New Zealand Australia encore excursions

[carolealter]

Taking this cruise the end of January and would like some  feedback regarding the shore excursions.What were exceptional & worth the added expense & what experiences we could plan & do on our own? Also did anyone play golf at any other of the stops?  If so, recommended ? Thanks.

[Thecat123]

I would have a look at this booking through Seabourn

https://www.dunedinrailways.co.nz/our-journeys/taieri-gorge-railway

Edited December 26, 2018 by Thecat123

[Stickman1990]

52 minutes ago, Thecat123 said:

I would have a look at this booking through Seabourn

https://www.dunedinrailways.co.nz/our-journeys/taieri-gorge-railway

 

I agree, it’s a great excursion

 

There is also an alternative option to book it directly rather than via Seabourn and just catch the shuttle into the city - same train, same route (except it doesn’t pick up on the dock but at the lovely old railway station in the city) but a lot cheaper 

 

Not sure what other ports you’re visiting - if you post a link to your cruise happy to offer some suggestions

[carolealter]

We'd appreciate your input. This is our 3rd Seabourn cruise (Italy & Croatia & Canada/NE). We took 1 excursion (hike) on the Canadian cruise ( a long bus ride for not since a long hike and lots of waiting for others but beautiful scenery from the top of the trail) we took no Seabourn excursions  on the Croatian cruise. We managed to see what we wanted by either touring on our own or hiring our own guide at a port.  Already decided to do what you suggested & go to the railway station and proceed from there on our own. Considering doing the Venture excursions, like Millford Sound & Philips Island. Read that Seabourn does a good job with those and they are a bit more active and participatory which we like. Did you do any of those?  I appreciate any feedback you have for this cruise.

Below is our itinerary:

 

Auckland, New Zealand 22JAN19 TUE DEPART 5:00PM

PIER: PRINCES WHARF                     CHECK IN STARTS AT 0200P

Tauranga (Rotorua), New Zealand 23JAN19 WED ARRIVE 7:00AM DEPART 5:00PM

TIMES SUBJECT TO TIDAL CO

At Sea 24JAN19 THU AT SEA

Nelson, New Zealand 25JAN19 FRI ARRIVE 10:00AM DEPART 6:00PM

Wellington, New Zealand 26JAN19 SAT ARRIVE 8:00AM DEPART 5:00PM

Akaroa (Christchurch), New Zealand 27JAN19 SUN ARRIVE 8:00AM DEPART 7:00PM

TENDER REQUIRED

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealan 28JAN19 MON ARRIVE 8:00AM DEPART 6:00PM

Oban (Halfmoon Bay), New Zealand 29JAN19 TUE ARRIVE 8:00AM DEPART 5:00PM

TENDER REQUIRED

 

Cruising Fiordland Natl Park 30JAN19 WED

CRUISING ONLY            SUBJECT TO WEATHER

Milford Sound, New Zealand 30JAN19 WED ARRIVE 2:00PM DEPART 7:00PM

SERVICE CALL             SHORE ACCESS LIMITED TO E

At Sea 31JAN19 THU AT SEA

At Sea 01FEB19 FRI AT SEA

At Sea 02FEB19 SAT AT SEA

Melbourne, Australia 03FEB19 SUN ARRIVE 8:00AM DEPART 11:00PM

VISA REQUIRED

Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia 04FEB19 MON ARRIVE 8:00AM DEPART 11:00PM

TENDER REQUIRED          VISA REQUIRED

At Sea 05FEB19 TUE AT SEA

Eden, New South Wales, Australia 06FEB19 WED ARRIVE 7:00AM DEPART 2:00PM

TENDER REQUIRED          VISA REQUIRED

Sydney, Australia 07FEB19 THU ARRIVE 7:00AM

PIER: OVERSEAS PASSENGER TERMINAL

 

Many thanks. Happy Holidays!

