Itinerary Jan. 06th or Jan.23rd advice please

[DGK]

Hello,

I have been reading these boards closely and planning our first trip to Australia and New Zealand with still so much too learn. You will laugh as we are looking at Jan. or Feb. 2013. Needed to start researching to see what options and potential cost will be. We understand cruise ship itineraries and dates may change and prefer more days in port rather than at sea. If you were us considering weather and local summer holidays which itinerary would you pick and why. We are not particular regarding the specific cruise ship as dates and Itinerary are more important to us.

Option one Jan. 06- 12 nights Celebrity Auckland to Sydney with 4 days at sea. We also would like to spend some time at the Great Barrier Reef following and possibly Hamilton Island. We like this itinerary but concerned about crowds with summer holidays.

Option Two Princess Jan. 23 Auckland to Sydney 12 night with 5 days at sea ( yuck ) followed by travelling to Great Barrier Reef and Hamilton Island possibly.

Any advice considering weather, crowds itinerary and what you would do if you were us will be greatly appreciated, Thanks so much, DGK

[room010]

The school year generally starts around 1 Feb so while the 23 Jan cruise is still technically during the school holidays there should be fewer children.

 

As for the weather - it's 2 years away so who knows. For the last few years we've had hot, dry summers. This year has been much cooler (comparatively) and LOTS of rain. Statistically February is the hottest month. Bear in mind that it's also the cyclone season in Queensland - we've just had a doozy.

[DGK]

Thank you so much for your quick response. The other option I found is Princess 13 day Sydney round trip. Originally I didn’t look at round trip from Sydney because we wanted time prior in Auckland. This only has 4 sea days and has Jan. 24th Feb. 20th or March 03rd departures. Would you recommend this cruise over the others previously mentioned?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, DGK

[GreeniePrincess]

We also do not like days at sea (we prefer port intensive trips), but discovered that we really didn't mind the 4 days at sea on the princess RT Sydney. Flying from the east cost of the U.S., we boarded the ship on the same day we arrived after touring Sydney for a few hours (we wish we would have had more time there, but work schedules wouldn't allow). We spent a lot of the first two days unwinding from the flight and our busy lives, and spend most of it sleeping or napping. We felt very ready to explore once we reached NZ. On the way back across, you actually have 3 days at sea (Fiordland is scenic cruising, so you don't get off the ship). Again, it was nice to have the time to relax and unwind, not to mention finally check out some of the ship's activities as we generally went to bed early to get up early to explore the ports. It also left us ready to fly up to Cairns for our side trip to the reef. So, in the end, I'm really glad we had the 5 days at sea to relax, unwind, and catch up on some much needed sleep. I hope this helps!

[room010]

Any of those dates should be fine. March/April is a great time of year on Oz for weather - the worst of the summer heat is over but it's still very pleasant. They are all fairly similar cruises so it boils down to your preference for ports/sea days. Bear in mind we don't have the big Spring Break 'thing' Down Under in March/April (it's our autumn for a start :)) so you don't need to worry too much about partying college kids.

[ceejay3377]

Sea days are an unavoidable part of sailing from Australia to ANYWHERE lol. (Except around Australia;)). If you are wanting to avoid clashing with school holidays, then Feb/March is the way to go. Dec-Feb is also the wet season in the South Pacific. I was on the Volendam on the Jan 16 cruise around the South Pacific and our Captain had his work cut out for him dodging two cyclones at once (Anthony and Wilma)!! It was quite rough and windy some days, the sick bags were out, and we missed one of our ports (Isle of Pines) due to the weather. Earlier January cruises on various lines had even worse weather and missed several ports. (Because most island ports are tender ports).

 

While NZ is south of the tropics, it is all open ocean between the South Pacific Islands and NZ, so the effects of the cyclones (wind, rough seas) can be felt for hundreds of nautical miles, and can reduce the number of port days (and hence increase the number of sea days). Tender ports are the ones most likely to be cancelled. If you do strike the after effects of nearby cyclones - and when there are several cruise ships competing for limited port space - there will inevitably some that miss out. I have read several reviews/reports that said the scenic cruising around the fiords was cancelled on a number of cruises this January. (maybe some fellow travellers who were on these cruises can give more detail?).

 

IMHO the later you can travel the better. I only cruise in January because I am a teacher and it is my summer break, lol. And then I share the boat with the little darlings!:p

 

No matter when you go though, I am sure you will enjoy your cruise!:)

[DGK]

Thank you all for the wonderful information. I did not realize the potential for cyclones and such great risk for cancelling days in port. Since we have flexibility maybe we will plan for end of Feb. early March to cruise New Zealand and see the Great Barrier Reef following. Sept. – Dec. doesn’t work for us, Your opinions are very helpful ,DGK

[room010]

Just to add to your dilemma, the best time of year for the Great Barrier Reef is around Sept/Oct. Great weather and not too many stingers.

