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First time cruisers to New Zealand


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Your question is too generic. We can't guess what would interest you. So, please, do a search here and on the Ports of Call forum, port by port, and you will find plenty of ideas. Then, if you have any specific questions, come back and ask them and we'll be hapoy to help.

Edited by OzKiwiJJ
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11 hours ago, Polly62 said:

First time cruisers to New Zealand on Majestic princess.  Looking for recommendations on shore excursions.  Stopping at Dunedin, Akaroa, Wellington, Tauranga, Auckland, Bay of Island.

As OzKiwiJJ said, it is a good idea to search the Ports of Call section of this forum.

 

I will make a couple of very brief suggestions:

Dunedin - Otago Peninsula and wildlife. We weren't very impressed with the Tieri Gorge rail trip.

Akaroa - enjoy the small town. Otherwise take the long bus trip (around 2hrs) into Christchurch.

Wellington - Te Papa Museum (superb), the rack railway (in the city) and the rose garden. Parliament House. You can do all this on your own.

Tauranga - take a tour to Rotorua. This will be offered on the dock at less dollars than the ship's tour.

Auckland - hop on-hop off bus. Maybe Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World.

Bay of Islands - see if there is a small boat tour.

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6 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

As OzKiwiJJ said, it is a good idea to search the Ports of Call section of this forum.

 

I will make a couple of very brief suggestions:

Dunedin - Otago Peninsula and wildlife. We weren't very impressed with the Tieri Gorge rail trip.

Akaroa - enjoy the small town. Otherwise take the long bus trip (around 2hrs) into Christchurch.

Wellington - Te Papa Museum (superb), the rack railway (in the city) and the rose garden. Parliament House. You can do all this on your own.

Tauranga - take a tour to Rotorua. This will be offered on the dock at less dollars than the ship's tour.

Auckland - hop on-hop off bus. Maybe Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World.

Bay of Islands - see if there is a small boat tour.

We really enjoyed the Taieri train, I guess it comes down to what your interests are. We booked it privately and not through the cruise ship - about half the cost. 

 

I agree with the other recommendations. Although in Auckland we took a privately booked half day tour which showed us around Auckland.

 

We loved Akaroa and just wandered around the town, had a beer with friends at the pub not far from the dock and fish and chips for lunch further along the same street.

 

Leigh

 

 

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20 minutes ago, possum52 said:

We really enjoyed the Taieri train, I guess it comes down to what your interests are. We booked it privately and not through the cruise ship - about half the cost. 

 

I agree with the other recommendations. Although in Auckland we took a privately booked half day tour which showed us around Auckland.

 

We loved Akaroa and just wandered around the town, had a beer with friends at the pub not far from the dock and fish and chips for lunch further along the same street.

 

Leigh

I suppose our opinions on the Taieri train trip were coloured by our expectations. We had heard good reports, but thought it was just so-so, but expensive. There are several places to see in Dunedin, even independently.

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4 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

I suppose our opinions on the Taieri train trip were coloured by our expectations. We had heard good reports, but thought it was just so-so, but expensive. There are several places to see in Dunedin, even independently.

We did the Taieri train on the recommendation of DH's brother and SIL. They thoroughly enjoyed it so we thought we'd do it too. As well as the train, we had a tour of Dunedin as part of the excursion. We were picked up from the wharf and traveled to the train station by coach and after the train trip the coach picked us up and we spent an hour seeing the sights of Dunedin before returning to the Port Chalmers.

 

Leigh

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10 hours ago, possum52 said:

We did the Taieri train on the recommendation of DH's brother and SIL. They thoroughly enjoyed it so we thought we'd do it too. As well as the train, we had a tour of Dunedin as part of the excursion. We were picked up from the wharf and traveled to the train station by coach and after the train trip the coach picked us up and we spent an hour seeing the sights of Dunedin before returning to the Port Chalmers.

 

Leigh

We are booked in Dec with Good Company for a tour that sounds just like what you did.  Who did you book through?  Glad to hear you enjoyed the train.  We've explored the city on a previous visit and are looking forward to the train and will enjoy saving a lot of $$ not taking the ship excursion on the same train.

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10 hours ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

We are booked in Dec with Good Company for a tour that sounds just like what you did.  Who did you book through?  Glad to hear you enjoyed the train.  We've explored the city on a previous visit and are looking forward Yes to the train and will enjoy saving a lot of $$ not taking the ship excursion on the same train.

Yes our excursion was with Good Tours. Our driver/guide was Josh, he was excellent with great enthusiasm and knowledge about Dunedin and surrounds. 

 

Leigh

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