Over from NZ

If you ever come back - do the TranzAlpine from Christchurch. It's much better. Don't bother doing it if you're coming on a cruise though (they used to offer it to the cruisers, however they only took them the first half and then turn back due to time constraints.. and you miss the better second half).

No it's shut. Covid killed it. They haven't disposed of the assets yet and have effectively mothballed it.. but I don't see it opening anytime soon.. if ever. There was talk of turning it into a cycle trail which is probably a better solution.

Yes, calling it a castle is getting a bit carried away lol. 🙂

Close your eyes and pick one. Particularly if it's a short cruise as you say. It won't matter which one.

We used this company and they were awesome. https://www.santorinidailytours.com/all-of-santorini-in-6-hours-private/ It covered a lot of the Island including Oia, the beaches, a winery etc and finishes in Fira. And of course, with the commentary of the guide. It has gone up in price a lot.. but hasn't everything and hey, how often do you get to go to Santorini!! 🙂 If I could have changed it.. I would do the same tour.. but see if he could drop you in Oia at the end so that you had more time there. And then catch a bus back to Fira to get back to the ship.

And despite the size difference.. many say to allow more time for NZ than Australia. 15 days will give you a little taste of one or the other, but not really both.

Somewhere in the Hawaii Islands?

Hello. The homework I've done so-far; I think we want to go to Knossis palace, walk the old town and the venetian walls, visit Koules Fortress, Lion Square, Heraklion Food Market and visit the old port square. Am I right in thinking Knossis isn't that far out.. and the rest are all within walking distance of each other? We could catch a HOHO Bus to Knossis say in the morning and then spend the whole day walking round doing the other places? We're in port from 9am to 6pm. Any thoughts much appreciated. Thank you!

That doesn't sound like Picton.

French Polynesia

The Wavedancer out of Port Douglas to the Low Isles. One of the best excursions we ever did. Superb snorkeling. They provided the snorkeling gear, the stinger suits etc. Lunch onboard. Can't say enough how impressed we were with it. Went with my wife and out son who was 12 at the time. https://wavedancerlowisles.com/contact/

Thank you! The ship doesn't depart till 7pm, so there's lots of time.

Does anybody know much about this Spanish town? It's an option for a day excursion from Gibraltar. It looks interesting. We loved Gibraltar and last time did the "Ultimate Gibraltar" excursion which was a full day and included all the main attractions, so are looking for something different this time.

As others have said.. 1 day in Rome won't cut the mustard lol. Our first cruise over there, we made sure to start and finish in different ports. It ended in Rome and then we had 3 nights there before flying home. That was 'just' enough to squeeze in quite a few of the major things. We started in Athens and went to Santorini day 2. Funnily enough, we're going back June 2023. I would recommend stacking a few cruises against each other and see what has the most of your 'must see' ports. You won't get them all in one go and will need to sacrifice some.

Depends on day of the week and time of the day.. but mostly hourly. It's about 45 mins to get over there. https://www.fullers.co.nz/timetables-and-fares/?from=AUCK&to=WAIH

Thank you all for your advice. Very helpful!

Hello. We're weighing up an excursion from Naples to Capri. It's a boat, that takes us to see a number of places from the sea (the blue grotto etc). It then gives us 3-hours on the Island of Capri. We're thinking that might not be long enough.. and instead catching the hydrofoil over to Capri and spending the day there. Our ship is in Naples from 7am to 7pm. We're thinking you would want the whole day ashore on Capri. Any thoughts to that please?

If you really want to go to Akaroa - do it. It's only about an hour and a quarter drive. You could head over there and have say 5 hours there with couple of hours to spare. That would be plenty of time to see Akaroa.

Visit the maritime Museum (they've got the replica of the Endeavour which you can go onboard as well as a Submarine and Destroyer), it's great. Also near-by is Madam Tussuards wax museum and the Sea Life Aquarium. All in Darling Harbour.

You would be better to do things the other way round and cruise Australia and see NZ by land. You miss out most of the best stuff by cruising NZ instead of seeing it from land and you need longer to see NZ than Australia.

Thank you. Last time we had about 6 hours exploring Genoa itself. It is an option instead of going to Portofino.

Hello! 🙂 Any recommendations for excursions or providers of excursions from Genoa? Looking for say an 8-seater minivan tour. Last time we were over there, we were let down by a company. We wanted to spend a day in Portofino and Santa Margherita but basically got 10 minutes in each due to a relief driver that didn't know the plan and couldn't really speak English. So probably keen to go back there with a better company unless there's other recommendations of places of interest. TIA.

https://italytoursharing.com/ We used these guys for 4 ports last time and they were excellent. They had one that leaves from Naples and does the Amalfi Coast & Pompeii. Both amazing places. Make sure you pay extra and get a guide at Pompeii though - otherwise it doesn't mean anywhere near as much.

Thank you!

Thank you. Did the HoHo take you to Knossos?