Auckland disembark tour question

[adstz]

Yes, I will post this in Australia/New Zealand section also. But this question is particular to Princess.

We finish an Australia land tour and New Zealand cruise (January 2018) in Auckland and fly home that night. I am looking at taking the Princess disembarkation tour that day that goes to the museum for about 4 hours. The tour states that they return you to the ship. I have some questions -

1) Do they store your luggage at the terminal or do they take it on the bus?

2) Do they then have a bus to the airport that I can purchase?

They are not currently selling a tour that day that ends at the airport. My travel agent has asked Princess but they don't know the answer.

I'm sure there is someone out there with the experience to know the answer.

Thanks as always for the help.

[easyboy]

On the Princess website, the Debark Tour - Auckland Highlights With Museum states on SPECIAL NOTES that:

 

"FOR VOYAGES ENDING IN AUCKLAND

This tour is available for passengers staying at a Cruise Plus Hotel or with a Princess transfer disembarking in Auckland and departing on the same day with flights after 3:00pm. The tour will end at the airport; passenger baggage will be transported separately and claimed at the airport.

 

Passengers with Princess Air should book a customized air flight ticket to be sure they can participate on a tour the day of disembarkation. Passengers without a customized air flight may not be booked on a flight which will permit them to participate on a tour on the day of disembarkation."

 

http://www.princess.com/excursion/exDetails.do?t=Z&exType=S&tourCode=AKL-970

Also click the "Show All Itinerary Details".

[Kartgv]

It sounds like that particular tour is geared towards B2B passengers rather than disembarking passengers. It's unlikely that Princess would provide shuttle busses to the airport later in the day. I would not book a tour this early for a January 2018 tour, as it's possible they will still add tours that would fit your needs better. On our last trip there, we ended up spending one night in Auckland - a nice way to see a little of the city and catch our breath before flying home.

 

Edit: Wrote this before seeing Easyboy's post, so it looks like he's given you good information.

[kiwi sailor]

The Auckland Port is right in the city. A cheaper option might be to catch the Auckland Explorer Hop On Hop Off Bus, but it is NZ$45 each, so if there was two of you, it would be cheaper to take a taxi (approx $20). The Museum is only 12 minutes (4.3kms) drive from Princes Wharf. I'm pretty sure the Ferry Terminal (next to Princes Wharf) has Luggage Lockers. The Britomart Rail Centre (also close to the Ferry Terminal) does have them, but there is major renovations going on there with the new inner city rail line being constructed, so access is a bit more difficult.

Getting out to the airport from Downtown is easy. The SKY Bus departs every 10 minutes and is only NZ$18 per person. it departs from Customs Street in Downtown. 5 minutes walk from the Ferry Terminal if you store your bags there.

Hope this helps and enjoy your time in beautiful Auckland - Home of the Americas Cup.

John

[adstz]

On the Princess website, the Debark Tour - Auckland Highlights With Museum states on SPECIAL NOTES that:

 

"FOR VOYAGES ENDING IN AUCKLAND

This tour is available for passengers staying at a Cruise Plus Hotel or with a Princess transfer disembarking in Auckland and departing on the same day with flights after 3:00pm. The tour will end at the airport; passenger baggage will be transported separately and claimed at the airport.

 

Passengers with Princess Air should book a customized air flight ticket to be sure they can participate on a tour the day of disembarkation. Passengers without a customized air flight may not be booked on a flight which will permit them to participate on a tour on the day of disembarkation."

 

http://www.princess.com/excursion/exDetails.do?t=Z&exType=S&tourCode=AKL-970

Also click the "Show All Itinerary Details".

Thanks for this but when I go on my cruise personalizer and look at excursions, this doesn't show. The excursion I am looking at is AKL 295. Yours is 970. Maybe that's the difference?

[partybarbie]

I'm booked on the Diamond in February of 2018. We have our choice of booking two different disembarkation tours. The one that goes to the museum, #970 says this:

 

FOR VOYAGES ENDING IN AUCKLAND

This tour is available for passengers staying at a Cruise Plus Hotel or with a Princess transfer disembarking in Auckland and departing on the same day with flights after 3:00pm. The tour will end at the airport; passenger baggage will be transported separately and claimed at the airport.

 

Passengers with Princess Air should book a customized air flight ticket to be sure they can participate on a tour the day of disembarkation. Passengers without a customized air flight may not be booked on a flight which will permit them to participate on a tour on the day of disembarkation.

