New Zealand Cruises from Sydney Return recommendations ?

[BuzzBuzzen]

Hello, we are considering another round NZ cruise , after having completed one onboard Sea Princess in 2012. I am asking if anyone has a recommendation for another cruise line to sail with. We are getting adventurous and stepping out of the P&O , Princess comfort zone we are used to ! Thank you for any helpful suggestions , cheers Buzz :D

[dancinman66]

Hello, we are considering another round NZ cruise , after having completed one onboard Sea Princess in 2012. I am asking if anyone has a recommendation for another cruise line to sail with. We are getting adventurous and stepping out of the P&O , Princess comfort zone we are used to ! Thank you for any helpful suggestions , cheers Buzz :D

 

 

You have a few options as crystal, silver sea regularly do summer cruises there if you want real upmarket

Otherwise part of a Cunard world cruise may suit

 

Apart from that the other similar lines to princess I would suggest is royal Caribbean, celebrity or holland America

 

Hope that helps

Greg:)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[BuzzBuzzen]

It does help thanks Greg

[evanevanevans]

Hello, we are considering another round NZ cruise , after having completed one onboard Sea Princess in 2012. I am asking if anyone has a recommendation for another cruise line to sail with. We are getting adventurous and stepping out of the P&O , Princess comfort zone we are used to ! Thank you for any helpful suggestions , cheers Buzz :D

 

 

Hi there,

This may be of help ... its a link to the Dunedin port website that gives a list of cruise ships that will be stopping Dunedin (NZ south island) ... most of these will be touring NZ.

best of luck

EEE

 

http://www.portotago.co.nz/6/2.html

[icat2000]

Try Celebrity they do a Sydney to Auckland run.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The Sydney to Sydney return cruise is a popular one as you dont have to do any flying. lland America , Celebrity and Royal Caribbean do some throughout the season.

Sometimes if they do 2 cruises ,one after the other ,they will sell an Auckland to Auckland return cruise.

Now that my flying is limited , I too will be on the lookout for return cruises

 

.

[BuzzBuzzen]

Thanks Sarah and EEE , I had a look at 14 night NZ return from Sydney on the Oosterdam , seems an ok price.

[BuzzBuzzen]

Thanks David , I hadn't thought of a back to back Sydney to Auckland then Auckland to Sydney , great suggestion :) I found quite a few one way only cruises but not round trip on the other cruise lines.

[mr walker]

We did a 14N Syd-Syd NZ cruise Jan/Feb last year on RC Radiance - great trip and we thoroughly recommend it. Cruised the sounds & ports were Dunedin, Akaroa, Wellington, Tauranga, Auckland and Bay of Islands.

 

Happy cruising

[Bodogbodog]

Can we tempt you onto Crystal - V.4226 in November covers most of the NZ ports and ends up in Sydney

You won't be disappointed with Crystal :D

http://www.crystalcruises.com/australia-cruises/auckland-to-sydney--4226

 

It may drop in price after 30 April - I'm not sure what the current "loading level" is on it at the moment

[BuzzBuzzen]

Thank you Mr Walker and Bodogbodog, I had a quick look at RC before and hadn't even thought of Crystal , so great ideas !! My mouse clicker finger is getting worn out :)

[MicCanberra]

If you give Celebrity Solstice a try, I think you may be impressed.:D

[BuzzBuzzen]

Thanks MicCanberra , i was just reading the Celebrity forum entry from a man from Ohio , where you had made a few comments and answered a few questions,probably one of the best posts/photos I have seen , 17 pages so far , great reading/viewing. Another trip we are looking at is a 12 nighter up to Noumea, Fiji and Vanuatu on the Solstice it does look great. Looking at either a Concierge class or Aqua class room. I lean towards the Concierge but the boss leans towards the Aqua and its associated Spa benefits. I had originally booked a 16 night Pacific Pearl cruise to Norfolk Island etc, called the Bounty cruise , but the balcony cabin was $8300 and the Solstice 12 night trip was less than $5000 in a Concierge or about $400 more for an Aqua class. I cancelled the PP cruise !

[MicCanberra]

Thanks MicCanberra , i was just reading the Celebrity forum entry from a man from Ohio , where you had made a few comments and answered a few questions,probably one of the best posts/photos I have seen , 17 pages so far , great reading/viewing. Another trip we are looking at is a 12 nighter up to Noumea, Fiji and Vanuatu on the Solstice it does look great. Looking at either a Concierge class or Aqua class room. I lean towards the Concierge but the boss leans towards the Aqua and its associated Spa benefits. I had originally booked a 16 night Pacific Pearl cruise to Norfolk Island etc, called the Bounty cruise , but the balcony cabin was $8300 and the Solstice 12 night trip was less than $5000 in a Concierge or about $400 more for an Aqua class. I cancelled the PP cruise !

