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Trip Report NCL Jewel: Sydney to New Zealand


rsato
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My wife and I had a wonderful time visiting Sydney and sailing on the NCL Jewel roundtrip around New Zealand stopping at Melbourne, Milford/Doubtful/Dusky Sound, Dunedin, Akaroa, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, and Auckland. I thought I would share our trip diary with shore excursions to give prospective visitors some ideas for planning their trips:

 

rayandtraci.blogspot.com

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Enjoyed reading about your trip. Once suggestion from one writer to another: Don't write in third person. For a trip that you took, writing in 1st person would personalize it and bring out the person behind the words. Cheers.

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  • 9 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you Ray and Traci. Details on cruises on the Jewel in Australia and NZ are SCARCE! I really appreciated your report as I'll be on the Jewel in January 2020 departing Sydney (somewhat different itinerary though). 

What kind of research did you do about ports and excursions before you went? 

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21 hours ago, Shellbelle28 said:

Thank you Ray and Traci. Details on cruises on the Jewel in Australia and NZ are SCARCE! I really appreciated your report as I'll be on the Jewel in January 2020 departing Sydney (somewhat different itinerary though). 

What kind of research did you do about ports and excursions before you went? 

 

The reason reports on Jewel cruises in Aus/NZ are scarece is because she has only had one season (at a rough guess maybe 10-15 cruises) here.

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13 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

 

The reason reports on Jewel cruises in Aus/NZ are scarece is because she has only had one season (at a rough guess maybe 10-15 cruises) here.

Thanks GUT2407:

I didn't realize the itinerary was that new for NCL. I will have to poke around the boards from other lines that have been in the region longer and read about ports and excursions and what to do and where to stay in Sydney and Auckland before and after. NCL's excursion options seem limited so I think I may need to look at private tours.

Is it Princess that does the most in Aus/NZ? 

And finding a magic carpet to get there from the US without spending as much or more than the cruise fare! :classic_blink:

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48 minutes ago, Shellbelle28 said:

And finding a magic carpet to get there from the US without spending as much or more than the cruise fare!

 

You're flying a long way. It's bound to be expensive. There's no reason why the cost of the air travel should be comparable in any way to the amount you spend on the cruise once you get there, particularly if you book a short and/or cheap cruise.

 

Or, as they say, you can solve the problem by booking a more expensive cruise!

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40 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

You're flying a long way. It's bound to be expensive. There's no reason why the cost of the air travel should be comparable in any way to the amount you spend on the cruise once you get there, particularly if you book a short and/or cheap cruise.

 

Or, as they say, you can solve the problem by booking a more expensive cruise!

As you say, it's a long, expensive flight, so no point in wasting it on a short cruise! 

Our cruising "philosophy" is to save up and go less often, but spend on samething amazing. This 12-day Aus/NZ trip will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience! 

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8 hours ago, Shellbelle28 said:

Thanks GUT2407:

I didn't realize the itinerary was that new for NCL. I will have to poke around the boards from other lines that have been in the region longer and read about ports and excursions and what to do and where to stay in Sydney and Auckland before and after. NCL's excursion options seem limited so I think I may need to look at private tours.

Is it Princess that does the most in Aus/NZ? 

And finding a magic carpet to get there from the US without spending as much or more than the cruise fare! :classic_blink:

There are a few threads in Aus/NZ ports of call and Aus/NZ Cruisers that deal with hotels. When we cruise we normally stay Holiday Inn Old Sydney the Rocks, it is directly over the road from the Terminal. But that is just the one night. For a longer stay maybe one of the serviced apartments with a kitchenette and laundry would work better, or if you are a member f any of the loyalty groups look at that chain. Money no object, or points to help Park Hyatt at the Rocks is spectacular.

 

ask as well about Ports of Call, we generally just do our own thing in most ports.

 

princess, celebrity, P&O Australia, Royal Caribbean and Carnival are the lines that sail here the most, I’d say.

 

yeah I don’t envy that flight, not just the cost either but the distance.

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15 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

There are a few threads in Aus/NZ ports of call and Aus/NZ Cruisers that deal with hotels. When we cruise we normally stay Holiday Inn Old Sydney the Rocks, it is directly over the road from the Terminal. But that is just the one night. For a longer stay maybe one of the serviced apartments with a kitchenette and laundry would work better, or if you are a member f any of the loyalty groups look at that chain. Money no object, or points to help Park Hyatt at the Rocks is spectacular.

 

ask as well about Ports of Call, we generally just do our own thing in most ports.

 

princess, celebrity, P&O Australia, Royal Caribbean and Carnival are the lines that sail here the most, I’d say.

 

yeah I don’t envy that flight, not just the cost either but the distance.

I'm going to try to book all my business travel for the next year with Alaska Air, who are mileage partners with Quantas, Emirates and Singapore so I can try to use air miles for a bit of help.

I've read a lot about the Holiday Inn at the Rocks, sounds like an ideal spot to start from.

I found a website called Tours By Locals that looks promising for some decent excursion options. I have work colleagues in NZ that I'm hoping I can rope into being our personal guides LOL. 

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39 minutes ago, Shellbelle28 said:

I'm going to try to book all my business travel for the next year with Alaska Air, who are mileage partners with Quantas, Emirates and Singapore so I can try to use air miles for a bit of help.

I've read a lot about the Holiday Inn at the Rocks, sounds like an ideal spot to start from.

I found a website called Tours By Locals that looks promising for some decent excursion options. I have work colleagues in NZ that I'm hoping I can rope into being our personal guides LOL. 

Personal guides are the best. I’ve shown a few cruisers around my town.

 

Holiday In. Does have a laundry, I forgot. It is a bit old, but the location takes some beating the night before a cruise. You will embark at the Oversaes Passenger Terminal directly over the road. The roof top pool offers some wonderful views. And just a short walk to the ferry terminal and Opera House if you want to explore a bit more. We will be there just over seven weeks time, before our first trip in Jewel.

 

yep collecting points can help, defray those flight costs,

 

ive heard good things about tours with locals but never used them.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 12/30/2017 at 10:23 PM, rsato said:

My wife and I had a wonderful time visiting Sydney and sailing on the NCL Jewel roundtrip around New Zealand stopping at Melbourne, Milford/Doubtful/Dusky Sound, Dunedin, Akaroa, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, and Auckland. I thought I would share our trip diary with shore excursions to give prospective visitors some ideas for planning their trips:

 

rayandtraci.blogspot.com

I'm actually going on almost the same trip on Jan. 30, 2019. Our Jewel itinerary doesn't include Melbourne (which we'll go to afterwards, my Mom grew up there & we'll visit relatives), and does include Marlborough. But a terrific writeup & really helpful. I've also been on the Jewel in Alaska so your comments brought back great memories. Thanks!

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