Australia Recommendations

[Steelers0854]

DW and I are looking to 2018 and considering going to Australia/New Zealand. There seems to be a variety of itineraries out there and I really know nothing about the area. The Australia port of call section is kind of dead, so I pose this question, is there an itinerary or a specific port of call you would recommend ensuring you hit? This will likely be our only trip to that area (or atleast for a very long time) and I would like to make it worth the very long trek down there.

 

Thanks!

[partybarbie]

I'm planning my first trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2018 too. I just had a nice conversation with a lady a couple of days ago. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2373108

 

Maybe you will see something in this post that helps you?

[georgiacat]

Why does Princess not have any October cruises to Australia and New Zealand? I see mostly winter and spring cruises.

[CruiserBruce]

I see 8 itineraries October 2016, and 8 more in October 2017. Weather might be pretty chilly in NZ then.

 

One that is included is the "round the top" route, from Perth to Sydney, or vice versa, which we did last August. It covered much of the parts of Australia we hadn't seen in our 4 previous trips. Great cruise.

Edited July 2, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[portcbob]

Hi Steelers 0834.

Bob from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia speaking.

There are quite a few cruises down in Australia that may suit you. You can fly to Sydney and stay pre cruise for a few days and see the sights of the City which there is many. Catch a cruise ship from Circular Quay which is in Sydney Harbour near the Opera House and do the Pacific Islands cruise which is very nice visiting Noumea, Vila and quite a few other islands or alternatively you could do a 14 night cruise for eg to New Zealand and see most of the major cities over there including Dusky Sound for eg. Both cruises are very nice indeed. Another cruise you may consider is circumnavigating around the whole of Australia.

There is quite a few options for you guys to have downunder. If you need specific information just let me know and I can email you.

 

Regards Bob.

[icat2000]

Why does Princess not have any October cruises to Australia and New Zealand? I see mostly winter and spring cruises.

 

Cruises to NZ/Australia run in Summer time downunder. It would be too tough crossing the tasman sea and down the bottom of NZ for in the winter time here.

[Kartgv]

We've been on Australia cruises 3 times - once just isn't enough! We did the circumnavigation once, in February, and the northern ports were very hot and humid. We really preferred the southern ports - Adelaide and Esperance were lovely. We also love Hobart and think that the New Zealand fjords are one of the most awesome places in the world. Plan on spending at least several days in Sydney either before or after your cruise. It's a beautiful, very walkable city with so much to see and do.

[Cruise Junky]

We looked long and hard at Australian cruises and ended up scrapping the idea of a cruise and booked a land trip. Just not enough time on a cruise. A highlight for us not to miss was the Cairns area and the Great Barrier Reef but it would totally depend on your interests.

[Kartgv]

We looked long and hard at Australian cruises and ended up scrapping the idea of a cruise and booked a land trip. Just not enough time on a cruise. A highlight for us not to miss was the Cairns area and the Great Barrier Reef but it would totally depend on your interests.

 

Agreed that the reef would have been a highlight for us too, but unfortunately DH developed an ear infection and was ordered to stay out of the water. Also, it pays to know that the February time frame is when the stinging jelly fish are around, so in order to get into the water you have to wear wondrous head-to-toe multi-color suits that make everyone look like giant Teletubbies. We were kind of looking forward to that!

[Cruise Junky]

Agreed that the reef would have been a highlight for us too, but unfortunately DH developed an ear infection and was ordered to stay out of the water. Also, it pays to know that the February time frame is when the stinging jelly fish are around, so in order to get into the water you have to wear wondrous head-to-toe multi-color suits that make everyone look like giant Teletubbies. We were kind of looking forward to that!

 

Lol...that's why we're going in September ;). We thought it a bit weird that the cruises mainly go there in jelly fish/cyclone season

 

That sucks about the ear infection :(. We have a week in Port Douglas. We're really looking forward to it.

[Steelers0854]

 

There is quite a few options for you guys to have downunder. If you need specific information just let me know and I can email you.

 

 

 

Regards Bob.

 

 

Thanks all for the responses thus far. I think we were eyeing this 9 day itinerary. It seems to hit the major stops:

 

Sydney, Australia

Fiordland National Park (Scenic Cruising)

Dunedin (Port Chalmers), New Zealand

Akaroa, New Zealand

Wellington, New Zealand

Napier, New Zealand

Tauranga, New Zealand

Auckland, New Zealand

[georgiacat]

Thanks for the information. I must have been looking in the wrong place. I know the seasons are reversed from us, but I was thinking of spring season (for them). I want a land tour prior and then a cruise. What time of year is best for that, considering the temperatures. I don't want winter or summer.

[OzKiwiJJ]

You need to be more specific as to where you want to tour by land and to cruise, georgiacat, and for how long.

 

NZ cruises are best in late February/March, when you will have a better chance of settled weather (unless a cyclone blows down from the South Pacific). Most NZ cruises are 12-14 days long depending on whether they are an Australia-return cruise or a one way. But February is not an ideal time to tour in Australia, especially if you want to do the Great Barrier Reef.

 

The GBR and Uluru are best visited in our winter or early spring, before the temperatures and humidity rise too high. We did a Top End cruise in mid-August from Fremantle to Sydney and the weather was perfect except for the first couple of days, when it was cool and showery.

[GUT2407]

Do you want to cruise to Australia, or fly down and then do a cruise?

 

How long have you got?

 

What are your interests?

 

Do you have a preferred line?

 

Forget the ports of call section (don't know why they have it to be honest) the cool kids hang in the Australia and New Zealand Cruisers sub forum and that's where you will get responses from Aussies.

 

If you've only got about two weeks fly to Aukland and then cruise to Sydney on an itinerary that includes Hobart and Melbourne, then fly home from Sydney, if you can add a few days ore cruise in NZ and Post cruise in Sydney.

