12-Night Australia and New Zealand Cruise or 11-Night Eastern Mediterranean Cruise

[cruising_Bif]

Which itinerary would you choose? Both cost roughly the same.

 

11-Night cruise (Celebrity Reflection) roundtrip from Rome stopping in Greece, Istanbul, and Naples (among others)

 

12-Night cruise (Celebrity Solstice) from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, NZ

Edited January 13, 2015 by cruising_Bif

[villauk]

Which itinerary would you choose? Both cost roughly the same.

 

11-Night cruise roundtrip from Rome stopping in Greece, Istanbul, and Naples (among others)

 

12-Night cruise from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, NZ

 

From personal experience, this is a difficult one as both are fantastic itineraries. Can't you do both? Perhaps one this year and then the other next year? I'm guessing both are also on S class ships (Reflection & Solstice?), so not much difference there either :confused:.

 

Only answer: do them both :D.

[TLCOhio]

Which itinerary would you choose? Both cost roughly the same. 11-Night cruise roundtrip from Rome stopping in Greece, Istanbul, and Naples (among others). 12-Night cruise from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, NZ

 

YES, both can be wonderful!! As noted in the live/blog below, we got off of the Solstice last February, plus have done a couple of different cruises in the Med. Plus, much land travel in Europe.

 

BUT, there are some difference, including the time of year for when you are planning to do these types of adventures. December through March works best for going down under to amazing Australia and New Zealand. Spring through early fall works better for the Med.

 

Then there is airline connections, timing required and costs??? Much easier to get to Rome or Barcelona from Chicago. Takes longer going to Sydney and/or Auckland. AND, getting back!!

 

PLUS, tell us more on your personal interests, what you most like in terms of history, nature, culture, wildlife, shopping, architecture, etc., etc.

 

Check out more from my two different live/blog connected below. Tell us more!!! Happy to respond more after getting added info/background from you.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 92,003 views for this posting.

 

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. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 192,154 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

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

[cruising_Bif]

The Mediterranean cruise would be in May, and the Australia cruise would be in late November or early January. We like most things, but would probably rate scenery near the top. I wonder how much it costs to fly to Australia or New Zealand from the United States?

[lizbeth]

Hi -

 

It costs a lot to fly from the U.S. to Sydney, Australia.

Qantas flies non-stop from Dallas, TX to Sydney; RT air was about $1,795 per person in economy; business class was $7,500 pp RT; the flight is about 17 hours 1-way.

Note: we leave DFW on Thursday & arrive on Saturday in Sydney (int'l date line crossing)

 

You will need to determine your comfort level (price-wise) and seat-wise.

 

Try a few airline websites to see the fare differences.

 

Good luck! We leave in 8 days!

Warmly,

Liz

[Cruise Junky]

Another vote for both [emoji106]. We're doing Greece in 2016 and Australia in 2017. The air to Australia is a killer though.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Wastegirl]

Keep in mind that January is the major summer school holidays for both Australia and New Zealand so there will be an increase in 'rugrat' populations both on board and the tourist sites busier. Additionally holiday spots (including cruises) are traditionally much higher in cost due to this. You can also expect to pay a premium for pre and post cruise accommodation.

[nodandade]

I have to agree with other posters theses are both terrific cruises, my wife and I have done them both, the med x 14 days on the ncl Norwegian jade , and australia / n.z on the Holland America volendam.i also agree with others about times of the year you would like to go/ school holidays etc,although having said that I believe both of the cruises above were taken in school holiday times, and because they are 14 day cruises you tend not to see as many kids as on 7 dayers (this is not always the case though) as you can see we live in Australia and the nz / Australia cruise was not a biggy when it came to flights ,but the med was.we have travelled extensively over the years and although we cannot always afford to fly business class, we tend to fit 1 or 2 day stop overs at a cheaper hotel and break the journey that way.

back to your question, again I agree with others do both,and if you can't remember the scenery in Australia and new Zealand is something to behold (as well as our history) and the history and sights in the med are something to behold (as well as their scenery).you have to decide,but my attitude (for what it is worth) is '' when your dead your doing nothing' hope this helps in some small way.

happy cruising

[nodandade]

if it is any help, using your American airlines , e.g delta /American etc along with a couple of others from dallas to Sydney in November this year is about $2100.00 aus dollars return economy or another alternative would be to get cheap flights from your nearest airport and fly to Honolulu,then you can fly with our discount carrier (Jetstar airways) from Honolulu to Sydney for around $1800.00 return on their ''star class '' seats.this in the front of the plane in a 2 - 3 - 2 seating arrangement, it is not true business class but does offer a much bigger leather seat unlimited food and drinks including alcohol more leg room and the seats recline a fair way back (but not lay flat) by any means.but we use them a lot and it is really worth it. if you come over in November you will likely (as already stated) get cheaper acco and less kids

flying this way may ease the stress of a long trip.

