sboh Posted September 14 #1 Share Posted September 14 …and why? I’m starting to research a trip to Australia and New Zealand for 2026, thinking of doing a land trip in Australia then a NZ cruise. I’m mostly interested in scenery, natural beauty. I usually cruise with Princess and saw these two itineraries: January 18, 2026- Sidney Tauranga Auckland Picton Christchurch Dunedin Fiordland scenic cruising Sidney OR February 14, 2026- Sidney Bay of Islands Tauranga Auckland Wellington Christchurch Dunedin Fiordland scenic cruising Sidney Thank-you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ozwoody Posted September 14 #2 Share Posted September 14 Of those two cruises, I would chose the second one. Although Picton is lovely, the Bay of Islands and Wellington IMHO would give you a better NZ cruise experience. Regards John 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted September 14 #3 Share Posted September 14 I agree with John. I would choose Wellington (the capital of NZ) over Picton. The Bay of Islands is a bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ceeceeDee Posted September 14 #4 Share Posted September 14 I'll second that AT. We're cruising out of Brisbane in February 2026 and the second itinerary reflects ours with the exception we don't go to the Bay of Islands (unfortunately). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare arxcards Posted September 14 #5 Share Posted September 14 (edited) An extra port on the 2nd one, so I would go with that too. Heaps of variety of things to do in Wellington. FYI, our cruise capital is spelled Sydney. Edited September 14 by arxcards 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icat2000 Posted September 14 #6 Share Posted September 14 Both are good options. Depends whether you want to go to Bay of Islands or Picton. Wellington not really a deciding factor for me. Can be a dreary windy place at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted September 14 #7 Share Posted September 14 Definitely the second one. Not only for the ports but January is still school holiday time so some places could be very busy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ozwoody Posted September 15 #8 Share Posted September 15 59 minutes ago, icat2000 said: Both are good options. Depends whether you want to go to Bay of Islands or Picton. Wellington not really a deciding factor for me. Can be a dreary windy place at times. 🤣 it can be, I lived there for nearly 5 years, they do call it windy Wellington. BUT, it is great most of the time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell21 Posted September 15 #9 Share Posted September 15 48 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said: Definitely the second one. Not only for the ports but January is still school holiday time so some places could be very busy. I agree, as well as children will have gone back to school so there will be less of them aboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruiser3775 Posted September 15 #10 Share Posted September 15 Also agree, the second one, outside the school holidays, unless you like hoards of children on the cruise. However, if you are a wine drinker, the first one goes to Picton, and you can do a great shore excursion to the Marlborough wine region. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sboh Posted September 15 Author #11 Share Posted September 15 2 hours ago, arxcards said: An extra port on the 2nd one, so I would go with that too. Heaps of variety of things to do in Wellington. FYI, our cruise capital is spelled Sydney. Thanks for the heads-up on Sydney. I tried to edit but it won’t let me now. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sboh Posted September 15 Author #12 Share Posted September 15 2 hours ago, icat2000 said: Both are good options. Depends whether you want to go to Bay of Islands or Picton. Wellington not really a deciding factor for me. Can be a dreary windy place at times. Which would be considered more scenic, Bay of Islands or Picton? I don’t drink so wineries not of interest to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinbadThePorter Posted September 15 #13 Share Posted September 15 33 minutes ago, sboh said: Bay of Islands or Picton? Bay of Islands. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jean C Posted September 15 #14 Share Posted September 15 1 hour ago, sboh said: Which would be considered more scenic, Bay of Islands or Picton? I don’t drink so wineries not of interest to me. Bay of Islands definitely, google pictures of it and what you can do there, it's a very picturesque, historic and delightful place. Tauranga too, or more correctly Mount Maunganui where the ship docks, is a lovely beachside township, with a beautiful sandy beach and stunning views from the top of the Mount, there's a walkable track to the top for anyone of average fitness. The Bay of Islands and Mt Maunganui are two of my favourite places 😊 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Over from NZ Posted September 15 #15 Share Posted September 15 6 hours ago, sboh said: I’m mostly interested in scenery, natural beauty If that were the case - I'd do it the opposite way. Cruise Australia and land-trip NZ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackduck59 Posted September 15 #16 Share Posted September 15 I'm going to throw out the idea of doing a one way cruise Auckland to Sydney or vice versa. Tack on some land time on both ends. It saves a couple of sea days. You can fly in to one country and out of the other. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buchhalm Posted September 15 #17 Share Posted September 15 #2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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