Americans on Australia sailings.

[heatherandfred]

Hi! Mom and I were interested in cruising in Australia. We are Americans( not the ugly kind..lol)

We are unsure how to do this and am unsure if our travel agent will be able to get a decent deal. How do we go about this? Help.

[TLCOhio]

Hi! Mom and I were interested in cruising in Australia. We are Americans( not the ugly kind..lol) We are unsure how to do this and am unsure if our travel agent will be able to get a decent deal. How do we go about this? Help.

 

Lots of good cruise options for doing a cruise sailing down under. Cruise costs are decent, but the air costs and time required to get there and back are a little more challenging.

 

We are looking forward to our first “down under” visit, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Celebrity Solstice sailing, departing Sydney, doing 14 days on this ship we loved in the Med in June 2011. We will be finishing in Auckland. Plus, doing some pre-cruise options for Cairns/Port Douglas, the Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef, then Kangaroo Island near Adelaide before departing from Sidney’s scenic harbor. Any special secrets and tips in these areas?? And, probably post-cruise in Queenstown and stopping in Tahiti on the way home to break up that long, long flight back. We have a nice and active roll call going at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1614754

Welcome to any who want to join us for this trip and/or travel along via the web as we get prepared for that "adventure".

 

Tell us more on what you are seeking, past cruise experiences, budget range, where from in the U.S., your personal travel interests and style, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 112,857 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Bookish Angel]

I read a lot about both places before we ever booked so that chose the best cruise and ports for our tastes. We chose Princess' Diamond Princess and it was a great trip.

 

I researched for several months and booked the trip myself as with all the research I felt no need for a travel agent. I used Trip Advisor and some other online resources. I also read a lot on Cruise Critic's Australia and Asia forums and those of the Travelers Century Club.

 

As we could travel in almost any month, I saved some money by monitoring prices until I found a cruise with a comfortable price. Be aware that prices are higher in Australia for nearly everything; Sydney is an expensive city in which to eat out but we had a few days there before the ship sailed and didn't want to eat every meal in our hotel. Fortunately, Australia is not a tipping culture so we saved some money in that regard.

 

Some of the most memorable things we did in Australia: the behind the scenes tour of the Sydney Opera House, the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Tasmania and the Melbourne Zoo. All of those we did on our own; the same destinations via ship excursions were at least one-third more expensive and did not include the same amount of contact with locals, public transportation, etc. Public transportation in Australia is wonderful and easy to navigate so we were glad to use it and in so doing support the local economy. We used public libraries that offered free internet (all did) and saved a ton over the slow internet packages the ship offered. We always left a donation to the library so that they could continue that great service for travelers.

 

We loved Australia and plan to return on a longer land-based trip of several months and have seriously considered living there half the year when we retire.

[Armchair Cruiser]

heatherandfred

 

We are Australians and have cruised on the Diamond Princess a couple of times - there was a good mix of Americans and Australians on board. Check out the Diamond sailings and happy cruising

 

Rose

[heatherandfred]

heatherandfred

 

We are Australians and have cruised on the Diamond Princess a couple of times - there was a good mix of Americans and Australians on board. Check out the Diamond sailings and happy cruising

 

Rose

 

Thanks Rose!

[Cassicruiser]

We had many Americans on our cruise from Sydney to New Zealand a few years ago, and the ones we met loved it.

 

One piece of advice is to book through your own local or an online agent in the US -booking in Australia will be more expensive.

 

Actually, the second piece of advice would be to book one of the Royal Caribbean or Celebrity ships or Diamond Princess rather than the local Australian P&O or Princess ships (Dawn, Sun), as they are nicer ships and more likely to have a mix of Australians and overseas visitors.

 

Hope you come down to Australia and have a wonderful time!

[heatherandfred]

We had many Americans on our cruise from Sydney to New Zealand a few years ago, and the ones we met loved it.

 

One piece of advice is to book through your own local or an online agent in the US -booking in Australia will be more expensive.

 

Actually, the second piece of advice would be to book one of the Royal Caribbean or Celebrity ships or Diamond Princess rather than the local Australian P&O or Princess ships (Dawn, Sun), as they are nicer ships and more likely to have a mix of Australians and overseas visitors.

 

Hope you come down to Australia and have a wonderful time!

