Princess Australian Cruise Tours

[ndjoe]

My wife and I are booked on the December 30, 2008 pre-cruise departure of the Australian Outback Adventure - Tour 3I on the Diamond Princess. Has anyone been on this particular cruise tour and would you recommend it. Any information would be greatly appreciated. If anyone would recommend another Australian Cruise Tour, please include that information too.

 

Joe & Kathy

[Johanna7]

In January 2005 we had a 6 day precruise tour which included Port Douglas 2 nights at the Sheraton Mirage and we did the Great Barrier Reef thing and then flew to Ayers Rock (aka Uluru) and stayed at Sails in the Desert and then 2 nights to Sydney at the Intercontinental and then the 12 day cruise.

 

Prior to the 6 day pre-cruise we stayed at the Port Douglas Sheraton for 2 nights to get over jetlag. It turned out that with over 30 hours of flying and time at airports and losing a suitcase, we didn't have any. Suitcase arrived the next day. We did book a day to Kuranda at the hotel and the bus took us to Cairns and from there a historic train to Kuranda where we spent a few hours and the skytrain back to Cairns with stops in the rain forest.

 

As for the outback, it is fascinating. Very hot through in January, about 108 degrees Fahrenheit. Lots of flies as well. The hotels on the trip were all top notch. 6 star types.

 

We also were to have the dinner in the evening outdoors but due to a controlled fire which went out of control we had it in a building next to the Sails in the Desert. We did go to Ayers Rock a few times and learned a lot.

 

We could not climb it as it was much too hot. Not that we would have.

 

All in all, I think I liked Port Douglas the best and of course our short time in Sydney. The Outback would be 3rd.

 

The cruise was good too as were the 2 days afterwards in Auckland.

[bobsydney]

Hi Joe & Kathy

 

I can assure you that you won't go home disappointed. You are going to three of Australia's natural wonders, all of which have been proclaimed as World Heritage Areas ...

• Uluru (pronounced Oolooroo) or Ayers Rock
  
• Great Barrier Reef and
  
• Daintree Native Rainforest.

AWESOME!!

 

The only thing is it will be HOT! Temperatures in Central Australia in January average around 35C (that's 95F or so) during the day and can get as high as 45C. Cairns is very tropical and at that time of the year is not only hot but also wet and very humid. But everywhere has air conditioning so not so hard to bear.

 

Enjoy

Bob

[ndjoe]

Thank You "bobsydney" & "Johanna7" for your input. The tour I am on includes Sydney, Ayers Rock, Alice Springs and Cairns. "Johanna7" I believe your tour stayed 2 nights at Ayers Rock, where mine will stay only one night there and one night in Alice Springs before going to Cairns. We won't be going to Port Douglas at all. So I guess I can expect to find the conditions at Ayers Rock HOT! & DRY and at Cairns, HOT! & Humid. So how bad were the flys and what suggestions did they give you to keep them away from you. What did you think of the Great Barrier Reef tour?

 

"bobsydney", I assume the same weather conditions will exsist in Alice Springs. If you were to do the Outback, would you do one day at Ayers Rock and one at Alice Springs or do the tour that "Johanna7" was on, two days at Ayers Rock and two days at Port Douglas instead of Cairns. I have always heard so much about Alice Springs, that I thought it would be worth seeing. We are flying into Sydney 4 days earlier than the tour I am booked on, and as luck would have it, we will be in Sydney on New Years Eve 2009. Always wanted to bring in the New Year at Sydney. What would you suggest we do, to get the most out of that evening. I heard it gets pretty crowded. Saw a few ads online about taking a New Year's Eve dinner cruise. What your opinion on that? We are staying at the Four Seasons Sydney, easy walk from there to any place at Circular Quay, but I'm sure every vantage point at Circular Quay will be crowed.

[Johanna7]

Joe & Kathy:

 

One night in Uluru is enough. I would have preferred to have a night in Alice Spring myself. It is over 200 miles from Ayers Rock (Uluru).

 

Yes, the flies were that bad. If you wanted to speak to someone, you had to clench your teeth and try to keep your mouth shut. It didn't work for some and they did swallow flies and were not very happy about it.

 

As for The Sounds of Silence dinner, we had to have it indoors. On the memu (buffet style) was meat I didn't want to eat. Emu, Kangaroo, etc. After visiting those wonderful nature parks with those lovely animals and interacting with them and even feeding them (yes, it is allowed and they had the food for them there) the last thing I wanted to do was eat them.

