Considering a Circumnavigation of Austrailia

This isn't a question about any specific port but about cruising Australia in general. DH and I are considering a circumnavigation of Australia Cruise on either Princess (Sea Princess ) or Oceania(Regatta). The Princess Cruise is in March the Oceania Cruise in December. We will likely do a post-cruise land trip in the Sydney area. We are both in our mid-sixties in good health and prefer outdoor or cultural things to shopping and art museums. I am looking for recommendations, suggestions, opinions on such a plan. Might we be better off with one of the cruises focusing on a segment of the Australian coastline? We are snorkeling fans.

I really appreciate anyone's help or suggestions.

Greg

We did the Oceania Sirena circumnavigation in March/April of this year. Loved it. Probably the easiest way to see a lot of Australia - west coast especially. It's a big country and land/air travel is pretty expensive.

A couple of considerations - Oceania is taking a lot of "heat" on the Oceania board for the Dec schedule. Not only is it school holidays in all the tourist areas but it is midsummer and the North and west coast will be devastatingly hot. It was pretty hot in March but bearable.

If snorkeling the GBR is a goal there are two considerations - port times and the season. Summer is not the best due to rain and stinger jellyfish. Do your own research. We went to the GBR out of Cairns. The local boats there normally leave before 8 AM. We arrived at 10 AM so I chartered the "Sea Star" and organized a group of 30 off of the roll call. Lucked out with beautiful weather and a lovely crew and boat. The ship GBR excursion was out of Airlie Beach and did not get rave reviews from people we talked to. Note that there are also some snorkel opportunities on the west coast.

As always, you have to decide. If the GBR is the primary goal perhaps a land trip in their winter would serve better. If you want to see all of Australia, the circumnavigation is a great trip. Do research the weather issues - When we were in Darwin in late March we were told that more than half the population leaves the city Dec through Feb/March because of the torrential rains and heat. They go south. Our guide had only been back 2 weeks.

Robbie

We did the Oceania Sirena circumnavigation in March/April of this year. Loved it. Probably the easiest way to see a lot of Australia - west coast especially. It's a big country and land/air travel is pretty expensive.

A couple of considerations - Oceania is taking a lot of "heat" on the Oceania board for the Dec schedule. Not only is it school holidays in all the tourist areas but it is midsummer and the North and west coast will be devastatingly hot. It was pretty hot in March but bearable.

If snorkeling the GBR is a goal there are two considerations - port times and the season. Summer is not the best due to rain and stinger jellyfish. Do your own research. We went to the GBR out of Cairns. The local boats there normally leave before 8 AM. We arrived at 10 AM so I chartered the "Sea Star" and organized a group of 30 off of the roll call. Lucked out with beautiful weather and a lovely crew and boat. The ship GBR excursion was out of Airlie Beach and did not get rave reviews from people we talked to. Note that there are also some snorkel opportunities on the west coast.

As always, you have to decide. If the GBR is the primary goal perhaps a land trip in their winter would serve better. If you want to see all of Australia, the circumnavigation is a great trip. Do research the weather issues - When we were in Darwin in late March we were told that more than half the population leaves the city Dec through Feb/March because of the torrential rains and heat. They go south. Our guide had only been back 2 weeks.

Robbie

Thank you for your comments about cruising during our Australian summer cyclone season. Most Aussies don't travel north in the summer wet season, because of the heat and humidity. My friend just did a cruise from Freemantle, WA to Brisbane, Queensland on Sun Princess in July. The winter weather was perfect. Darwin is 35c max during winter. Unfortunately, Princess are not doing this cruise during the winter next year, but are doing the reverse journey in April.

There was one of those Mighty Cruises (I think that's the name) TV programs on Celebrity Solstice doing the Top End in summer. They had some serious issues keeping the ship cool.

We did the Top End in August a couple of years ago and that was a lovely time to go through that region. We also did a repositioning cruise in April last year and the weather was perfect across the Top End. We're doing another repo cruise next March and I'm looking forward to the Top End days on that.

