Anyone back from Diamond Sydney-Auckland?

[sandydownunder]

I was wanting to know if Princess provided shuttle buses to the city centres for Tauranga, Dunedin and Christchurch ( I know that one is a long distance from the harbour at Littleton)? What was the cost? Apart from taxis is there any other means of transport? For example there is a tram to the city from the port in Melbourne.

 

Thanks,

Sandra

[elliecat]

We have just returned from the 8th Jan cruise on the Diamond. The shuttle charges was US$5pp each way for Dunedin and Christchurch and US$4 for Tauranga.

 

The ship docks at Mount Maunganui which is also worth a look - there is a lovely coastal walk around the base of the mountain which you can walk to from the ship.

[NH Cruiser]

We're on the Diamond Sydney/Auckland February 25. Would love to hear about your experience.

 

Did you take a tour in Auckland before going to the airport? I'm wondering what Princess does with luggage. Does it go with us on the tour or do they take it directly to the airport? Anything special you'd like to share about the ports of call would be very much appreciated.

[shifty]

Interesting that you should mention a cruise sponsored tour in Auckland when disembarking, since this is one of only a few complaints that I have with Princess regarding this otherwise wonderful cruise & tour. Let me explain, as well as provide a "Cliff Notes" review of our experiences:

 

1. Auckland - weeks prior to the cruise & checked the Princess website & called Princess to learn what ship-sponsored excursions (ending at the airport)would be available when we disembark, since there was no mention in any of the pre-cruise "bookable" excursions. There response basically was "we don't know; there may be something available, but you'll have to wait until you're on the ship." That to us was not an acceptable answer &left us wondering what we would do with lots of luggage. Therefore, we booked a private tour that picked us up at 9:00 AM, toured the city and region & dropped us at the airport at 5:00 PM for a 7:40 PM flight. The cost was $540NZ. Lo & behold, halfway through the cruise we find out that if you took Princess transfers ($58US for 2), it included a tour of Auckland & dropped off both passengers and luggage at the airport. While we thoroughly enjoed our private tour, we wouyld have opted for the ship's tour, had we known in advance!

2. The ship (Diamond) - nice ship, very large, poorly designed & very poor signage. We've been on 16 prior cruises, & it never took 12 days to figure out where the main dining room was or how best to get to it.

3. Cuisine - excellent in the main (International) dining room, buffet (breakfast & lunch) typical madhouse, no better or worse than others

4. Specialty restaurants (Sabbitini's & Sterling Steak House) - far, far inferior to the specialty restaurants on RCCL, Celebrity, & Oceania, and also far inferior to the main dining room. Save your money!

5. Cruise ports & excursions (except Auckland/see above) - all excellent. Sydney, Hobart, & Christchurch were especially wonderful. In Rotorua (Tauranga) where it never rains - it poured all day, but still nice.

6. Precruise tour (6 nights - Sydney, Ayers Rock, Alice Springs, Cairns) - terrific.

7. Officers & crew - fine

8. Entertainment - big shows - excellent; lounge acts - some very good, others poor to fair

9. Rough seas - be aware that the Tasman Sea can & did get rather rough for one day

10. Overall (scale of 1-10): 8; Our preference order for medium/large ships: 1-RCCL (Radiance class)2-Celebrity (Millineum class) 3- Princess, but if the itinerary was right we'd go on any of the 3 again.

 

Mike S

[sandydownunder]

Thanks to all who responded to my original post.

 

elliecat

The coastal walk sounds very appealing. We enjoy hiking. We have been to Rotorua before on land tours of NZ. Any more details to share? Failing thar we were thinking of hiring a car and driving around the Coromandel Peninsular.

Thankyou for the bus costs etc.

 

NH Cruiser

You'll be getting on as we get off. If I can be of help with any ports just ask specific questions. I grew up in Melbourne, lived in Ballarat for 20 years (where an excursion is offered to Sovereign Hill Gold mining town- a fabulous place) and now we live in Brisbane.