 

We did visit the rock several times and watched the sun set one evening and the rock changed colours. Well, somewhat. Still, I really would have preferred Alice Springs.

 

Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef I did like. Also Kuranga and especially Port Douglas. Port Douglas is about a 90 minute drive from Cairns and a scenic route. It takes that long because it is not a freeway - far from it. We did enjoy it.

 

Loved Sydney too and you are so fortunate to see in the new year. Sounds wonderful.

 

Anyway, to be frank about it, Ayers Rock was not the highlight of the trip although the hotel was lovely.

 

Maybe you will feel different.

 

We really, really like Hobart, Tasmania. But that is on the cruise.

 

Johanna

[bobsydney]

Thank You "bobsydney" & "Johanna7" for your input. The tour I am on includes Sydney, Ayers Rock, Alice Springs and Cairns. "Johanna7" I believe your tour stayed 2 nights at Ayers Rock, where mine will stay only one night there and one night in Alice Springs before going to Cairns. We won't be going to Port Douglas at all. So I guess I can expect to find the conditions at Ayers Rock HOT! & DRY and at Cairns, HOT! & Humid. So how bad were the flys and what suggestions did they give you to keep them away from you. What did you think of the Great Barrier Reef tour?

 

"bobsydney", I assume the same weather conditions will exist in Alice Springs. If you were to do the Outback, would you do one day at Ayers Rock and one at Alice Springs or do the tour that "Johanna7" was on, two days at Ayers Rock and two days at Port Douglas instead of Cairns. I have always heard so much about Alice Springs, that I thought it would be worth seeing. We are flying into Sydney 4 days earlier than the tour I am booked on, and as luck would have it, we will be in Sydney on New Years Eve 2009. Always wanted to bring in the New Year at Sydney. What would you suggest we do, to get the most out of that evening. I heard it gets pretty crowded. Saw a few ads online about taking a New Year's Eve dinner cruise. What your opinion on that? We are staying at the Four Seasons Sydney, easy walk from there to any place at Circular Quay, but I'm sure every vantage point at Circular Quay will be crowed.

 

Hi again Joe and Kathy

 

I think one day in the Alice and one at Uluru is a good compromise, although the drive in between will chew up a fair bit of time. There is lots worth seeing in and around Alice, although unlike Johanna, I suspect that Uluru will be the highlight of your outback experience. Just don't let the heat and flies get in the way of your enjoyment. There's probably not a lot you can do to avoid the flies although I would certainly be putting personal insect repellant over my face, neck and arms. We often see Australian bushies depicted as wearing hats with corks dangling from the brim to help keep the flies away but I am not really sure whether this is folklore or not ... whatever, it isn't really a practicable option. Incidentally, make sure you wear a hat and it should be wide brimmed to shield your face from the sun ... hey, it may even help with the flies.

 

For first-time visitors to North Qld, I think Cairns is a better option than Port Douglas (unless your purpose in going is R&R) simply because it is more convenient to the tourist highlights. Port Douglas is a great place to visit/stay and I think is a better choice for second/subsequent visits to North Qld. The must dos in the region are undoubtedly the reef (a day cruise) and the rainforest (Daintree/Cape Tribulation/Mossman Gorge and the Skyway to Kuranda are both great options) so I hope your couple of days includes them.

 

Sydney on NYE will be a great experience and yes, every vantage point around the harbour will be packed to see the two fireworks displays (the first at 9pm so that mums and dads can take littlies home to bed) and then the big one at midnight), which are centred on the harbour bridge. You could just wander around Circular Quay and take in the atmosphere, although if you can for book one of the NYE cruises or functions (eg at the Opera House) then that is a great way, albeit a very expensive one (since venues tend to double/triple their normal prices on NYE), of avoiding the crowds. What I would also do if I can since the Four Seasons overlooks the harbour and is a great vantage point for the fireworks, is to upgrade to a harbour view room if you haven't already got one. That way if the crowds get to you you can take in the view from your room ... from personal experience though, I have to say that it lacks the atmosphere that having lots of people around has.

 

Cheers

Bob

[shifty]

We did this exact tour in January 2006. It was absolutely wonderful. Here are a few quick thoughts: 1. One day/night in Uluru is plenty. It is very hot & the flies are bad. Also, how many times can you lok at a rock!!However, the hotel sells mosquito/fly nets to wear over your head. You'll look silly, but it works. Our son & D-I-L went there on their honeymoon & said that if they had to spend more than 1 day they'd have shot themselves. 2. Alice Springs was okay, nothing great. 3. Cairns, & a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef was also wonderful. Cairns has many nice restaurants. 4. Sydney was terrific & the Four Seasons Hotel is located in a perfect place - 2 blocks from Circular Quay, & also near the "Rocks" area of interesting shops and great restaurants/pubs. Walking distance to the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

 

You'll have a great time.