Wise decision I feel. Terry did a wondeful job with his live review. I haven't tried Aqua, but I have tried Concierge and was rather disappointed. IMO I really didn't think that the extras were value for money compared with a deluxe Balcony. The Spa benefits may tip things in Aqua's favour.:D

[nanwel]

Do not just compare price - I did Royal Voyageur in Feb, and was disappointed because we did very few ports, and very little time in port.

I should have paid more attention, and wish I had choosen a cruise with more ports and more time in each port.

My vacation was to see NZ, not just have a ship vacation - could have done that anywhere anytime.

Another thing is if your trips is not in hot weather, make sure it is a ship with a covered or enclosed adult pool - ours was open, and because the ship was cruising a good speed, the wind made the pool deck too cold to be of much use.

[woodyren]

Thanks MicCanberra , i was just reading the Celebrity forum entry from a man from Ohio , where you had made a few comments and answered a few questions,probably one of the best posts/photos I have seen , 17 pages so far , great reading/viewing. Another trip we are looking at is a 12 nighter up to Noumea, Fiji and Vanuatu on the Solstice it does look great. Looking at either a Concierge class or Aqua class room. I lean towards the Concierge but the boss leans towards the Aqua and its associated Spa benefits. I had originally booked a 16 night Pacific Pearl cruise to Norfolk Island etc, called the Bounty cruise , but the balcony cabin was $8300 and the Solstice 12 night trip was less than $5000 in a Concierge or about $400 more for an Aqua class. I cancelled the PP cruise !

 

Celebrity have some good deals along with the "Pick Your Perk" promo going at the moment. We cruised on the Relection last year which is a sister ship to the Solstice and it was great. I am looking to book either the late November or early December NZ cruise on the Solstice right now and would recommend Celebrity. I would prefer the Dec 9 cruise that returns from Auckland as it calls into Hobart on the return to Sydney while the outbound calls at Melbourne.

[Flipper133]

Celebrity have some good deals along with the "Pick Your Perk" promo going at the moment. We cruised on the Relection last year which is a sister ship to the Solstice and it was great. I am looking to book either the late November or early December NZ cruise on the Solstice right now and would recommend Celebrity. I would prefer the Dec 9 cruise that returns from Auckland as it calls into Hobart on the return to Sydney while the outbound calls at Melbourne.

 

Hi Woodyren

 

I agree the Celebrity deals for Solstice have been great. We are booked on the Dec 9th sailing and got a 1A balcony cabin on the hump for 2 adults and 2 children for $4k (Kids sail free). This included all contributions to staff wages (tips) and all Govt. and port charges. We picked the Classic Beverage Pac as our "perk" and managed to snare some great airfares from Bne to Auk on an Emirates Airbus A380 for about $750 for the 4 of us. Compared with a Syd/Syd cruise on a Sun class ship I'm about $3k in front.

 

Unfortunately, I and some others from the Roll Call, noticed that just last week the cruise prices went up about $600pp :eek:. This was on top of an increase in Port charges that were imposed in March.

 

If you move quickly you might find an agent that can still swing the lower fares for you, but that might be at the expense of not getting the PYP. (Some agents have a "group" allocation, but these are often exempted by Celebrity from some of the promos)

 

Best of luck

 

cheers

[MicCanberra]

Hi Woodyren

 

I agree the Celebrity deals for Solstice have been great. We are booked on the Dec 9th sailing and got a 1A balcony cabin on the hump for 2 adults and 2 children for $4k (Kids sail free). This included all contributions to staff wages (tips) and all Govt. and port charges. We picked the Classic Beverage Pac as our "perk" and managed to snare some great airfares from Bne to Auk on an Emirates Airbus A380 for about $750 for the 4 of us. Compared with a Syd/Syd cruise on a Sun class ship I'm about $3k in front.

 

Unfortunately, I and some others from the Roll Call, noticed that just last week the cruise prices went up about $600pp :eek:. This was on top of an increase in Port charges that were imposed in March.

 

If you move quickly you might find an agent that can still swing the lower fares for you, but that might be at the expense of not getting the PYP. (Some agents have a "group" allocation, but these are often exempted by Celebrity from some of the promos)

 

Best of luck

 

cheers

Great catch Flipper, enjoy the cruise and seeing as they are on the house, have several drinks for me.:D

[The_Big_M]

The Spa benefits may tip things in Aqua's favour.:D

 

Or maybe it's the complimentary bottle of water? :p

[MicCanberra]

Or maybe it's the complimentary bottle of water? :p

Plush robes as well.:D