whzzz28

Going to NZ on Carnival Legend in Feb and was checking out the shore excursions for Dunedin only to find there was no ship's Taieri Gorge Railway trip.

Hi,

There is a ship run excursion for the train. You probably had the same issues I had. Carnival AU's website is pretty bad, so you may not have known that their shore excursions page is limited to 5 excursions per page (why carnival? your narrow search list is longer than the list of excursions per page!)

The train is on the 2nd page. The link to the 2nd page is at the very top of the list, on the right hand side.

Or here is a direct link to the tour:

https://www.carnival.com.au/shore-excursions/taieri-gorge-by-train.aspx

I will be taking this tour, I am on the same cruise. I do not know if the train stops by the ship or not - i would think it does.

Sadly Carnival only allows you to purchase/book tours on board the actual ship.

One more reason I say Carnivals' Australia website is pretty bad.

This is my "go to" plan whenever I visit Sydney. I normally find this is cheapest and most convenient for me.

I try to work my hotel arrangements around the train.

I normally stay at either the Pullman Hyde Park or Rydges World Square.

Both have excellent restaurants at fair prices, with Rydges being closely situated to china town, so tons and tons of restaurants. Pullman is a bit further away from most restaurants, but has a great view over Hyde Park.

Prices for both are around the $200-$250 mark per night.

Why do I go with them?

Both are very reasonably priced. Both are well kept and the food is great. Both are close to the main train line, which will take you everywhere.

Arriving to Sydney via air? Take the train to Museum Station. Then a short 5-10min walk to the hotel. Going on a cruise after checking out? Jump on the train at Museum station and go 2 stops to circular quay.

Arriving to Sydney via cruise? then take the reverse train. No need for Taxi's etc.

Hi,

Having visited all but Picton and Bay of Islands, I thought id provide some info.

Dunedin - You dock at Port Chalmers, which is a drive from Dunedin itself. Depending on the cruise line their will either be a free, or paid bus transfer from the port. You dock in a working port so you have limited ability to just walk around. Booking a tour of Dunedin from onboard generally gets you a bus right next to the ship. Personal tours are a short walk away in the main tourist building, but be aware that some tour operators only leave from downtown Dunedin so keep an eye out for that.

My last visit to Dunedin was with Princess. I took a whole day tour provided by the ship, which included the train in the morning (Taieri Gorge) followed by a bus trip + tour of Lanach castle, then back to the boat just before leaving port. The train picks you up literally on the dock. It was an excellent, full day, albeit expensive.

Be aware as well if you wish to do the train journey, some cruises lines will book out the entire train for their shore excursion, so booking separately can be impossible. So don't try and book the train on the day. Prebook, or book through the boat.

Wellington - Personally, i'd do my own thing in Wellington. You don't dock "in the city" but instead near the stadium, again there are bus transfers. I wouldn't book tours (unless going for something exotic) until the day you get there as Wellington's weather is finicky. Might be beautiful the day before in Napier, but the next day in Wellington its misty rain. There generally isn't anything you need to prebook for Wellington. The cable car is popular, but its not as if it is a once a day activity.

Napier - I wouldn't book anything here unless you see something you like. Free shuttle services into the city, then walk around there. Napier is more about wine and art deco. If not interested in either of these, then your tour options are limited. Walk around town, the beach and visit to the aquarium is what I did.

Tauranga - If you want to visit Rotorua, i'd book a tour. Pre-book that is. Tauranga is a lovely town by itself. The town is a "surf" town. Lots of vacation homes and people whom like to swim/have a good time, so expect that sort of atmosphere. There is a mountain/hill right next to the city (you will sail by it (very closely) as you come into port), so if you don't want to spend any money, you can walk the mountain for nice views. Also, the people of Tauranga love cruise ships. When it comes time to leave, get out onto deck and watch. You will generally find thousands of people on the beach wishing you off. Great experience.

Auckland - You dock right in the city, you can get off the boat and just walk without needing to catch a bus etc. Some people like to take the time in Auckland to visit the Waitamo glow worm caves. Be aware that this is a long drive (3hrs or so, one way) to get there, but the drive is great if you like scenery. The glow worm caves are always popular, almost too popular that the caves become a bit of a squeeze. I'd suggest pre-booking this tour as it often will sell out, and select the "small group" tour if one exists (you get a group of 20~ tops, compared to 50+ on other tours, helps for the squish in the caves).

- Picton. I have not visited Picton on a cruise ship, only when traveling by car. General experience is that the town doesn't have a huge amount to offer directly, it is a small town. You need to rent a car or take a tour to make the most of the area. Maybe someone else can provide some more info here.

Have a good holiday!