Has anyone done Australia-New Zealand??

[Kiwi Kruzer]

We prefer to cruises where we dont have to fly too much to get to/from the ship , so following that rule we are locked into doing Au/ NZ ..we do venture further afield as well.

 

We are doing the full Au/ NZ cruise again ,this coming Christmas and New Year , for the 5th time.:D

Previously cruised this route on Legend of The Seas, Regal Princess, Star Princess, Statendam,and this year on Diamond Princess. All have been excellent.

[K-Roo-Zers]

Couldn't have said it better myself - agree with all posters.

 

New Zealand is "jaw droppingly" beautiful and naturally I can only say great things about Australia as an Aussie.

 

What are you waiting for - visit "Down Under", and New Zealand - you won't regret it.

 

Understand your concern re the long flight - we leave end Oct to sail to LA on Sapphire via the Pacific. Will sure beat sitting in a place for too many hours!!

 

Nicki

[Northeastal]

DW and myself did this cruise on the Diamond in January of this year sailing from Auckland to Sydney.

 

It is a long way from the Uk but is well worth it. We stayed for three days in Auckland before the cruise and four days in Sydney after the cruise.

 

We visited Tauronga, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney as well as a days sailing in the fiords of New Zealand.

 

It was a wonderful cruise and one that we would do again without any hesitation. We had rough seas in the Tasman sea but this was only a minor irritant and did not detract from a stunning cruise.

 

We also liked the Diamond Princess.

 

It is a long way to travel, even from the US, but I would not let this put you off from this wonderful cruise.

[swdke]

Although I've not done this cruise, I have traveled to each of the cities listed on this itinerary. All cities listed are wonderful, and I highly recommend taking such a cruise that would visit these wonderful destinations. You will have a wonderful adventure. Don’t worry about the long flight. It’s all part of the adventure, and the destination is more than worth it. Go for it, and have fun.

[westham]

We are seriously considering this cruise of Australia and New Zealand on the Diamond in January 2012.

 

http://www.princess.com/find/itineraryDetails.do?subnav=true&voyageCode=M203&tourCode=&resType=C&departurePort=&noOfCruiseDays=&noOfTourDays=&travelOrder=&bID=&airPortCode=&noOfPax=2&shipId=DI&shipName=Diamond+Princess&co=US&productCode=ZZT121&departureDate=Jan+23%2C+2012&productDesc=Australia+%26+New+Zealand+-+Auckland+to+Sydney+12+Days

 

Has anyone done this itinerary?? Any comments?? Positive or negative??

 

We've been to Australia before..just land..but not New Zealand...

 

long flight...

We did this same cruise on The Diamond January of this year, had a great time, we flew out of Los Angeles and stayed the weekend in Sydney to rest up and have a look around Sydney.......which is a great place, the cruise was perfect, NZ is also great, good ports of call and places to visit, we would do it again in a heartbeat!!!:)

[cornish1]

Linda and John We will be on the same cruise as you in January Jan

[dfields1814]

We did this cruise in Jan 2010 on the Diamond. I would think the the transpacific would be better if you had the time and money. If not, this cruise is a really, really good. Cruising the Milford Sound has to be a highlight. Also consider taking the train out of Christchurch. Dunedin and Hobart were also great ports.

 

As for the flight I just took 2 Ambian - problem solved. Research the prices. I discovered it was cheaper to fly RT LA to Sydney and fly one way from Aukland back to Sydney than a OW to Sydney and then a OW back to LA from NZ. Why I don't know.

 

There are a number of good hotels in Sydney within walking distance of the terminal. We stayed at the Marriott. There is a Holiday Inn in the Rocks area as well.

 

Spend time in Sydney. It is one of my favotite world cities. In Jan I was taking a walking tour of the Rocks with something like 30 stops. I got to the 3rd stop which was the Fortune of War Pub and that is far as I got!!!! I spent 4 hours there and met some life long friends. I wish I could remember their names!

[cruiseron36]

We did Seattle to Sydney three years ago - it is the most memorable trip we ever took and one we would love to repeat. Just a word of warning, the Tasman Sea has a roll that makes many folks sick even after having been on the ship for three weeks. NZ is so beautiful and the people so nice my DH and DS wanted to move there!