October or March/April are the best times for a circumnavigation. There has to be a balance beween the best time to cruise across the bottom of Australia as conditions there can get quite rough in our winter months, and avoiding the worst of the hot, humid weather across the Top End.

Oceania are crazy doing a circumnavigation in December but their ships only blow through our region once a year and always in summer so I guess they over-ride commonsense to give their possengers the full Aussie experience. :rolleyes:

Having traveled to Australia several times and having lived there for a few years as well, I don't consider a cruise a good way to see the country. If your goal is to take a cruise and to incidentally see some coastal areas for a limited amount of time, then take this cruise. But if you goal is to spend time REALLY seeing parts of the country, especially parts that aren't ports, then consider doing a land tour, either guided or self-guided.

If you decide to take the cruise, don't do a circumnavigation in December. The weather will be unbearably hot and humid (with a chance of cyclones) in the northern states. And, as previously mentioned, it's stinger season in Far North Queensland. (It won't keep you from snorkeling when you wear a stinger suit, but it will keep you from swimming off the beach.) And I can't imagine being in Darwin in December. There's a very good reason that some of the locals leave for the summer.

One final note about snorkel tours while on a cruise. As previously mentioned, the snorkel boats in Cairns and Port Douglas generally depart at 8:30 - 9:00 am and do not return until 4:00 - 4:30 pm. Few, if any of the cruises, are in port early enough or stay late enough for you to take one of these private snorkel trips. So you are stuck having to charter a boat like Robbie21 did or taking the ships excursion which costs more than the private boats. Also, the ships excursion out of Cairns and Port Douglas tend to go to fixed platforms on the Outer Reef. These platforms deal with hundreds of people and you can only snorkel in one proscribed area. It's not the best snorkeling experience.

This isn't a question about any specific port but about cruising Australia in general. DH and I are considering a circumnavigation of Australia Cruise on either Princess (Sea Princess ) or Oceania(Regatta). The Princess Cruise is in March the Oceania Cruise in December. We will likely do a post-cruise land trip in the Sydney area. We are both in our mid-sixties in good health and prefer outdoor or cultural things to shopping and art museums. I am looking for recommendations, suggestions, opinions on such a plan. Might we be better off with one of the cruises focusing on a segment of the Australian coastline? We are snorkeling fans.

 

I really appreciate anyone's help or suggestions.

Greg

We are Aussies and did our Circumnavigation Oct/Nov it Wakaso fantastic, March I'd be a little worried about Cyclones if you are going anti clockwise, December would be a bit too hot, up North for my tastes.

Mist if your snorkelling is likely to be on the Queensland coast so a bit of time in, say, Cairns or even on one of the barrier reef islands may be good use of your time, then a Sydney-NZ cruise. And some time in Sydney.

I live in Darwin and have so most my life. March will be (hopefully) cooler, but in recent years nothing is for sure. Rain will be welcomed up here always so don't fear the rain and if your lucky to see a lightning and thunder storm you will LOVE it. I have no idea how it is on a ship though haha, view would be fantastic. We locals love a great storm. Not sure about that many locals leaving in the wet. Darwin is a tourist town, the tourist always clear out in the wet due to the heat and in turn because there are no jobs (with no tourist hospitality drops and not a lot of construction due to rain). As far as cyclone season both dates are included from the north queensland to north WA. I personal wouldn't let that effect my decision, it's like rolling dice.

Thanks everyone for your inputs and comments. We have decided to do the Princess cruise, since it doesn't get to the north coast until the last week of March..

One more question if I may. Given the distance the ship is from the shore when underway, does it matter which side of the ship your cabin is on?

Thanks everyone for your inputs and comments. We have decided to do the Princess cruise, since it doesn't get to the north coast until the last week of March..

 

One more question if I may. Given the distance the ship is from the shore when underway, does it matter which side of the ship your cabin is on?

Personally I prefer the prospect of seeing ships and sea life than the odd glimpse of shoreline, and on oursit was rare.