kelsea82301

Thanks for this great review! We go on the Magic the first week in June! We will be traveling with my daughter’s family. She has a 14-year-old boy, six-year-old boy, and four-year-old girl. We are looking forward to aWe will be traveling with my daughters family. She has a 14 and 6 year-old boy, and 4 year-old girl. We are looking forward to a great time! 

44 minutes ago, arxcards said:

There is no generality in the weather patterns. The reef buffers the ocean and swell to a degree, but not all.

 

You haven't said if you are visiting on the day as part of a land trip or by sea. A common theme through this thread is that it is difficult to squeeze in an independent tour on the day due to the time it takes to tender into Port Douglas from a cruise ship. There is no guarantee you will meet your reef boat in time, and no guarantee you will make it back in time for the last tender to the ship. While likely inferior, ship tours to the reef depart from and return directly to the ship.

Thank You!  We will be there on a land tour so we will have more options.

5 minutes ago, jessandarnie said:

Have a look at Oceanspirit website. Smaller catararam sailing boat, with motors.

I will. Thank You!

On 1/8/2024 at 10:15 AM, curmudgeon98 said:

The Great Barrier Reef tours can be a bit of a gamble.  Bad weather can hamper the visibility, and a pontoon floating out in the sea isn't easy to keep in nice condition if you don't have those low-paid cruise line workers to keep things painted and polished.

 

Some years ago I was staying in Port Douglas and did a reef trip with Quicksilver.  Weather and visibility were good, the boat was quite large and stable, and the buffet lunch fairly extensive.  The snorkeling experience was badly hampered by too many people in a relatively small area.  I liked what I saw, but not the zoo in the water.

 

When we got back, I found a smaller boat going out the next day.  About 30 passengers.  They didn't go to a fixed site, but picked from a few locations depending on wind and weather.  Lunch wasn't nearly as elaborate, the boat wasn't as stable, it was a long day in the sun.  It was a vastly better experience for someone focused on time in and under the water, but would have been uncomfortable for someone less active.

Hello,

Do you remember what company had the smaller boat?  We are looking at Wavelength and Calypso for a GBR tour out of Port Douglas.

Thanks!

Kelly

On 7/30/2023 at 5:29 AM, OzKiwiJJ said:

Whichever you choose you will probably end up on a big catamaran with hundreds of other cruisers going to a specific fixed(?) pontoon that may or may not have really good quality reefs nearby, and those hundreds of people will all be trying to snorkel it at the same time.

 

If you seriously want to experience the GBR then go to Port Douglas for a few days and go out with one of the smaller boats like Wavelength. That way you'll see three of the best outer reef locations at the time.

Hello,

I was searching CC for Wavelength and saw your post.  We will be in Port Douglas and wanted to snorkel the GBR on March 7th with either Calypso or Wavelength.  

We like that Wavelength is a smaller boat and caters to snorkelers (Calypso has divers too) but I'm worried about the ocean at that time and a smaller boat because hubby gets seasick.

Do you have experience with either Calypso or Wavelength and do you know how the ocean waves and weather would generally be at that time of year?

Thanks for any info!

Kelly

7 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Just note that the Australian ETA can only be done on the government official app and the NZeTA can be done either online here or on the NZ government official app.

Fantastic!  Thank You!

3 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

Kelsea,  you will make your trip much easier if you do more research on Australia and New Zealand before you come.  A good starting resource for Australia is the www.australia.com

website.   Here's their information on visas:

https://www.australia.com/en/facts-and-planning/visa-and-customs/australia-visa-and-entry-requirements-faqs.html

 

I'm sure there is a similar one for NZ, which someone will helpfully point you towards. Feel free to ask anything here, once you have done some more research into our two countries - there are no silly questions.

Oh thank you so much! It is a bit overwhelming especially since I have been researching things to do and the visa info and I have read so many different answers. I just don't want to mess up and miss something. I was even told to come to this specific forum to ask the question.

We are going with 3 other couples and our plans are to fly in to Sydney, fly to Cairns for 4 days for the GBR, and then back to Sydney for 3 days. Then on to our cruise with HAL starting in Sydney and ending in Auckland. There are 4 couples and we are all researching and trying to find the best and not to be missed things to do.  One of my assignments was to check on the visas etc. which is why I am trying to be so careful and not miss anything. I will check out your website!  Thank You!!

19 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

Just use the official government websites for both countries to apply. Mostly they are granted the same day, but some of the visas for Australia are chosen for manual processing, and that can literally take months.

You will also need different currencies for each country. You can't use US dollars here. However, most things can be paid for with credit cards.

Great info! Thank You!

On 11/23/2023 at 1:06 PM, MMDown Under said:

Thanks for the laugh this morning.  Asking whether you need separate ETAs for both NZ and Aust is like asking whether you would need separate ETAs for Canada and USA.  Tipping customs top the list.  

On 11/23/2023 at 1:06 PM, MMDown Under said:

Thanks for the laugh this morning.  Asking whether you need separate ETAs for both NZ and Aust is like asking whether you would need separate ETAs for Canada and USA.  Tipping customs top the list.  

 

I’m glad you had a laugh. 😁 But I’m not sure you took it how I meant it. I have traveled to several foreign countries and have never had to get a visa before so I didn’t know if both countries required a visa or just Australia. 😉

8 hours ago, arxcards said:

Verifly was required when HAL (and others) required proof of covid vaccinations. That ended here in August.

Oh, thank you! They went to Australia a year ago so that makes sense.

8 hours ago, possum52 said:

Yes they are the apps you download from your mobile phone's app store. And yes you have to have both. If you have any problems I suggest you ask on the Australia and New Zealand Ports of Call board which has a pinned thread on Australian Visas/ETAs and perhaps do a search for the NZeTA -

Ports of Call - Australia and New Zealand

 

 We can only give you general information here as the majority of us who post on this board are Australians and New Zealanders and we don't need ETAs or NZeTAs to enter each other's country.

 

There is also a handy pinned thread on Tipping in Australia and New Zealand which may help you as well.

Great! Thanks for your help! I will go check those out!

10 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

If you will be visiting Aust and NZ, then naturally you need to fill in the Visa waiver for both countries as we are separate and independent countries. 🙂 Ensure you use the government websites. There are private companies who will 'help' you with the easy process, but at extra cost of course.

 

What cruise line are you travelling with? Some time ago P&O Aust used Verifly when we needed to up-load details of our COVID vaccination status etc. That isn't needed now and we didn't to fill it in for our cruises in the last few months.

Thank You!  We are cruising on Holland America. I had a friend that told me we needed to do Verifly but when I went in to do it, it only let me choose American Airlines and we are flying Delta.

We are US citizens going on an Australian / New Zealand cruise.

Do we need to fill out ETA’s for both countries? 
If so, are these the apps we need to use?

Also, do we need to fill in Verifly?