leongcpa

I had the same dilemma a number of years ago, and did Sydney (+Blue Mountains)/Melbourne + North Island of NZ over two weeks (non-cruise). A couple of years later, I did 2 weeks of just the South Island of NZ on a self-driving land tour. By far, the 2 weeks of just the South Island of NZ was way better. If I had to do it all over again, I would have just done Australia the first trip, and saved 4 weeks of vacation time for one fantastic NZ trip by land/ferry. We love NZ so much that we are booked on a future NZ cruise , but I can already tell: it won't be as good as our two land trips, which covered a number of the ports (been to Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, and Christchurch). The reason why is that you can't reach a lot of the most awesome things to do in NZ by cruise ship, by cruise ship (except via expensive overnight shore excursion). My advice would be to do NZ's south island over two weeks by car. It's really easy to do, especially if you have a Garmin GPS unit (we bought one just for the trip), because you can load a crowd-sourced NZ map pack  for the Garmin for free online (just google it). If you have 3 weeks, then add the north island. Also, if you do it by car, you can do a lot more things. For example, instead of taking a shore excursion to Larnach Castle in Dunedin, you can actually stay over night there and have dinner in the Castle (we did it, and it was amazing! We had a corner room, which overlooked the Otago Peninsula). Or, you can fly on a helicopter and land on top of Franz Josef or Fox Glacier. Or you can hike to the base of Mount Cook and eat a fantastic buffet meal at the Hermitage in Aoraki.  You can do jetboating on the Dart River near Queenstown. These are all things you can't do on the cruise. That being said, there are some things which you can do from the cruise, but they are going to be rushed, or you have to choose between two great activities for your one day; i.e. in Tauranga, most would choose to do geysers/Maori village in Rotorua or visit Hobbiton for the day, but you would miss out on Skyline Rotorua, which offers a really fun day plus fantastic buffet, or you miss out on the glowworm caves (or are rushed at the caves). We stayed two nights in Rotora, so we did all of it. In Auckland on a one-day cruise stop, you can't do all of Auckland, Devonport, or the fabulous Waiheke Island, which is worth a full day in, and of itself. I would save Australia for another trip, with just Australia for a few weeks.

Hi,

We just booked our first cruise with NCL with our baby boy (1 year old by time of sailing), and I estimate he'll be 20-25 pounds by then. Will NCL provide an infant life vest, or should we buy and bring our own?

Thanks!

Hi,

We just booked our first cruise with NCL with our baby boy (1 year old by time of sailing), and I estimate he'll be 20-25 pounds by then. Will NCL provide an infant life vest, or should we buy and bring our own?

Thanks!

All, 

You can disregard this question. Found the answer on NCL's website.

Thanks!

On Celebrity, a very small mini-steam iron for ironing our clothes for formal nights; didn't know it wasn't allowed....

Hi,

We have a toddler, and I was wondering if we would be allowed to bring bottled water aboard the ship to make formula for him?

On past NCL cruises (before toddler), we were able to bring bottled water aboard, but I wonder if the rules may have changed since then?

Thanks!

There wasn't a notification, but I logged into the NCL website every couple of days after I booked a Sail Away cabin. I got a cabin assignment within a week....

Thanks for the tip. I'll take a look at Pegasus.... 

Good idea by Casofilia. I actually checked the Port Authority website:

https://www.portauthoritynsw.com.au/cruise/cruise-schedule/

The Jewel will be at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay the two times it arrives in Sydney in December. 

Hi,

I would use the Baggage Storage services by SmartCarte in Circular Quay to store the luggage. Their Circular Quay location is really close to where the Jewel will dock:

https://baggagestorage.com.au/locations/circular-quay/

I haven't used their Circular Quay location, but I have stored luggage with them at the Sydney Airport. Reasonable pricing and easy to do.

Then I would just explore the Rocks neighborhood and the harbor area for the day, and then either Uber or take the train from Circular Quay to the airport. It's pretty easy.

Actually, come to think of it, you should contact a TA now and ask how you can get your booking to get assigned to that particular TA. There is a form you have to fill out and file online, but then after that is done, your booking will officially be with that TA. Then, the TA will be able to get you the perks (OBC or other goodies) that they can normally get with their bookings, and on top of that, you can ask them to negotiate on your behalf with NCL to obtain either: (1) a better class of cabin or (2) a partial refund in the form of OBC.

Hi, we will be coming in on NCL's Jewel, and I'm wondering where the location of where the Jewel will drop us off at (either straight from the boat or from the port's/NCL's free shuttle)? And  the best/easiest rental car companies to use at each? This will be our third time in New Zealand - the first two were self-guided road trips, so we're pretty comfortable renting a car, but I'm not sure which rental car company/office to use in each port?

