Newbie to Australia Cruises - Advice Please

[ELJCruiser]

My husband and I are thinking about doing an Australia cruise in Oct/Nov next year. We have never been to Australia, and are newbies to Australian cruises. Actually, we are more or less cruise newbies, period! We had only done two Alaskan cruises in the last 15 years or so (on Celebrity and Holland America). We have done some research, and looks like either Celebrity or Princess Cruise offers itinerary that may be options. 
 

For Celebrity, it will be their Edge, 11 nights to the Great Barrier Reef (Willis Island, Port Douglas, Airlie Beach, Brisbane, back to Sydney). For Princess, it will be the Crown Princess (Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Melbourne, Hobart, Port Arthur, back to Sydney). They are both around 11 days, with departure in late Oct (Oct 21 or Oct 24). We are looking to book one of the suites. 
 

We have several questions: 

 

1. Would you suggest Celebrity or Princess? Which cruise line is better?

2. Which is a better itinerary? Great Barrier Reef or Southern Australia?

3. Is end of Oct/ Nov a good time for these cruises? we have the options to go in Feb/March. My husband prefers cooler weather if that makes a difference, but would we be able to swim in end of Oct?

4. I tend to get motion sickness quite easily. Do you think the sea for these itineraries maybe a bit tough in the Oct/Nov timeframe?

 

Any advice, suggestions, pointers would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance. 

 

 

[Bubbeh]

21 minutes ago, ELJCruiser said:

1. Would you suggest Celebrity or Princess? Which cruise line is better?

2. Which is a better itinerary? Great Barrier Reef or Southern Australia?

3. Is end of Oct/ Nov a good time for these cruises? we have the options to go in Feb/March. My husband prefers cooler weather if that makes a difference, but would we be able to swim in end of Oct?

4. I tend to get motion sickness quite easily. Do you think the sea for these itineraries maybe a bit tough in the Oct/Nov timeframe?

1.I prefer Princess but I think they're probably a pretty much of a muchness

2. It really depends on what you want to see, and when you're travelling.  The GBR will be quite warm in October/November while the SA cruise will be much cooler and probably with rougher seas.  Are you a good sailor?  With your previous experience you may not know how you deal with high seas, better take some anti-nausea tabs whichever one you choose.

3.Yes, Oct/Nov is as good a time as any to cruise.  

4. See my answer to point 2.  It you already know you're likely to suffer sea sickness, probably the GBR would be a better option for you.

 

My advice, for what its worth, depending on how deep your pockets are and how long you've got, would be to do a circumnavigation.  You're only looking at the east of the country, trust me, there's a whole other lot to see and experience up north and over west.   

[Muffinz]

We;ve cruised the Great Barrier Reef on Celebrity Solstice in 2018 - it was our first cruise and we loved it

Celebrity Edge is a larger ship with more people on board and some of the port stops like Cairns / Port Douglas will be tender ports - where the ship anchors out to sea and passengers are 'tendered' into shore using the ships tender boats and local boats / catermarans.

We had some friends do that cruise on Edge earlier this year and they loved the ship

 

We are actually doing the South Australia cruise on Crown Princess in December 2024 - Sydney to Melbourne / Kangaroo Is / Adelaide, Port Lincoln / Hobart /  Port Arthur back to Sydney

only 2 of the port stops are tender ports - the rest the ship actually docks in the port

 

the weather should be ok that time of year and not too humid, although it is generally warmer further north in places like Cairns / Port Douglas (some of the aussie 'experts' her can clarify that)

 

We were worried about getting sea sick on our cruise but it wasn't an issue for us

 

As for the itinerary - it depends on what you want to see / do

[cruiser3775]

The weather will be fine in October for both cruises, though it will not be warm swimming weather for the southern cruise.

Be careful of what you wish for, if your main reason for sailing the northern route is to see the Great Barrier Reef. The best you can hope for is a ship's excursion to the outer reef, which is shortened to fit in with ship's timing. The actual trip to the outer reef takes 1.5 to 2 hours on a fast catamaran, then you get about 2 hours at a moored pontoon to see the coral and the sea life.  So, you have 3 to 4 hours return journey on a small vessel, which is often rough.