Carole

[Stickman1990]

Thanks - you are visiting some of the smaller ports in NZ and Australia 

 

I should say upfront that I've only done one Seabourn cruise and we only did one tour so there are others on the board who can speak to the Seabourn shorex. The inflatable and the Ventures staff seemed to be very good - but I didn't go on any of their tours

 

But I did spend 40 years in NZ and can comment on options in some of the ports

 

Auckland: NZ's biggest city - and the ship will be docked right downtown - so you can explore the city easily or catch a ferry to Waiheke Island and either go for a walk or visit a winery on the Island   - I'd suggest doing your own thing there 

 

Tauranga - the port to get to Rotorua - if you want to experience Maori culture and geothermal activity then take a tour to Rotorua or if you are a Lord of the Rings fan take a tour to Hobbiton. Otherwise if you want a work out you can walk up Mount Manganui which is right at the port you will be docked at (its not a huge mountain - but would be a good walk up and back

 

Nelson - suggest you choose a Ventures option there - its a small city and I'm sure they'll offer some tours that include bush and walking or maybe kayaking 

 

Wellington - a great city for walking - once out of the port itself you can walk along the water front to Te Papa the national museum - or take the cable car up to the top of the Botanical Gardens and walk back down through the gardens and back to the Parliament Buildings - if architecture is your thing take a tour. Alas Wellington weather can be a bit unpredictable so all of those options are subject to the weather although Te Papa would work in the rain. If you are a Lord of the Rings fan visit Peter Jacksons Weta Workshops or head up Mount Victoria for panoramic view of the city and Cook Strait

 

Akaroa - suggest you do something with Ventures as its a good shelter harbour area with a good amount of wildlife. Unless you want to spend a few hours in a bus going across and back to Christchurch city 

 

Port Chalmers - already sorted with the Taeri Gorge Railway trip - and maybe a visit to Larnachs Castle or a city walk and tour - or come back to the port area and walk around Port Chalmers

 

Oban, Stewart Island - a small island not visited that often - you will have options for walking and kayaking I suspect - I haven't been there but expect plenty of bush and wildlife

 

Fiordland - Milford Sound - beautiful - it may well rain but then you get a different view with thousands of water falls on display. Not sure if they're doing any tours while in Milford - if they do I'm sure the kayaks and inflatables would be fun and you would have to use the Seabourn tours I'm sure

 

I wont comment on the Australian ports except to say Eden is an unusual stop - I would imagine they will offer some interesting nature tours there 

 

Hope that helps - pretty general but hopefully it gives you some ideas to think about

[Thecat123]

3 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

I agree, it’s a great excursion

 

There is also an alternative option to book it directly rather than via Seabourn and just catch the shuttle into the city - same train, same route (except it doesn’t pick up on the dock but at the lovely old railway station in the city) but a lot cheaper 

 

Not sure what other ports you’re visiting - if you post a link to your cruise happy to offer some suggestions

Stickman tried that a few years ago with another cruise line and could not book directly  I found that there were also a couple of other large cruise ships were in port at the same time and they had block booked the train thats why I suggested Seabourn. Maybe I would try to find out if any other cruise ships are in port on the same day?

Seabourns Venture excursions are very good but we have not done any in New Zealand

 

[Stickman1990]

4 hours ago, carolealter said:

Already decided to do what you suggested & go to the railway station and proceed from there on our own.  

 

Carole 

Noting your comment re catching the train at the station - you still need to book in advance to secure your seats - you can do that online at the site The Cat mentioned in the earlier post 

 

We did this a couple of years ago ie booking directly and there were no issues in doing so - I can’t see how they’ll even know you are on the ship as non cruise tourists book the train trip as well. The day we did it they ran two trains - one for the cruise line and one for other tourists including us - it was not a special holiday or weekend so I assume they make the decision on what to run based on bookings 

[maryogreen]

Carole, My husband and I were on the Encore's Sydney to Auckland cruise this past January and did quite a few excursions. Most of them were terrific, and the ones with the Ventures team were outstanding. Here are the ones we chose:

Philip Island, Australia 

   – Rhyll Inlet Walk & Koala Conservation Center (nice walk; loved the koalas)

   – Hiking Cape Woolamai at Sunset (favorite experience of the trip!)

Milford Sound, NZ – Zodiac cruise (fabulous experience; book early!)

