Silver and Gold

I arrived in Melbourne on 13th Feb, and found the immigration process simple and quick. I had items to declare and still wasn't held up.

Its worth walking to the end of the pier to get collected, as it's difficult for cars to gain access to the wharf/pier with barrier arms and security in the way.

Both times I sailed on the Golden Princess. I have just completed a Tasman crossing with her, there were 70 knot winds and 6metre swells and the ship held up well in opinion....

I'm not sure which fleet has the newest ships?

I also recommend Wai-o-Tapu. It's amazing! I don't remember it smelling that badly, but there is a lot of steam in the air. It may be worth carrying scarves that you can cover your nose/mouth with if people are worried about being irritated by the steam/smell.

Keep in mind that this area was used for healing back in the day! The mineral-filled-steam is supposedly healthy and helps clean out your lungs!

I've just sailed with Princess from NZ to Aus, and back to NZ :) I really enjoyed the experience, and when booking I found that Princess had the most options available and the most flexible itineraries. In my opinion, Princess cater to the Aus/NZ market the most out of any of the other cruise liners.

I have previously sailed with P&O, and although I enjoyed it... it was definitely more families and younger people and more partying on the boat. So definitely a different target market.

Hi,

The Bay of Islands is a relatively small community so I wouldn't guarantee that there will be taxi's you could just pick up. You would be best to contact some of the companies that operate in advance to make sure that they are available to take you on a tour or transport you:

https://www.dolphincruises.co.nz/island-adventurer-cruises/island-adventurer-cliffs-caves-cruise

http://www.boiwatertaxi.co.nz/

Thank you everyone! The Marine Traffic website was kind of what I was after...

Leaving tomorrow for the first of my 2 cruises- very excited!

Hi everyone!

I'm boarding the Golden Princess from Auckland to Melbourne this Thursday (9th Feb) and I was hoping to find out the exact route the ship was planning on taking? Does anyone know where I can find this kind of information?

Cheers :)

I take a pic of my passport and store it on my smartphone

Great idea!

Thanks for the responses... sounds like I should be OK... lets hope :)

I'm taking the Golden Princess from Auckland to Melbourne, leaving Feb 9th. I'm then staying in Melb for 3 weeks and returning on the Golden Princess (leaving March 5th I think).

I am on medication for a chronic illness, and I am wondering if anyone knows what the process for taking medication on to the cruise ship is? And then for getting medication through customs in to Australia? I will need to take 1 months supply (if not a little extra), so my supply might look large (although it's only 1-2 pills a day?) and I am concerned about being question over this and explaining myself... can someone please tell me what the process is, what documentation I need and what the best way to travel with medication is?

Many thanks and happy cruising :)

Yes, NZ media is not known for writing great articles! I think most of our news revolves around hype and scaremongering...

I was hopeful that this kind of publicity might lead to better protection on board cruise ships, as I have heard some stories about being in international waters and therefore police not following up with crimes that happen on board ships etc. But I don't know the details of how this works.

In case anyone is interested, the NZ new site 'Stuff'currently has the below article as it's main page feature- on crime that happens on cruises.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/cruising/87895684/another-side-of-the-multibillion-dollar-worldwide-cruise-ship-industry

 

Also thankful to the person on CC who mentioned Windytv.com. I found it to be extremely accurate. Ive literally been on it multiple times, every day.

I've just been on to this website, and it's amazing!! Thanks for sharing.

And thanks for your post- I am travelling to Melbourne and back in Feb/March on 2 separate cruises, and I'm a little bit nervous about crossing the Tasman! (eeek!). Any tips on how best to deal with 9m waves, should I encounter them?

Thanks for the tips everyone!

This may be 'apples to oranges'; however, compared to what I've paid for massages at my resort in Bali, on board Spa prices are outrageously expensive. Plus, they're used as an opportunity to apply pressure (pun intended) to sell you a whole bunch very expensive 'products'.

Yes, I was concerned about this!!! (Things being outrageously priced).

I would recommend checking out websites for Freighter/Cargo ships as they would be more likely to let you travel with a dog.

As others have mentioned, get dogs in to NZ is difficult. So mentally prepare yourself for that!

My mother and I will be taking our first cruise in February from Auckland to Melbourne :) (On the Golden Princess). As Christmas is coming up, I was thinking about booking my mother one of the massages or facials as a Christmas present? Has anyone tried these? Are they recommended? Good value for money? Any specific onboard purchase that you would say is worthwhile? Or just save the money for when we are in Melbourne?

Many thanks for your tips and advice :)

(I'm just pleased to realise that I'm not the only person who cruises solo!)

Really unfortunate that they had double bad luck with this cruise :(

My heart goes out to the passengers and I hope that they are OK.