carolealter Posted December 24, 2018 #1 Share Posted December 24, 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thecat123 Posted December 26, 2018 #2 Share Posted December 26, 2018 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Stickman1990 Posted December 26, 2018 #3 Share Posted December 26, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolealter Posted December 27, 2018 Author #4 Share Posted December 27, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Stickman1990 Posted December 27, 2018 #5 Share Posted December 27, 2018 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thecat123 Posted December 27, 2018 #6 Share Posted December 27, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Stickman1990 Posted December 27, 2018 #7 Share Posted December 27, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare maryogreen Posted December 28, 2018 #8 Share Posted December 28, 2018 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/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolealter Posted December 28, 2018 Author #9 Share Posted December 28, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galeforce9 Posted December 28, 2018 #10 Share Posted December 28, 2018 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Stickman1990 Posted December 28, 2018 #11 Share Posted December 28, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare maryogreen Posted December 28, 2018 #12 Share Posted December 28, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2SailingNomads Posted December 29, 2018 #13 Share Posted December 29, 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thecat123 Posted February 14, 2019 #14 Share Posted February 14, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleRedJohn Posted February 15, 2019 #15 Share Posted February 15, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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