[DGK]

I never thought planning a N.Z. Cruise and spending time in Sydney along with travelling to the Great Barrier Reef would be so complicated to find the perfect time. I have to admit I am learning so much. I wasn't aware of stingers..yikes. So if timing doesn’t matter to us would you recommend Sept. /Oct and if we can’t go then we aim for Feb. /March????. I can’t thank everyone enough for all your suggestions and advice, Thank you, DGK

[Aquarians]

Sea days are an unavoidable part of sailing from Australia to ANYWHERE lol. (Except around Australia;)). If you are wanting to avoid clashing with school holidays, then Feb/March is the way to go. Dec-Feb is also the wet season in the South Pacific. I was on the Volendam on the Jan 16 cruise around the South Pacific and our Captain had his work cut out for him dodging two cyclones at once (Anthony and Wilma)!! It was quite rough and windy some days, the sick bags were out, and we missed one of our ports (Isle of Pines) due to the weather. Earlier January cruises on various lines had even worse weather and missed several ports. (Because most island ports are tender ports).

 

While NZ is south of the tropics, it is all open ocean between the South Pacific Islands and NZ, so the effects of the cyclones (wind, rough seas) can be felt for hundreds of nautical miles, and can reduce the number of port days (and hence increase the number of sea days). Tender ports are the ones most likely to be cancelled. If you do strike the after effects of nearby cyclones - and when there are several cruise ships competing for limited port space - there will inevitably some that miss out. I have read several reviews/reports that said the scenic cruising around the fiords was cancelled on a number of cruises this January. (maybe some fellow travellers who were on these cruises can give more detail?).

 

IMHO the later you can travel the better. I only cruise in January because I am a teacher and it is my summer break, lol. And then I share the boat with the little darlings!:p

 

No matter when you go though, I am sure you will enjoy your cruise!:)

kia ora,

While Dec-Feb may be the wet season in northern Australia it isn't in New Zealand where weather-wise the best time to cruise is generally considered as after Christmas through to March. If you check through earlier posts on this topic you will find various posts in support of that time. Think of it as the southern hemisphere equivalent of July - September in the northern hemisphere.

Aquarians

[room010]

It is tricky. If I were to pick the "perfect" month in Oz/NZ for weather, stingers etc then it would probably be September (our spring). The problem is finding a cruise ship that operates in these waters during that time. If you find one grab it, although you might coincide with some school holidays.

[MMDown Under]

I never thought planning a N.Z. Cruise and spending time in Sydney along with travelling to the Great Barrier Reef would be so complicated to find the perfect time. I have to admit I am learning so much. I wasn't aware of stingers..yikes. So if timing doesn’t matter to us would you recommend Sept. /Oct and if we can’t go then we aim for Feb. /March????. I can’t thank everyone enough for all your suggestions and advice, Thank you, DGK

 

Yes.

 

Sept/Oct (Spring)

[deniuh]

Sorry OP to hijack your post but I am learning alot too. We want to cruise 2012 but i didn't realise January was a bad month. I swear planning a trip to Australia/New Zealand is the hardest thing we have ever done. Based on what I am reading here, are you saying ideally Feb-March is the best time to sail? Is it extremely cool? We are originally from the Caribbean and don't like too much cold weather. We can tolerate 60's....LOL Thanks for the feedback.

[Aquarians]

Sorry OP to hijack your post but I am learning alot too. We want to cruise 2012 but i didn't realise January was a bad month. I swear planning a trip to Australia/New Zealand is the hardest thing we have ever done. Based on what I am reading here, are you saying ideally Feb-March is the best time to sail? Is it extremely cool? We are originally from the Caribbean and don't like too much cold weather. We can tolerate 60's....LOL Thanks for the feedback.

Kia ora,

Generally NZ enjoys a temperate climate with coastal areas of the North Island usually a little warmer than the South Island. While one can never be sure what the weather will do, January is a good month weather wise and is the month when schools are off and many New Zealanders take their summer holidays. Here in the aptly named Bay of Plenty daytime temperatures over the last month or so have been been in the low to mid twenties. It was 23 degrees C here in Rotorua today and was up to 30 last week. As posted above after Christmas through to March is a good time for visiting NZ. Different considerations apply to Australia where Tasmania has temperatures more akin to those in the lower South Island while northern Australia has a tropical climate.

Aquarians

[room010]

Australia alone has the same land area as the US and the weather/temps vary enormously depending on where you plan to visit. It's a bit like asking whether it's better in Alaska or Florida in March or October. Generally, the northern half of Oz is tropical and the southern half is more temperate but even then there can be huge variations. New Zealand isn't part of Australia and has its own climate again. It's generally cooler there because it's further south but I've been in Queenstown (South Island) in Jan when temps were up in the 80sF and again in July when we went skiing.

 

Like I say, our Spring (Sept/Oct) probably ticks most of the weather boxes in both places but like all weather it's totally unpredictable.