NZ excursions buy from HAL or independent tour companies?

Hi all, going on the HAL cruise from Sydney to Auckland leaving Feb 2, 2014. The ship will stop at the following ports: AU:Hobart; NZ: Port Chalmers, Akaroa, Wellington, Napier, Gisborne, Tauranga, Aukland.

I am trying to decide should I buy excursions from the HAL or from independent operators, plus if buying excursion even makes sense, maybe we can explore some stops by ourselves. How easy is it to get to the main attractions, public transportation, ferries, etc. If you can recommend a tour you took at any of the stops I would like the info. Also, I am looking for anybody interested to share the tour/guide (sometimes it's cheaper if there is a group arranging a tour with independent tour guides, we did that for our other cruises).

Thanks.

I would check out the roll call for your cruise to see what others are doing in the way of private excursions.

I am of the belief to look at each port, decide what you want to do and then compare the ships tour with a private tour.

Auckland is easily done on your own.

Keith

Google Jim Archer Tours. We used him and he was awesome

Craig

Hi all, going on the HAL cruise from Sydney to Auckland leaving Feb 2, 2014. The ship will stop at the following ports: AU:Hobart; NZ: Port Chalmers, Akaroa, Wellington, Napier, Gisborne, Tauranga, Aukland.

 

 

Thanks.

AKOARA NZ, This was an alternate port as the port of Christchurch was still not repaired following the 2011 Earthquake. We used the ship’s Tenders to get to shore. They ran late so the day’s tours were quite rushed. We booked a ship tour to Christchurch to see the Antarctic Centre (great!) as well as the NZ Air Force Museum (Yawn). (Very good value considering the transportation to Christchurch.

WELLINGTON: We had arranged a ½ day Lord of the Rings tour with wellington Rover. Our guide was incredibly well informed and took us to many of the local Lord of the Rings filming locations. He had pictures of each location in the film(s) which matched the trees and scenery of each location.

NAPIER A short day in Napier New Zealand. We docked at 7AM and left at Noon. We booked a private tour of the town in a Vintage Car through the Art Deco Trust (http://www.artdeconapier.com/). The car was a 1939 Packard. Our driver (David) shared the fascinating history of this wonderful little town. This town was completely rebuilt in 1931 after an earthquake and fire leveled the existing town buildings. The earthquake also raised the lower wetlands (otherwise known as a swamp) by over 6 feet and created 8,000 acres of buildable land! This gave the city an opportunity to create a city in the Art Deco architectural design of the period. The buildings are all extremely well maintained so it was like stepping back into the 1930s. Without a doubt, Napier was our favorite NZ city that we would like to visit over a longer period.

Auckland: we had booked a private tour with Bush & Beach Tours. It was a 2 part tour the first being Auckland City Sites. It was nice but a large city like Auckland is not unlike many other cities. Auckland does have the largest Boating Marina though. The 2nd part of our tour package took us out to the Bush areas outside Auckland. It should be noted that Auckland city limits are the size of most US Counties covering several hundred square miles. We had a fantastic Driver /Guide (Wayne) who knew everything there was to tell about the area. We made several stops along the way with great picture opportunities. Our walks took us to waterfalls and through untouched tropical forests. This was a great tour. Our ship’s departure time had moved up by a ½ hour since we booked the tour which cut our safety margin to zero so the Tour Company sent a car to drive us back to the ship. We made it back on the ship with 10 minutes to spare!

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Great stuff CLCruzer! We would only take a ships tour if we could not find an independent one we felt good about. The difference in price is huge!

any recent recommendations

both companies still doing tours and they look great

Hi all, going on the HAL cruise from Sydney to Auckland leaving Feb 2, 2014. The ship will stop at the following ports: AU:Hobart; NZ: Port Chalmers, Akaroa, Wellington, Napier, Gisborne, Tauranga, Aukland.

I am trying to decide should I buy excursions from the HAL or from independent operators, plus if buying excursion even makes sense, maybe we can explore some stops by ourselves. How easy is it to get to the main attractions, public transportation, ferries, etc. If you can recommend a tour you took at any of the stops I would like the info. Also, I am looking for anybody interested to share the tour/guide (sometimes it's cheaper if there is a group arranging a tour with independent tour guides, we did that for our other cruises).

 

Thanks.

Hi

Been to NZ 5 times and never book ships tours as they have to much markup.

Akoroa,Wellington.Napier and Auckland you can do a walking tour around town or book a tour when you get there. As some of the ports you dock at are working ports you will need to catch the shuttle into town .In Wellington you can either walk into town or catch the shuttle which cost NZ$10 last time we were there . Dunedin is about 20 minutes from Port Chalmers and the Shuttle cost on average US $35 return . In Dunedin (Port Chalmers) we always use Good Company tours as they offer great value for money tours and are very reliable .Adele and Richard were amazing and extremely helpful.

https://www.goodcompanytours.co.nz/cruise-ship-shore

If you want to do a Dolphin tour in Akaroa I can recommend Akaroa Dolphins.

https://www.akaroadolphins.co.nz/

Prinsy's wine tours in Napier is great . Hamish and Diane were lovely and very helpful.

http://www.prinsystours.co.nz/

Cheers