circumnavigating Australia - good or bad experience?

I am hoping to do a cruise around Australia in 2019 and would like to hear from anyone who has done this cruise before. I have not sailed on the Sea Princess but have recently been on the Sun and found her to be a bit tired looking. She is due to go into dry dock shortly for a refurb. What were your impressions on the different ports around Australia? Interesting or not so much? I realize that some of the ports are small but is there enough to keep one busy during a port day? Was your cruise smooth for the most part or were you hampered by storms and rough seas? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Barb

We have done 2/3s of the trip...Perth around the norther end to Sydney.

We only had a few hours of rough seas north of Perth. Seas are not predictable. You are on a ship on the sea. Both move. Not sure why people go on cruises and expect calm seas.

The ports have varying degrees of interest and activity, but none were disappointing. But that is us, and we can't be assured how you will feel. The highlight will most likely be the Great Barrier Reef...it certainly was for us. But again, can't predict how that will interest you.

Dawn Princess (the ship we were on) is now gone. It was older, but in good shape.

Timing has a lot to do with it. Oceania’s that ran in December missed a lot of ports due to weather. There was a live from thread on the Oceania board that you could read. Princess seems to do it at better times of year. I’ve often thought about it but we’re tackling it by land instead.

This one is on our bucket list but we won’t do it on a Sun Class ship. Eventually, Princess will do it with another ship, so we’re waiting for that.

We did a circumnavigation in 2016 on the Dawn Princess. My advice would be to pick the ship and cabin wisely. The Dawn was on its last legs and was sold to P&O a few months after we disembarked. There were serious maintenance problems throughout the ship with overhead water leaks in many of the public areas making them almost unusable. Princess was only interested in putting plastic buckets on the floor or using the very loud blowers as corrections. There were also obvious cutbacks in entertainment with musicians leaving the cruise and not being replaced. Since a circumnavigation involves many sea days, these defects really impacted our enjoyment. Finally, pick your cabin carefully making sure that it is both horizontally and vertically in the center of the ship. This will minimize your rough sea days. Bottom line...think long and hard about doing this on Princess.

We did this a couple years ago on the newly renovated Diamond Princess, retrofitted with the Japanese motif. The ship was beautiful, seas were very calm as I remember.... but we had been to some ports, not much new on sea days for such a long cruise and the ports were pretty much all the same .. makes sense since they are all Australia... but we were hoping for more variations and sites.

We boarded in Auckland, NZ and loved the NZ portions ...

We cruise a lot, and I think this was our least favorite cruise

We did it 5 or 6 years ago and had a wonderful time. Real good group on our Roll Call that we did a number of private tours with

Very glad to see this question, as we are thinking about this cruise for our 50th anniversary in 2020. Re the comment about Sun class ships: more info, please, concerning the problems/dissatisfaction with them?

I was on the Sun in February and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it - just 2000 passengers, the Vista lounge is wonderful, it has a full promenade, an IC. My only complaints were the limited buffet an a non working steam room. I also liked the fact the atrium seemed larger and made it easier to see performances in the atrium. Maybe dated but generally well maintained. Also the mini suites have really nice layouts and bathrooms.

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This one is on our bucket list but we won’t do it on a Sun Class ship. Eventually, Princess will do it with another ship, so we’re waiting for that.

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After doing 17 days around AU & NZ on the Sapphire Princess in 2007, we did a 32 night circumnavigation in 2012, but on the Radiance of the Seas rather than on Princess. We went back for a 3rd trip on the Solstice in 2016. All 3 trips were among our best ever. These trips usually offer a very good balance of sea vs. port days, with not too many of either in a row. The people are friendly and helpful, the scenery is spectacular, and it's definitely an unforgettable trip.

Our circumnavigation trip was in mid-February-early March, and the weather across the top (northern route) was hot and humid. The southern portion was more moderate. Someone commented that the ports all seemed similar - that was very much NOT the case for us; Australia is a huge continent, with tremendous variety in scenery and culture, much like the US. From bustling cities to tranquil mountain towns, glorious beaches, tropical & wildlife preserves, wineries, lush working farms - there's so much variety once you get away from the pier. Our favorite area was probably the southern ports of Adelaide and Esperance - great scenery and wine!

As others have said, for a trip this long, pick your ship and cabin carefully - it will be your 'home' for quite awhile. Be prepared to have a day or an event that isn't perfect. You just can't go that long anywhere without a few snags, but the overall experience should be one of your great travel experiences.

This one is on our bucket list but we won’t do it on a Sun Class ship. Eventually, Princess will do it with another ship, so we’re waiting for that.

