best cruise around NZ

[clintjake]

Wondering what people may consider from experience the best (in terms of ports visited and price) for a 2 week cruise from Sydney around Jan 2015. for 2 seniors plus 2 grandchildren 15 & 12. :)What ship and cabins etc.

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

Clintj, I had a work colleague just do this cruise, they loved it. Will ask them who they went with & what cabin. Had another work mate on Sea Princess doing thNZ trip. They loved it too. :)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Wondering what people may consider from experience the best (in terms of ports visited and price) for a 2 week cruise from Sydney around Jan 2015. for 2 seniors plus 2 grandchildren 15 & 12. :)What ship and cabins etc.

 

You would need to decide if you want to do a Sydney/Sydney cruise or a one way cruise either Syd/Ak or Ak/Syd. The one way cruise would include a flight and perhaps a pre/post cruise stay.Ships around that time would include , Holland Americas Oosterdam which does a Syd rtn cruise, and Diamond Princess and Celebrity Solstice which do the one way cruises.

 

[Australian family]

We have been on the Oosterdam and it is good, would recommend a balcony for the 4 of you, which we have had. Not much more than an outside cabin.

[TLCOhio]

Wondering what people may consider from experience the best (in terms of ports visited and price) for a 2 week cruise from Sydney around Jan 2015. for 2 seniors plus 2 grandchildren 15 & 12. :)What ship and cabins etc.

 

Good questions!! We are now less than three weeks till we will be boarding the Celebrity Solstice in super spectacular Sydney harbor for our Jan. 20-Feb. 3 Sydney to Auckland cruise. For our Jan. 9 flight out, it's only one week away. Doing Cairns and Adelaide/Kangaroo Island prior to our cruise. Getting closer!!

 

I'll be doing a live/blog on the Celebrity board with lots of pictures, travel details that might be helpful in considering the Solstice. Don't know that I'll get 100K+ in views like on our last two cruises, but it is fun sharing, getting good comments and questions, etc. Below you can see much on the Solstice, its features, etc.

 

Ours is a 14-day cruise, allowing a couple more NZ stops than just what some other 12-day cruises offer.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 156,987 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[clintjake]

Good questions!! We are now less than three weeks till we will be boarding the Celebrity Solstice in super spectacular Sydney harbor for our Jan. 20-Feb. 3 Sydney to Auckland cruise. For our Jan. 9 flight out, it's only one week away. Doing Cairns and Adelaide/Kangaroo Island prior to our cruise. Getting closer!!

 

I'll be doing a live/blog on the Celebrity board with lots of pictures, travel details that might be helpful in considering the Solstice. Don't know that I'll get 100K+ in views like on our last two cruises, but it is fun sharing, getting good comments and questions, etc. Below you can see much on the Solstice, its features, etc.

 

Ours is a 14-day cruise, allowing a couple more NZ stops than just what some other 12-day cruises offer.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 156,987 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

Thanks for the replies so far.

[Flipper133]

Wondering what people may consider from experience the best (in terms of ports visited and price) for a 2 week cruise from Sydney around Jan 2015. for 2 seniors plus 2 grandchildren 15 & 12. :)What ship and cabins etc.

 

Hi CJ

We have cruised NZ a few times. Twice on Sapphire Princess (sister to Diamond) and once on Sun Princess. We have also cruised on Celebrity Solstice (Perth - Syd) which does the NZ cruises as well. As already noted, the larger ships (Diamond/Solstice) only do a one way cruise. They do however include Melbourne and Hobart, usually Wellington, but omit Napier. Princess operates the Sun, Dawn and Sea on return cruises from Bne/Syd/Melb and visit usual NZ East Coast cities of Dunedin, Akaroa, Wellington, Napier Tauranga and Auckland. The cruise ex Sydney also goes to the Bay of Islands.

 

We are also travelling with Granddaughter on a cruise next month...first time it has been more than just the two of us...but very much looking forward to it. There are of course additional things to look out for when travelling with children, and I wonder if the additional hassles of catching flights would be worthwhile.

 

I like the Solstice, and they have good deals on her cruises...but still an American ship with US$ as onboard currency.

 

Overall, my recommendation would be to do your NZ cruise on the Sun Princess. She had a big re-furb last year and now sails out of Sydney (used to be that the SunP was based in Bne). Nothing better than sailing out of Sydney Harbour - but I probably don't have to tell you that.

