Best cruise line for New Zealand?

[readsalot]

HI All,

We are planning a cruise to NZ for 2012 and can't decide between Princess, HALS or Celebrity, our current favorite.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Readsalot

[Essiesmom]

Are you cruising TO NZ, or flying in to cruise? Other cruise lines may have ships there at the time you want to go...P&O-Australia, for one. Check out http://www.cruisetimetables.com to see schedules. EM

[readsalot]

We will be flying in, hopefully stopping for 2 nights in HI to cut down the air travel time.

Thanks!

readsalot

[Hlitner]

They are all good cruise lines so we would probably make our decison based on price and itinerary (always look at the time and day of the week in ports). And we would add a suggestion. When we did this cruise we decided to start at Auckland and end in Sydney. We flew into Auckland a week early, rented a car, and spent a week on North Island seeing places never visited by any cruise ship or tour. It was absolutely wonderful and we only regretted we had not allocated a month to drive around both North and South Islands before getting on the ship. We also spent some time, after the cruise in Australia (flew up to Cairns to dive on the Great Barrier Reef). Getting to and from downunder is such a pain that it makes sense to stay awile :)

 

Hank

[Talisker92]

We cruised with Princess in January. We flew Air Tahiti Nui and laid over in Tahiti both ways to break up the trip.

The trip story is on our website http://www.stevekathytravels.com

[readsalot]

Thanks! We hope to try that!

[Hlitner]

Thanks! We hope to try that!

 

We think a layover in Tahiti is a great idea. Must beware that decent hotels or resorts on this island (or other Polynesian islands) can be very pricey.

 

Hank