 

There is approximately 2,600 feet (less than half-mile) of walking at the Auckland Museum. Photos taken at the museum must be for personal use only; tripods are not permitted. For security reasons backpacks and other large hand-carry items are not allowed into the museum.

The one that goes to the aquarium and sky tower, #975 says this:

 

 

This tour is available for passengers staying at a Cruise Plus Hotel or with a Princess transfer disembarking in Auckland and departing on the same day with flights after 7:00pm. The tour will end at the airport at approximately 4:30pm.

 

Passengers with Princess Air should book a customized air flight ticket to be sure they can participate on a tour the day of disembarkation. Passengers without a customized air flight may not be booked on a flight which will permit them to participate on a tour on the day of disembarkation.

 

There is an approximately 100-yard walk to the Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium entrance, and about 15 steps upon exiting.

 

Flash Photography is not permitted at Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium. Please note that your visit at Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium will be unguided.

Since the second, longer tour, doesn't mention the luggage, I'm guessing it will be on the bus with us. For the first, shorter tour, it seems that the luggage gets to the airport a different way.

 

Since you know the tour numbers, I would call Princess again and have them try and book you on the tour that you desire. I don't think that tour #295 is going to work for you if you need it to end at the airport.

Edited July 8, 2017 by partybarbie

[adstz]

I'm booked on the Diamond in February of 2018. We have our choice of booking two different disembarkation tours. The one that goes to the museum, #970 says this:

 

FOR VOYAGES ENDING IN AUCKLAND

This tour is available for passengers staying at a Cruise Plus Hotel or with a Princess transfer disembarking in Auckland and departing on the same day with flights after 3:00pm. The tour will end at the airport; passenger baggage will be transported separately and claimed at the airport.

 

Passengers with Princess Air should book a customized air flight ticket to be sure they can participate on a tour the day of disembarkation. Passengers without a customized air flight may not be booked on a flight which will permit them to participate on a tour on the day of disembarkation.

 

There is approximately 2,600 feet (less than half-mile) of walking at the Auckland Museum. Photos taken at the museum must be for personal use only; tripods are not permitted. For security reasons backpacks and other large hand-carry items are not allowed into the museum.

The one that goes to the aquarium and sky tower, #975 says this:

 

 

This tour is available for passengers staying at a Cruise Plus Hotel or with a Princess transfer disembarking in Auckland and departing on the same day with flights after 7:00pm. The tour will end at the airport at approximately 4:30pm.

 

Passengers with Princess Air should book a customized air flight ticket to be sure they can participate on a tour the day of disembarkation. Passengers without a customized air flight may not be booked on a flight which will permit them to participate on a tour on the day of disembarkation.

 

There is an approximately 100-yard walk to the Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium entrance, and about 15 steps upon exiting.

 

Flash Photography is not permitted at Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium. Please note that your visit at Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium will be unguided.

Since the second, longer tour, doesn't mention the luggage, I'm guessing it will be on the bus with us. For the first, shorter tour, it seems that the luggage gets to the airport a different way.

 

Since you know the tour numbers, I would call Princess again and have them try and book you on the tour that you desire. I don't think that tour #295 is going to work for you if you need it to end at the airport.

 

Thank you for the reply. I don't have any tours on my list in the 900's except private guided tours. Guess I'll just wait to see if things change.

[partybarbie]

Thank you for the reply. I don't have any tours on my list in the 900's except private guided tours. Guess I'll just wait to see if things change.

 

Hopefully they will show up for you. Most of our tours have been available for a few months, but the disembarkation tours only showed up recently, in the past two weeks.

[adstz]

For those who are still waiting to go on the Sun Princess from Auckland and want to know about disembarkation tours.

 

Princess provided NO DISEMBARKATION tours to those of us getting off in Auckland. If you got off in Sydney there were plenty.

 

The only thing offered by Princess was a bus to the airport leaving at 9 am. My flight wasn't til 8 pm so that left me plenty of time to take a tour if offered. I talked to a number of people who would have loved a tour of the city and perhaps a stop at a museum before heading to the airport.

 

PRINCESS DROPPED THE BALL BIG TIME!

 

We were not happy at all about the lack of tours. It turned out well enough. We got off the ship, stored our luggage, spent the day on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus (and went to the museum), took the Sky Bus to the airport and got there in plenty of time. Had a great time on our own.