choosing roundtrip to NZ

[possum52]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I've noticed that cruises earlier than mid-December are more at risk of missing them. NZ weather often doesn't play nice until after Christmas. 

Whereas we were on the Golden in mid November 2018 and had perfect weather for the sounds. Cold to start with but warmed up and layers came off. Toss of a coin I think. 

[arxcards]

39 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Whereas we were on the Golden in mid November 2018 and had perfect weather for the sounds. Cold to start with but warmed up and layers came off. Toss of a coin I think. 

Toss a coin indeed. It is definitely a bit early for Sounds season. Today & tomorrow would likely have got in, but the following five days would be a no. Watching these weather patterns in the Tasman, and these can be present year round. Nice to take a look from time to time to checkout the odds

http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/viewer/index.shtml?domain=combinedW&type=sigWaveHgt

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by arxcards

[possum52]

5 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Toss a coin indeed. It is definitely a bit early for Sounds season. Today & tomorrow would likely have got in, but the following five days would be a no. Watching these weather patterns in the Tasman, and these can be present year round. Nice to take a look from time to time to checkout the odds

http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/viewer/index.shtml?domain=combinedW&type=sigWaveHgt

 

On our Nov 2018 cruise, we were fortunate I know but the weather gods favoured us for the whole cruise so we were lucky. I had checked all the weather  websites prior to sailing and we actually were worried about the Tasman crossing from Melbourne but it was fine.

[MicCanberra]

5 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I've noticed that cruises earlier than mid-December are more at risk of missing them. NZ weather often doesn't play nice until after Christmas. 

Agreed

[MicCanberra]

I think the trick is to be lucky and not travel with unlucky cruisers.

[voyager1964]

The reason for the option 1 timing (late October - early November) is that we wanted to stay at GBR before...

[MicCanberra]

Definitely a better time of the year for GBR then.

[voyager1964]

On 9/21/2023 at 11:03 PM, arxcards said:

Not so much a recommendation, but food for thought .... | Kiwi Adventure | New Zealand Cruises | P&O Cruises Australia (pocruises.com.au)

I agree that this particular itinerary is very appealing. But, the company 😞

If you have sailed with them, could you please tell me how accessible the Byron area is on Adventure? I saw the pool and it appears to have a graduated entry that my wife can take. But, can you get to the pool from the ground level (it seems as if you need to enter the area from the deck above). Do they have a lift for the tender like the Royal Princess has?

 

Thanks again, the inputs I get here are so useful

[arxcards]

14 minutes ago, voyager1964 said:

I agree that this particular itinerary is very appealing. But, the company 😞

If you have sailed with them, could you please tell me how accessible the Byron area is on Adventure? I saw the pool and it appears to have a graduated entry that my wife can take. But, can you get to the pool from the ground level (it seems as if you need to enter the area from the deck above). Do they have a lift for the tender like the Royal Princess has?

 

Thanks again, the inputs I get here are so useful

Pacific Adventure - no. Did sail on her as Golden Princess, but the Byron area is a P&O thing. Yes, aft pool is access via the tiered decks, and I don't recall being able to access it from the same level. We have never tendered from any of the Grand class/subclass ships, so I can't help their either. With the bonus of sailing out under the bridge not happening for that cruise, putting a line through Pacific Adventure would be a worthwhile option.

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, voyager1964 said:

I agree that this particular itinerary is very appealing. But, the company 😞

If you have sailed with them, could you please tell me how accessible the Byron area is on Adventure? I saw the pool and it appears to have a graduated entry that my wife can take. But, can you get to the pool from the ground level (it seems as if you need to enter the area from the deck above). Do they have a lift for the tender like the Royal Princess has?

 

Thanks again, the inputs I get here are so useful

Unless P&O have closed off the access there should be a way of getting to the pool from that deck - there is on othr Grand Class ships. Check the deck plans.

[possum52]

7 hours ago, voyager1964 said:

Do they have a lift for the tender like the Royal Princess has?

 

 

Yes, sailing on her when she was Golden Princess, there were lifts to the tender deck.

[arxcards]

5 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Unless P&O have closed off the access there should be a way of getting to the pool from that deck - there is on othr Grand Class ships. Check the deck plans.

At least on Golden/Adventure, I am pretty sure the pool deck is on a split level between Aloha and Lido decks. You walk up a short flight of stairs from the aft Aloha corridors, or walk down a short flight from Horizon Terrace. The midship pools are accessible. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

15 hours ago, arxcards said:

At least on Golden/Adventure, I am pretty sure the pool deck is on a split level between Aloha and Lido decks. You walk up a short flight of stairs from the aft Aloha corridors, or walk down a short flight from Horizon Terrace. The midship pools are accessible. 

It's really hard to tell from the deck plans and there aren't any photos showing the aft section of the ship from the right angle to see what is on that deck just forward of the pool itself.. 

 

[arxcards]

32 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It's really hard to tell from the deck plans and there aren't any photos showing the aft section of the ship from the right angle to see what is on that deck just forward of the pool itself.. 

 

A photo (not mine) from Golden's pool deck, and is also typical on sister ships. Stairs down to Aloha, or up to Lido

[voyager1964]

Sorry, I actually asked about the Byron pool (=lap pool on Princess)

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, voyager1964 said:

Sorry, I actually asked about the Byron pool (=lap pool on Princess)

Oops. Yes, you can get there from that level, but with a small number of steps up to the pool.

[voyager1964]

To follow up: I am leaning towards the local line. But, could anybody please clarify this thing: I hear that many ships including the Adventure were not allowed to NZ ports until after they perform special external cleaning. Which caused numerous port cancellations. Given that Adventure is not frequent to NZ in 2024, how likely that scenario could be repeated in November 2024 for Adventure?

[arxcards]

23 minutes ago, voyager1964 said:

To follow up: I am leaning towards the local line. But, could anybody please clarify this thing: I hear that many ships including the Adventure were not allowed to NZ ports until after they perform special external cleaning. Which caused numerous port cancellations. Given that Adventure is not frequent to NZ in 2024, how likely that scenario could be repeated in November 2024 for Adventure?

Happened to several ships here last season, mostly as they were caught off guard with the new requirements. It could happen to any of the ships on your shortlist, and others, but I think they are on top of it now. There is much more chance of missing the fjords due to rough weather than there is to miss because of cling-ons on the starboard bow.

[MicCanberra]

I sometimes think there is more to the actions of banning ships than just the enforcement of biosecurity rules.

[arxcards]

On 10/8/2023 at 1:52 PM, voyager1964 said:

Sorry, I actually asked about the Byron pool (=lap pool on Princess)

One thing to note about this pool. On Princess, this pool was free access, even though the Sanctuary had a per day charge.

On P&O, it reads that the pool is now part of the suite package, and I don't know if that was part of your plans.

Byron Beach Club

P&O Cruises Australia will be offering a limited number of guests exclusive access to a private ‘beach club’ onboard its newest ship, Pacific Adventure. The retreat will be available to guests booked in to Pacific Adventure’s suites and selected mini suites.

The exclusive-access retreat offers a private outdoor pool, whirlpool spas and comfy seating situated on the top deck of the ship. With expansive sea views, club-goers can enjoy pure relaxation and pampering in stylish surroundings.