The Celebrity cruise has three stops in 11 days (Willis Island is a "sail-past" not a stop). Two of them, Port Douglas and Airlie Beach are tender ports, not ideal if you are prone to seasickness. So you will have eight sea days, mostly out of sight of land.

The Princess cruise has five port stops in 11 days.

[MicCanberra]

1 Celebrity over Princess 

2 Southern Australia over Qld.

3 March is better for swimming than Oct/ Nov but Qld is better for both times.

4 Seas can be unpredictable but again Qld and March are better options on both counts.

[Cbtours]

54 minutes ago, Bubbeh said:

1.I prefer Princess but I think they're probably a pretty much of a muchness

2. It really depends on what you want to see, and when you're travelling.  The GBR will be quite warm in October/November while the SA cruise will be much cooler and probably with rougher seas.  Are you a good sailor?  With your previous experience you may not know how you deal with high seas, better take some anti-nausea tabs whichever one you choose.

3.Yes, Oct/Nov is as good a time as any to cruise.  

4. See my answer to point 2.  It you already know you're likely to suffer sea sickness, probably the GBR would be a better option for you.

 

My advice, for what its worth, depending on how deep your pockets are and how long you've got, would be to do a circumnavigation.  You're only looking at the east of the country, trust me, there's a whole other lot to see and experience up north and over west.   

Def recommend circumnavigation 🥰🥰🥰

[arxcards]

The two itineraries are poles apart.

 

For someone from the US?? Celebrity is $US aboard, Crown Princess is $AU aboard.

I like both ships, but prefer Princess suites to Celebrity suites.

 

Swimming on the ships will be much of a muchness. Water will be warmer at the beaches and lagoons for the Celebrity QLD cruise, but would be a bit cold on St Kilda Beach during the Princess one. The Princess cruise isn't really a beachy kind of itinerary.

 

Most of your stops (all but Brisbane) on the QLD Celebrity cruise will be tender ports, Kangaroo Island & Port Arthur are tender ports for the Princess one.

 

Both are nice cruise lines, but I personally find Princess to be a bit more value for money. Celebrity Edge is considerably newer than Crown Princess, but I would happily cruise on either and think it is more about choosing which ports will suit you better.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Also Willis Island is just a "sail by" not an actual port stop. It's a "fudge" to allow duty free to be sold onboard as it's in international waters. 

[SinbadThePorter]

1. I think Edge is better looking than Crown, but Princess is generally a bit cheaper than Celebrity if that is a factor. Other than that it's a coin toss.

 

2. For me, Southern Australia. Nothing wrong with the Queensland itinerary, but the south has better scenery.

 

3. Oct/Nov is late spring. In general the south will be cooler and seas rougher than the north. That said, nobody can predict the weather. I would not swim south of Sydney except in the summer months.

 

4. The southern cruise certainly has a good chance of hitting medium to high seas at that time of year. There is nothing between you and Antarctica except Tasmania, and if you happen to be in Tasmania, then nothing at all. The northern cruise should be no problem at all.

[ELJCruiser]

Hi all, thanks so much for taking the time to provide your feedbacks and guidance. I really appreciate it.

 

Weather-wise and sea-sickness wise, looks like the Great Barrier Reef is a better itinerary for me. I am excited to book. Just one more quick question, since neither my husband and I are divers, would it be a "waste" so-to-speak for us to go to GBR since we won't be able to take part in diving to see the natural wonder of the reef? 

[Jean C]

You can still go to the reef and snorkel. I think the tour also has a semi sub that you can go on (included in the price when I did it years ago) that will give you a good view of the coral. Be aware that much has suffered from bleaching so you won't see lovely colourful coral. 

[SinbadThePorter]

2 hours ago, ELJCruiser said:

would it be a "waste" so-to-speak for us to go to GBR

 

Not really a waste but maybe a poor return on investment. It takes a considerable time to get to and from the reef from those tender ports and the result when you get there may be not as spectacular as you might expect.

 

I would consider looking more towards shore excursions. From Port Douglas to to Cape Tribulation and the Daintree. From Cairns up the Skyrail to Kuranda and back down by train. Or if snorkeling is still preferred, then a quicker trip out to the Low Isles from Port Douglas may suit.

[ceeceeDee]

3 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Not really a waste but maybe a poor return on investment. It takes a considerable time to get to and from the reef from those tender ports and the result when you get there may be not as spectacular as you might expect.