 

Shifty (Mike S)

Thanks for your mini review. Glad you had a great time but sorry to hear about the tour on embarkation. NZ$540 is exhorbitant even with your good exchange rate. I'm glad you were able to post here so that others know of better alternatives. I enquired about private tours but found them very expensive, it made the ship's tours look attractive. We can hire a car for NZ$60 and as we drive on the same side of the road it isn't a problem, but some US passengers might be fazed. NZ has such a small population we find driving there a breeze.

 

Sandra

[NH Cruiser]

Mike, I also found it very confusing for Auckland tours. The shore excursions listed on the Princess website said only a few were available if you were not staying in Auckland. There were also restrictions based on departure time (we leave at 6:10 p.m.). All the excursions said we needed Princess transfers. I thought that might be because they took luggage directly to the airport and the "transfer fee" was for the luggage. On top of the transfers, we also purchased the Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World (includes a trip up the tower and drop-off at the airport around 1:30 p.m.). What was the Auckland tour that was part of the transfer? I made a note to check with the Shore Excursion desk to see if we need both the transfer and the excursion. Thanks for that information. Our prestay is three days in Sydney, which we're doing on our own.

 

You're right about private excursions being pricey. I researched the ports for a long time without much success. Princess has most of the local vendors booked solid for the day we're in port. We booked Princess excursions for most ports except Dunedin and Tauranga.

 

Sandy, in Hobart are we better to go to Port Arthur or book a different excursion? Fellow Aussies posted to do the Port Arthur Settlement, which I booked but can easily change.

 

This is our first Princess cruise. Over the last year, I've read a lot of negative reviews about food and the layout of some of the ships. I keep hoping I won't be disappointed. All our cruises have been on RCCL. Like you, I love the Radiance class. We cruised on the Radiance once, and have had two cruises of the Jewel, which is a hard act to follow for service, great food, ship layout and beauty, activities, and staff.

[sandydownunder]

NH,

Port Arthur is an excellent choice.

Sandra

[elliecat]

Hi Sandra,

The coastal walk is very easy to do - you will see the Mount from the ship- just walk towards it and you will find a caravan park. If you start from here it is about a 1 hour reasonably flat walk around the moutain(allowing time to see the view) The shops in Mount Maunganui are also nice to browse around on the way back.

 

It is a long way to Coromandel(about 1 1/2 hours drive) so it may be better to spend the time exploring the Mount if you have previously been to Rotorua . There is also a surf beach by the caravan park if you want to go for a beach walk.

Don't miss the sailaway as the Mount is usually lined with people waving goodbye to the ship!

[NH Cruiser]

Thanks, Sandy. We're looking forward to seeing Port Arthur and all the other ports.

[sandydownunder]

Thanks ellicat,

This morning I spoke with a guy from the New Zealand Travel Centre here in Brisbane. He is putting together some maps and brochures for me. He also recommended Mnt Maunganui but said to walk UP the mountain (he'd done it last Christmas) because the views are spectacular. He said it wasn't a difficult walk and the track starts behind the caravan park.

He also said I may have difficulty renting a car for one day as there is usually a three day minimum. I'll keep on researching.

 

Are you from NZ?

 

Sandra

[flightiebel]

Hi I am cruisin for the first time on Diamond -2apr is anyone on here doing that cruise? Or can anyone give me any tips for this cruise

[PescadoAmarillo]

Hi everyone...I was on the Sapphire Transpacific cruise last year, on Tauranga was one of our ports. I have several photos of Mt. Maunganui in my photo album (towards the end), including showing the path along the perimeter and up the mountain, if you're interested. Tauranga was one of my favorite ports!

[sandydownunder]

flightiebel

 

If you go to the Princess Roll Call, then click on Diamond Princess you will find a roll call for April 2nd. This is where you can correspond with people who are going on the same cruise as you. The link wouldn't allow me to cut & paste. Don't know why, but you will find it.

 

Most Cruise Critic roll call groups arrange a get-to-gether on board. Some have a photo gallery so you can see what people look like -ours for Feb 13th does.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Sandra