I'm with you. Definitely want to do it but would prefer a Grand class ship to a Sun class. Don't get me wrong, we sailed Sea Princess on our first cruise and loved it but I'd like a balcony cabin and the balconies on the Sun class ships leave a lot to be desired.

We did the cruise on the Sun this past October 8-November 5. Great time, however if you don’t do well with a lot of sea days, it probably isn’t for you. Many ports are 2/3 days apart because of the vast distance to be covered. No complaints about the ship, crew or food. Great way to see Australia.

Interesting. Hope to do this in a few years.

We did the cruise on the Sun this past October 8-November 5. Great time, however if you don’t do well with a lot of sea days, it probably isn’t for you. Many ports are 2/3 days apart because of the vast distance to be covered. No complaints about the ship, crew or food. Great way to see Australia.

Thanks for sharing. I was think of doing this cruise myself.

Tony

We did the cruise on the Sun this past October 8-November 5. Great time, however if you don’t do well with a lot of sea days, it probably isn’t for you. Many ports are 2/3 days apart because of the vast distance to be covered. No complaints about the ship, crew or food. Great way to see Australia.

Wcorrect

Often three sea days followed by three port days.

It’s the nature of the country.

thanks to all for your replies. And to Matt: if you think the Tasmanian crossing was rough, you should have stayed on for the 13 days around NZ. THAT was rough!

Barb

Glad to see some positive comments about this cruise. It's been on our bucket list ever since our San Francisco to Sydney cruise in 2008.

I too am glad to see some positive comments because we're doing it this fall. I know the balcony situation for the mini suites is not what we are used to. The openings are cut into the wall of the ship versus projecting out from the room like on other ships.

But I love the configuration of the mini suite with the two separate rooms and looking forward to the trip.

thanks to all for your replies. And to Matt: if you think the Tasmanian crossing was rough, you should have stayed on for the 13 days around NZ. THAT was rough!

 

Barb

They can both be rough.

They didn’t call them the roaring 40s for nothing.

But they can both be super smooth too.

It is so good to hear from you Barb - you and Bruce are very special.

After the Drake Passage and being able to stay vertical and enjoy a small ship dropping 30 feet i enjoy the rough days at sea. It definitely keeps the lines for food short but I don't advise the soup course.

We were on the Sun in October for 28 day around Australia. This was the best holiday we’ve ever taken! The weather along the south half of Australia was cool, 15 - 20 C and HOT from Perth to Brisbane. As we had a couple of days between ports, we were very relaxed and well rested when we returned home. Australians are very friendly and their country is beautiful. This is a must do cruise!

We were on the Sun in October for 28 day around Australia. This was the best holiday we’ve ever taken! The weather along the south half of Australia was cool, 15 - 20 C and HOT from Perth to Brisbane. As we had a couple of days between ports, we were very relaxed and well rested when we returned home. Australians are very friendly and their country is beautiful. This is a must do cruise!

Thanks so much for posting, as now i can take a peek back to your Oct. roll call. I am on the same Sept/Oct cruise with Dianne(posted a few above) she has visited AU before, but this will be my first time.

I would love to ask u a few questions..if you return to this thread.....

Here is my first one.....how were the seas?

Hi. The seas around Tasmania were fine. The weather wasn’t the greatest, cloudy and cool but we just wore jackets. A storm was coming in so the captain was worried that we would miss a port but we made both of them. The seas were the roughest through the Australian Bight ( at the bottom of Australia.) Some people were not well but you get that on any cruise. After we rounded the corner, heading to Perth, all was calm. Don’t miss out on visiting Melbourne and Adelaide just because of a few waves. The markets there are AMAZING!

Hi. The seas around Tasmania were fine. The weather wasn’t the greatest, cloudy and cool but we just wore jackets. A storm was coming in so the captain was worried that we would miss a port but we made both of them. The seas were the roughest through the Australian Bight ( at the bottom of Australia.) Some people were not well but you get that on any cruise. After we rounded the corner, heading to Perth, all was calm. Don’t miss out on visiting Melbourne and Adelaide just because of a few waves. The markets there are AMAZING!

Yay...you came back....

I always forget about missing ports, it certainly does happen. We were fortunate on a recent South American cruise around the horn, made all our ports...and also on a 21 day cruise that same year in Asia. So hopefully we will bring that good luck with us. We always seem to get rain or wind...so with weather we are not as lucky..but with the correct clothing...no worries..

I am assuming you explored the GBR...on an excursion with the ship(time constraints), how did that work out, what did u see?