Jetstar website is http://www.jetstar.com.au cheers

[TLCOhio]

The Mediterranean cruise would be in May, and the Australia cruise would be in late November or early January. We like most things, but would probably rate scenery near the top. I wonder how much it costs to fly to Australia or New Zealand from the United States?

 

As others have reflected, sadly, it is more costly, BOTH in money and time, to get to Australia/NZ and back. BUT, the good news is that the "PRIZE" is well worth it, especially if you love great scenery. See below a few of my visual samples as "evidence" to prove it. Many more exciting visuals are on the full live/blog.

 

Another option to consider, as we did, was to have a stop-over location to break up the long journey. That's what we did with Hawaii. We did a day and a half in the Honolulu area going down, then four days coming back on the Big Island. Super plan in so many different ways.

 

Our cruise, as noted below, was in later January and we did not have any major problems with kids, the school breaks, etc., etc.

 

Glad you have the timing understanding/potential, maybe, to do BOTH. That's clearly the ultimate ideal plan. For the Med, also consider the cruise options out of Barcelona. The "logistics" for that port are better than what Rome offers. The Barcelona airport, town and port are much closer and easier to make work together, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 92,261 views for this posting.

 

 

From our group's Bay of Islands water fun, we got to do real sailing, including going out into the nearby Pacific Ocean! See the proof and success below. It was both a perfect weather day and such fun sampling this great region of northern NZ. One of the options for those in our Central Ohio group on this custom, private sailing was to help to do as much (or as little as desired) in helping make this sail experience happen. Here you can see Captain Murray guiding the ship from this great vantage point on the back of the Zindabar. Was this exciting and scenic for our group?:

 

 

 

At Te Puia near Rotorua in northern New Zealand, this Maori performance starts its ceremonies outside and then we entered the Wahiao Meeting House. Fortunately (with some skill), I was in a prime front row seat to be able to get great pictures, video, etc. Plus, experience the quality for how these members share these cultural traditions.:

 

 

 

Going into Milford Sound on the Solstice, there were great view from our balcony on the tenth floor. We did not like the overcast skies and rain, but it added to the “drama” with the huge number of waterfalls in this area. In this picture, my wife is checking out these great sights from our balcony early this morning. It was a rocky crossing of the Tasman Sea.:

 

 

 

From Port Arthur, the historic Tasmanian penal colony seen during our stop in Hobart, here is just one of the many views for some of the sights there. This gives an overview for a portion of this prison site. This location was nearby to the water area as the prisoners would arrive from England for this “visit”. It took six to nine months to make the journey from England to this distant part of the world.:

 

 

 

Here is a picture from our New Zealand South Island JetBoat ride that my wife loved so much. Me, too!! Notice her hands and those of others in our row super tightly gripping the safety bar? That says so much about the speed and thrills while roaring up and down this amazing stretch of scenic river. I showed my wife this picture (and several others like this but where the wind was blowing her hair in the opposite direction). She liked this picture so much, that she said to put this one in her obituary (not that this need is upcoming anytime soon). It showed her having fun and she said this ride was the most fun of the whole cruise/trip. We've had lots of great moments on this trip, but one was a unique and special ride in a location that is spectacularly world-class near the NZ Southern Alps. And, perfect weather with good friends adds to the great joy!!:

 

[oceanbabe]

Hi: We r also not sure about the Solistice Australia/New Zealand cruise. I know there r several cruise only itineraries. We just also discovered that Celebrity has a subagency under them called Enrichment Journeys. They do part Australia with hotels, tours, etc and then onto the Solistice for the New Zealand part. Have u heard of this? anyone? we might do this. Expensive, but sees alot in 23 days.

[Kylie]

Hi: We r also not sure about the Solistice Australia/New Zealand cruise. I know there r several cruise only itineraries. We just also discovered that Celebrity has a subagency under them called Enrichment Journeys. They do part Australia with hotels, tours, etc and then onto the Solistice for the New Zealand part. Have u heard of this? anyone? we might do this. Expensive, but sees alot in 23 days.

 

Doesn't seem anymore expensive than a tour to Australia. I like there is land and sea and nice to have the ship for meals on the NZ portion.

 

Has anyone done an Enrichment Journey here?