 

I would consider looking more towards shore excursions. From Port Douglas to to Cape Tribulation and the Daintree. From Cairns up the Skyrail to Kuranda and back down by train. Or if snorkeling is still preferred, then a quicker trip out to the Low Isles from Port Douglas may suit.

I'm open to correction, but I believe there is a glass bottom boat excursion around Low Isles. Other than that the Skyrail is really spectacular.

[Muffinz]

2 hours ago, ELJCruiser said:

Hi all, thanks so much for taking the time to provide your feedbacks and guidance. I really appreciate it.

 

Weather-wise and sea-sickness wise, looks like the Great Barrier Reef is a better itinerary for me. I am excited to book. Just one more quick question, since neither my husband and I are divers, would it be a "waste" so-to-speak for us to go to GBR since we won't be able to take part in diving to see the natural wonder of the reef? 

We are neither divers or snorkelers but really enjoyed the 2 days we had at Cairns and the 1 day in Porrt Douglas

in Cairns we went on the skyrail to Kuranda and that was very enjoyable (was a ship excursion)

in Port Douglas when we got off the tender boat there were people there in the shopping mall area offering tours and we did a 1-2 hour tour around Port Douglas in a minivan type thing and that was about $20 per person from memory

[cruiser3775]

So you are going to do an 11 night cruise, which you describe as a "Great Barrier Reef Cruise".  You won't actually see the reef much from the ship at all. You will have eight days at sea, mostly out of sight of land. So, on one day you will pay $350 plus per person to go on a day excursion to the actual reef. This will involve a minimum of three hours on a small catamaran to get to the outer reef from the cruse ship and back. It can be very rough sailing. Then you get maybe 2 to 2.5 hours on a pontoon, where you can do some snorkelling and see the reef from a glass bottomed boat. Then it's back to the ship in the small catamaran again. Bad choice if you are prone to seasickness.

As someone else said, this is not good value nor a good fit for you, especially if you want to see something more of Australia, not just inside the cruise ship, which could be sailing anywhere.

[OzKiwiJJ]

17 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

So you are going to do an 11 night cruise, which you describe as a "Great Barrier Reef Cruise".  You won't actually see the reef much from the ship at all. You will have eight days at sea, mostly out of sight of land. So, on one day you will pay $350 plus per person to go on a day excursion to the actual reef. This will involve a minimum of three hours on a small catamaran to get to the outer reef from the cruse ship and back. It can be very rough sailing. Then you get maybe 2 to 2.5 hours on a pontoon, where you can do some snorkelling and see the reef from a glass bottomed boat. Then it's back to the ship in the small catamaran again. Bad choice if you are prone to seasickness.

As someone else said, this is not good value nor a good fit for you, especially if you want to see something more of Australia, not just inside the cruise ship, which could be sailing anywhere.

I agree. The Cairns / Port Douglas region is best visited on a land trip. Although they are only an hour or so apart by road, Port Douglas is best for reef trips and Daintree tours. The Low Isles are only about 30 minutes from Port Douglas in sheltered waters. The outer reef takes about 2 hours each way. Cairns is best for the Kuranda skyrail / train outing. 

 

February/March would be better for a southern cruise, however it's still cyclone season up north. 

 

As others have mentioned, if you can manage the extra time then I highly recommend a Round Australia cruise.

[Over from NZ]

2 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Not really a waste but maybe a poor return on investment. It takes a considerable time to get to and from the reef from those tender ports and the result when you get there may be not as spectacular as you might expect.

 

I would consider looking more towards shore excursions. From Port Douglas to to Cape Tribulation and the Daintree. From Cairns up the Skyrail to Kuranda and back down by train. Or if snorkeling is still preferred, then a quicker trip out to the Low Isles from Port Douglas may suit.

I second that. The Low Isles is a lot closer and is one of the best day excursions we've ever done (on the Wavedancer) on any cruise. Extremely well run. Very easy snorkeling.. Coral, fish, turtles etc. It was an excellent option if you didn't want to go all the way out to the "reef". 

[Mycruiseobsession]

On 9/23/2024 at 9:27 AM, ELJCruiser said:

 

2. Which is a better itinerary? Great Barrier Reef or Southern Australia?

3. Is end of Oct/ Nov a good time for these cruises? we have the options to go in Feb/March. My husband prefers cooler weather if that makes a difference, but would we be able to swim in end of Oct?

