NZ Cruise on Diamond Princess 4/2/06

[JA1]

Have booked the following shore excursions for this cruise. Would appreciate feedback from anyone who has gone on these excursions through Princess:

Tauranga: Maori Experience & Thermal Reserve

Christchurch: Punt, Tram, Shopping & Tea

Dunedin: Taieri Gorge/Train/Lanarch Castle

Hobart: Soft Wilderness Adventure

Melbourne: Discover Melbourne

 

Thanks!!:rolleyes:

[travelax]

Just returned from the cruise and I would suggest looking for tours independent from Princess. First and foremost there are independent tours that do the same thing as the tours you have scheduled that are cheaper and in smaller groups. For example in Rotatura we went with Mt. Classic tours and were six people instead of thirty and went and saw and did everything that they did on the tour from the ship. Some tours are only available through the ship(eg the Queenstown overnight and the transalpine experience).

david

P.S. the trip was fantastic

[Spikesgirl]

JA1 - we did nearly all of these excursions and I have to say we didn't regret one of them. I will take them one at a time.

 

Maori and geothermal experience - this was fun, but a lot of walking. It was hot and I got pretty grumpy towards the end. Take water! The landscape was very different than we were used to on the Big Island. The boat tour was fun and the buffet luncheon was yummy. Shopping was very good! They had some beautiful embroided tee shirts.

 

Christchurch - we did a private tour, but did the punting. It was very laid back and the morning tea was very nice. The gentleman doing our punting turned out to be an exchange student from the states, so it was fun to listen to his experiences with life in NZ. if you get the chance, the botanical gardens are beautiful and there is a toll house restaurant that was incredible 9yes, by now you should see that food plays a big part in our travels)

 

Dunedin - the train is a must. Best part for me was the shepard who brought in some sheep and a border collie for a demonstration. My DH loved the box lunch. Scenery was breathtaking - make sure you 'switch' sides for the trip down to get the full effect. The landscape is so incredible and it now reminds me of "Lord of the Rings."

 

Hobart - soft wilderness adventure - hmm, I'm not sure about this one, but we went to a wilderness part - the best part of the trip for me. It was great to meet some of the animals one-on-one. It was surprising how soft a Tasmanian Devil's fur is and how 'smelly' a Koala Bear is. i even got 'rolled' by a wallaby who thought it was my job to feed him 9they give you baggies of feed when you enter). It was a real treat for us. The falls was a great walk - not hard at all and the forest was so peaceful.

 

Melbourne - can't help you with that one. We caught the tram and spent the day wandering the streets there. It was fun to go through the grocery store and check stuff out. A native stopped us and told us how lucky we Yanks were because we had so much more variety and we told her the same thing right back. Guess it's the whole 'grass is greener' theory.

 

Anyhow, hope that helps and if you'd like more details, feel free to e mail me at ckirby@deltacollege.edu

 

Happy Sails,

 

Charlie

[JA1]

Thanks Spikesgirl! Will keep all your good tips in mind. Appreciate the feedback.

 

JA1

[Spikesgirl]

JA1 - hope you have a great trip to both countries. The only thing swe hated about our trip was having to come back. My DH is still talking about immigrating to NZ. I wouldn't mind! have a great trip and don't forget to post!

 

Happy sails,

 

Charlie