Australia and New Zealand itineraries, etc.

[HappyCampers3]

Looking at cruises in the Australia and New Zealand region. So many itineraries, which brings on many questions, but let's first start with asking: what is your favorite itinerary? I see there are 3 different classes of RCCI ships currently sailing in the region, so does the class of ship or itinerary matter more to you?

[silentbob007]

I'm not sure where you are from OP, but when I did my Au/NZ tour, itinerary was the very most important part ... I was not sure if I would ever head back there, so I wanted to make sure I saw what was most important to me ... ships themselves get moved all of the time.

[cottagemama]

We book a cruise based on the itinery not the ship regardless of where it sails. We're doing our 2nd trip "Down Under" leaving next week :)

[debshomespun]

We are in the process of going to "Down Under" next Jan/Feb.

 

So far, we are flying to Sydney, spending 3 nights, then boarding Celebrity Solstice (jan. 27) for a 12 night cruise ending in Auckland. Then spending 3 nights in Auckland.

 

Flying to Melbourne for 3 nights to see that part of Australia. Then, fly back to Sydney, and spend another 3 nights. On 2-17, we will board RC Rhapsody for an 11 night up the coast of Australia with an overnight in Cairns, and a stop at Arlie Beach to be able to see the Great Barrier Reef.

 

We will be gone for about 6 weeks. I know we can't see it all at once, but we are trying to see as much as possible. I would love to add a cruise to the South Pacific islands at the beginning or end, but just not in the budget!

 

I booked the ships for their itinerary, so we could see both Australia and New Zealand.

[HappyCampers3]

We are in the process of going to "Down Under" next Jan/Feb.

 

So far, we are flying to Sydney, spending 3 nights, then boarding Celebrity Solstice (jan. 27) for a 12 night cruise ending in Auckland. Then spending 3 nights in Auckland.

 

Flying to Melbourne for 3 nights to see that part of Australia. Then, fly back to Sydney, and spend another 3 nights. On 2-17, we will board RC Rhapsody for an 11 night up the coast of Australia with an overnight in Cairns, and a stop at Arlie Beach to be able to see the Great Barrier Reef.

 

We will be gone for about 6 weeks. I know we can't see it all at once, but we are trying to see as much as possible. I would love to add a cruise to the South Pacific islands at the beginning or end, but just not in the budget!

 

I booked the ships for their itinerary, so we could see both Australia and New Zealand.

 

Sounds like a wonderful trip, and you're so lucky to have six weeks to do it!

[HappyCampers3]

I'm not sure where you are from OP, but when I did my Au/NZ tour, itinerary was the very most important part ... I was not sure if I would ever head back there, so I wanted to make sure I saw what was most important to me ... ships themselves get moved all of the time.

 

I suppose I should clarify why I asked about class of ship vs. itinerary....as the size of ship could limit the ports of call? I'm not wild about the long trip so doing it right the first time is important for me as well. What was your itinerary? And do you feel you did it right or would you have picked a different itinerary?

[HappyCampers3]

We book a cruise based on the itinery not the ship regardless of where it sails. We're doing our 2nd trip "Down Under" leaving next week :)

 

In your opinion, what is the best month to go 'down under'?

[CRUISEBOY305]

Looking at cruises in the Australia and New Zealand region. So many itineraries, which brings on many questions, but let's first start with asking: what is your favorite itinerary? I see there are 3 different classes of RCCI ships currently sailing in the region, so does the class of ship or itinerary matter more to you?

 

I just came back from New Zealand on Celebrity Solstice from Sydney to Auckland about a month ago. While I love and try to stay loyal to Royal, Celebrity (at the time I booked) had a much better Itinerary and much better price. A cruise like that, you want to make the most of. Also note, if you end up doing a cruise crossing the Tasman Sea, it can be very rough. Our cruise was.

[The_Big_M]

I suppose I should clarify why I asked about class of ship vs. itinerary....as the size of ship could limit the ports of call? I'm not wild about the long trip so doing it right the first time is important for me as well. What was your itinerary? And do you feel you did it right or would you have picked a different itinerary?

 

Yes, that is currently the case. Voyager is unable to visit tender ports that Rhapsody and Radiance can go, and Rhapsody is the most versatile of those two so can visit some ports Radiance can't.

 

If you're looking further out, it is expected Rhapsody will be replaced by a Voyager class vessel. Those are being refitted to enable tendering, so will be able to visit most places Rhapsody can.

 

Of course, tendering the larger numbers on Voyager may still not be as quick as Rhapsody but will still give you most of the flexibility.

[kccrzr]

Itinerary means more to us. We just returned from a 17 night Sydney to Perth cruise on Radiance which included 4 ports in New Zealand. We chose this itinerary because we got to experience several ports in both countries. Many (about 300 cruisers) were staying on for another 2+ weeks to circumnavigate Australia and end up back in Sydney - wish we could have for a number of reasons including the fact that the flights back from Perth were grueling. We already know we will want to return some day as we did not make it to Uluru or the Great Barrier Reef - but we were stretching it to be gone as long as we were.

