Experience w/ New Zealand private tours?

[happyyaya]

Doing Celebrity back-to-backs in 2016: Singapore to Sydney (traveling around Australia; lvs Singapore 10/31) and then Sydney round-trip (lvs 11/14) which travels around New Zealand.

 

Does anyone have experience with private excursions in New Zealand? Ship excursions are quite costly. Any suggestions of reputable companies -- dependable to get back to ship on time -- would be most appreciated.

[donaldsc]

Check on TripAdvisor on specific tours.

 

DON

[az_tchr]

Also look at the roll call for your ship. That is where private tours get organized and filled.

[Mr. Click]

We did Australia/New Zealand in Nov and enjoyed some very nice private tours and some that were not so nice. Coast 2 Coast in Auckland was great, EyeSeeTasmania in Hobart was beyond great. Good Company in Dunedin was not so great. We were supposed to be a small group but they combined a bunch of smaller groups and stuck us on a big bus. Simon at Learning Journeys in Toranga was was great. Small group, very comfortable MB Sprinter to see the geysers, Maori Cultural Center and on the the Hobbiton. One note on Dunedin, if you want to do the train ride Celebrity's deal is worth the price. We made the mistake on that one of trying to save some $$$ and booked Good Company to take us to the train station and then a tour of the town afterwards. When the ship's arrival time was pushed back Good Company opted to bus all the way out to the end of train line so we could take it back one way only... The bus ride was long and noisy. By the time we got back to town on the train I felt like we had missed a lot of the views only seeing them once and we decided to walk around town on our own and just take cab back to the ship rather than two more hours on the bus riding around in circles... All of that said, check the ports of call boards here and your roll call too.

[OhioCruiseDog]

We did Tours by Locals in Dunedin and it was wonderful. Our guide was Claudie and she goes all over New Zealand, I think. We saw the sights, hiked past sea lions to the beach, visited the castle at Larchmont, etc..

In Tauranga, we had a group and used Zealandia and they were also exceedingly good. We saw the Kiwis, the glow worm caves and took a short nature walk.

I strongly recommend both.

Some ports had vendors lined up as we got off the ship.

 

There were other tours that looked good on Trip Advisor, but those are the ones we took.

 

Ohiodoglover

[desert2lover]

We were on the Nov. cruise as well. We had Mark with Awesome Tours in

Dunedin and it was excellent! We also did Eyesee Tasmania with Judy and

very much enjoyed the day in Hobart. Hinterland Tours in Tauranga was

wonderful too. No complaints here.

 

Deanna

[AntjeG]

I was in NZ last year on board Solstice. My review is in my signature. Here is what I did:

 

Dunedin:

Tairi Gorge Train and Dunedin City Tour

Booked with Head First Travel. They were great. We docked late so didn´t make it in time for the train. Head First took us (serveral people from the cc roll call) by bus to Pukerangi were we were able to board the train. The bus tour had commentary and we took a scenic road. We paid about half the price Celebrity charges for the Tairi Gorge Train tour.

 

Akaroa:

I went on the Scenic Mail Run. A very unique tour which I highly recommend. The local postman takes up to 8 guests with him when he delivers mail in the area. You go up the hills and down to the beach, you meet local people and you go on roads no big tourbus can take. A home made snack is included in the tour. He picks you up at the tender pier. After the tour you have time to walk the village or go back on the next tender to the ship.

It is a little risk because Akaroa is a tender port. You really need to catch the first tender boat or you´ll miss the tour. Due to regulations by New Zealand Post the postman is not allowed to wait for you if you are late. Also, there is a no refund poliy. So if you don´t make it or your ship misses the port you loose your money.

I was in line for a tender ticket more than 1 hour before the announced time and was assigned to tender No. 1.

 

Tauranga:

I was booked on a tour to Rotorua with Zealandiertours. Due to wind we were not able to dock. Zealandiertours refunded my money in full the next day without me even having to ask for it. So I can not comment on the quality of their tours but I can say that they keep their promise for a full refund if your ship doesn´t visit the port.

 

Wellington:

I took the Hop on hop off bus which I liked. The botanical garden is beautiful. There are several companies who do tours related to film studios. Te Papa National Museum of New Zealand was very very interesting. They have history, Maori, nature and special exhibitions.

 

Bay of Islands:

I took the Celebrity tour to the Hokianga/Waipoua forest which was pricey but very good. DIY you can walk the Waitangi treaty grounds from the tender pier and take a local shuttle bus.

 

Auckland:

There is a Hop on hop off bus which I took and liked very much. Don´t miss a visit to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. They have art collections, natural history collections, NZ history collection, Maori collection and there is a Maori cultural performance several times a day. They sell packages with guided tours and entrance to the performances. I also went on the Sky Tower observation platform which gives nice views. The ferry terminal is right beside the cruise pier so a ferry ride to Devenport gives you nice view on the city skyline, too. You can also book harbour cruises or a ferry to Waiheke island there.