 

If time is less of an issue look at something like a circumnavigation of Australia, about a month.

 

BUT, any cruise will only give you the coastal fringe, remember Australia is pretty much the same size as the USA so any visit you will only get a taste.

 

I also give a warning, most of my friends from OS who visit got addicted and want to come back again and again to see more.

 

I admit I am biased, but a beuatiful country with so much variety. Sydney and Melbourne hold their own with most of the worlds cities, Sydney Harbour has a reputation well deserved, the outback is vast and stark, Ayers Rock is spectacular as is the Great Barrier Reef and the Three Sisters. Tasmania is a different world, resembling in some ways England Countryside.

 

And then there is NZ.

[CruiserBruce]

All great questions, Gut2407. The op needs to go back to the two (one of which the OP deemed "slow")Australia boards, and do some research. Common issues over there are lack of understanding how big Australia is (the size of the continental US) and what it takes to get around- it isn't just a little driving, for the most part.

 

Australia is wonderful, and the people are awesome. You just need to research a little. We have been there 4 times, total almost 90 days. Love it there.

Edited July 3, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[GUT2407]

All great questions, Gut2407. The op needs to go back to the two (one of which the OP deemed "slow")Australia boards, and do some research. Common issues over there are lack of understanding how big Australia is (the size of the continental US) and what it takes to get around- it isn't just a little driving, for the most part.

 

Australia is wonderful, and the people are awesome. You just need to research a little. We have been there 4 times, total almost 90 days. Love it there.

 

I've wracked up over 20,000 days so far and agree, I love the joint.

 

The OP is right though the Ports of Call section is dead, most discussion goes on in the Aus & NZ Cruisers section, and it seems most love to give advice to potential visitors, I know we love showing our country off to friends from overseas whenever we get a chance.

[Aussie Gal]

We have U.S. friends who have visited once down here when they came in October last year and had great weather from Sydney to Port Douglas to Uluru to Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and here in Melbourne where we took them along the Great Ocean Road and to our Grampian Mountains.

 

They are returning in 2018 and want to visit Tasmania so we have set apart late March to early April and they will return back to the U.S. by ship. A lot of the ships that are here from October onwards return to the U.S. in April.

 

If you do a trans Tasman cruise from Sydney or Melbourne then you will see a lot of New Zealand but very little of Australia. We are a big country and the best parts are away from the coastal fringe.

 

Whatever you plan enjoy, as we consider we are so lucky to be living in "the best country in the world".

 

Jennie

[Cruise Junky]

 

Whatever you plan enjoy, as we consider we are so lucky to be living in "the best country in the world".

 

Jennie

 

Well, I'd debate you on that one. Maybe we can call it a tie ;)

[mrs and mrs]

You really need to put this on the AUS/NZ forum.

There has been quite a few threads lately discussing this topic,which you should be able to find down there.

But hey we are always up for a chat down there.:):)

Down there you'll get good info,with some humour thrown in.;):)

[DougH]

When I did my cruise I spent a week in Sydney before the cruise and about 5 days in Auckland after, I loved Sydney and could have easily spent another week visiting all the sights. I stayed in the Rocks area and loved walking around the harbor area every night.

[GUT2407]

When I did my cruise I spent a week in Sydney before the cruise and about 5 days in Auckland after, I loved Sydney and could have easily spent another week visiting all the sights. I stayed in the Rocks area and loved walking around the harbor area every night.

 

The Rocks is a great area to just wander around.

[OzKiwiJJ]

The OP is right though the Ports of Call section is dead, most discussion goes on in the Aus & NZ Cruisers section, and it seems most love to give advice to potential visitors.

 

Most questions get answered within a day or so though, and there is a wealth of information there for anyone who is prepared to read through it. Much more than just answers to immediate questions. A board doesn't have to be buzzing with dozens of new threads each day to be useful.

[mrs and mrs]

True,and if anyone has noticed most questions get answered and the banter dosent start until,the topic or the op has their question answered or understand.

That's what I love about the AUS/NZ forum.:):)

[OzKiwiJJ]

True,and if anyone has noticed most questions get answered and the banter dosent start until,the topic or the op has their question answered or understand.

That's what I love about the AUS/NZ forum.:):)

 

I was actually referring to the AUS/NZ Ports of Call forum, where the info is more specifically related to various ports.

 

However both forums have very useful info on them.

 

The trick is to work on one port / town / tourist attraction at a time and use the seach to bring up threads related to that. Then skim though the threads looking for useful info. I usually leave the search results in one tab and open threads that interest be in new tabs, that way I can keep track of what I'm looking at.

[georgiacat]

You need to be more specific as to where you want to tour by land and to cruise, georgiacat, and for how long.

 

NZ cruises are best in late February/March, when you will have a better chance of settled weather (unless a cyclone blows down from the South Pacific). Most NZ cruises are 12-14 days long depending on whether they are an Australia-return cruise or a one way. But February is not an ideal time to tour in Australia, especially if you want to do the Great Barrier Reef.

 

The GBR and Uluru are best visited in our winter or early spring, before the temperatures and humidity rise too high. We did a Top End cruise in mid-August from Fremantle to Sydney and the weather was perfect except for the first couple of days, when it was cool and showery.

 

I definitely want to see Sydney, Great Barrier Reef, and Ayers Rock then take a cruise of New Zealand. Time is not a factor (except I work Jan - April 15 doing taxes); the longest we have been away is about 15 days.

 

I have been looking at a Princess land/cruise because we are familiar with them and have their Atlases. Those are like the old Sears catalog for dreaming.

 

We would be flying from Atlanta, GA to Sydney (though some of the transPacific cruises look good). I just have to go while I am young enough to recover from the flights. ha, ha, ha