Anyone tour New Zealand prior to Transpacific to LA

[Tyrkitty]

We're booked on a Transpacific Sidney to LA 2008 and would really like to see more of New Zealand. Has anyone flown to New Zealand first and then embark for cruise home to LA? Would it be best to fly direct to Auckland then fly to New Zealand or how did you do it? Currently we are booked into Sidney three days prior to cruise.

[Globaliser]

The first thing you need to be aware of is the time that you need to see anything worthwhile in New Zealand. Three days would not be enough. You really need to allow at least a week (but preferably three to six weeks).

 

If you want to see NZ, then flying to Auckland is a good way to start. If you can organise a flight that goes directly to Christchurch, you'll be better placed to tour the South Island, which has a larger proportion of classic NZ sights.

 

If you fly in to Sydney three days before the cruise, you'll barely have started scratching the surface of that city. You need a month to see Sydney and the surrounding places for which Sydney is the starting point.

[pinksuit]

We're booked on a Transpacific Sidney to LA 2008 and would really like to see more of New Zealand. Has anyone flown to New Zealand first and then embark for cruise home to LA? Would it be best to fly direct to Auckland then fly to New Zealand or how did you do it? Currently we are booked into Sidney three days prior to cruise.

When is this exactly and what cruise line?

PinkSuit

[victravellers]

When is this exactly and what cruise line?

PinkSuit

 

The cruise is Sapphire Princess.

There is a cruise Sydney to LA in April 2007, and another April 2008.

The itineraries are slightly different, 29 days vs 31 days, but both sail from Sydney ending in LA.

 

There are some great specials on inside rooms for 2007

[earljr]

If you are booked on the Sapphire for the April, 07 Sydney to LA

why dont you join our thread -- be glad to have you

 

Earl

[2manyplaces]

What part of NZ do you want to see more of? North island or south island? I agree with the previous poster, 3 days is not very long but there is a good network of flights if you really want to do this. That said, however, are you spending any extra time in Sydney? IMHO, Sydney is one of the most fabulous cities in the world. We have been there 3 times and have seen different things each time. It is also a very easy city to get around in, many places of interest are close together. I don't know what you itinerary is, but the Great Barrier Reef is one of the most fascinating places in the world (far from Sydney, however).

[Tyrkitty]

Thanks for all of your advice. We are actually booked on the '08 Transpacific cruise Sydney to LA. We have always wanted to see New Zealand and Australia. I don’t like to fly but really enjoy cruising so saw this trip and booked it. My husband is not as crazy about cruising, but did a 14 day through the canal and enjoyed it. I think we were both thinking at least we would get a flavor of the two countries, the south Pacific, have never been to Hawaii – I will only have to fly one way and he says the sea days will be fine for him. I just reread my original post and it was even confusing to me. I meant to say has anyone flown directly to Auckland or somewhere else in New Zealand - done a 5-6 day tour and then flown to Sydney spend a few days and embark on the cruise. I do realize that right now even with the three extra days in Sydney, only 3 ports in Australia and 2 in New Zealand, we will see very little of Australia and less of New Zealand . I have considered changing our three day package to one of the Princess 6 day pre cruise packages so we will at least be able to see more of Australia. I guess I am just becoming concerned about traveling so far and just getting a taste of these two countries. We were actually wishing the cruise was starting in New Zealand so that we could spend more time there pre cruise. Guess if we fall in love with both countries we could go back to explore at our leisure, if only there were more time and money in retirement. :) There is also the possibility of canceling the cruise and doing land tours of both countries, but those two long flights and shorter ones while there concern me. I think the scenery in the southern island would be what we would be more interested in seeing. '08 is a long way off so I will continue to read on this board to learn more about our options.

[ricktalcott]

Hi Tyrkitty -

 

Nancy & I flew to Auckland last October, spent 4 1/2 weeks touring around NZ by car and then cruised home on the Mariner.

 

I didn't feel right about the descriptions in the guidebooks. They struck me as trying too hard to say something nice about everywhere. That didn't help us decide what to see and what to avoid. We probably saw as much as most people can in one trip, but I'm not sure that I would recommend that approach. Better, I think, not to be tempted into the grand tour that all the guide books recommend, and to settle for a few locations that catch your interest.

 

For us, the best place was a 3 night ecological cruise on a 10 passenger boat on Doubtful Sound. It was worth flying to NZ just to do that. You can find them by searching for "Ruth Lance Breaksea Girl (without the quotes)" with Google etc.

 

You might also check out Rotorua on the North Island to take in the Maori part of NZ plus, perhaps, Wellington & Christchurch. The Bay of Islands is pretty enough,m but a one day shore excursion will suffice.

 

If you are going to be traveling around by car before your cruise, check out the Affordable Travel Club. It is like meeting cruise people on land.

 

Rick

 

PS, I am slowly turning out a travelogue of the trip. If you want to be on the email list, drop me a note at rtalcott at pacbell dot net.

[caribbeansun]

I just got home from 2.5 weeks in NZ and another 2.5 weeks in Sydney. LOVED NZ!!

