Taieri gorge rail journey from Dunedin question????

hi guys. Doing a 12 nighter on celebrity solstice in January, 2018 to New Zealand from Sydney.

On the 30th January we arrive at Dunedin and we are really keen on doing the rail journey ( 4 ) hrs, taieri gorge. I have contacted Viator and it can only be done from 2.30pm that day which won't fit in with the cruise schedule. You can do this trip through the cruise line however they are charging a small fortune for the same tour.

Just wondering if anyone has another tour company that may be able to assist us.

Ps. The day before and after the trip is all good but for some reason not on our day. I suspect the ship has purchased most of the tickets however I'll stand corrected.

Regards bob.

It's highly likely that Celebrity has the whole train booked for the morning trip. It's very popular and there is a limited number of carriages that they can use. I doubt you would find any other tour company that could offer you seats on the train.

When you do the excursion through Celebrity the train actually picks you up and drops you back at the wharf - we saw it from our balcony last February. That probably adds a bit to the cost of the excursion.

It's a wonderful trip, I did it some years ago.

I agree with OKiwiJJ, the train will have been booked by Celebrity, as it is a very popular excursion.

Agreed, it is very popular and X have most of the seats, if you really want to do it there is really only the ship's tour.

Check out the website for Dunedin Railways which runs the tour:

www.dunedinrailways.co.nz/our-journeys/taieri-gorge-railway/taieri-gorge-to-pukerangi

You can see full details there and make bookings with them; this would be the most cost effective way of doing it. You would need to get yourself to the Dunedin Railway Station to board the train but this is in the city quite close to where the shuttle from the port should drop you.

We did this tour some years ago and it was a very good trip. What they did then, and I'm unsure but it's probably the same now, was to run a special extra train for the ship's excursion which picked up passengers directly from the dock. We took the regular train which runs every day from the Railway Station and saved quite a bit.

Check out the website for Dunedin Railways which runs the tour:

www.dunedinrailways.co.nz/our-journeys/taieri-gorge-railway/taieri-gorge-to-pukerangi

The morning trip for the date the OP wants isn't available, and that is quite common when a cruise ship is in port. I've checked it a number of times for other people.

Check out the website for Dunedin Railways which runs the tour:

www.dunedinrailways.co.nz/our-journeys/taieri-gorge-railway/taieri-gorge-to-pukerangi

 

You can see full details there and make bookings with them; this would be the most cost effective way of doing it. You would need to get yourself to the Dunedin Railway Station to board the train but this is in the city quite close to where the shuttle from the port should drop you.

 

We did this tour some years ago and it was a very good trip. What they did then, and I'm unsure but it's probably the same now, was to run a special extra train for the ship's excursion which picked up passengers directly from the dock. We took the regular train which runs every day from the Railway Station and saved quite a bit.

I think the timing will not work with what the OP wants.

Check out the website for Dunedin Railways which runs the tour:

www.dunedinrailways.co.nz/our-journeys/taieri-gorge-railway/taieri-gorge-to-pukerangi

 

You can see full details there and make bookings with them; this would be the most cost effective way of doing it. You would need to get yourself to the Dunedin Railway Station to board the train but this is in the city quite close to where the shuttle from the port should drop you.

 

We did this tour some years ago and it was a very good trip. What they did then, and I'm unsure but it's probably the same now, was to run a special extra train for the ship's excursion which picked up passengers directly from the dock. We took the regular train which runs every day from the Railway Station and saved quite a bit.

I followed this advice recently and was able to secure a booking. However a few months later the rail company contacted me and advised that there had been "an error" and they refunded me the full amount. IMHO I believe that the cruise company has a monopoly for the train on cruise ship visits.

I booked through the dunedin railways and it was all fine, I wish we had booked through the ship though as it would be fun to take the train from the ship.

Can anyone recommend a reliable taxi company to get from our ship to Dunedin Railway Station? We all ready have our tickets but need transport there and back.

Thanks!

Denise

Can anyone recommend a reliable taxi company to get from our ship to Dunedin Railway Station? We all ready have our tickets but need transport there and back.

 

Thanks!

Denise

There are usually shuttle buses that will take you into the centre of the city, near the Octagon, for a fee. Cheaper than a taxi, usually. The Octagon is about 500 metres from the Railway station, less than 10 minutes walk.

I'm not sure what the best taxi companies are. Try Google and check what their rates are from Port Chalmers.

We used a shuttle, it was fine. There may be a very long line though.

hi guys. Doing a 12 nighter on celebrity solstice in January, 2018 to New Zealand from Sydney.

On the 30th January we arrive at Dunedin and we are really keen on doing the rail journey ( 4 ) hrs, taieri gorge. I have contacted Viator and it can only be done from 2.30pm that day which won't fit in with the cruise schedule. You can do this trip through the cruise line however they are charging a small fortune for the same tour.

Just wondering if anyone has another tour company that may be able to assist us.

Ps. The day before and after the trip is all good but for some reason not on our day. I suspect the ship has purchased most of the tickets however I'll stand corrected.

Regards bob.