 

Mike S

[Johanna7]

Mike (shifty) seems to have the same impression as I do of Uluru or Ayers Rock. My dh wore one of those hats with the balls on a string but it made no difference to the flies.

 

I had a hat with a wide brim in a light vanilla colour and at one point it was black. With all the flies. On top only of course.

 

Personally, I would have preferred a day in Alice Spring and one day at Uluru.

 

Yes, the Great Barrier Reef is so worth it. They even have a small post office on board at which you can mail cards and letters. As I did not discover this until later, I was only able to send a postcard from there to myself. It is in my large Australia/New Zealand album.

 

Now I have to start another album for our cruise in February which is on the Mercury and 14 days and has one more port - Tauranga. Already booked the all day tour there going to the old geysers and such. We have been to Waitomo with another couple who could drive on the left side of the road. Glow worms. It was a bit overrated in my opinion.

 

We will do things in the other ports that we missed the first time. I want to visit the Aquarium in Melbourne.

 

Johanna

[ndjoe]

We did this exact tour in January 2006. It was absolutely wonderful. Here are a few quick thoughts: 1. One day/night in Uluru is plenty. It is very hot & the flies are bad. Also, how many times can you lok at a rock!!However, the hotel sells mosquito/fly nets to wear over your head. You'll look silly, but it works. Our son & D-I-L went there on their honeymoon & said that if they had to spend more than 1 day they'd have shot themselves. 2. Alice Springs was okay, nothing great. 3. Cairns, & a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef was also wonderful. Cairns has many nice restaurants. 4. Sydney was terrific & the Four Seasons Hotel is located in a perfect place - 2 blocks from Circular Quay, & also near the "Rocks" area of interesting shops and great restaurants/pubs. Walking distance to the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

 

You'll have a great time.

 

Mike S

 

 

Mike,

 

Thanks for your response. Starting to think I might have an issue with the flies. What is it, a 3 1/2 hour flight from Sydney to Ayers Rock. A long way to be bothered by flies. Is that all you do in Uluru, seeing the big rock. What where the temperatures in Uluru & Alice Springs? Where there flies in Alice Springs too? How would you rate the bus trip from Uluru to Alice Springs. How long was the trip? Did the bus have good air conditioning? What is there to see and do in Alice Springs? How would you rate the trip to the Desert Park?

 

I'm sure we are going to enjoy Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. How long was the trip from Cairns to the reef? What options do you have while visiting the reef?

 

When you leave Cairns for Sydney and the ship, when did you leave Cairns, arrive in Sydney and finally at the ship? Another important question, any problem with your luggage while doing the land portion and of course getting it to the ship on time?

 

Any other information that you might find interesting, would be greatly appreciated.

 

Joe & Kathy

[mare s.]

We did the cruisetour in March 2007...same itinerary as you are going on. Frankly, I was very glad we hadn't made the trip earlier in the year...we had rain at Uluru which kept the flies bearable...but we still had the need for the fly nets. We didn't care much for Sails in the Desert, but found Uluru and the Olgas to be awesome. Alice Springs was okay...the Desert Park was very interesting but it was pretty hot the day we were there and we didn't have a whole bunch of time to spend. We did do an optional tour, an outback barbecue which was lots of fun. We loved Cairns....the Barrier Reef snorkeling was amazing...wish we could have spent more time there. Lots of fun restaurants and shops...if you go, try to eat at Cafe Meze (an upstairs restaurant)...really good food.

We had absolutely no problem with luggage...we left our big bags in Sydney and they were waiting for us in our cabin when we arrived at the ship. Just a comment about the Four Seasons in Sydney...excellent location...walking distance to Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay, etc. There was a very good Italian restaurant just down the street towards the Quay. But there are tons of restaurants to choose from.

[shifty]

Mike,

 

Thanks for your response. Starting to think I might have an issue with the flies. What is it, a 3 1/2 hour flight from Sydney to Ayers Rock. A long way to be bothered by flies. Is that all you do in Uluru, seeing the big rock. What where the temperatures in Uluru & Alice Springs? Where there flies in Alice Springs too? How would you rate the bus trip from Uluru to Alice Springs. How long was the trip? Did the bus have good air conditioning? What is there to see and do in Alice Springs? How would you rate the trip to the Desert Park?

