Cruising the 3 SOUNDS in NZ

[jshli]

Yes it is the same excursion. Thank you for the information.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Majestic Princess cruised the fiords yesterday Here is a map of the track she took from the Marine Traffic AIS website. This is the same track that all major cruise ships take .through the National Park .

 

[Hapylady]

How about November? Am looking at cruises in November but I am flexible. 

[GUT2407]

29 minutes ago, Hapylady said:

How about November? Am looking at cruises in November but I am flexible. 

We did them November it was spectacular, the cruise behind us (by a day or two) missed out due to sea conditions. It really is the luck of the draw.

[hvbaskey]

On 1/28/2019 at 1:15 PM, Cellagirl said:

Most New Zealand cruises have three sound cruising days plus sea days which seem a lot to me.  Are the cruising Sound days not to be missed?  Would love feed back from all the experts on these boards.  It will greatly help with our visit to this area.

 

Cruising Fiordland was one of the top highlights of our Auckland --> Sydney Cruise (via the Celebrity Solstice).  My blog review with photos, stories, etc. of such an exceptional day is here:

https://baskeytravels.com/fiordland-the-sounds-of-nz/

I still wish to add more info / photos, but until then - it will give you a general idea.

Heather

[happycruiser3]

16 hours ago, hvbaskey said:

 

Cruising Fiordland was one of the top highlights of our Auckland --> Sydney Cruise (via the Celebrity Solstice).  My blog review with photos, stories, etc. of such an exceptional day is here:

https://baskeytravels.com/fiordland-the-sounds-of-nz/

I still wish to add more info / photos, but until then - it will give you a general idea.

Heather

Spectacular Heather, thank you for posting the link, hope you had a great cruise.

 

We've done this area six times by cruise ship, it's always spectacular, but so lovely when the sun is shining.

 

😎

[Host Bonjour]

I was down in South Island in April and the weather was spectacular in Christchurch, Ashburton, Hokatika, Dunedin, I was all over the island but the weather is different all over the island though I was lucky on the west coast the rain had let up.

 

And while it was sunny and mild in the day in Dunedin, as the sun went down it really, really was COLD. I was on the water for an incredible wildlife day tour of the Otago Peninsula - albatross, seals and penguins up close - and didn't need much more than a fleece.

 

But at night to go to sleep - I was not on the water I was on land and Kiwis don't heat their homes, maybe some do many don't - I wore every item of clothing I had and found towels to add with my bedding, whatever I could to get warm. It was that cold. In April. I kept having to remind myself how close I actually was to Antarctica and no, I was not a penguin although I had a perfectly magical time observing them from an unobtrusive but usually fine vantage point that was worth crawling through a camouflaged tunnel to arrive at. In fact, one of these fine yellow eyed friends had chosen to molt inside the tunnel and the conservationists were perplexed as to why but it gave everyone an extra special encounter.  If only s/he could have shared the secret for staying warm 😉

 

I hope the cruise makes the Sounds - cyclone season should be about done in April and if you get the right attire you'll likely be quite alright on a brilliant sunny autumn day. My kiwi farmer friends much prefer Doubtful above Milford but they live there and can be picky....to me just about everything about NZ and particularly South Island (no shade to North Island but....) was pure heaven.

 

Let us know how it turns out! :)

[Globaliser]

11 minutes ago, Host Bonjour said:

But at night to go to sleep - I was not on the water I was on land and Kiwis don't heat their homes, maybe some do many don't - I wore every item of clothing I had and found towels to add with my bedding, whatever I could to get warm. It was that cold.

 

A good friend lived in Dunedin for a year, during which I visited him in June. Not a good idea! One of the problems, it seems, is that many Kiwi houses are not well insulated; and this was exacerbated in the house in which he was living by it being built straight onto an uninsulated concrete slab. It wasn't that the house wasn't heated; it was rather that as soon as the heating was switched off, all of the heat vanished straight away instead of being kept inside.

 

I did the same as you: wore two layers of clothes in bed, with a duvet and two blankets on top, and then my big winter coat on top of all of that.

 

He lives in Auckland now.  

 

[happycruiser3]

On 2/4/2019 at 8:27 AM, GUT2407 said:

We did them November it was spectacular, the cruise behind us (by a day or two) missed out due to sea conditions. It really is the luck of the draw.

 

We had lovely weather cruising mid February or March.

 

It really is pot luck but whatever you decide best wishes for a great holiday. 🖐️

 

[cruise kitty]

On 2/3/2019 at 12:56 PM, Hapylady said:

How about November? Am looking at cruises in November but I am flexible. 

 

We went in November 2017,  we ended up with spectacular weather on our sounds day.   I started out outfitted with jacket, hat, gloves.... ended up in shorts & tee shirt through Milford sound.... it was a wonderful day & an even better cruise.  :)   I did a little photo review if you're interested.  

[Mike From Syd]

I wonder if I time it right I might be able to enjoy a continental room service breakfast on the balcony of my cabin while taking photos of the first of the sounds on my Ovation OTS cruise in December. Hopefully it won't be too cold/windy to do so. Also not sure about the obstructions on my deck six balcony.

 

Happy cruising everyone.

[GUT2407]

I was there November, I had to keep going back into the cabin to warm my hands and camera. And we were too late for breakfast, I guess lunch would have been doable.