Help! Similar itineraries/couple different ports.

There are a couple of itineraries we are considering on three different Australia/New Zealand cruises. All are with the same line but include a couple of different ports.

One itinerary includes Bay of Islands, NZ and Tauranga, but another includes Picton and Napier instead. Then there is a 3rd itinerary with Napier & Tauranga but no Picton, Bay of Islands, or Dunedin ( which is included in the two other itineraries ). All include Wellington, Aucklamd and the 3 major fjiords.

Maybe some of you with experience could offer your opinions on which of the following ports you enjoyed the most and why:

Napier, Picton, Bay of Islands & Tauranga.

Thanks for any input.

Depends on what your interests are. Bay of Islands and Dunedin (or the Otago Peninsula at any rate) are both incredible if you’ve any interest in wildlife - seals, dolphins, penguins, albatross, more other seabirds than you can poke a stick at.

Napier has some interesting architecture (Art Deco - if that’s your thing), and the wider Hawke’s Bay area has some good wineries (or so I’m told; I don’t drink the stuff). Haven’t seen that much of Tauranga (only its coffee shops - as I’ve only ever visited accompanied by torrential rain and flash flooding.

Tauranga is the gateway to Rotorua for thermal activity and Maori culture, and also for Hobbiton if you are a LOTR fan. Unfortunately the two places aren't usually combinable in one day trip.

The Bay of Islands is very beautiful, and an historic NZ region. There are glowworm caves in the region.

The ports you listed are all very different and it very much depends on what your interests are. In general, however, I'd suggest the first option.

We are adding on a 3 day trip to Bay of Islands after our princess cruise. Aren't the glowworm caves closer to Rotorua?

We are adding on a 3 day trip to Bay of Islands after our princess cruise. Aren't the glowworm caves closer to Rotorua?

The Kawiti Glow-worm caves are closer to Bay of Islands. And since the caves are smaller, we think the experience was more intimate than the other (waitamo?) glow worm caves. We recommend seeing them. We did a DIY trip to the Kawiti Caves. First we took the ship tender to the landing spot at 9:00am , and then their free bus to the Pahia CBD. There we found a third party vendor- MotherEarthTours, outside the visitor's center- and booked their morning tour at 10:30am. We paid NZ$50 (cash only) each for the transport, which included a drive through a rain forest and stop at Harura falls and a drive by the famous toilets. Stella, our guide, also had some home made snacks for us before our tour of the cave and was an excellent tour guide. The cave tour price was NZ$30 each. So the total DIY price of NZ$80 was much cheaper than the $120 the ship was charging. The tour guide also stopped a road side cafe for us to buy lunch since we told her we were hungry. Don't miss the Kawiti caves and you can DIY.