Best Time for the Australia Cruise?

[cruisecruzer]

Hi...I'm interested in going on a cruise to Sydney but don't know when is the best time to go. People are saying that their peak seasons are opposite ours in California.

 

I'm thinking of April, 2007 and don't know if this is a good travelling period.

 

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated? Thanks!

 

Annie

[Aussie Gal]

April is a very settled month in Australia. It is autumn here and can be quite cool at night and around 20C or more during the day. It does depend what part of Australia you are thinking of visiting as it is a big country with lots of different temperature ranges.

 

The further north you go, the warmer it is so if you are thinking of visiting Queensland it will be a lot hotter than say if you were visiting Tasmania where it will be a lot cooler.

 

Jennie

[Down-Unders]

Hi...I'm interested in going on a cruise to Sydney but don't know when is the best time to go. People are saying that their peak seasons are opposite ours in California.

 

I'm thinking of April, 2007 and don't know if this is a good travelling period.

 

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated? Thanks!

 

Annie

 

Come on down anytime, you will have a great time.

[mydream]

In the southern hemisphere Spring, starts officially 1st September. Summer starts 1st December. Autumn starts 1st March and Winter 1st June. We are the exact opposite of the Northern Hemisphere.:) Hope that helps.

[SPARKLE10]

Hi:

 

We're going to be there next March 9, 2007 (first time there) on the Sapphire Princess, NZ to Australia itinerary. I know it's different every year, but do you think we'll see warm weather or will it be cool? I'm hoping it will still be warm.

 

Thanks....Sparkle 10 :)

[Bob&Janet]

It will still likely be warm even very warm in Sydney (February actually tends to be our hottest month), but NZ it will probably be starting to cool down a bit particularly at night. My suggestion ... be prepared for both.

[Aussie Gal]

Sparkle 10.

 

As we are having one of the hottest Decembers on record, it could be either way by March. We here in Australia are hoping for rain and more rain as we are in terrible drought conditions and we are just not getting any relief. We need literally inches and inches of this precious commodity. We are also experiencing shocking bushfires and it is not going to be a happy Christmas for quite a few of our fellow aussies.

 

March usually is the most settled month down here in Southern Australia and it will probably be the same this coming year. You will find the days are warm and the nights are cooler. I am talking about Tasmania and Victoria - Burnie, Hobart and Melbourne. Sydney is usually a lot more humid.

 

Enjoy your cruise, I have only ever heard good reports about the itinerary.

 

Jennie

[SPARKLE10]

Hi:

 

Thanks so much for your replies. We're really looking forward to this trip. It will be a once in a lifetime experience for us. I think the packing will be much like our packing for our Alaska cruise a few years ago. We had to pack for warm, cool, rainy weather and everything inbetween.

 

Thanks again.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Everyone.

 

Happy Cruising....Sparkle 10:p

[CKforensic]

We cruised from Sydney to Auckland last March 21 and the weather was great...even in Tasmania. Based upon comments from the crew, we had the best overall weather and seas of the entire season even though it was in the autumn and the rest of the cruises were in the summer. Alaska is more difficult to pack for as the weather is much more likely to be cold and wet. We didn't need our warm clothes for our Aussie trip and we will likely buy them if we need them next time instead of having to pack them and take up valuable luggage space throughout the trip.

[NancyIL]

There are cruises to Australia/NZ in September, October, and November. How do those months compare to your autumn months?

[Aussie Gal]

Spring in Australia can be great, though it can also be very changeable. It is a much windier time and the weather is not as settled as in our summer and early autumn months.

 

Also the Tasman sea can be quite rough at this time of the year.

 

Jennie

[Small & Special]

The best months to come to Sydney is March. March is in our autumn (fall), the weather is still warm but not hot and the ocean is the warmest it ever gets. March is also the wettest month so it is little more likely to rain than any other time.

 

So if you come in March or beginning of April you should still have nice warm weather.

[*oceanlvr*]

I'm considering a cruise between Auckland and Sydney and would prefer to go in the direction where the ocean is "likely" to be the "calmest". I know the Tasman is legendary for it's lumpiness and being prone to motion sickness I'm trying to choose the best direction. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

[Aussie Gal]

The Tasman sea is very moody and no matter what time of year you travel you can strike it calm or rough.

 

This week the Tasman has been extremely rough. A friend of ours is on the Statendam enroute to Melbourne and sent me an email on Monday.

 

This is the middle of our summer and yet in the middle of winter it can be very calm so it is in the lap of the gods and you just have to be prepared if you are prone to seasickness.

 

Unfortunately, no-one can tell you how the weather patterns are going to pan out so it is pure luck whether it is calm or rough or in between.

 

Jennie

[*oceanlvr*]

Jennie - thanks for the reply. While I grew up in NZ (many years ago) I never crossed the Tasman Sea. It was always a scary thought. But I'm seriously considering this cruise and wondered if in fact the Sea might be easier to handle if we go from Sydney to Auckland, rather than the other direction. Do you have any thoughts on that? And just how rough is extremely rough (gulp!) I should mention, we are likely to make this trip in Jan or Feb.

[Aussie Gal]

We are meeting up with our friend who crossed the Tasman only a couple of days ago tomorrow, so I will ask him how bad it really was. We did the crossing many years ago in 1982 and it was in August and from what I can remember it was quite calm. That was also going from Auckland to Sydney.

 

I will post again in a day or so.

 

Jennie