 

I'm sure we are going to enjoy Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. How long was the trip from Cairns to the reef? What options do you have while visiting the reef?

 

When you leave Cairns for Sydney and the ship, when did you leave Cairns, arrive in Sydney and finally at the ship? Another important question, any problem with your luggage while doing the land portion and of course getting it to the ship on time?

 

Any other information that you might find interesting, would be greatly appreciated.

 

Joe & Kathy

 

Assuming that you live in the States or somewhere equally far from Australia, I would definitely recommend that you go to Ayers Rock. It is 3+ hours by jet, but you'll likely never go there again & it's perfectly fine for1 day & 1 night. Don't get "bugged out" by the flies...wear a net & you'll be fine. Besides, it makes for great photos. When we were in the Outback (Uluru & Alice Springs) it was about 105 degrees at midday. In Alice Springs we went to that wildlife park, which we found boring and unbearable hot. The bus reide from Uluru to Alice Springs was about 4 hours including an interesting "rest stop" which featured camel rides. Aussies are terrific people &very funny. It was on that bus ride that our Aussies driver taught us about "wazaroos." (Ask a local for a definition).

 

The boat ride to the Great Barrier Reef was about 1 1/2 hours & was fine.

 

As I recall, we fly from Cairns to Sydney around noon & arrived at the ship around 3:00 or 4:00 PM. Embarkation was a breeze, & since they stored most of our luggage, it was at our cabin when we arrived.

 

All in all, it was a great trip - both the pre-cruise tour and the cruise itself. If you are at all presisposed to seasickness, be aware that it gets a bit bumpy on the Tasman Sea between Australia & N.Z.

 

Enjoy.

 

Mike S

[ndjoe]

We did the cruisetour in March 2007...same itinerary as you are going on. Frankly, I was very glad we hadn't made the trip earlier in the year...we had rain at Uluru which kept the flies bearable...but we still had the need for the fly nets. We didn't care much for Sails in the Desert, but found Uluru and the Olgas to be awesome. Alice Springs was okay...the Desert Park was very interesting but it was pretty hot the day we were there and we didn't have a whole bunch of time to spend. We did do an optional tour, an outback barbecue which was lots of fun. We loved Cairns....the Barrier Reef snorkeling was amazing...wish we could have spent more time there. Lots of fun restaurants and shops...if you go, try to eat at Cafe Meze (an upstairs restaurant)...really good food.

We had absolutely no problem with luggage...we left our big bags in Sydney and they were waiting for us in our cabin when we arrived at the ship. Just a comment about the Four Seasons in Sydney...excellent location...walking distance to Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay, etc. There was a very good Italian restaurant just down the street towards the Quay. But there are tons of restaurants to choose from.

 

A few questions about the luggage. Does Princess limit you to how many bags you can take on the cruise tour? We will be staying 5 additional days in Sydney, the 6-day cruise tour, plus the 12-day cruise. So you see, we will need a few extra clothes for this trip. We usually take 4 large suitcases plus carry-on's. We did an Alaska cruise tour a few years back, which required us to stay overnight in Denali National Park. At that time, we just used a carry on bag, since it was just overnight, and they sent our remaining luggage to our hotel in Anchorage. That worked out great. Unfortunately this time, this tour is 6 nights and a carry on bag will not carry all the clothes required, especially into a hot climate where one will be changing clothes regularly.

 

How were the plane trips? When did you normally leave each city and arrive the next? Did you fly Qantas exclusively? I am a large man, 6'6" tall, and was wondering how comfortable coach class was. We will be using business class on our international flights, and the thought of coach class on the cruise tour, does cross my mind. Do they assign you seats?

[mare s.]

We were able to check one small bag and then took one carry on each. You really don't need all that many clothes on the cruisetour...everything is very casual. The big bags will have to stay behind in Sydney to be transported to the ship. Perhaps you could pack a small collapsible tote in your big bags and use that to pack clothes for the cruisetour portion. As for the flights, the departure times varied...I believe they were all Qantus or Qantus partner airlines. Seats were already assigned to us...I'm sure you could talk to the tour guide (if you're lucky you'll get Jim Diaz...he's amazing!) about ensuring that you'll have an aisle seat on the flights. The flight times are not too bad...the longest being from Cairns to Sydney...you may not be comfortable, but at least it isn't for long!