subaru94 Posted May 17, 2011 #1 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Would like to do a cruise one day around New Zealand, have always wanted to go to Bay of Islands, but not all cruises do that or they just do one of the islands, then some do Milford Sounds and others don't, any feedback would be greatly appreciated on whether I should concentrate on one that goes to Bay of Islands, or leave that and do the rest of New Zealand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzaw Posted May 17, 2011 #2 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I haven't been to the Bay of Islands - I have an image in my mind of it being a bit like the Whitsundays?? Don't know if that is correct or not. BUT - the NZ sounds (Milford, etc) are spectacular and (I think) unique to the Southern Hemisphere-- well worth seeing!! Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzaw Posted May 17, 2011 #3 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Photos courtesy of my friend, Peter Anderson - who is currently cruising the Indian Ocean ( Sometimes it is easier to seek forgiveness than it is to seek permission!) :) Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Kinkacruiser Posted May 17, 2011 #4 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Princess did both locations on our cruise a few years ago. Bay of Islands was beautiful..mild climate and very unspoilt. Blue skies in fiordland is a bonus. I hope you find a cruise that does both and enjoy it when it comes around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moyaroo Posted May 17, 2011 #5 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Both is good, but if you have a start or stop in Auckland then it is an easy jaunt up to the Bay of Islands area. The sounds on the other hand are best seen from the water anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandielle Posted May 17, 2011 #6 Share Posted May 17, 2011 It appears that cruises from Brisbane do not visit the Bay of Islands - probably because of the distance (they take 14 days) whereas cruises from Sydney do the B of I as well as Fiordland and take 13 days. Whether or not you see Fiordland seems to depend on the wind factor. We had two cruises to achieve it and it was so worthwhile! When it is wet you will see more waterfalls - we were lucky to have a sunny day, and although there were only a couple of falls the scenery was stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobhsv Posted May 17, 2011 #7 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Princess have some great deals atm. Have a look at the Princess site, Sea Princess. They do BOI, Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch (maybe Akaroa), Dunedin and The Sounds. You will see that the outsides are same price as balconies. Can't find better deals with any other online ones. Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobhsv Posted May 17, 2011 #8 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Princess have some great deals atm. Have a look at the Princess site, Sea Princess. They do BOI, Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch (maybe Akaroa), Dunedin and The Sounds. You will see that the outsides are same price as balconies. Can't find better deals with any other online ones. Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_cruiser Posted May 18, 2011 #9 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Would like to do a cruise one day around New Zealand, have always wanted to go to Bay of Islands, but not all cruises do that or they just do one of the islands, then some do Milford Sounds and others don't, any feedback would be greatly appreciated on whether I should concentrate on one that goes to Bay of Islands, or leave that and do the rest of New Zealand As far as I can see, now days most cruise lines that visit NZ, do both Bay of Islands and Fiordland, its only really cruises from Brisbane that don't visit the Bay of Islands. To get in to Fiordland is up to the weather gods as if it’s too rough or too windy then you may not be able to get into all the sounds or any at all. Here are my photo from when we went in to Fiordland on the Volendam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flipper133 Posted May 18, 2011 #10 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Princess have some great deals atm. Have a look at the Princess site, Sea Princess. They do BOI, Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch (maybe Akaroa), Dunedin and The Sounds. You will see that the outsides are same price as balconies. Can't find better deals with any other online ones.Jen Yes Jen there are some good prices available from Princess at the moment for these Itineries (which BTW also includes Napier). We are booked on Sun Princess ex Brisbane for the NYE cruise, and when I first booked the price was over $7100 for a BC cabin. I have sinces cancelled and rebooked twice, and presently have a BA cabin for just over $5500 !! :D I have warned my TA that if the prices reduce further (especially close to final payment date, I will be doing this again. They are fully supportive of this approach, although I do need to do the Price Watch thing myself. Princess has similar pricing for the Sea Princess ex Sydney (with variances depending on date), but oddly, no such reductions for the Dawn Princess which is sailing ex Melbourne. I could offer a parochrial reason for this, but instead I will just mention that Melbourne ,and for that matter Sydney not only has a larger local populations, these cities are recognised as the main portals for travellers from Overseas. I am expecting that the Sun Princess will be mainly poulated by SE Queenslanders.:D All in all, if I lived in Sydney (I was born there but I am now a maroon supporter) I would welcome the idea of best pricing combined with enjoying a sailaway down the best harbour in the world. Plus of course visiting Bay of Islands which the SunP misses out on. On the other hand, I am very thankfull that I can enjoy the convenience of taking a cruise ex Brisbane on a Princess ship.:) Also mentioned elsewhere is the fact the Diamond Princess does the one way trips from Syd-Auk in an itinery that includes the NZ Sounds and also Melbourne and Hobart. It does not go the BoI. I have done this itinery before on Sapphire, and whilst I enjoyed the ship I did find it a bit biased towards the many overseas cruisers and of course currency on board was $US and tipping prevailed. You also need to arrange one flights either to or from Auckland. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted May 18, 2011 #11 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Holland America Line has cruises that visit both Milford Sound and the Bay of Islands. Some cruises depart from Sydney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobhsv Posted May 18, 2011 #12 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Flipper133, Thanks, I forgot to mention we were going to Napier as well. Such a lot of ports, and all excellent ones too. The Diamond didn't do Napier, Wellington or BOI....and was oneway. However we had a ball, great ship. Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru94 Posted May 18, 2011 Author #13 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Thank you for all your responses, would be great to get a cruise that does Bayof Islands and both Islands, will have to look into it further, is there any particular time of year better to visit New Zealand please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandyup Posted May 18, 2011 #14 Share Posted May 18, 2011 We are going to NZ in Dec onboard Raiance of the seas. It takes in both North and South Islands. Check it out on the web. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Kruzer Posted May 18, 2011 #15 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Out of all the cruise lines that do NZ, HAL seems to have the best itineraries. ...but you need to check them all out. 1 day in the Bay of Islands is not really enough. The ideal would be a cruise where you had, and it can be done either way, 3 days in Sydney, to see and experience it all, then the Au/NZ cruise, which finishes in Auckland and a 3 day post cruise to go up to the BOI and enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobhsv Posted May 18, 2011 #16 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Thank you for all your responses, would be great to get a cruise that does Bayof Islands and both Islands, will have to look into it further, is there any particular time of year better to visit New Zealand please. NZ is spectacular at any time, but personal preference is summer. For example in Jan there is still snow visible on far peaks in Milford. South Island we found cold at the southern part ie Dunedin, but Christchurch etc was a bit warmer. Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwipete Posted May 18, 2011 #17 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Would like to do a cruise one day around New Zealand, have always wanted to go to Bay of Islands, but not all cruises do that or they just do one of the islands, then some do Milford Sounds and others don't, any feedback would be greatly appreciated on whether I should concentrate on one that goes to Bay of Islands, or leave that and do the rest of New Zealand For what it's worth subaru, if the cruise you select only does either the Bay of Islands of the Fiords I would suggest the Fiords. I live in the Bay of Islands and although I think it's a fantastic place, the Sounds have it from the spectacle point of view. As Kiwi Kruzer said, the Bay can be appreciated more from the land and the odd boat trip (small boat!) but the Sounds are only really appreciated from the water (on cruise ships) (I'm looking forward to showing bobhsv around the Bay of Islands when they call on Sea Princess in November) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobhsv Posted May 18, 2011 #18 Share Posted May 18, 2011 For what it's worth subaru, if the cruise you select only does either the Bay of Islands of the Fiords I would suggest the Fiords. I live in the Bay of Islands and although I think it's a fantastic place, the Sounds have it from the spectacle point of view. As Kiwi Kruzer said, the Bay can be appreciated more from the land and the odd boat trip (small boat!) but the Sounds are only really appreciated from the water (on cruise ships) (I'm looking forward to showing bobhsv around the Bay of Islands when they call on Sea Princess in November) Hi Pete and Norma, You have an email.....Jen:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thied Posted May 18, 2011 #19 Share Posted May 18, 2011 we have done this cruise 2.5 times and all ways a great cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwipete Posted May 18, 2011 #20 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Hi Pete and Norma, You have an email.....Jen:) Look forward to it Jen. Not arrived yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobhsv Posted May 19, 2011 #21 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Look forward to it Jen. Not arrived yet. Oh, I sent it last night. Have sorted out the little glitch I had. Will send another one tonight, when I have more time. You haven't spammed me have you Pete:D. Talk soon. Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare villauk Posted May 19, 2011 #22 Share Posted May 19, 2011 NZ is spectacular at any time, but personal preference is summer. For example in Jan there is still snow visible on far peaks in Milford. South Island we found cold at the southern part ie Dunedin, but Christchurch etc was a bit warmer. Jen Is the weather usually good over the Christmas period in New Zealand? Obviously I realise anything can happen when we're discussing the weather, but should we expect fairly mild temperatures? You mention Dunedin, how cold was it? Also, is the Tasman Sea pretty calm at this time of year? We're thinking that it's probably similar to sailing from the UK during our summer time; some windy, rougher days and others very smooth? Hoping for a smooth ride on Solstice next year - can't wait!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moyaroo Posted May 19, 2011 #23 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Dunedin is always chilly for those of us from warm places and right at home to a Scot from the Shetlands :-) But really though it can get into the 20's C. it is often 18 and rainy even in what might otherwise be the height of summer. Weather in Milford sound is often cooler and rainy as well. We were cool and rain in Dunedin one day and baking in Christchurch the next on our Nov. cruise. Cool (22-23) and breezy in Christchurch in Feb of this year just before the quake The Tasman is a roll of the die on any given day. rough on one crossing smooth as glass the next. You really cannot predict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandielle Posted May 19, 2011 #24 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Very true. We have twice done the cruise, a year apart, at the end of February. One was a bit 'roughish' in places, the other as calm as a mill pond every single day from Brisbane back to Brisbane. Both times Fiordland and Dunedin were cold, but further north pleasant to a bit warm. Weather pretty good with some lovely sunny days. The rain was usually in the mornings and didn't prevent us doing what we wanted to. Just go when the time suits you and enjoy! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobhsv Posted May 20, 2011 #25 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Hi, Agree totally with Moyaroo and Sandielle. Coming from the UK, it won't be an issue for you, except that tours/sightseeing etc I would say would be more pleasant weather wise in their summer. Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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