4. I tend to get motion sickness quite easily. Do you think the sea for these itineraries maybe a bit tough in the Oct/Nov timeframe?

 

Hi the answer to your questions are more about what it is you want to get out of your visit to Australia?

 

There's  a big  climate difference between the two itineraries.

 

Great Barrier Reef up to Cairns is Tropical. In October it starts to get quite hot  (but  it depends what you consider hot?) Last year Cairns had 35°c days (I have family that live there)

 

Cyclone season for Northern Australia is often between November- April (but rare and un predictable) They also get the monsoonal trough- humidity and grey skies. I honestly think May - September should be Northern Australia's Cruise season but clearly the lines don't  think it's  really profitable to have a bigger tropical winter season.

 

Southern Australia in my opinion is still too cold for me to swim in October- but I don't  live in a climate that gets below zero in winter. 

 

As for the motion sickness, I think that's  impossible to predict  and prevention is best - look into travel sickness medications like Avomine, Phernergan and Trav a Calm Original.

[Mycruiseobsession]

5 hours ago, ELJCruiser said:

Just one more quick question, since neither my husband and I are divers, would it be a "waste" so-to-speak for us to go to GBR since we won't be able to take part in diving to see the natural wonder of the reef? 

 

I have done day trips from Cairns many times.

 

Green and Fitzroy Islands have great opportunities for non divers.

 

 

 

 

 

Views from the jetties and glass bottom tours.

 

I'll  try add some of my photos.

 

This is Green Island:

 

Jetty

 

Glass Bottom Boat

 

Fitzroy Island:

 

 

Jetty

 

 

Nudey Beach  (Not Nude! Fully clothed!)

Edited yesterday at 04:23 AM by Mycruiseobsession
Added photos

[SinbadThePorter]

26 minutes ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

Nudey Beach  (Not Nude! Fully clothed!)

 

I was told that the beach was named after Mr Nudey. 🙄

 

I've been on Fitzroy Island and as a day trip it's quite good. Excellent walks to the top of the island. The snorkeling is OK, but the coral is very beat up and the water can be a bit murky.

Edited yesterday at 04:37 AM by SinbadThePorter

[Mycruiseobsession]

Also I ran out of time to edit and add more 😁 but I go to Cairns very regularly. Once a year minimum sometimes twice.

I am lucky to have family I can stay but I have also done a few cruises from Brisbane return.

 

I personally think Port Douglas is over rated.

 

I agree skyrail is a wonderful trip, exploring the rainforest from above is an experience. I liked the train back down but my hubby thinks its boring 😴  so last time we did return on skyrail only.

Spent some time at Kuranda, ate, visited the butterfly sanctuary  - very informative and I love the Ulysses Butterflies.

 

So again many opportunities to see the rainforest meeting the sea... if you choose to do a Northern East Coast itinerary. 

 

 

[arxcards]

37 minutes ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

Cyclone season for Northern Australia is often between November- April (but rare and un predictable) They also get the monsoonal trough- humidity and grey skies. I honestly think May - September should be Northern Australia's Cruise season but clearly the lines don't  think it's  really profitable to have a bigger tropical winter season.

 

Same said ships make more money in Alaska - May to September. 

Cyclones are bad, but east coast lows are most prolific in June & July, often with worse seas than the wake of a cyclone.

[arxcards]

29 minutes ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

 

I have done day trips from Cairns many times.

 

Green and Fitzroy Islands have great opportunities for non divers.

 

 

 

 

 

Views from the jetties and glass bottom tours.

 

I'll  try add some of my photos.

 

This is Green Island:

 

Jetty

 

Glass Bottom Boat

 

Fitzroy Island:

 

 

Jetty

 

 

Nudey Beach  (Not Nude! Fully clothed!)

Nice day. Not many white pointers about.

[Mycruiseobsession]

12 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

. The snorkeling is OK, but the coral is very beat up and the water can be a bit murky

 

Weather dependant of course.

 

If I were to pick out of the 2 for a one time tourist I would choose Green Isand as they also have a crocodile and aquarium there.

 

 

Edited yesterday at 04:49 AM by Mycruiseobsession
Added pics