Help with Australia/New Zealand cruise

[judyfssw]

We would like to go on this cruise in January, 2012. My bil does NOT like cruising but is willing to consider going on this cruise with us if we can get a lot of info.

1) Has anyone been on this cruise in January in the past and what were the seas like?

2) How was the weather at this time of the year?

3) If you went early, was it costly to rent hotels (my husband is handicapped and uses a wheelchair and scooter) and transportation?

 

Any and all information, either pro or con, is appreciated.

 

Thank you.

[ssbeagle]

You can find some reasonably priced hotels in Sydney. We stayed at the Marriott downtown only because of the location. You can walk (in your husband's case ride) to all the major attractions close by. Just about everything is handicap accessible. They even have special handicap tours of the Opera House. In New Zealand I would recommend a private tour. We used Indigenous Trails and I believe they can help with your situation. We had wonderful tours with them. January is their summer and it can be nice or it can be raining just like being in the Caribbean. We cruised in October and had fairly smooth seas the but the cruise just before us had some rough weather around the fjords/Milford Sound and missed the area. We made friends with a couple from Australia and they said the temps have been in the high 80s around 90 degrees. Also, they have a shuttle from the airport to hotels that has handicap vehicles in Sydney. Hope this helps.

[Flipper133]

We would like to go on this cruise in January, 2012. My bil does NOT like cruising but is willing to consider going on this cruise with us if we can get a lot of info.

1) Has anyone been on this cruise in January in the past and what were the seas like?

2) How was the weather at this time of the year?

3) If you went early, was it costly to rent hotels (my husband is handicapped and uses a wheelchair and scooter) and transportation?

 

Any and all information, either pro or con, is appreciated.

 

Thank you.

 

Hi Judy

 

You do not state which cruise you are considering - there are several. The Sun Princess (ex Brisbane) does a 14 night round trip. Similarly for the Sea Princess (ex Sydney) and Dawn Princess (ex Melbourne).

I suspect however you are looking at the Diamond Princess which does one way cruises Sydney to Auckland or vice versa. The itinery includes Melbourne (in Victoria) and Hobart (in Tasmania). These cruises are popular with Americans and the onboard currency etc is American. (The Sun Class ships have been Australianised)

 

We have done the NZ cruise twice on Sapphire (sister to Diamond) - once in January the other in February. Both were excellent, with relativley smooth seas - the only bit of rough weather was in the Tasman sea between Hobart and Milford Sound.The Sapphire handled these conditions extremely well and there should be no fear of too much rocking and rolling. My avatar above shows my wife and I onboard Sapphire in Milford Sound - it is a very intoxicating place!

 

Many who say they don't like cruising are put off by day after day at sea, and I can relate a little to that. The Aust- NZ cruise is however popular because of the ports of call. Apart from Milford Sound (which is scenic cruising) the NZ cities of Dunedin, Christchurch, Tauranga and Auckland have a special appeal, and I am sure your BIL would enjoy them. Similarly the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart in Aust are special places and together all these cities make the Aust NZ cruise very attractive.

 

A couple of other points.

1. The Diamond as I have said cruises one way Syd - Auk or vice versa, so unless you do a B2B you will need to consider air arrangements.

2. At all ports of call the ships dock at a wharf - so no need for tendering - an issue for wheelchair bound passengers. In Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Auckland the wharf is in the centre of the city which also make things easier.

3. January is high summer and also school holidays. Good deals at Hotels towards the end of January (after 21st) can be obtained as the tourist industry is winding down from the peak season.

 

If you have any further queries please just ask

 

regards

[dfields1814]

We took this cruise in Jan of 2010. We stayed at the Marriott. But it cost us nothing because we used points. It was very convenient. We had friends that stayed at the Holiday Inn in the Rocks area. It was not all that expensive. So they said. The seas around Australia and New Zealand was pretty calm. Crossing the Tasmanian Sea was a bit rough. My wife is prone to get sea sick but she handled it well. So it could not have been all that bad. It was cold in New Zealand. But I am from southern California so anything below 60 degrees is cold to me. The temp was about in the mis 50's in New Zealand. it was rainy in Sydney. I had to wear a light jacket. That surprised me because Jan. Is their summer. When we returned to Sydney after the cruise we stayed at Rydges near the world center in midtown. It was not at all fancy but it was ok for us. We would do this cruise again in a heartbeat.

[gingera]

We've done the cruise from NZ to Aust..seas were fine, and the trip was very memorable...we took a landtour to the Barrier Reef and did a little snorkeling and flew back to Sidney for a couple days....we had so much fun in Sidney. The people are awesome and so are the New Zealanders.

[Talisker92]

WE sailed on the Diamond January 2010 and enjoyed it. We flew in a few days early to spend time in Auckland, and also spent a few days in Sydney. We took a post cruise tour of Blue Mountains and Featherdale park. In Sydney we stayed at the Marriott downtown because it was close to Circular Quay. Our crossing of the Tasman sea was a little "lumpy", but not too bad

You can read about our trip on our website http://www.stevekathytravels.com

[paul929207]

It appears that you are asking about a Celebrity cruise on the Princess boards. NOt sure how much help you will get here. You might want to also try the Celebrity boards.

[Budget Queen]

We would like to go on this cruise in January, 2012. My bil does NOT like cruising but is willing to consider going on this cruise with us if we can get a lot of info.

1) Has anyone been on this cruise in January in the past and what were the seas like?

2) How was the weather at this time of the year?

3) If you went early, was it costly to rent hotels (my husband is handicapped and uses a wheelchair and scooter) and transportation?

 

Any and all information, either pro or con, is appreciated.

 

Thank you.

 

The Tasman Sea is one of the roughest in the world. So you do need to be well prepared for movement. I have sailed this routing twice. Wonderful, wonderful cruise. :)

[Northeastal]

My DW and I sailed on the Diamond Princess from Auckland to Sydney during the middle of January 2010.

 

We stayed a few nights in Auckland at the Westin hotel and a few days at the end of the cruise at the Sydney Harbour Marriott which as other people have said is a few minutes walk from Circular Quay. I would recommend both of these hotels.

 

The cruise is fantastic and also would be well recommended. The weather can be variable however. We had rough weather across the Tasman sea with 40 foot waves but the Diamond is a large ship and rode the the waves very well. The only downside was that we were a few hours late into Hobart.

 

We used the ships tours but as others have said, there are plenty of private tours that can be taken.

 

I'm sure that you would have a wonderful time.

[jannandjohn]

we did this cruise in March 08, our Autumn, it was fine...

we found the Alaskan waterways to be rougher, but it all depends on good ol' Mother Nature,

sometimes she's mean, other times she's in a good mood!!