Ulva Island, NZ – Hike in bird sanctuary (loved this; even saw a kiwi 🙂 )

Marlborough – Wineries & Upton Oaks Garden (wineries were ok, but very    large tour group; garden was lovely & different)

Tauranga – RailCruising & Rotorua Geysers (RailCruising was really fun, and Rotorua geyser area is worth a visit)

I wrote blog posts with stories and photos from each port – including the above-mentioned excursions – which you might find helpful:

https://www.themodernpostcard.com/category/australia/

https://www.themodernpostcard.com/category/new-zealand/

It's a terrific itinerary and a beautiful part of the world. Have a wonderful trip!

Mary

Travel Blog: https://www.themodernpostcard.com/

[carolealter]

Thanks for your input. It was helpful and confirming. I've booked the Ulva Island & Philips Island sunset hikes . We're on the wait list for Milford Sound zodiac cruise. Hopefully we'll get on that one, too. I am booking the Taori Gorge Railway & spending a day & a half in Sydney both on our own. So far in Sydney plan on doing the Harbour area & other tourist highlights  and the coastal walk that is on your blog. How long does the take & can we get there by public transportation or do we Uber or cab there? Any other suggestions.

 

Melbourne highlights we shouldn't miss?  Travel & Leisure listed Melbourne as the 2018 #1 city in live in. We're from the SF area & Melbourne is often compared to it.  It'll be interesting to see how true I think that is.

 

Many thanks again for your help. It's appreciated.

 

Happy New Year,   🎊🎊

Carole

[galeforce9]

Weve stayed on Stewart island a couple of times. There are good walks along the coast from Oban. Be warned though, there are some extremely steep, albeit short, hills around the outskirts of Oban town!

 

if it’s still there, the Kai kart on the waterfront served excellent fish and chips and also deep fried oysters and mussels. 

 

I can recommend ulva island. The bird life there is stunning.  We saw wekas and kakas.  In face kakas used to come to the bird table of the b&b we stayed at, in a flock of over 10.  The noise as they hopped along the tin roof was something else!  The sound of bell birds or tuis was amazing as you walk through the woods. We caught a water taxi there and back. 

 

We also did a trip to see kiwis at night.  

 

There are some great multi day treks outside Oban and we had a one way lift to the starting point of one and walked back into Oban.  

 

 

Edited December 28, 2018 by galeforce9

[Stickman1990]

2 hours ago, carolealter said:

Melbourne highlights we shouldn't miss?  Travel & Leisure listed Melbourne as the 2018 #1 city in live in. We're from the SF area & Melbourne is often compared to it.  It'll be interesting to see how true I think that is.

 

Sounds like you are getting your plans together now 

 

Gee I’m struggling to think how San Fran and Melbourne could be thought of as similar - maybe Chinatown relative sizing 

 

Now if you want a San Fran lookalike try Wellington - I think the harbour, hills and the houses are much more alike - although no bridges for Wellington

[maryogreen]

Carole, you're very welcome! I'm glad the info was helpful. The excursions you booked are really great. Good luck with the Milford Sound wait list...it was a popular excursion on our cruise as well. The Bondi/Coogee coastal walk is gorgeous! We took an Uber from our hotel (Langham), which was about a 20- minute ride. There is a bus which goes directly there, which I think takes around an hour with all the stops.

Melbourne is a delight and extremely walkable. The tram is a very short walk from the port and takes you directly to the Central Business District. We spent the day exploring on our own – loved the narrow laneways and beautiful old arcades and taking a break at Hopetoun Tea Room 🙂 

https://www.themodernpostcard.com/a-day-in-melbourne-artsy-laneways-charming-arcades-and-oh-so-cool/

Happy New Year to you as well! 

Mary

 

[2SailingNomads]

A few years ago we stopped in Nelson and took a Seabourn winery tour that was pretty good.  I don't know if that is an option for you.

[Thecat123]

Saw an update about cruise ships missing Timaru NZ this year due to the wharf not being repaired

https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/110569014/passenger-ships-cruising-past-timaru-this-season

[LittleRedJohn]

We got off the ship in Melbourne and found to our surprise that the hop-on bus stopped right there. Seabourn never told us. So it was handy to hop on and ride around and into town. Melbourne is a great street car city, they have a fabulous system. So just get on the trams and ride them around. They're fun and cheap, and it's a great way to see the town. You can get off whenever you want and have a beverage. LittleRedJohn