Contact Good Company Tours. http://www.goodcompanytours.co.nz You can book the train through their website and they pick you up from the port. It is NZ$140 for the Train and City Combo tour.

Richard and Adele are locals. After two cruise ships took over the whole train a few years ago causing Good Company to have to cancel their confirmed bookings (we were one of those), the Rail company always allocates them a number of seats. And remember the ship's excursion is on the same train, so you won't miss it or be late back. We are booked with them again next January. There is a Plan B to bus one way and take the train back if the ship arrives after 9am.

There is also a HOHO bus that collects from the port except Sundays. Last time we used it the price wss NZ$15 pp. They ferry passengers back from central Dunedin late in the afternoon too if you have a ticket. Purchase at the port. If you don't take the Taieri Gorge scenic train, don't miss the Settlers museum across from the train station. It's free, and wonderful.

Enjoy Dunedin. Carol

That's a very useful tip, Port Power. Thanks.

You might like to post it on the Ports of Call board too, so people searching there can find the link.

G'day all,

Thats interesting re Port Power's comment re the same train for the cruise line and normal pickups at Dunedin. We were on Pacific Pearl around November 2015 and the train that ran from the dock was solely for the cruise passengers and proceeded through Dunedin station as a second train (noted with non ship tour cruise passengers boarding) waiting at the station. Our train proceeded up to Pukerangi While the other train now following went to Flat Stream (I think).

cya

BL262000

Pacific Pearl is smaller than Solstice, 1800 passengers against 2800. It's highly likely that P&O would not have reserved as many seats, so the railway company may have decided to run two trains on that date. Celebrity, and other cruise lines with larger ships, probably reserve the maximum seats available based on the carriages they use.

G'day all,Thats interesting re Port Power's comment re the same train for the cruise line and normal pickups at Dunedin. We were on Pacific Pearl around November 2015 and the train that ran from the dock was solely for the cruise passengers and proceeded through Dunedin station as a second train (noted with non ship tour cruise passengers boarding) waiting at the station. Our train proceeded up to Pukerangi While the other train now following went to Flat Stream (I think).

cya

BL262000

I only ever referred to the Taieri Gorge scenic train, which both cruise shore excursion passengers, independent passengers and private citizens travel on at the same time. I made no mention of any train at Port Chalmers.

There are also trains out of Dunedin Station doing other scenic routes besides Taieri Gorge.

There are also trains out of Dunedin Station doing other scenic routes besides Taieri Gorge.

I have seen posts by other people mentioning two Taieri Gorge trains running almost at the same time, one with cruisers booked through the cruise line, and one for the general publiic including independent cruisers. It does happen. ;)

I only ever referred to the Taieri Gorge scenic train, which both cruise shore excursion passengers, independent passengers and private citizens travel on at the same time. I made no mention of any train at Port Chalmers.

 

There are also trains out of Dunedin Station doing other scenic routes besides Taieri Gorge.

Both trains were "Taieri Gorge Scenic" trains running on the same line with the second departing Dunedin and running one stop short. On the return we had 20mins "viewing" time of Dunedin station before returning to the port before the second train arrived back at Dunedin.

We also met up with other cruise passengers (privately booked) on the second train.

I think OzKiwiJJ's explanation of a fully booked out train for the cruiseline makes sense requiring all cars avaliable on the one train.

Port power, thanks so much for your info about the taieri gorge rail tour. I have subsequently sent the tour company an email hoping we can do this trip in our day at port.

Once again, thank you we appreciate it.

Cheers bob and Chris.

I have seen posts by other people mentioning two Taieri Gorge trains running almost at the same time, one with cruisers booked through the cruise line, and one for the general publiic including independent cruisers. It does happen. ;)

It most certainly does - one departs from the wharf (that's only for those booking the ships excursion) and one departs from the railway station for independent travellers. The charge for independent travellers is a lot cheaper than the ships excursion although it doesn't include catering which can be purchase on the train - the ships excursion did. Both trains travel the same route ie on the same track

At least that's what happened in November 2014 when we travelled as independent travellers from the railway station

Port power, thanks so much for your info about the taieri gorge rail tour. I have subsequently sent the tour company an email hoping we can do this trip in our day at port.

Once again, thank you we appreciate it.

 

Cheers bob and Chris.

Hopefully you will get a response that they will be able to cater for you.

Just received news that the rail journey is unavailable for our day in port unfortunately. It appears that the cruise line has purchased all tickets.

Back to the drawing board.

Thanks to all that have contributed.

Cheers bob.

If you decide not to do the train trip through Celebrity then I suggest seeing if you can find a tour that includes the Albatross Sanctuary and Penguin Place, and also Larnach's castle.

With the Taieri Gorge trip only available through the ship, there will be other options for you. We went on it a couple of years ago and were rather under-whelmed. The main thing I liked was lunch with plenty of wine. Actually, the steward left the bottle with us, then gave us another bottle to finish off.;)

On one cruise we hired a car and went to the tip of the Otago Peninsula. We saw quite a bit of wildlife. Others here on this forum have done local tours that get a good review.