. We just take out towels and lay on the sand with them. Sometimes we get fancy and bring a small beach chair. I’ve never heard of resorts giving out day passes, and that’s probably because we don’t have many resorts on the beach for conservation purposes, and because they aren’t all inclusive anyway, so they can’t offer it to you in the first place. 

Having said that, the beaches on the east coast, particularly up north, and some of the best in the world! They’ll be beautiful, but if you’re expecting to enjoy a beach day ‘for the service’ you’re probably barking up the wrong tree. 

As far as weather is coming in January a good time?  Is there any areas in Australia or New Zealand that a more chilly at that time of year? 

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4 minutes ago, LandstromCruise said:

As far as weather is coming in January a good time?  Is there any areas in Australia or New Zealand that a more chilly at that time of year? 

It's their July, so think hot! We were there in March

9 hours ago, Vanessa77 said:

Haven’t been on my fist cruise yet, but I am Australian and have done quite a bit of travel around the country, so I can at least comment on that! 

The commenter above mentioned Australia zoo, and I can’t reccomend it highly enough. I live in Melbourne where we have a great zoo, but Australia zoo is something else. Do not miss the midday show. It blew me away. 

 

Our favorite port (Other than Sydney), was Adelaide. Beautiful city. They even had a band great us as we came in to port. I became a Adelaide Crows fan during that cruise. ? Melboure was a disappointment as we were there on a Tuesday and apparently shops like to close on Tuesdays. Poor planning on the ships part.

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2 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

As far as weather is coming in January a good time?  Is there any areas in Australia or New Zealand that a more chilly at that time of year? 

January is the middle of summer here, so you can expect temperatures anywhere between 25 and 40 degrees Celsius. Normally the south would be cooler, but during summer it’s just bloody hot everywhere. Except maybe Tasmania. In Queensland it will be hot, but the worst part will be the humidity. North of Brisbane is tropical region, so expect 70%+ on the humidity scale. 

2 hours ago, packercruising said:

It's their July, so think hot! We were there in March

Our favorite port (Other than Sydney), was Adelaide. Beautiful city. They even had a band great us as we came in to port. I became a Adelaide Crows fan during that cruise. ? Melboure was a disappointment as we were there on a Tuesday and apparently shops like to close on Tuesdays. Poor planning on the ships part.

Really, shops closed on Tuesday? I’ve never heard of that. Restaraunts closing Monday isn’t unheard of, but never heard of shops closed Tuesday. But then again I’m generally working so.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

i am going to noumea in December and their local market will be closed the day we’re there. Pretty bummed about that ?

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19 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

As far as weather is coming in January a good time?  Is there any areas in Australia or New Zealand that a more chilly at that time of year? 

NZ was cooler than Australia when we sailed 14 Jan 18  - 70-80 degrees F rather than the 85-90+ in Australia.  It is their summer, but NZ has a more temperate climate, which is one of its attractions for retirees.

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17 hours ago, Vanessa77 said:

January is the middle of summer here, so you can expect temperatures anywhere between 25 and 40 degrees Celsius. Normally the south would be cooler, but during summer it’s just bloody hot everywhere. Except maybe Tasmania. In Queensland it will be hot, but the worst part will be the humidity. North of Brisbane is tropical region, so expect 70%+ on the humidity scale. 

Really, shops closed on Tuesday? I’ve never heard of that. Restaraunts closing Monday isn’t unheard of, but never heard of shops closed Tuesday. But then again I’m generally working so.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

i am going to noumea in December and their local market will be closed the day we’re there. Pretty bummed about that ?

We were on an excursion that included that included a forest and then shopping in a small town. The forest was terrific, but we only got 1/2 hour there. We got to the town and most of the shops were closed. Probably those little towns can't afford to have shops open every day. The ship was supposed to let them know we were coming, but someone dropped the ball. We had a good time, though. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 8/5/2019 at 4:16 AM, packercruising said:

It's their July, so think hot! We were there in March

Our favorite port (Other than Sydney), was Adelaide. Beautiful city. They even had a band great us as we came in to port. I became a Adelaide Crows fan during that cruise. ? Melboure was a disappointment as we were there on a Tuesday and apparently shops like to close on Tuesdays. Poor planning on the ships part.

 I don't understand the above statement, I'm from Melbourne and I think someone is pulling your leg (probably someone from Sydney ? ). Shops are open Tuesday in Melbourne  - even the Victoria Market opens on a Tuesday (closed Mon&Wed).   It's the second (or could be the first now) largest city in Australia. It's a very beautiful city with wonderful architecture, great shopping district, and considered Australia's culture, food and cafe capital. Adelaide is a lovely city - the city of churches. Sydney is in a beautiful location.

Also - South Island New Zealand is on the cool side, even though it is the middle of summer (roughly 18C/64F). 

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On 8/29/2019 at 1:15 AM, KesTag said:

 I don't understand the above statement, I'm from Melbourne and I think someone is pulling your leg (probably someone from Sydney ? ). Shops are open Tuesday in Melbourne  - even the Victoria Market opens on a Tuesday (closed Mon&Wed).   It's the second (or could be the first now) largest city in Australia. It's a very beautiful city with wonderful architecture, great shopping district, and considered Australia's culture, food and cafe capital. Adelaide is a lovely city - the city of churches. Sydney is in a beautiful location.

Also - South Island New Zealand is on the cool side, even though it is the middle of summer (roughly 18C/64F). 

All I know is, somebody screwed up. This wasn't Melbourne. This was a much smaller town north of there. And yes, shops really were closed. They were scheduled to open later than our tour was going to be there. We never did get to actually see Melbourne, so it is no knock on your city. 

We started out in Perth for 2 days and it was 104 degrees. The day before we left for the cruise, we had 19" of snow. One constant on this cruise was that the people at every port were really friendly. Except maybe for a barista in Sydney that didn't want to give me a cup of black coffee. ? 

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Have not been there yet but wife and I are doing B2B cruises out of Sydney to both NZ and SP in March/April of 2020. We are flying in 4 days earlier and going to the Blue Mountains on our one paid excursion from the hotel. The rest of touring in Sydney will be by ferry and walking. I have done quite a bit of research and planning so if you have any questions, ask away.

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