Private Guides

[Grumpy100]

We were on the Sun Princess in November of 2009 and we did private tours in Dunedin. We used D-Tours there and had a great tour. I wanted to see the Moeraki Boulders and the northern coast of Dunedin. We were not disappointed. We had the owner and he met us at the port with a sign. We spent all day with him. We got some great pictures and the weather was good. We saw the Moeraki boulders, the northern coast, the botanical gardens, the steepest street in Dunedin (the world) and some of the city.

Then in Auckland we used Kauri Tours. It also was a great tour. We also got the owner of the company. We went to the other side of the peninsula and saw the black beaches, surfers, the Kauri Trees, the gannet birds nesting on the rocks out on the rocks in the ocean, a winery and the great coast. It was awesome. You can find all of them on-line. ;)

[GLLF]

We used Monarch Wildlife Cruises and Tours in Dundedin - they have wonderful private guides for the day.

http://www.wildlife.co.nz/index.html

John, our guide was

a wonderful birder. We had the most wonderful nature day and

he overheard us talking about trains and on the way back to the ship gave us a tour of the railroading in Dunedin. Monarch helps

train the national park rangers in New Zealand. We called them

directly and it was a perfect day !

[critterchick]

We tried to use Terry Thomson in Christchurch, but he was already booked. He recommended Linda Ward (Lytours@xtra.co.nz) and she was fabulous. We were going to take a harbor cruise in Akaroa, but it was cancelled due to some very windy and choppy conditions. So she got on the phone and found us a sheep dog competition instead - that was the highlight of our port visit! We also visited a cheese factory (yum) and had an extensive tour of the area. As I recall it was $600NZ for the van for the day. We split it 4 ways, but the van holds up to 8.

 

We used Hawkes Bay Scenic Tours in Napier

great_tours@hbscenictours.co.nz, took a short tour of the area and then did some extensive wine tasting. That was $85NZ per person, including the tastings - we had 6 from the ship.

 

I'm not recalling the name of the company we used for dolphin watching (didn't see any:() in Bay of Islands.

 

The rest of the ports we did on our own.

 

In Auckland we took the bus to the zoo for about $6NZ round trip. The stop was right across from the ship and it took about 30 minutes to get there. Then we headed back for a stroll around the waterfront.:)

 

In Tauranga we had a mis-communication with Indigineous Trails, so ended up hiking up Mt. Manganui and then soaking away our aches & pains in the natural salt baths at the foot of the mountain (the ship's Captain recommended that one).

 

We booked the Taieri Gorge railway on our own. The ship's tour was a nicer experience than ours in terms of creature comfort - pickup from the ship, champagne & lunch included - but didn't go as far as ours and cost about $100pp more.

 

I hope that helps anybody still looking for ideas!

[rubyted]

Hi Namest

 

We did the Diamond Princess in Jan this year - you will love the trip.

 

For the trips, I would recommend ShowYouTasmania with Heather Henri - our ship was delayed and they put back all the arrangements, bringing us back to the ship later to account for our late start. If there is anything you do (or don't) want to see, they will amend the trip accordingly.

 

We did the jet boat in Christchurch - it can be booked through the ship but by booking it independently we had an hour long trip before the rest of the ship arrived, coupled with private transfers, for 1/2 the cost of the ship trip. With the saving, we went segwaying for the afternoon!

 

I will (and can very easily) rave about this holiday in great detail, so if you want any more information / photos, let me know and I will respond/email to you.

[happy cruiser K]

We just returned from AU/NZ cruise and we did a private tour with Judy Livingstone with Eye See Personalised Tours. She was very knowledgeable of the area and took us to Mt. Field National Park, Russell Falls, Horse Shoe Falls, Bonorong Wildlife Park, and a short tour of Hobart plus lunch. It was an excellent tour.

 

Hi,

we also did a tour with Judy and were pleased with the tour. It was a great day and Judy was an excellent tour guide. Kay

[CRUZGAL53]

We just returned from a cruise from Sydney- LA on the Star Princess and while in New Zealand used Indigenous Trails http://www.itrails.co.nz. We had the most wonderful tours in Dunedin, Wellington & Auckland. We also went to the Otago Penisula and the Penguin Colony in Dunedin. We would highly recommend Indigenous Trails. Des and his group are fantastic and made our time in NZ very memorable.

 

I would NO LONGER Recommend Indigenous Trails. Although the tours were okay, they don't seem to respond to emails or on-line requests sent to them any longer. I have sent numerous notes and NO ONE has responded. Their level of customer service is very low!