 

If you want scenery then the South Island is the place to be - excellent spots include Kaikoura, Wanaka, Queenstown and Christchurch. You really need to allocate enough time though and I'd suggest 1.5 weeks as a minimum to actually experience much of the South Island.

[Tyrkitty]

ricktalcott: Thanks for the travelogue - it was very informative and entertaining.

 

caribbeansun: Did you have a cruise along with this trip, or did you just fly over and back with a land tour? I guess my other question is if you went independently or on an organized tour? Next question and I'm afraid to hear the answer - approximately what would a trip like yours cost? As I do more exploration I am beginning to see that the South Island is more suited to what we would like to see. I am really questioning the Transpacific cruise and may have to just make the two long flights to really see Australia and New Zealand. I do realize that we will see very little of either country with just the few ports included. I still have a great deal of homework to do on this. We are in our mid to late 60's and have done very little traveling.

[oysterfiend]

Sydney is a wonderful city and if you are short of time and budget is a concern don't try and rush NZ as even though it is small its terrain is diverse.

We only have a population of approx 4 million and our puplic transport is limited.

We own an accommodation business a we get many customers who hire rental cars from cheaper firms on a monthly basis.

We have motels and backpackers and see a lot our people who travel to NZ for 3-6 months or longer .

The only way to do NZ quickly is through organised tours and even then you would need at least 3 weeks. You could use that up easily in Just 1 Island.

Too much hurrying takes the holiday element out of it.

Our roads are windy and we drive on a different side of the road to some countries.

Enjoy what you have booked and if you can only add a few days Sydney is a neat place

[caribbeansun]

Very sorry, I didn't see your post before this!

 

I did not do this tour with a cruise, we flew into Auckland, spent our time on both islands and then continued on to Sydney before returning home. This was not part of an organized tour.

 

Accomdation was $3,600NZ, flight was on points, food and drink was hard to guess but probably something like $2,000NZ. Activities cost roughly $1,400NZ, car rental about $750NZ and inter-island flight was $400NZ.

 

You can easily stay in less expensive B&B's than what we did, drink less wine and do less expensive activities. This was a once in a lifetime trip so we didn't skimp on things.

 

If you want to PM me your email address I'll email you a spreadsheet of places we stayed and their costs for NZ.

 

We stayed with relatives in AUS so I don't have any info on Australia.

 

 

 

ricktalcott: Thanks for the travelogue - it was very informative and entertaining.

 

caribbeansun: Did you have a cruise along with this trip, or did you just fly over and back with a land tour? I guess my other question is if you went independently or on an organized tour? Next question and I'm afraid to hear the answer - approximately what would a trip like yours cost? As I do more exploration I am beginning to see that the South Island is more suited to what we would like to see. I am really questioning the Transpacific cruise and may have to just make the two long flights to really see Australia and New Zealand. I do realize that we will see very little of either country with just the few ports included. I still have a great deal of homework to do on this. We are in our mid to late 60's and have done very little traveling.

[2manyplaces]

We have been to NZ and Australia 3 different times, 3 weeks each, and there are still many places I would love to see. The best thing about traveling in both countries is that the people are very friendly and helpful to tourists, and of course, there is no language barrier. We traveled independently but planned the day trips, etc. we wanted to do in advance rather than trying to do everything on our own. A good Australian specialist TA should be able to help you. If you check out www.australia.com you can find an Aussie specialist in your area on that site who should also be able to help you with NZ. I didn't check, but I would think you could find the same for NZ. I agree with the previous poster, Sydney is one of the most fabulous cities in the world. Three days there is an absolute minimum. I personally enjoyed Australia more than NZ because we went to so many diverse places, Great Barrier Reef, rainforest, Ayers Rock in the outback, Darwin in the north and Perth on the west coast, Tasmania. We did not just stay in the cities but took excursions (day trips or several days) into the outlying areas. NZ, although a much smaller country, also has diverse scenery--we have been to Queenstown, Christchurch, whale watching in Kaiokoura, Rotorua, Bay of Islands and Auckland. While some of these places are accessible by cruise ship, a single day's excursion would barely scratch the surface of these beautiful countries.

[Lovinlife45]

TVRKITTY,

 

My husband and I booked this cruise last year sometime because we only have to fly one way.

 

We also wanted to see more than just the highlights because we doubt we will ever want to undertake that long flight again since we live on the East Coast.

 

There is a very active thread over on Roll Calls for this cruise. We are going over two weeks early and touring to the places that interest us. I have been working with a gal who is arranging that for us - the land portion. If you want her address just email me at ccas1245@aol.com and I will forward it to you. I'm hope that is permitted to do on the boards.

 

She also has given me some very interesting ideas and insights that I would have not gotten.

 

Charlene

[sultan_sfo]

Following up on Charlene's post (above), here is a link to the Roll Call for the Sapphire Apr 14, 2008, SYD-LA. Please join us. I suggest that you read the posts backwards -- starting with the most recent one:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=350302

 

/Sultan

[sultan_sfo]

Sorry duplicate post -- ignore.

 

/Sultan