Coral Princess cruise to NZ, 6th - 20th Feb

[Aus Traveller]

Embarkation at the new Brisbane cruise terminal went very well without delays. The first port on this 14-night cruise around NZ was Auckland. We were aware that a cyclone was potentially heading for the north of NZ, but the weather was fine for our first port call. We were docked close to our sister ship, the Island Princess that was on a world cruise from Los Angeles.

 

We called into Tauranga the next day and docked behind the Island Princess. It was overcast today, but there wasn't any rain. We left before the Island, and as we pulled away from the dock, the horn on the Island played the theme from the Love Boat. The Coral could only respond with a standard blast from the ship's horn. Passengers on both ships waved and called out. At the cocktail party near the end of the cruise, Captain Pears told us that we were hit with 60 knot winds when we reached the open ocean. We noticed the seas has picked up somewhat, but it was very comfortable in the ship, even if the promenade deck was closed at times. We didn't get to the point of sick bags being placed around the ship.

 

We were supposed to call into Napier on Sunday 12th, but this port call was cancelled. Capt Pears told us that if we got into the harbour, we wouldn't be able to leave because the weather was deteriorating. We later learned that exceptionally heavy rain started the next day and by early on Tuesday morning, a state of emergency had been declared. We 'dodged a bullet' by having the port visit cancelled. We headed at slow speed for Wellington. Once again, we could see waves of probably 5-6 metres, but the ship handled it very well.

 

Monday 13th - Wellington. The sky was overcast but it didn't rain even though Napier was copping it at this time. As usual, free shuttle buses operated to the centre of the CBD and to a stop near the magnificent Te Papa Museum.

 

On Tuesday 14th we were supposed to be in Lyttleton (for Christchurch). We entered the outer harbour but at 7am Capt Pears made the announcement that he had to cancel the port call. He had been in discussions with the Harbour Master who advised that an infragravitational wave (storm surge) could occur and that the harbour would be closed at 12 noon. Ships would be much safer in the open ocean. If we docked, we had to leave the harbour by noon so the port call was cancelled. Passengers wouldn't be able to travel into Christchurch and return by noon. This was a bit like Cinderella with her midnight curfew at the ball.

 

We were able to visit to Port Chalmers (for Dunedin) on the 15th. By this time Cyclone Gabrielle had moved away to the east and we had cruised further south. Docked beside us in Port Chalmers was the Norwegian Spirit, an NCL cruise ship. When we left, both ships politely sounded their horns, but there wasn't any reaction from the passengers on either ship.

 

We had been concerned that we mightn't make it into the Sounds however, our day of scenic cruising was magnificent with perfect weather. Because we were approaching from the south, we entered Dusky and Breaksea Sounds first, followed by Doubtful and Thompson Sounds. As we cruised north close to the coast, the scenery was superb. We sat on our balcony for hours enjoying the views. Then we entered Milford Sound. Soon we saw a pod of porpoises right beside us. They performed their usual leaps out of the water, then some of them appeared to dive under the ship. Although we have cruised to New Zealand many times before, we felt that this day in Fiordland was probably the most spectacular. Probably having a balcony and being on the best side of the ship for the views, helped a lot in that assessment.

 

COVID - We rarely saw anyone not wearing a mask, however there were obviously cases of COVID on board. The number of cabins in quarantine increased slowly from a couple to an estimated 20 or so. This is only my estimate.

 

SUMMARY - Overall it was a great cruise. The crew were all great as usual and we met some old cruising friends as well as many new ones.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thanks, Evon. I'm very pleased to hear you had a wonderful day in Fiordland. It's such a special place. 

 

For once we didn't see the dolphins when we visited Milford Sound in December (we'd seen them every other time) but the air was crystal clear and we spotted background mountains we'd never noticed before. Pure NZ magic!

 

I noticed on our Round Australia trip last year that Coral handled bouncy seas very well indeed.

Edited February 22, 2023 by OzKiwiJJ

[windsor26]

Great that despite problems you enjoyed the cruise   After all the rain the sounds would have had magnificent water falls  Sad for all of NZ and of course now Napier is being used as a mortuary

[Aus Traveller]

4 minutes ago, windsor26 said:

Great that despite problems you enjoyed the cruise   After all the rain the sounds would have had magnificent water falls  Sad for all of NZ and of course now Napier is being used as a mortuary

Although the northern areas of NZ had a lot of rain, Fiordland hadn't. There weren't many waterfalls - only the larger constant ones.

[windsor26]

19 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Although the northern areas of NZ had a lot of rain, Fiordland hadn't. There weren't many waterfalls - only the larger constant ones.

They are still great with normal rainfall  but when they have had loads in the South island they are unbelievable

[cruiser3775]

2 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

we felt that this day in Fiordland was probably the most spectacular. Probably having a balcony and being on the best side of the ship for the views, helped a lot

Thank you for a great trip report, and I'm sorry Gabrielle dampened your port visits. I'm off in a couple of weeks on a NZ cruise, and appreciated your information. Can you tell me which is "the best side of the ship" for seeing Fjordlands?

[Aus Traveller]

Just now, cruiser3775 said:

Thank you for a great trip report, and I'm sorry Gabrielle dampened your port visits. I'm off in a couple of weeks on a NZ cruise, and appreciated your information. Can you tell me which is "the best side of the ship" for seeing Fjordlands?