 

WE crossed the Tasman sea from NZ to AU in October 2009 and it was flat, perhaps 2 or 3 foot waves. The bartenders were warning me to buckle up and be prepared for a rough two days - never happened.

[zalusky]

For those that did the SF - Sydney 28+ day cruise. How did the finances work out. It's one thing to do a week cruise and figure out tips and shore expenses but were you able to plan properly for the longer cruise. Did it scope creep more than you expected?

 

The itinerary is one of my dream retirement routes but I think I need to start calculating the true cost of it. I am pretty positive that I don't think I could handle an inside cabin for that many days so I have to budget up their.

Tips are easy to calculate but I have no idea what scope creep would happen on shore excursions and such.

 

Assuming your an average non-suite joe what should someone budget per person?

[Hlitner]

Yes, we did that same itinerary a few years ago on the Diamond Princess and loved the trip. I should mention that are goal of that trip was to see Australia, but we fell in love with New Zealand. My advice is that you should spend a few days (weeks would be better) in New Zealand before your cruise. We rented a car and drove around North Island for a week and spent our time at places not visited on the cruise (such as the Coromandel Penninsula. The cruise was great, but spending time on land was even more rewarding. As to Australia we did spend a few days in Sydney but we than caught a flight up to Cairns so that we could spend a few days snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef.

 

Hank

[cornish1]

Bongaree

We love Australia and are spending six days in Queensland before our cruise around NZ. It's our third trip to Aus. Had an apartment in Brisbane until last Christmas. Can't wait to go in January

 

Cornish

[sandysu]

We are seriously considering this cruise of Australia and New Zealand on the Diamond in January 2012.

 

http://www.princess.com/find/itineraryDetails.do?subnav=true&voyageCode=M203&tourCode=&resType=C&departurePort=&noOfCruiseDays=&noOfTourDays=&travelOrder=&bID=&airPortCode=&noOfPax=2&shipId=DI&shipName=Diamond+Princess&co=US&productCode=ZZT121&departureDate=Jan+23%2C+2012&productDesc=Australia+%26+New+Zealand+-+Auckland+to+Sydney+12+Days

 

Has anyone done this itinerary?? Any comments?? Positive or negative??

 

We've been to Australia before..just land..but not New Zealand...

 

long flight...

 

We did the reverse of this cruise on the Diamond Princess in December 2008. In my opinion the Diamond Princess is the best of the cruise ships we have been on so far, and the whole cruise was just outstanding. Spectacular scenery, specially in New Zealand, lots of interesting places to visit. We just loved it. We were also quite lucky with the sea - I kept waiting for the big waves, but it didn't happen.

 

Of course, for us, Sydney is only a three hour drive away and Auckland only a couple of hours more on the plane, but I'm absolutely certain it would be worth the long flight for you. Having said that, you can probably see from our cruise list below that we've tried out a much different way of travelling from the USA to New Zealand/Australia - that cruise was far more comfortable and much more fun than any airline flight :)

 

As others have said, try to come early and spend some time in Auckland before the cruise, and definitely spend some time in Australia afterwards!

 

And, welcome in advance!!

[Talisker92]

We cruised on the Diamond in January. Out trip story is on our website -Wonder Down Under

at http://www.stevekathytravels.com

[luxurysailer]

We "did" NZ and Australia on the Diamond Princess in 2006. Yes the flights are long, but the trip is well worth putting up with that inconvenience. We arrived in Auckland a couple of days early and took excursions offered by Princess, and at the end we had a postcruise package to Cairns/Great Barrier Reef. I would think that is the minimum one should do after traveling that far.

 

The scenery was beautiful and the people were great. One word of caution, though. We had heard that the Tasman Sea was notorious for being stormy, and it lived up to that reputation in spades. My suggestion, if you're not already on bonine, start it about 24 hours prior to the crossing. Maybe you'll be lucky and won't need it, but if you do you'll be prepared.

[bongaree]

Bongaree

We love Australia and are spending six days in Queensland before our cruise around NZ. It's our third trip to Aus. Had an apartment in Brisbane until last Christmas. Can't wait to go in January

 

Cornish

 

Hope you get a chance to come up to Bribie Island (an hour north of Brisbane) :)and see my wonderful part of the world.

 

We had four great months in the UK and Europe last year before getting on the Dawn Princess at Southampton for 51 nights back to Sydney. It was a really wonderful adventure and we are still raving about all the places we visited.