Lastly, we will be bringing a Cosco Scenera NEXT car seat from the US to New Zealand with us, and I wonder if it will work in New Zealand rental cars?

Thanks in advance!

On 7/11/2019 at 6:48 AM, clcmdse said:

This is a great suggestion, not only for possible Napier recommendations but also for Auckland. We will be there for two days at the end of our cruise.

 

Thanks so much

Catherine

Highly recommend touring the wineries (particularly, Man O War Vineyards) on Waiheke Island for one of your two days in Auckland. It's fairly easy to do: take the ferry from Auckland CBD to Waiheke and then rent a car for the day and drive around the island. It's really easy; I'm from California also, the island is pretty small and there really isn't much traffic so I felt very comfortable driving on the opposite side of the road there.

2 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

 

 

Kitkat343,

Many thanks for the information and excellent cruise reviews. We are actually considering a Norwegian Fjords cruise on the QE in the farther future, so that review is quite helpful. I actually thought about a Northern Lights cruise on Cunard (which I think is on the QE) but I think it might be too cold and rocky for our toddler (roughly the same timeframe and passes the same area as the Virgin cruise that came too close to shore and had to be evacuated by helicopter). We were actually on the NCL Star on the same  Baltics itinerary in August 2013, and more or less had the same itinerary (floatplane museum/old town in Talinn - loved the submarine, also used Alla in St. Petersburg, etc.); I think you are right: that is an itinerary that would be great for kids as most of the ports are pretty easy to plan. We will definitely consider it.

All,

Thanks for the information and input! To add more: We will be flying from California. We will also be booking a second cabin and airfare  for my mother-in-law (grandma for toddler) to come with us to give us some breaks during the holiday. She takes care of our toddler a couple days a week for us, which she loves to do (only grandchild). This will be her first ever cruise. Thus, we are not in need of babysitting/nursery services provided by the cruiseline. We would love to take a cruise to Alaska, but unfortunately, due to timing of the toddler's shots and my work schedule, the Alaska cruise season will be over by the time we are able to take time off for a holiday. We also have a Cosco Scenera NEXT from Walmart, a light travel stroller (mountain buggy nano), and a travel crib (the Lotus), which we will bring on this trip, so we are covered there. We will also bring an inflatable yellow rubber ducky tub that our toddler can play in with water (if need be). We will also use it to bathe him. A Mexico cruise from California would be easiest for us, but having been on one before, which was a bit of a booze cruise, it's not really our speed.

Thanks!

Hi,

We are pretty seasoned cruisers (10+ cruises - mostly to Europe), but this will be the first with a toddler (14-15 months old by the time of cruising). Due to timing, we are considering several cruise itineraries, and I'm curious to see which itinerary you guys think might be best with a toddler:

(1) 7-Day Caribbean with HAL: FLL, Key West, Cayman/George Town, Ocho Rios, Half Moon Cay, FLL

(2) 7-Day Caribbean with HAL: FLL, Grand Tuk, San Juan, St. Thomas, Half Moon Cay, FLL

(3) 7-Day Caribbean with HAL: FLL, Half Moon Cay, Falmouth, Cayman, Cozumel, FLL

(4) 10-Day Caribbean with HAL: FLL, Bonaire, Willemstad, Orangjestad, Amber Cove, Half Moon Cay, FLL

(5) 10-Day Panama Canal with HAL: FLL, Half Moon Cay, Oranjestad, Willemstad, Panama Canal, Cristobal, Colon, Cristobal, Panama Canal, Gaun Lake, Puerto Limon

(6) 7-Day Caribbean with NCL: Miami, Roatan, Harvest Caye, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Miami

(7) 10 or 11 Day Australia/NZ with NCL: Sydney, Fiordland, Dunedin, Akaroa, Picton, Willington, Napier, Tauranga and Auckland

(8) 11 Day Caribbean with HAL: FLL, Phillipsburg, mount Peleee, Fort-de-France, Bridgetown, Castries, Soufriere Bay, Antigua, St. Thomas, Half Moon Cay, FLL

(9) 10/11 Day Europe/Canary Islands with Cunard: Southampton, Brugges, Funchal, la Palma, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Lisbon, Southampton

A little more about us: We've done a couple of Southampton cruises before so we have done trains, buses, and private cars to and from Southampton, but we've never done a Canary Islands cruise. We haven't done any Caribbean cruises before so those are all new ports for us. We've never done an Australia/NZ cruise before, but we have driven all over New Zealand and Australia and have been to almost all of the ports on the NCL Australia/NZ cruise, but we love NZ so we don't mind going back. Probably looking to do something fairly relaxing and less adventurous; we would want a fairly easy itinerary traveling with our toddler. (Part of the draw of the NZ cruise is the ease of planning - we know exactly how to get from Sydney Airport to Circular Quay, and exactly how to get from Auckland's airport to downtown Auckland and Waiheke Island). What do you guys think? Which itineraries would you choose? Which ports are pretty easy to do with toddlers? 