 

Unless you have weeks and weeks, you need to first decide what is most important to you ship vs itinerary and which ports are must-dos for you. We had two tender ports and one port which required a shuttle to town unless you were on an excursion. We were able to use the CL and the concierge took us down for the first tender at both tender ports, which was a huge convenience.

 

As previously mentioned the Tasman Sea can be rough - we had average waves of 23 feet.

 

The weather there, like elsewhere, is fickle. There had been record high temperatures for weeks on end in Australia right before we arrived. We only had 4 days which were predominantly sunny and warm (not hot). If you go, plan to pack clothes which will layer.

 

This cruise definitely skewed to an older crowd - the "newlyweds" in the Love and Marriage Game Show had been married over 20 years! :eek:

[pattle66]

We circumnavigated Australia and New Zealand in October last year on Radiance. For that trip it was about the itinerary. Our next cruise has been chosen for the ship and we will be doing Fiji on Voyager.

 

We have completed many cruises including Hawaii, Caribbean, Baltic and Australia but have never been on a ship larger than a Radiance class and we decided the next cruise will be on a Voyager class ship. Given we live in Australia we have chosen Voyager out of Sydney. The downside to Voyager is it does not do as many ports as Rhapsody or Radiance but it will allow us to experience the Promenade!

 

FYI cruising Australia in October was a great time to cruise. We never had any rough seas at all!

[avalon007]

Hi,

 

I'm Australian & have cruised Radiance throughout the Pacific on 2 occasions & Voyager to NZ for 14 days.

 

But if you intend to include NZ with your Australian tour then try to go in our Summer (Dec - Feb) as NZ is usually quite a bit cooler than Sydney for example.

 

The Pacific islands are warm to hot during the 6 months that Royal sails there from Australia.

 

Northern Australia can be wet in mid Summer to Autumn due to the monsoon season.

 

Australia is basically the same size as the US lower 48 so you get a massive variation in weather zones at the same time. It can be snowing in the South & tropical weather in the North.

 

So far I prefer Radiance class over the Voyager class but enjoyed both.

 

We found the demographic older on the NZ cruise than the islands/trans Pacific cruise.

 

Hope that helps.:)

[HappyCampers3]

All of your comments have been very helpful...thank you for taking the time to write. I am a planner and love to research my travels well ahead of time...learning and having fun at the same time. Your comments have given me direction...thank you again! :)

[NorbertsNiece]

What a brilliant thread.

 

Jan / Feb 2016..... maybe.... bucket list destination for me.... 2015 already sewn up!

[impatientlywaiting]

All of your comments have been very helpful...thank you for taking the time to write. I am a planner and love to research my travels well ahead of time...learning and having fun at the same time. Your comments have given me direction...thank you again! :)

 

If you can, try and fly out to the Outback to see Uluru. You only need 2 nights out there since the only things out there are Uluru and Kata Juta. Well worth your time! :)

[Borgcruiser]

Itinerary means more to us. We just returned from a 17 night Sydney to Perth cruise on Radiance which included 4 ports in New Zealand. We chose this itinerary because we got to experience several ports in both countries. Many (about 300 cruisers) were staying on for another 2+ weeks to circumnavigate Australia and end up back in Sydney - wish we could have for a number of reasons including the fact that the flights back from Perth were grueling. We already know we will want to return some day as we did not make it to Uluru or the Great Barrier Reef - but we were stretching it to be gone as long as we were.

 

Unless you have weeks and weeks, you need to first decide what is most important to you ship vs itinerary and which ports are must-dos for you. We had two tender ports and one port which required a shuttle to town unless you were on an excursion. We were able to use the CL and the concierge took us down for the first tender at both tender ports, which was a huge convenience.

 

As previously mentioned the Tasman Sea can be rough - we had average waves of 23 feet.

 

The weather there, like elsewhere, is fickle. There had been record high temperatures for weeks on end in Australia right before we arrived. We only had 4 days which were predominantly sunny and warm (not hot). If you go, plan to pack clothes which will layer.

 

This cruise definitely skewed to an older crowd - the "newlyweds" in the Love and Marriage Game Show had been married over 20 years! :eek:

 

 

Thanks for the info , I'm doing your cruise in reverse this coming November.

[Borgcruiser]

oops duplicate

Edited March 6, 2014 by Borgcruiser

[HappyCampers3]

What a brilliant thread.

 

Jan / Feb 2016..... maybe.... bucket list destination for me.... 2015 already sewn up!

 

That is our time frame as well!! So lots of time to get this right! :)

[IHateSnow!]

For a "younger" couple (ok -under 40 :) ) what would you recommend? We're looking at potentially doing an Australian trip in a year or two. There are so many trips to choose from!

[Trekker954]

We are looking at the March 31 twelve night South Pacific islands. Do you think it will be getting too cool in April if we intend to swim at most ports?