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Napier or Auckland❓❓


hallasm
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I'm considering a 'Ovation of the Seas' cruise from Sydney to New Zealand  in February 2020 - I'm currently looking at two dates - the itineraries are almost identical except for Napier or Auckland. Not done a lot of research yet but in general in favour of beautiful nature.

What are the pro's and con's for Napier and Auckland?

 

Edited by hallasm
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3 hours ago, hallasm said:

I'm considering a 'Ovation of the Seas' cruise from Sydney to New Zealand  in February 2020 - I'm currently looking at two dates - the itineraries are almost identical except for Napier or Auckland. Not done a lot of research yet but in general in favour of beautiful nature.

What are the pro's and con's for Napier and Auckland?

 

We are booked on the 0ne 2nd February.

this will be the 3rd time on Ovation around NZ.

I haven’t been to Napier but have been to Auckland a few times.

 I like Auckland but we can’t do the later cruise because of my daughters studies.

 Either way you will enjoy it.

 

Edited by Chiliburn
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Hi hallasm.  You might remember I'm going to Bali and hiring Dewa in Bali in December.  Anyway, after Bali we go to Australia and New Zealand, visiting Napier for a day and ending up and going home from Auckland.  I suppose which city you'll like most will depend upon whether you like small cities or large cities, but I'll add my two cents worth, without having been to either city!  Auckland is one of those few places on our cruise where I can't find a whole lot of things that really, really interest me.  I'm sure others might disagree, though, as there are bound to be museums, animal sanctuaries, plus big city things that interest plenty of people. Napier, on the other hand, is a lot smaller and probably has fewer things to do overall.  However, it seems to be fairly interesting and fun, though perhaps a big touristy compared to Auckland, a real, live city!  There are a lot of art deco buildings in Napier, although most don't look absolutely fabulous, and there are lots of rides in antique cars, a few wineries, and a pretty close up view of a large, fairly active (maybe only Dec. - Feb.) gannet (bird) colony.  The gannet colony is accessible by tours that go there by land in a vehicle or along the beach by some kind of buggy. 

 

I suppose it's possible I just haven't researched Auckland enough to find fabulous things to do there, but at this point, I'm thinking I'll have as much fun in Napier as I will in Auckland - for the day I spend before heading home early the next morning!

 

Enjoy New Zealand!

 

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Things to do in Auckland include a short ferry trip across to Devonport which is a pretty shopping village with good cafes, plus you can walk up to and around North Head and explore the old WW2 fortifications and tunnels. A longer ferry trip will take you to Waiheke Island which has beautiful beaches, winerys and cafes. Depending on timing it may be possible to do a day trip to Tiritiri Matangi island which is a wildlife sanctuary. http://www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz/

 

The main drawcards in Napier are the Art Deco buildings, and the Hawkes Bay wineries. The locals usually put on a great display when a cruise ship is in port with guided walks available through the iSite info centre where the shuttle buses stop. The Napier Esplanade is also a lovely place to wander around. 

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Auckland is another big city. It does have some interesting sites and is lovely. But Napier is an experience. We were only there for a few hours and really wished we could have stayed longer. The history and explanation of the earthquakes that caused the rebuilding in the art deco style is unique to Napier. The locals put on a great welcome for the Tour ships. We did a Viator tour.

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Check if Auckland is still a tender port.     There is a 'dolphin' being put in, but currently my understanding they still tender.   And if this is the case getting 4000 people off and on is a big task.  Things may have improved but the first visit saw 3000+ people standing in the sun (hot and humid) for up to an hour to get back to the ship - no shade at all.  Ship was over an hour late leaving.

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9 hours ago, MargoK said:

Check if Auckland is still a tender port.     There is a 'dolphin' being put in, but currently my understanding they still tender.   And if this is the case getting 4000 people off and on is a big task.  Things may have improved but the first visit saw 3000+ people standing in the sun (hot and humid) for up to an hour to get back to the ship - no shade at all.  Ship was over an hour late leaving.

I'm not the original poster, but I checked the Auckland port site, and it appears Ovation of the Seas IS tendering.  I've attached part of the port schedule.  The smaller ships are docking, however..glad that applies to mine! 

auckland print then delete.JPG

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