Any reviews or info on Sydney to Bali cruise?

[alexandra cruiser]

or any Australia,NZ cruises? Starting to research this one and have never been on SS before,but itinerary looks interesting.

How far ahead to they sell out,usually.Thinking of next yr.

Thanks in advance .:)

[CanadianKate]

Did Syd to HKG in 2011. Beware it is rainy season so be prepared for rain each day. There was also sunshine but it got to the point when it finally didn't rain I was disappointed because I could no longer say it rained every day of my 28 day cruise!

 

We missed our day at the Great Barrier Reef because storms made it unsafe.

 

This was the year of the flooding in Brisbane and there was a train ride we wanted to do in Cairns that was canceled because the tracks were washed out.

 

We decided to race the bus back to the port in Darwin and basically made it back at the same time, except the heavens had opened and we were soaked.

 

Still, we had a lot of fun.

 

We are doing LA to Sydney via NZ leaving in a week. Hope we get better weather than the same cruise last year, but again, it will be rainy season so it will be what it will be.

[alexandra cruiser]

so guess you take your chance with the rain.Hope this yrs.better, do post a review with all the details.Have never been on SS before.Would you recommend this cruise,thinking of either Sydney to Bali,or to New Zealand.??:confused:

[CanadianKate]

I won't be able to answer that question for 5 weeks!

 

So far, I think my favourite SS cruise was up the west coast of Africa (Capetown to Barcelona.) But that might be because of the ship (Wind) and the wonderful cruise director (Colin). For the first segment we had more crew than passengers and the passengers formed a strong community, I think partly because the ports didn't lend themselves to going off and doing your own thing.

 

We enjoyed Sydney to Hong Kong but did our own thing in many of the ports, as we expect to do on this upcoming cruise (Hawaii and NZ lend themselves more to that than remote islands.)

[CanadianKate]

As for SS vs another line, I won't be able to answer that until April 2015. Our final RTW segment is Australia to South Africa and SS doesn't offer that route so we are on Crystal (I think - too lazy to go look it up.) I do know it is a bigger ship compared to SS and smaller cabin.

 

For value, I don't think anything beats SS. I'm a Walmart-sort-of-girl whose happens to travel extensively and not by back-packing so value is extremely important to me.

 

The only Luxury in my life is SS, the rest of my life is solidly middle-class so when SS passengers get into a debate about what brand of gate works best around their home, I'm out of my depth, and yes, that really happened at dinner one night! I'm looking to travel with interesting people and nothing I've experienced has come close to SS for that. As I said, I haven't yet traveled with other luxury lines, except Tauck, where the passengers and the lack of sea days - it was a river cruise - disappointed but the line blew SS out of the water for quality of tours. Still, I hesitate to return to Tauck because I love SS so much.

 

We've made terrific friends on our cruises so the value and the known quality of the fellow passengers is what makes SS my first choice when looking to cruise somewhere.

[RachelG]

We are doing Auckland to Melbourne on Spirit in Feb 2015. Very much looking forward to it, though not looking forward to the long plane ride.

[alexandra cruiser]

Rachael,thats the one I m looking at too.

 

Read about your DH,mine threw his 1 suit out,would have to just wear jacket and tie,and eat ot grill or la terraza,right?Or room service.

 

Not looking forward to flight,but must take business due my poor legs(boo hoo).Will be very expensive, but once in a lifetime.On my bucket list.

Was thinking of pacific islands,but for 3 hrs more can be in Australia.;)

[CanadianKate]

Look into Air New Zealand's premium economy. That's what we are doing for the flight back from Sydney. I'll let you know on Valentine's day (or a day or two later when I regain my sense of time & space) whether or not they are an alternative.

 

Our plan is PE Auckland to LA, an overnight at the airport there to stretch out and recover, then back to eastern Canada in Economy (I can manage economy for up to 5 hours at a time.)

[KaraokeQueen]

I did this segment last February on Crystal. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to catch up to the ship in Brisbane. Missed Sydney and seeing friends we had made plans with. Brisbane is a terrific city for walking. The Great Barrier Reef was definitely a highlight. We snorkeled two days in a row, once from Cairns and the other from Hamilton Island. Both were fabulous excursions booked through the ship. The only negative was we had to depart the ship at like 5:00 a.m from Hamilton Isl. Darwin is a port of call I didn't care for. My Husband and I each selected different excursions and both of us were disappointed.

 

Bali is beautiful. We opted to tour privately and that was a great experience. We were doing a B2B and had two full days. One day was spent touring the

John Hardy (Jewelry) compound and having lunch on site. This needs to be pre-arranged. I have been a huge collector for 25 years so it was a wonderful experience for me. The island itself is exotic and lush.

 

Considering New Zealand is also a trip you can't go wrong. It is a beautiful country. Clean and friendly.

 

Have fun choosing :)

[RachelG]

We will defi til be in business class. Trying to figure options using miles.

 

We had a similar trip planned 8 years ago, tickets and everything. Then the oldest son up and joined the Marine Corps, and the trip was right at when he graduated boot camp, so couldn't do it. Now we are on again!

[alexandra cruiser]

from Auckland to Sydney of this year is NOT OFFERED next yr.That s the one I wanted,now switched to 11 day.May either wait till following yr and SEE if it comes back.Or look at other lines.THAT ONE looked the best,boo hoo.

But will look forward to the reviews of this yrs.cruise.;)

[Geo3543]

Auckland to Sydney or Sydney to Bali or Singapore are all great. Been down under 8 times via SS. Book early!

Occasional specials on flights -keep checking for them online. Singapore to Newark direct is great for return flight if convenient.

[wripro]

Singapore to Newark nonstop is going away in October, I believe.

[Multicruise]

We did this cruise last year. Loved it. A couple of highlights. The excursion up the Adelaide River to visit the jumping crocodiles was great. Likewise the Komodo Island visit to see the dragons was something you won't see anywhere else. Have to admit though that it was a bit touristy.