 

Thank you so much. We are looking at Royal for March 1st.

[suncityga]

Hi! Mom and I were interested in cruising in Australia. We are Americans( not the ugly kind..lol)

We are unsure how to do this and am unsure if our travel agent will be able to get a decent deal. How do we go about this? Help.

 

We are also from the USA and we are booked on a B2B RCI cruise sailing from Sydney in mid February 2013 and ending up in Singapore 32 nights later.

 

How did we do it? We are RCI C&A members and purchased open Next Cruise Certificates while on a previous cruise. With the 'booking bonus' from the NCC, the reduced deposit and the C&A discount on hand we waited for our 'online TAs' to have a major sale event and then made the best deal we could.

 

Your TA in the USA should be able to help find the cruise that meets your needs. Both the RCI and Celebrity websites have great information on the itineraries they have available in Australia/NZ. Also suggest planning some pre or post cruise time in Australia.

[heatherandfred]

We will be seeing ta this weekend and plan to do two days in Sydney prior to cruise.

[avalon007]

I read a lot about both places before we ever booked so that chose the best cruise and ports for our tastes. We chose Princess' Diamond Princess and it was a great trip.

 

I researched for several months and booked the trip myself as with all the research I felt no need for a travel agent. I used Trip Advisor and some other online resources. I also read a lot on Cruise Critic's Australia and Asia forums and those of the Travelers Century Club.

 

As we could travel in almost any month, I saved some money by monitoring prices until I found a cruise with a comfortable price. Be aware that prices are higher in Australia for nearly everything; Sydney is an expensive city in which to eat out but we had a few days there before the ship sailed and didn't want to eat every meal in our hotel. Fortunately, Australia is not a tipping culture so we saved some money in that regard.

 

Some of the most memorable things we did in Australia: the behind the scenes tour of the Sydney Opera House, the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Tasmania and the Melbourne Zoo. All of those we did on our own; the same destinations via ship excursions were at least one-third more expensive and did not include the same amount of contact with locals, public transportation, etc. Public transportation in Australia is wonderful and easy to navigate so we were glad to use it and in so doing support the local economy. We used public libraries that offered free internet (all did) and saved a ton over the slow internet packages the ship offered. We always left a donation to the library so that they could continue that great service for travelers.

 

We loved Australia and plan to return on a longer land-based trip of several months and have seriously considered living there half the year when we retire.

 

 

I think you worked it out when you mention that in Australia we don't have a tipping culture, we don't tip unless we get extra good service, this makes everything appear more expensive at first, but workers in Australia have laws in their favour that ensure they get a decent wage & don't need to rely on tipping.

 

Plus since we are a big island, we don't have a lot of people crossing our borders who are willing to work for less wages etc as you guys do.

 

When we do tip, we tend to just leave extra in the bill folder or pop some spare change in the tip jar if one is available, rather than an obvious tip to an individual.

Many of us in Australia find the act of tipping individuals uncomfortable as we feel it's degrading to them in some way. Hard to explain, but we can feel it's like saying we are better than them because we have money to throw around & they are the poor ones relying on our generosity.

Probably doesn't make any sense to most Americans, but thats the way many of us are.:)

 

This is why we have issues with tipping on US cruise lines, many Australians would prefer to just pay extra for the cruise & have a no tipping policy onboard.

 

We are just used to the price being what the price is, no more, no less.

 

We advertise our prices with taxes included, not like in the US when you think something is $5 but they add more on at the check out, we found this all rather confusing when we first visited the US.

 

So taken all that into account the prices are probably not so expensive, even more so once you get outside of Sydney.

 

We have quite a few ex pat Americans calling Australia home for at least part of the year, most recently Joel Madden from the band Good Charlotte & his family.

 

The general view from them is that Australia is more low key & they find freedom here they don't get at home.

 

I have several good US friends & it was interesting that the OP said they are not the 'ugly' kind of American. Our friends say the same thing, I think because a lot of Americans that I have seen outside of America, tend to complain a lot & be very demanding because 'it isn't the same as they have at home', yet the whole idea of travelling is to experience something different?:D

 

Some of the crew members on Radiance actually told me they get an easier time of it when they sail from Australia because the majority of Australians are less demanding than Americans can be.