Thanks all for the suggestions! Special hat tip to JB and Bob++ for the lengthy detailed responses and photos.

Disembarkation day would be a Sunday and embarkation on Monday.

We will almost certainly visit London pre-cruise. We have been to London 4 times in the last 8 years, and I think we enjoy it more each time. We typically stay in London before a Southampton embarkation, and then go somewhere else after the cruise. We loved Bath and York, but want to see something different this time.

I like the idea of dropping our luggage at a hotel in Southampton and then going to Isle of Wight or Salisbury for our between cruise day. We will probably have a couple days after the cruise before flying back to the US, so I suspect Portsmouth might be a good post-cruise destination. Lots of interesting options... 

I stayed at the BLOC hotel inside of LGW in 2017. It was ~90 GBP. Small, but very convenient. It was quite nice to be able to just wake up, check out and be at the airport already.

I'm considering back-to-back cruises, sort of. One cruise ends in Southampton, and the next day, another cruise starts in Southampton. We have sailed to/from Southampton twice before, so we know how to get to both the bus station and the train station from the port. I'm wondering what you all would do with a day in Southampton (roughly). I'm thinking of visitng perhaps Stonehenge or Windsor Castle? The last two times, we went to Bath (and the Cotswalds) and York, respectively, after our cruises. 

We were in Rotterdam in September 2017 from 11am to 8pm and did both Kinderdijk and Delft on the same day so I think it's do-able. We took the waterbus, which just required us walking across a bridge from the port to get there. Admittedly, the signage at the waterbus stop was lacking, but there was a schedule posted at the place so I knew we were in the right place. My notes seem to indicate that there was usually a return waterbus every 30 minutes (at :05 and :35). My notes also indicate that you can take either Waterbus #20 or #202. #20 requires a short transfer onto a tiny ferryboat (the "Driehoeksveer"). Don't worry about missing this because you really can't miss it as everyone on the waterbus #20 will also be transferring to the tiny ferry.  If you're interested in Delft, Delft is 14 minutes by train from Rotterdam Centraal. Two helpful sites: 

http://www.waterbus.nl

http://www.ns.nl

Another vote for Greece.

Though honestly, if this is going to be the last trip, find a way to extend the trip and do both. You're already on that side of the world, so might as well.

Also, if it's the last trip, splurge. We can't take it with us....

If everything goes perfectly, then you should be ok, but personally, I think 11:30 is too early.  I like to have a large margin for error. I've flown out at 1pm at VCE on the day of disembarkation, and it was a bit stressful (and this was my second time in 5 years flying out of VCE). Venice's airport is a bit of a hot mess;  particularly the check-in process... as you will first need to find the right counter. Unlike most airports where check-in counters are on one floor in a centralized location, the check-in counters at VCE are spread out, across two floors. Secondly, the check in counters don't open until 2 (or was it 3?) hours before the flight is scheduled to take off, which means there will likely be a very long line to check in when you get there. The counter agents will literally just be chatting happily amongst themselves, serving no one, while passengers angrily wait in line, prior to the duly appointed opening time. Admittedly, if you get there early, you may just end up waiting a longer time in this line, but at least, you'll be at the front of the line, rather than the back. Once checked in, the security process is easier and if you have Priority Pass, there is a lounge there you can use. I think I used it for about 45 minutes before the flight - enough time to eat a mini-sandwich, a pastry, and a coffee. 

On 1/16/2019 at 9:12 AM, lizjohn said:

Thanks everyone for your help.  I am sure that we will find some wine to take on board.

I would uber to K&L Wines.

https://www.klwines.com/

You can order ahead of time online, and just pick it up and bring cases back to the ship.

17 minutes ago, VK3DQ said:

Here is an example of a report , this when Norwegian Jewel lost all power off Cape Liptrap in Australia and drifted for a couple of days before being towed back to Melbourne

 

https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/5774327/329-mo-2017-003-final.pdf

 

Its a good example of a report expect something similar in this case

 

Regards

 

John

Minor nitpick: It was the Norwegian Star, not the Jewel. 

If one of the ports of call is Santorini, you'll either sail in to the caldera late morning/early afternoon or sail out of the caldera in the late afternoon. Having done both, my preference would be the former ( you can catch the sunset at the top of the caldera), but both would be spectacular, as sailing out in the late afternoon allows you to catch the sunset from the water.