Weather for Australia & New Zealand & Which Cruiseline to Use

[supersecdd]

We are thinking of seeing all of Australia and the regular New Zealand ports in May or September. Has anyone gone there then and can tell me about the weather? We are in Florida but love the mountains and cool weather and don't want to travel in their summer.

Also, we have been on Holland America, NCL, Regent and mostly Celebrity. What cruise line have you enjoyed in Australia and New Zealand?

Also, have many of you done a B2B with Australia and, if so, where to?

Thanks.

Debbie

Florida

[Opua Kiwi]

I don't think you will find much in the way of NZ cruises in either May or September.

 

The normal season is October till April.

[GUT2407]

Not sure what you mean by all of Australia.

 

But in Oct/Nov 2015 we did a cruise that circumnavigated Aus and the South island of NZ. 34 days in Total, temps ranged from mid 30s in Darwin (plus humidity to kill) and Bali, to 3 in Dunedin.

 

We had rain and shine.

 

Not sure what else you can expect, I guess if the itinerary was revered it may have been lower in NZ an higher in the North.

Edited January 25, 2016 by GUT2407

[MicCanberra]

I recommend a celebrity Solstice cruise that goes across to NZ and around to Tasmania and Melbourne and then perhaps a Queensland coastal cruise that takes in the Great Barrier Reef both out of Sydney. October/November or March/April will likely suit you weather wise if you prefer the cooler months of the cruise season as these are Spring and Autumn here. NZ will be much cooler than Australia, especially if you go north to Queensland.:D

[sun-set]

We are thinking of seeing all of Australia and the regular New Zealand ports in May or September. Has anyone gone there then and can tell me about the weather? We are in Florida but love the mountains and cool weather and don't want to travel in their summer.

Also, we have been on Holland America, NCL, Regent and mostly Celebrity. What cruise line have you enjoyed in Australia and New Zealand?

Also, have many of you done a B2B with Australia and, if so, where to?

Thanks.

Debbie

Florida

 

We cruised around Australia and New Zealand on the Sea Princess in October and November, (Sydney to Sydney) it was easily the best cruise we have had.

[sonia2509]

 

Remember Australia is a very big country. You can do a cruise around Australia and you would only get a small taste of what our beautiful country has to offer but then you can come back and see more in detail the areas you would like to see more. Queensland is like Florida were there is very high humidity in our summer December to February and I would definitely not visit during these months but that is the best time to see New Zealand

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MicCanberra]

I like the outline of Australia over the map to illustrate the size.

[sonia2509]

My sister posted it on Facebook this morning as her son lives in Florida he married a local girl from Jacksonville. Go the Gators!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[OzKiwiJJ]

I would suggest starting in NZ in late February / early March. This is the best time of year for visiting NZ. As mentioned above there are no NZ cruises over our winter months.

 

Do some touring by land there, such as driving from Christchurch to Queenstown via Mt Cook, and then coming back up the West Coast which will show you areas that you won't see on a cruise. In the North Island you could go up to the Bay of Islands if your cruise doesn't go there, or the Coromandel Peninsula. You could even drive from Wellington up to Auckland through the centre of the North Island.

 

Then do a cruise from Auckland to Sydney - as someone else mentioned Celebrity Solstice do one way cruises NZ to Australia and vice versa. These are typically 12 day cruises.

 

Once you are in Sydney, spend a few days sightseeing. Then you will need to fly to any other parts of Australia that you wish to see - Uluru, Cairns / Port Douglas for the Great Barrier Reef, etc.

 

If time and finances permit you might want to do a cruise to the Pacific Islands as well. There are quite a few 8-9 day cruises to this region.

 

At that time of year the weather in NZ will be pleasantly warm although you could get some cool days, in Australia warm to hot, and it will also be very pleasant in the South Pacific.

Edited January 26, 2016 by OzKiwiJJ

[cassamanda]

Looks like the OP was actually posing the question to American cruisers.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Looks like the OP was actually posing the question to American cruisers.

 

Then why did they post it on the AUS/NZ forum? ;)

[markarmel]

Hello. If I were you I'd go with Royal Carribean. Radiance,Voyager or Explorer are over here in our cruise season and you cant go wrong with any of them. We have cruised with HAL,RCL and Princess and in Australia Royal Carribean would be our choice.

[cassamanda]

Then why did they post it on the AUS/NZ forum? ;)

 

Dont know but just looked at the tense in which the question was posed. Eg ".....dont want to travel in their summer"

[OzKiwiJJ]

Dont know but just looked at the tense in which the question was posed. Eg ".....dont want to travel in their summer"

 

Perhaps they don't realise that real Aussies and real Kiwis chat on this forum. ;) :p :D

[sonia2509]

Perhaps they don't realise that real Aussies and real Kiwis chat on this forum. ;) :p :D

 

Thank you! I think we know our countries the best [emoji2]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited January 26, 2016 by sonia2509

[cassamanda]

Anyway the OP is out of luck cruising NZ in May or September - no ships and too cold. Best woukd be early March followed by a circumnav of Australia with either Royal, Celebrity or Princess.

[MicCanberra]

I would definitely go with X and perhaps the OP just had a typo for 'their'.:D