 

My advice when visiting Australia is to first 'relax & take it easy' & realise it is roughly the same size country as the continental USA, so plan to travel long distances.

We have the tropical North, the interior deserts, the cooler South (although not as cold as your far North), basically similar to the USA but the opposite way around.

In Winter you can go skiing in the snowfields a days drive from Sydney (June - Sept approx), or be snorkelling in the tropical waters of the Great Barrier Reef the next day after a 3 hour flight North.

 

Try not to miss seeing the beautiful untouched wilderness areas of our most Southern state Tasmania, which is an island state & it is one of the least polluted places on earth with unique wildlife enmass & amazing convict history thrown in.

 

I would think Spring or Autumn (Fall) would be the best times to visit with more moderate temperatures throughout.

 

I think most of all though Australians would hope you have fun when you visit us down under - enjoy!:)

[heatherandfred]

I've met Australians on my first cruise with mom to Greece. They were a gay couple who had been together forever. They were at our dinner table. Tony and Donald, I'll never forget them and their hospitality and politeness. I look forward to meeting people who are nice and laid back. When I'm on vacation, I love to meet different cultures. The responses on this thread have been wonderful. ;)

[lizzy77]

My tip is don't book any cruise with Princess Australia. The ships are the ones that have passed their use by date in other areas of the world and you may be disaappointed with them.

The Diamond Princess and Rccl ships great as well as Celebrity Solstice.

[rkmw]

My tip is don't book any cruise with Princess Australia. The ships are the ones that have passed their use by date in other areas of the world and you may be disaappointed with them.

The Diamond Princess and Rccl ships great as well as Celebrity Solstice.

 

Liz, we cruised on the Sea Princess around Aus & NZ recently and the ships ok but there was a lot of americans onboard as our cruise was a 33 day and they had a good time

 

what i have been reading on CC about the Voyager having the noro virus and the Radiance with lots of kids playing and the booze cruises its not very nice

[TLCOhio]

My advice when visiting Australia is to first 'relax & take it easy' & realise it is roughly the same size country as the continental USA, so plan to travel long distances. We have the tropical North, the interior deserts, the cooler South (although not as cold as your far North), basically similar to the USA but the opposite way around. Try not to miss seeing the beautiful untouched wilderness areas of our most Southern state Tasmania, which is an island state & it is one of the least polluted places on earth with unique wildlife enmass & amazing convict history thrown in. I think most of all though Australians would hope you have fun when you visit us down under - enjoy!:)

 

lizzy77: My tip is don't book any cruise with Princess Australia. The ships are the ones that have passed their use by date in other areas of the world and you may be disaappointed with them. The Diamond Princess and Rccl ships great as well as Celebrity Solstice.

 

The series of comments and insights from avalon007 are super excellent. I might share some of these wise words on our roll for our Jan. 20-Feb. 3' date=' [b']2014[/b], cruise on the Solstice. It is good that some cruise lines, such as Celebrity, moved a newer ship like the Solstice to this part of the world. That helped us in deciding to book this specific cruise. Our cruise will visit Hobart and we are glad we will be able to sample that unique part of Australia.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 112,857 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[avalon007]

The series of comments and insights from avalon007 are super excellent. I might share some of these wise words on our roll for our Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, cruise on the Solstice. It is good that some cruise lines, such as Celebrity, moved a newer ship like the Solstice to this part of the world. That helped us in deciding to book this specific cruise. Our cruise will visit Hobart and we are glad we will be able to sample that unique part of Australia.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Gee, thanks, I don't think I have had a grading of super excellent before!:D

 

Good to hear you will be visiting Tasmania, if they offer a tour to Port Arthur, it's worth visiting. It was a penal colony for convicts with some fascinating history & tragic stories.

We did the evening ghost tour & it was creepy but excellent.

 

Try to see the tassie devils, they are small dog like marsupials that are real little grumps, quite ferocious but somehow endearing.

 

Also the town of Richmond not too far from Hobart quite pretty & historical, the Cascade brewery within Hobart is worth a visit as well. :)

[The_Big_M]

Liz, we cruised on the Sea Princess around Aus & NZ recently and the ships ok but there was a lot of americans onboard as our cruise was a 33 day and they had a good time

 

Agreed, I find the local Princesses fine, better than RCL for food and service.

