Which itinerary might be better?

[bigsky]

We currently have a cruise booked to NZ Feb, 2025. We usually escape the cold every winter. First NZ cruise. I found another itinerary for March. Wondering which one to choose now. Ours currently goes to Picton, Wellington, Napier, Dunedin and the Sounds....

The other one goes to Bay of islands, Auckland, Napier, Wellington and Littleton (Christchurch). The Sounds look beautiful, but maybe the other itinerary maybe better??

Love to hear others' opinions.

 

[konatyme]

We cruised LA to Sydney in 2008 and visited Auckland, Wellington, Littleton, Dunedin, and cruised the Sounds. The Sounds were indeed amazing and were a highlight of the cruise, so I would be inclined to say don't miss them. We did a wonderful private excursion from Dunedin and saw penguins in fields (with sheep!) above the ocean, as well as some very small penguins in another spot.. We also walked to the fields along a beautiful beach where we saw sea lions. It was a great day! We went to the museum at Wellington (can't think of the name right now, but it was very, very good.) Sorry, can't help you with Picton, Napier,  or Bay of Islands.

[SinbadThePorter]

Wouldn't both cruises do the Sounds? It would be an unusual NZ cruise which didn't.

 

For someone who hasn't visited NZ before, I'd say that both are good. Nothing to pick between them.

 

More important would be departure port and which ship. I assume you are considering a round trip from Sydney. My preference is Coral Princess, but that is from Brisbane.

 

The museum in Wellington is probably the Te Papa.

 

You could also consider a NZ cruise that starts in Sydney and ends in Auckland, they usually include Melbourne and Hobart. Which gives you the option of a few days at both ends for land touring. This would mean only one Tasman crossing.

[sleepingcat]

NZ has such a lot of lovely places that is impossible to see  it all.  we had a whole month of land tour and still missed lots. so adding some days before/after cruise would certainly help. Unless you want to visit Sydney there is no benefit in starting the cruise there, as you ll just get sea days crossing to NZ and back. Good advice from Sinbad, much more local than me, above. 

 

Picton is the departure port for ferries between the South Island and north.  its a pretty place in a nice setting. but on a ship you ll probably want to do a wine tour as its near the most famous NZ wine producers. 

the South Island for us is all about the scenery, nature and the wildlife so if that s your interest then favour the South Island.  Its also wonderfully quiet, though maybe will not seem that way on the day a cruise ship calls somewhere. 

 

[bigsky]

On 8/27/2023 at 12:13 AM, SinbadThePorter said:

Wouldn't both cruises do the Sounds? It would be an unusual NZ cruise which didn't.

 

For someone who hasn't visited NZ before, I'd say that both are good. Nothing to pick between them.

 

More important would be departure port and which ship. I assume you are considering a round trip from Sydney. My preference is Coral Princess, but that is from Brisbane.

 

The museum in Wellington is probably the Te Papa.

 

You could also consider a NZ cruise that starts in Sydney and ends in Auckland, they usually include Melbourne and Hobart. Which gives you the option of a few days at both ends for land touring. This would mean only one Tasman crossing.

Both are on the Ovation of the Seas. We are booked on it currently and it’s out of Sydney.

[bigsky]

On 8/27/2023 at 5:30 AM, sleepingcat said:

NZ has such a lot of lovely places that is impossible to see  it all.  we had a whole month of land tour and still missed lots. so adding some days before/after cruise would certainly help. Unless you want to visit Sydney there is no benefit in starting the cruise there, as you ll just get sea days crossing to NZ and back. Good advice from Sinbad, much more local than me, above. 

 

Picton is the departure port for ferries between the South Island and north.  its a pretty place in a nice setting. but on a ship you ll probably want to do a wine tour as its near the most famous NZ wine producers. 

the South Island for us is all about the scenery, nature and the wildlife so if that s your interest then favour the South Island.  Its also wonderfully quiet, though maybe will not seem that way on the day a cruise ship calls somewhere. 

 

We actually would like to visit Sydney a few days prior to the cruise since we’ve never been. 

 

On 8/27/2023 at 12:13 AM, SinbadThePorter said:

Wouldn't both cruises do the Sounds? It would be an unusual NZ cruise which didn't.

 

For someone who hasn't visited NZ before, I'd say that both are good. Nothing to pick between them.

 

More important would be departure port and which ship. I assume you are considering a round trip from Sydney. My preference is Coral Princess, but that is from Brisbane.

 

The museum in Wellington is probably the Te Papa.

 

You could also consider a NZ cruise that starts in Sydney and ends in Auckland, they usually include Melbourne and Hobart. Which gives you the option of a few days at both ends for land touring. This would mean only one Tasman crossing.

No, we visit the Sounds  and the other visits the Bay of islands. We don’t visit Auckland and Christchurch as well.

[yarramar]

The Sounds are beautiful but you do not get off the ship. If being on land excursions are your thing, go with the Bay of Islands cruise. Come back to NZ another time and spend 2 weeks exploring South Island including boat trips of the sounds where they take you to shore in pristine rain forests and you can do heliflights on the glaciers.

[sbwmail]

We have that same dilemma regarding the Ovation OTS, so I was looking here for answers also! It's a tough decision.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

Remember that, like many seas, the Tasman Sea can be very rough.   If you really want to see the NZ Sounds you might find it better to do the Tasman twice!!   Double the chances of getting in!!