The Best of New Zealand Shore Tours

[terrydavidphoto]

Hi everyone again,

 

We are off to NZ in Feb 2010, like many others.

 

I would like to compile a list, of the best things to do and see in New Zealand at the following ports:

 

Bay of Islands (Paihia)

Auckland

Tauranga

Napier

Wellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

 

Please keep in mind the average length of time a ship stops at these ports being 10 hours.

 

Fire away...

 

- Terry

[rugbypopsie]

Heres a few thoughts. All of these places have great tourist information centres.

 

 

Bay of Islands (Paihia)

Auckland - Day Trip to Waitomo or Ferry over to Devenport

Tauranga - Rotarua

Napier - Art Deco Town, Volcano Museum is great

Wellington - did not go here

Christchurch - Avon River

Dunedin - Railway

[Stuartm]

Heres a few thoughts. All of these places have great tourist information centres.

 

 

Bay of Islands (Paihia)

Auckland - Day Trip to Waitomo or Ferry over to Devenport

Tauranga - Rotarua

Napier - Art Deco Town, Volcano Museum is great

Wellington - did not go here

Christchurch - Avon River

Dunedin - Railway

 

Hi Rugbypopsie,

 

When you say Dunedin-railway are you talking about the Taieri Gorge train? We did the Diamond Auckland to Sydney last year and loved it so much we are doing the reverse this January.

I saw the train pull alongside the wharf in Dunedin and thought it might be something to keep in mind for next time.

 

Well, I have booked it for out next cruise, and it is not cheap. in fact I looked at the info we got on the Diamond about this shore excursion last year and the price has increased by $40 US. Not sure how they work that out.

 

Anyway, we are going to pay the almost $200AU for the trip in Dunedin and if you took it last year...do you think it is worth the it?

 

Of course you may be referring to another train altogether.

hopefully not.

 

cheers

Stu

[Annatoo]

Hi Rugbypopsie,

 

When you say Dunedin-railway are you talking about the Taieri Gorge train? We did the Diamond Auckland to Sydney last year and loved it so much we are doing the reverse this January.

I saw the train pull alongside the wharf in Dunedin and thought it might be something to keep in mind for next time.

 

Well, I have booked it for out next cruise, and it is not cheap. in fact I looked at the info we got on the Diamond about this shore excursion last year and the price has increased by $40 US. Not sure how they work that out.

 

Anyway, we are going to pay the almost $200AU for the trip in Dunedin and if you took it last year...do you think it is worth the it?

 

Of course you may be referring to another train altogether.

hopefully not.

 

cheers

Stu

 

Check out Taieri Rail online as you are able to book direct depending on what day you are in port. Cost around NZ$70 but you have to get to Dunedin Railway Station which isn't far by taxi.

 

When I have time I'll give you some ideas for the other ports....hopefully I haven't deleted them from 2/2/08. You could always go back through Sapphire Princess Roll Calls and find the mountain of information there as I arranged independent tours and provided ideas for 50 of our Roll Call.

 

Happy hunting......B E V

[DICKY BEACH]

Hi everyone again,

 

We are off to NZ in Feb 2010, like many others.

 

I would like to compile a list, of the best things to do and see in New Zealand -

 

 

 

- Terry

Check out the detail provided by ELA2 last year. Very comprehensive information for every port.

[oysterfiend]

Check out Taieri Rail online as you are able to book direct depending on what day you are in port. Cost around NZ$70 but you have to get to Dunedin Railway Station which isn't far by taxi.

 

When I have time I'll give you some ideas for the other ports....hopefully I haven't deleted them from 2/2/08. You could always go back through Sapphire Princess Roll Calls and find the mountain of information there as I arranged independent tours and provided ideas for 50 of our Roll Call.

 

Happy hunting......B E V

$200 way way above its usual price- my husband and I did it independently a couple of years ago-

But everything you book as a shore tour is a shocking price.

Still they do have you by the short and curlies

We are looking at a Yukon train and bus trip in Alaska from Carnival Spirit next September and it will be well over $200 US each- But what do you do?

Booking indepently for an 8-10 trip has its risks I suppose?:confused:

[terrydavidphoto]

Check out the detail provided by ELA2 last year. Very comprehensive information for every port.

 

Hi there. I did a search and could not seem to find the thread. Would you be able to point me in the right direction?

 

 

Cheers,

 

- Tex

[rugbypopsie]

Hi Terry, I could not find that review either but ELA 2 has posted many times..she is a travel writer. I was talking about Taieri George..I did not do it but everyone that did raved about it. The tourist offices in NZ are first class and as people have pointed out considerably cheaper than the ships tours. The ships shuttle drops you in town near the Railway Station which is a tourist sight in itself.

 

You should be able to book tickets for the train on the net.

 

The other fun thing to do is visit the Antartic Base I think it was Christchurch. No need to prebook just go to the tourist office in town and catch the complimentary bus from there.

[rugbypopsie]

Found this for you...have a look in the member cruise review section of the menu and then put in NZ it will come up with all sorts of info on the ports.:)

 

 

If you wish to venture farther afield, the Taieri Gorge Railway has daily departures from the city's railway station -- usually at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. -- over cast iron bridges and tunnels, built in 1879 to the scenic river gorge. Some tours are sold by your cruise line, and if you book one of these tours, the train will depart from the dockside at Port Chalmers. Otherwise, trains leave from the Victorian Gothic railway-style train station on Thomas Burns Street in Dunedin. Fares range from NZ$69 to NZ$77.

[Guest012]

Found Evons review for you.........we were onboard too......had a fantastic time.....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=927867&highlight=ela

 

cheers Shiona

[deeej]

Hi guys, just reading your posts and we have a group of 17 cruising on the Pacific jewel to NZ January 31st 2010.

Be careful with the train you are speaking of. We also thought of doing it independently and not as a shore tour but upon going to their website the train is not open to the public that day. So im wondering if its a thing it has going with P&O that it shuts to the public the day the ships in for $$$$ reasons.

I havent been to NZ before but being such a large group of us going, other than the gorge trip at Napier we have hired mini vans and people movers and have mapped out a full intinery at all ports.

If anyone wants to email me deeej@tpg dot com dot au , i will gladly forward ours to you and it might give you some ideas to check out yourselves. If you have any places of interest to add that i havent got on it you might be kind enough to share with me :)

 

Can't wait to do the cruise...but must say we are somewhat disappointed its been changed from the Dawn to the Jewel. We loved the dawn and the Jewel won't have the Dome and its cut the whirlpool spas down to just 2 small ones. Crazy!!!

 

 

Regards,

Donna

[DICKY BEACH]

Thank you,Donna. Great research. Wish I was cruising with your group. Sounds like you will all have a great time.

 

Thanks again

Frank.

[deeej]

Thanks Frank ...and the more the merier lol

 

love Donna