[Sparky74]

I think you worked it out when you mention that in Australia we don't have a tipping culture, we don't tip unless we get extra good service, this makes everything appear more expensive at first, but workers in Australia have laws in their favour that ensure they get a decent wage & don't need to rely on tipping.

 

Plus since we are a big island, we don't have a lot of people crossing our borders who are willing to work for less wages etc as you guys do.

 

When we do tip, we tend to just leave extra in the bill folder or pop some spare change in the tip jar if one is available, rather than an obvious tip to an individual.

Many of us in Australia find the act of tipping individuals uncomfortable as we feel it's degrading to them in some way. Hard to explain, but we can feel it's like saying we are better than them because we have money to throw around & they are the poor ones relying on our generosity.

Probably doesn't make any sense to most Americans, but thats the way many of us are.:)

 

This is why we have issues with tipping on US cruise lines, many Australians would prefer to just pay extra for the cruise & have a no tipping policy onboard.

 

We are just used to the price being what the price is, no more, no less.

 

We advertise our prices with taxes included, not like in the US when you think something is $5 but they add more on at the check out, we found this all rather confusing when we first visited the US.

 

So taken all that into account the prices are probably not so expensive, even more so once you get outside of Sydney.

 

Couldn't have said it better!

 

I, too, give you a "super excellent" rating, Julie.

[happyaussies]

Adelaide has unique ambiance of being a capital city (the 5th capital in Australia) but with a counrty style feel mainly due to a population of about 1.23 million and the geographics.

Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges which surround the city. Adelaide stretches 20 km (12 miles) from the coast to the foothills, and 90 km (56 miles) from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south.

 

This make Adelaide unique for visitors as you can esperience hills, sea and City life all in one day. Known as the City of Churches, the Arts, world class wines and spectacular white sandy beaches.

 

The Adelaide plain at night, viewed from Mount Lofty.

 

(thanks to wikipedia for information and photo)

 

You can catch the TRAIN directly into the City from PORT!

THINGS TO DO IN ADELAIDE

1. River Torrens Linear trail
   
2. Adelaide Botanic gardens
   
3. Clealand Wildlife Park - direct bus route
   
4. South Australian Muesum
   
5. Glenelg tram - pick up right outside city train station
   
6. Art Gallery of South Australia
   
7. State Library - Free internet
   
8. National Railway Museum
   
9. North Terrace - history and shopping
   
10. Adelaide Wine Centre
    
11. Adelaide Zoo - Pandas
    
12. Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Centre
    
13. Ayers Historic House
    
14. Adelaide Goal
    
15. Carrick Hill
    
16. Adelaide Casino
    
17. Himeji Gardens
    

Most of these are within walking distance from the train station and available on public transport. Day ticket costs $9.10 AUS.

 

TOUR

now if good ozzie world class wines are your thing one can not go past a trip to the Mclaren Vale region south of Adelaide

 

Or MY RECOMENDATION

Chook's Little Winery Tours is a small family company. They offer you a unique wine experience, to discover some of the little known boutique wineries in McLaren Vale. Sample wine straight from the barrels, stroll through the vineyards and chat with the owners and winemakers themselves.

 

Tours are available for groups or individuals and can be adapted to suit your taste. A standard full day tour will visit up to six cellar door wineries and include pick-up and drop-off in Adelaide city or Glenelg. Optional extras or alternative stops include the chocolate, glass, and cheese manufacturers, beer brewery and olive crushing (May-June only).

 

Prices vary depending on the size of your group and the length of the tour. All prices include a cheese platter and light lunch prepared with seasonal local produce.

 

Chook’s Little Winery Tours is a small family company and your host will be Chook, a local McLaren Vale personality and wine lover.

 

Information and booking

Phone: 0414 922 200

Email: info@chookslittlewinerytours.com.au

Web: http://www.chookslittlewinerytours.com.au

 

Tours can include your choice of designated cellar doors or a specially designed tour organised by Chook or a mixture of both.

A full day tour includes collection from Adelaide CBD or vicinity at approx 9.45am, travel through the beautiful Adelaide hills, to enjoy the ambience of the great southern vales.

 

Start with a structured wine tasting from a selected number of wines ranging from crisp white wines to full bodied reds and smooth fortified muscats. These tastings also include special reserved wines not available at cellar door. Tastings are conducted in an intimate surrounding with locally pressed extra virgin olive oil, bread and olives.