The best side of the ship depends on the itinerary. For the views of the coast that we really enjoyed, the starboard side is best if the ship is travelling around NZ in a clock-wise direction. If your cruise is calling into the Sounds first, then the port side is best.

[OzKiwiJJ]

The port side is best for going into Milford Sound but most ships have good outdoor viewing decks if your cabin isn't on that side.

[Aus Traveller]

13 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The port side is best for going into Milford Sound but most ships have good outdoor viewing decks if your cabin isn't on that side.

I agree generally and was a bit disappointed that our cabin on the starboard side wasn't ideally situated for the entry into Milford. However, we were delighted with the position because we were on the landward side for cruising between the Sounds. For Milford, we saw both sides of the fiord anyway.

[OzKiwiJJ]

53 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I agree generally and was a bit disappointed that our cabin on the starboard side wasn't ideally situated for the entry into Milford. However, we were delighted with the position because we were on the landward side for cruising between the Sounds. For Milford, we saw both sides of the fiord anyway.

Yes, you do see both sides of Milford Sound but I always recommend the port side for first-timers as that is where the most spectacular scenery opens up as you progress through the fiord. I also tell people to look back and up as well as forward as there is some stunning scenery tucked back behind a ridge, that only shows when you're past that point. 

[Aus Traveller]

31 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, you do see both sides of Milford Sound but I always recommend the port side for first-timers as that is where the most spectacular scenery opens up as you progress through the fiord. I also tell people to look back and up as well as forward as there is some stunning scenery tucked back behind a ridge, that only shows when you're past that point. 

I agree with your comments. The cabins we have booked for a NZ cruise next January with our daughter and her family are on the Port side. I told my daughter at the time, that this was the right side for Milford Sound. It will also be the right side for the scenic cruising because we will be visiting Fiordland first, then continuing anti-clockwise around the island.

 

On our cruise last week, we enjoyed relaxing on our balcony and watching the scenery, rather than standing up at the front of the ship. That is what we have usually done for the entry into Milford. I might suggest to my daughter & son-in-law that they go up there for the entry into Milford while I stay on the balconies with their little girls.

[OzKiwiJJ]

We spent most of the time on our balcony on the HAL cruise. It had very comfy deckchairs with foot stools. That was our fourth cruise into Fiordland so we didn't feel the need to be up on deck. It was a very pleasant, warm day, ideal for chilling out on the balcony savouring the spectacular scenery in peace and quiet.

[cruiser3775]

Thanks for the information. I have a starboard balcony cabin on the Noordam, but I will try to go somewhere forward and outdoors for going into Milford. Fingers crossed for good weather - I know it can be awful there, having walked into Milford on the Routeburn Track in an absolute gale, when I was younger and much fitter.

[Emmas71]

We were on the same cruise and agree with your review, we were indeed very lucky with the weather and the gorgeousness of the Fjordlands. We were truly amazed and even the photos don’t give you the full awesomeness of the area.

 

We had a great time despite hubby testing positive on the 12th, me having symptoms all week but not testing positive until the 17th so we spent all the second week on our room, making the most of the amazing room service including MDR menu for lunch and dinner and enjoying the balcony. We both had a couple of bad days but overall very mild and we were well looked after.

 

Getting off was mind boggling with all us deemed close contacts - or still infected gathering after 930am at the Explorers lounge. This lounge with a capacity of 260, filled completely with overflow filling the hall and international cafe until we were able to get off.  Given this was the result of 2nd week infections ( I would guesstimate 300 easy)  even if the 1st week patients were only 100, that is a pretty big  ratio.

 

people reporting on social media testing positive when they got home as well. Mask compliance was the highest I’ve seen on board so sad the infection rate seemed so great.

 

can’t wait to be on board again. The coral princess is my favourite ship to date

 

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

14 hours ago, Emmas71 said:

We were on the same cruise and agree with your review, we were indeed very lucky with the weather and the gorgeousness of the Fjordlands. We were truly amazed and even the photos don’t give you the full awesomeness of the area.

 

We had a great time despite hubby testing positive on the 12th, me having symptoms all week but not testing positive until the 17th so we spent all the second week on our room, making the most of the amazing room service including MDR menu for lunch and dinner and enjoying the balcony. We both had a couple of bad days but overall very mild and we were well looked after.

 

Getting off was mind boggling with all us deemed close contacts - or still infected gathering after 930am at the Explorers lounge. This lounge with a capacity of 260, filled completely with overflow filling the hall and international cafe until we were able to get off.  Given this was the result of 2nd week infections ( I would guesstimate 300 easy)  even if the 1st week patients were only 100, that is a pretty big  ratio.

 

people reporting on social media testing positive when they got home as well. Mask compliance was the highest I’ve seen on board so sad the infection rate seemed so great.

 

can’t wait to be on board again. The coral princess is my favourite ship to date

 

 

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Sorry to hear you both got Covid on your cruise but a cruise ship is definately the best place to be if you do catch it. I caught it in October on Coral Princess and couldn't fault the service. Like you we were looked after very well. They even managed to get piping hot espressos to us in our cabin - they must have run them all the way from the cafe!

 

Once Covid spreads on a ship, it spreads quickly especially when people refuse to wear masks. Before I developed symptoms we'd noticed one table in front of a door in our mid-aft corridor. After I tested negative a week later there were at least ten just in that corridor alone.

Edited February 24, 2023 by OzKiwiJJ

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the read.