 

You might have to move quickly to get a quad cabin for school holidays - they apparently sell out quickly. (just looked and already there is very limited availability) If you can I would recommend a cabin towards the front. Its closer to the buffet and we found it very convenient - as would the kids. My favourite is Riveria Deck. Its the highest on the ship, and the cabin area opens out (via a lobby area) onto the pool deck. Very convenient.

 

We have always liked to book a balcony cabin, but for 4 that starts to become a bit expensive....but if you can stretch it that is the way to go in my view. An ocean view (window) cabin would be next best ... and after all you do spend a great deal of time out of you cabin.

 

Enjoy your planning and then your cruise. I am sure the grand kids will add enormously to your enjoyment

 

cheers

[goodycruising]

I have heard here that booking a balcony plus an inside on the opposite side of the corridor can be good value, and you get 2 bathrooms and a bit of space for people that might want to sleep earlier or later. I believe the booking needs to have an adult booked for each cabin, but you can work out your sleeping arrangements how you want, particularly if they are right across the hall.

 

The cost of three of four to a room seems a bit steep to me sometimes, as you pay a fair amount per person. Some travel agents don't even put this option forward. It depends how your family dynamic is of course.

 

We have sailed on Voyager of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas. I would recommend either. My preference is for Radiance as I like all the glass in the public areas and you get lots of light and can sit in many areas and watch the sea go by. Some love Voyager with its inside Promenade restaurant and shops area.

 

Any cruise that does Milford and the other Sounds is a must have on my checklist. It is very magical. The kids may like to do a tour that takes in the Hobbit stuff, but I have no idea about that. Remember when you do a tour in New Zealand that the roads are windy in many areas, and we have found a rule of thumb is that 200kms is about 3 hours travel. Whereas in Aus we go by 100kms per hour for most travelling around the highways. We did have one bus driver in NZ that went over the Kaimai Pass near Tauranga at 100 kms per hour on a heavily rainy night. I am not inot that sort of adventure and did not like it!

 

The beach at Tauranga/Mount Maunganui is spectacular. It is a very long stretch, several kms long. Many people hop in a coach and spend hours travelling to and from Rotorua and miss one of the most beautiful sights in the world.

 

Enjoy your trip, any trip to NZ would be great in my opinion!

[whimsy7]

our first cruise was to new zealand on the sun princess. it was great!

the sun princess is a smaller ship but good for us on our first cruise.

our itinerary had 13 nights from sydney. once we reached new zealand, we were in a new port/area every morning for 8 nights. we enjoyed this as we had a new place to check out every day!

do go to see the fiordlands......such a beautiful area.....

our day in milford sound and the other sounds was the highlight of our trip.

we love the food on the princess line (have just done another cruise with princess)

we went in february and had an inside cabin.

[alexandra cruiser]

Good questions!! We are now less than three weeks till we will be boarding the Celebrity Solstice in super spectacular Sydney harbor for our Jan. 20-Feb. 3 Sydney to Auckland cruise. For our Jan. 9 flight out, it's only one week away. Doing Cairns and Adelaide/Kangaroo Island prior to our cruise. Getting closer!!

 

I'll be doing a live/blog on the Celebrity board with lots of pictures, travel details that might be helpful in considering the Solstice. Don't know that I'll get 100K+ in views like on our last two cruises, but it is fun sharing, getting good comments and questions, etc. Below you can see much on the Solstice, its features, etc.

 

Ours is a 14-day cruise, allowing a couple more NZ stops than just what some other 12-day cruises offer.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 156,987 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

Looked at Celebrity,but the large size turned us off.Know you took Silverseas to Norway,right?Was looking at Seabourn,SS,or Regent.Maybe you can point out the differences,pros and cons?

Just in research process and trying to find out all the details.

Not till next yr,or maybe 2016 so plenty of time.

Any details would be appreciated,loved your previous photos and blogs in past.Thanks in advance.

[bazshirl2]

Wondering what people may consider from experience the best (in terms of ports visited and price) for a 2 week cruise from Sydney around Jan 2015. for 2 seniors plus 2 grandchildren 15 & 12. :)What ship and cabins etc.

We are doing the same out of Melbourne in Jan 2015 with our daughter and her husband and kids.Total 7. We have booked 2 outside cabins on a lower deck as a little more stable lower and seas can be rough across the ditch.

We are on the Dawn Princess but travelled late last year on the Sun which is identical in size. We did northern Australia on the Sun and have been to NZ on the Dawn before. Can recommend the Sun and you may be aware Princess have a sale on that includes your proposed travel time . It ends 28/2.

Agree cabins for 3 and 4 are limited and with school hols you probably need to act soon.

Good luck.:)