Australia and new zealand

Why is Regent not doing these cruises for next year?

Kandy

Interesting question! I was did a search for itineraries that included New Zealand and noticed that the world cruise is stopping there but no other cruises. Based on the reviews of the Singapore to Sydney itineraries that have been available in previous years (we did one of them), the weather "down under" is just too hot for most cruisers (at the time of the year they were offered - think 114 degrees). When we did the Bali to Sydney itinerary (1 1/2 years ago), it was so hot at one of the Australian ports that the kangaroos at the zoo (the one that Steve Irwin was associated with), were so hot that they were lying upside down with their legs sticking up in the air. The heat was not tolerable.

Additionally, people that hoped to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef learned that there were so many "box jelly fish" (very deadly) that you needed to be covered from head to toe (including your face). While I am happy that I visited some of the Australian ports, it was the worst Regent cruise we have taken to date.

Travelcat,

Why was it so bad other than the heat. We have not been there and I was searching Regent and only the long voyage. It is a very long flight and I am not sure we are up to 20 plus hours.

Give me your feed back on the New Zealand ports.

Kandy

On the other hand, our cruise Sydney to Beijing, where we did get to snorkel the great barrier reef without head to foot gear, was one of our best.

No idea why Regent does not have New Zealand/Australia itineraries in 2016. They will have a Voyager cruise out of Sydney in January 2017 (in addition to World Cruise on Navigator).

Marc

We have been to Australian ports - not New Zealand. However, we did a land trip to New Zealand. We found New Zealand to be one of the most amazing places that we have ever visited (to be honest, we prefer it to Australia - even though we enjoy Australia). Most of our travels in New Zealand was in the south. Our desire is to visit the northern parts of this lovely, unspoiled country.

Another reason we did not like the cruise was that it was over Christmas and New Year's. We had discussions with the officers on that cruise and they agreed that it was not a good cruise (passengers played a big part as did the fact that the majority of the passengers became ill. The Captain was sick as was the G.M. during the cruise. Rumor has it that the illness was spreading before we even boarded the ship). I do not blame Regent for the illnesses but do blame them for how it was handled and how the G.M. had no clue whatsoever had to handle the cruise. Out of courtesy, I will not name who it was but we hope to never sail with him again. We also will not sail during Christmas again!

Marc - it sounds like your experience at the Great Barrier Reef was different than ours. We could actually see the box jelly fish (thousands of them) from the ship (note: This was late December, 2013). It is good to hear that there are places where you can snorkel safely in that part of the world.

We have been to Australian ports - not New Zealand. However, we did a land trip to New Zealand. We found New Zealand to be one of the most amazing places that we have ever visited (to be honest, we prefer it to Australia - even though we enjoy Australia). Most of our travels in New Zealand was in the south. Our desire is to visit the northern parts of this lovely, unspoiled country.

Another reason we did not like the cruise was that it was over Christmas and New Year's. We had discussions with the officers on that cruise and they agreed that it was not a good cruise (passengers played a big part as did the fact that the majority of the passengers became ill. The Captain was sick as was the G.M. during the cruise. Rumor has it that the illness was spreading before we even boarded the ship). I do not blame Regent for the illnesses but do blame them for how it was handled and how the G.M. had no clue whatsoever had to handle anything. Out of courtesy, I will not name who it was but we hope to never sail with him again. We also will not sail during Christmas again!

Marc - it sounds like your experience at the Great Barrier Reef was different than ours. We could actually see the box jelly fish (thousands of them) from the ship (note: This was late December, 2013). It is good to hear that there are places where you can snorkel safely in that part of the world.

P.S. Just remembered that another cruise in the same area was worse than ours in terms of not being able to visit ports due to the seas. On top of that, it was a cruise when a dancer passed away and the ship had to stay in port for longer than expected.

Kandy, since Regent isn't doing Australia or New Zealand ,you might consider Azamara. We completed our first Azamara cruise in April. The experience is similar in many ways to Regent (small ships, friendly staff and fellow passengers, all inclusive liquor and gratuities).We were quite impressed. Should you try Azamara, I'd suggest you get the Club Continent cabin/suite. It's spacious and similar to a standard Regent cabin on the Voyager and Navigator and comes with some internet, laundry perks, and dining anytime in their 2 specialty restaurants without an extra up-charge. I think you'd be disappointed in an Azamara standard balcony cabin, they're quite a bit smaller.

I have been reading about Azarama. There are good reviews on it. Thank you for your feedback. I do appreciate it. I love regent and we usually go with a Penthouse suite. I will have to look at their cabins. We like like the extra room.

Kandy

I'm interested in sailings to Australia that include the Great Barrier Reef and Tasmania. New Zealand, both halves, are on my to-go list as well. It would work well for me if embarkation or disembarkation was San Francisco. That would motivate me to consider Regent again.

We booked a cruise a few years back and it was overbooked. We took their bump offer anticipating that they would offer the itinerary the following year but they have not offered it consistently. We ended up doing it via Tauck's Grand Australia tour and it was an exceptional experience.