Australia Suggestions

[cruisersMandW]

DH and I are thinking about doing a cruise in your neck of the woods. Since we're travelling from the US and travel time will be substantial, ideally we'd like to see as much as possible. Can anyone give us some ideas of how to maximize our trip?

 

Would it be best to do a cruise/land combination? Our primary cruise lines are HAL & NCL mid-size ships but we're not adverse to another line if it would have a better itinerary.

 

Any help would be most appreciated.

[Bodogbodog]

Can you give us some idea of:

How long have you got?

Is there a particular time if the year or dates you need to work with? (Peak cruising time here is November to March approx but there are some ships based here all year round)

Are there areas, things you particularly want to see?

Do you want to include time in New Zealand in your time down-under?

[Esilef]

I believe that cruising is the best and easiest way to see Australian and NZ in a short amount of time.

 

There is some great cruises out there which navigate around coastal Australia. You may choose to do b2b cruises which includes NZ.

[Kinkacruiser]

I believe Princess do land tours to broaden your experience. Comfort climate time would be any time between April and October.

[GUT2407]

NCL hardly sail here at all.

 

A lot will depend on time and budget, with a cruise you will only see he coastal fringe.

[Russell21]

Yep, coastal fringe and cities.

[SinbadThePorter]

DH and I are thinking about doing a cruise in your neck of the woods. Since we're travelling from the US and travel time will be substantial, ideally we'd like to see as much as possible. Can anyone give us some ideas of how to maximize our trip?

 

Would it be best to do a cruise/land combination? Our primary cruise lines are HAL & NCL mid-size ships but we're not adverse to another line if it would have a better itinerary.

 

Any help would be most appreciated.

 

My tip is don't try to see as much as possible and don't try to maximise your trip. It will only lead to stress and frustration.

 

If by "your neck of the woods" you mean Australia and New Zealand, then you are looking at trying to cover almost 4 million square miles.

 

Pick out some things that interest you. The Great Barrier Reef, Uluru/Kata Tjuta, New Zealand fjords, Rotarua thermal springs, New Zealand Alps, Queensland rainforest and then concentrate on those.

 

If it were me, I would concentrate on the East Coast of Australia and New Zealand. If you like cities, try Melbourne and Sydney. Brisbane and Adelaide are OK but nothing special. If you like spectacular scenery get to New Zealand and try some train trips across the South Island. Tasmania is nice, but NZ is better. Do not go in winter (May to Sept).

 

If you are a train buff, you could try the Indian Pacific from Sydney to Perth or the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin. But be warned that there is a lot of nothingness between.

 

If the tropics are your thing, then go to Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef and the Cape Tribulation rainforest. Or go to Darwin for Kakadu National Park and crocodiles everywhere. Be prepared to sweat at all times of the year.

 

HAL has a limited presence here and NCL close to none at all. Your best bets would be RCI and Princess.

 

If I were to recommend one thing that might be special it would be a 7 or 10 night cruise from Cairns to New Guinea which P&O Australia are doing later in 2016 on the Pacific Eden, formerly the Statendam.

Edited December 28, 2015 by SinbadThePorter

[The_Big_M]

For maximising a trip, if you want to see both countries, a cruise land combination would be best.

 

New Zealand gets decent coverage from cruises, but the travel time and scope of Australian cruises means you don't see as much on a cruise and it takes longer. Mainland US and Australia are similar sizes so imagine what you'd see and how long it would take if you just travelled around the coast of the US on a cruise.

 

This is where the one ways AU-NZ are ideal as you can see things before in both countries and take a cruise to cover ports between them.

[SPacificbound]

DH and I are thinking about doing a cruise in your neck of the woods. Since we're travelling from the US and travel time will be substantial, ideally we'd like to see as much as possible. Can anyone give us some ideas of how to maximize our trip?

 

Would it be best to do a cruise/land combination? Our primary cruise lines are HAL & NCL mid-size ships but we're not adverse to another line if it would have a better itinerary.

 

Any help would be most appreciated.

 

How much time do you have?

 

DH and I spent two weeks on land travel in New Zealand and eight weeks on land in Australia prior to our first cruise. I can tell you even that was not enough time.

 

Do as much reading as you can and decide what are the most important places you want to see. What do the two of you really want to see and do?

 

We are US citizens also, so the "your neck of the woods" obviously does not apply to us. I just thought our experience might give you a little bit of clarity as to how large the area is. I hope you make the trip because I know you will love both Australia and New Zealand. :)

 

We are returning in 2017, so our once in a lifetime trip will be two in a lifetime. :D

[Adidas4fun]

My tip is don't try to see as much as possible and don't try to maximise your trip. It will only lead to stress and frustration.

 

If by "your neck of the woods" you mean Australia and New Zealand, then you are looking at trying to cover almost 4 million square miles.

 

Pick out some things that interest you. The Great Barrier Reef, Uluru/Kata Tjuta, New Zealand fjords, Rotarua thermal springs, New Zealand Alps, Queensland rainforest and then concentrate on those.

 

If it were me, I would concentrate on the East Coast of Australia and New Zealand. If you like cities, try Melbourne and Sydney. Brisbane and Adelaide are OK but nothing special. If you like spectacular scenery get to New Zealand and try some train trips across the South Island. Tasmania is nice, but NZ is better. Do not go in winter (May to Sept).

 

If you are a train buff, you could try the Indian Pacific from Sydney to Perth or the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin. But be warned that there is a lot of nothingness between.

 

If the tropics are your thing, then go to Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef and the Cape Tribulation rainforest. Or go to Darwin for Kakadu National Park and crocodiles everywhere. Be prepared to sweat at all times of the year.

 

HAL has a limited presence here and NCL close to none at all. Your best bets would be RCI and Princess.

 

If I were to recommend one thing that might be special it would be a 7 or 10 night cruise from Cairns to New Guinea which P&O Australia are doing later in 2016 on the Pacific Eden, formerly the Statendam.

 

THIS, this is a very good post.

 

So if the OP would care to respond further good guidance would I am sure be forthcoming.

[mattie00]

We have booked a 13 day Sydney return cruise of New Zealand and a 29 day Sydney return cruise of Australia that circumnavigates the continent. Booked with Princess for February/March of 2017. As we are flying from Canada we wanted to taste as much of the diverse area of Australia as possible. Breaking up our flight with a 2 or 3 night stopover in Honolulu. Total time away is approximately 2 months from mid-February to mid-April.

[Aus Traveller]

If you want to see a fair bit of Australia I suggest combining land touring with a cruise. Obviously a cruise only touches the coast, but you could fly from Sydney to Ayers Rock (Uluru) to spend a few days. That would give you a taste of the outback. And add a few days in Sydney. Princess does cruises right around Australia and some also go to NZ.:)