 

Then, move to the next venue with stunning seasonal views through the vines.

Lunch is a delicious selection of locally sourced tapas-style food.

 

If you desire a cleansing ale to clean the palate after lunch, a visit to a local brewer is a very worthwhile diversion from the standard “wine tasting” day. This brewery is nestled in the McLaren Vale area and is an interesting experience even for those non beer drinking individuals.

 

You could also include a visit to a local, well-known glass studio. The artist is especially known for his unique glass blowing and stunning pieces that he produces, as featured on the “Postcards” TV programme.

 

Another hidden treasure is the rare experience of tasting wine straight from the barrel. Here, you can talk directly to the grower and wine maker who has a passion for his product. Tastings include the current vintage and then progressively back through the years.

 

Other venues can include tastings of rosé and sparkling wine as well as reds and whites coupled with a display of stunning local art.

 

We will return you to your destination full of fun and happiness at around 5.30pm.

[Annabelle100]

I think you worked it out when you mention that in Australia we don't have a tipping culture, we don't tip unless we get extra good service, this makes everything appear more expensive at first, but workers in Australia have laws in their favour that ensure they get a decent wage & don't need to rely on tipping.

 

Plus since we are a big island, we don't have a lot of people crossing our borders who are willing to work for less wages etc as you guys do.

 

When we do tip, we tend to just leave extra in the bill folder or pop some spare change in the tip jar if one is available, rather than an obvious tip to an individual.

Many of us in Australia find the act of tipping individuals uncomfortable as we feel it's degrading to them in some way. Hard to explain, but we can feel it's like saying we are better than them because we have money to throw around & they are the poor ones relying on our generosity.

Probably doesn't make any sense to most Americans, but thats the way many of us are.:)

 

This is why we have issues with tipping on US cruise lines, many Australians would prefer to just pay extra for the cruise & have a no tipping policy onboard.

 

We are just used to the price being what the price is, no more, no less.

 

We advertise our prices with taxes included, not like in the US when you think something is $5 but they add more on at the check out, we found this all rather confusing when we first visited the US.

 

So taken all that into account the prices are probably not so expensive, even more so once you get outside of Sydney.

---------------------------------

 

avalon007, I enjoyed reading your well expressed thoughts on tipping, especially

 

"Many of us in Australia find the act of tipping individuals uncomfortable as we feel it's degrading to them in some way. Hard to explain, but we can feel it's like saying we are better than them because we have money to throw around & they are the poor ones relying on our generosity.

Probably doesn't make any sense to most Americans, but thats the way many of us are "

 

Would you consider giving permission to Walt to use your words on tipping being made available as a "sticky ". Or, perhaps, to have your words published on this forum under a thread heading of Tipping in Australia ( either a new thread or added to previous ones) to allow easier search access to your clear, simple summary of tax, wages, emotions.

 

Walt, are you there? Please talk to, and publish, avalon007.

 

Regards, Ann

[fishtaco]

Perth + Fremantle Port city is the furthest west major city and absolutely beautiful with fantastic weather but around 4.5 hours flight away from Sydney, so many travellers miss it on an Australian visit because it is so far from Sydney, just as well though because the ones that do come usually stay;)

 

Trouble is Perth has become so expensive the past few years you need to take out a Bank mortgage to buy a Coffee! lol

 

Den

[sparky-elpaso]

You're going to love Australia and NZ. Our dream cruise in Feb / March - b2b circumnavigation of OZ with 3 ports in NZ - was incredible. Incredible scenery - wonderful people. We were among the minority on board - there were fewer than 200 Americans on the first leg from Sydney to Perth and probably a similar number on the 2nd leg. We met lots of nice folks from all over.

 

The link to my photos is in my signature - groups from OZ on the right hand side of the screen if you would like to see a bit of what you're in for.

[heatherandfred]

We are signing up for the RCCL Radiance of the sea Apr 9th sailing!

[rugbypopsie]

We are signing up for the RCCL Radiance of the sea Apr 9th sailing!

 

Thats a nice ship and a lovely cruise up the north...you will enjoy it.

 

Sue

[heatherandfred]

Wonderful!!