Upcoming Circle Australia cruise: Any Tips?

[Jlhalldc]

We are excited about our upcoming cruise which will circumnavigate Australia in 36 days on Navigator January 23 - March 2.  Anyone have any tips or advice? Must sees? Cruise length?

 

Circling Australia has been a goal of ours for a long time. We got a taste for this wonderful country when it was our jumping off point for a cruise around New Zealand several years ago.

 

It's our second Regent cruise (Voyager Med cruise last September). Navigator seems to get savaged in many CC reviews but I'm hoping that these are the exception and that the recent updates have helped. 

[UUNetBill]

Don’t worry about Navigator, she gets a bad rap from some people.  Yeah, she can be “buzzy”, especially aft, and she doesn’t have the dining venues or the Connoisseur Club the others do, but the smaller, more intimate environment more than makes up for it.

 

Navigator was our favorite ship until Explorer launched.  Our next few cruises are on Explorer and probably Splendor but we wouldn’t hesitate to sail anywhere in Navigator.

 

Your cruise looks awesome...enjoy!

[Floridiana]

This is a wonderful cruise! We did it many years ago on a Princess ship, shorter cruise fewer ports. We had to skip Esperance due to wind conditions. Mooloolaba is a tender port which was cut short due to wind on our recent cruise. We did nothing much in small Bernie but many passengers took a very long excursion to the mountains.

 

I like all the ports I know on this itinerary, small towns and large cities. I was going to give you a list of my favorites, but the list and the reasons why are too long.

 

 

[briar14]

We did this cruise in Dec. 2018-Jan. 2019 on Mariner. We loved it! Favorite ports were Perth and Esperance. Expect to miss a couple of ports due to difficulty for tendering. We missed Mooloolaba and Exmouth. Length of cruise was fine. Regent did an excellent job from some special events to a wonderful staff and crew. Our best Regent cruise—so far—and we have been lucky enough to have had a lot of them! Enjoy your trip! 

[Jlhalldc]

16 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

 

Thanks for your reassuring words on Navigator. We are somewhat concerned with all of the sea days and things to do onboard. We love to relax and read, but this is the longest cruise either of us have taken. 

[Jlhalldc]

1 hour ago, briar14 said:

We did this cruise in Dec. 2018-Jan. 2019 on Mariner. We loved it! Favorite ports were Perth and Esperance. Expect to miss a couple of ports due to difficulty for tendering. We missed Mooloolaba and Exmouth. Length of cruise was fine. Regent did an excellent job from some special events to a wonderful staff and crew. Our best Regent cruise—so far—and we have been lucky enough to have had a lot of them! Enjoy your trip! 

This is so wonderful to hear. Seeing more of Australia is our goal. We love the people, expansive natural surroundings and Regent, of course. Thanks for including your favorites and the possibility of missing some tendered ports due to weather concerns. 

 

Frankly, I've been a bit concerned because there is VERY little conversation on CC forums regarding Australia Circumnavigations. Even on the Australia forums. 

[Jlhalldc]

16 hours ago, Floridiana said:

This is a wonderful cruise! We did it many years ago on a Princess ship, shorter cruise fewer ports. We had to skip Esperance due to wind conditions. Mooloolaba is a tender port which was cut short due to wind on our recent cruise. We did nothing much in small Bernie but many passengers took a very long excursion to the mountains.

 

I like all the ports I know on this itinerary, small towns and large cities. I was going to give you a list of my favorites, but the list and the reasons why are too long.

 

 

Thank you for the positive words and info on ports (especially the possibility of missing some due to weather). Curious as to the passenger make-up of your cruise. Many Australians? Mostly North Americans?

[UUNetBill]

5 minutes ago, Jlhalldc said:

Thanks for your reassuring words on Navigator. We are somewhat concerned with all of the sea days and things to do onboard. We love to relax and read, but this is the longest cruise either of us have taken. 

I think our longest Navigator Cruise has been 12 nights so yours is 3 times longer than ours.  I think any cruise over a month you run the risk of some things getting ‘stale’; dining and entertainment specifically.  But I also think that Regent plans for this and throws on some special sea day events to mix it up some.

 

FWIW, if I wasn’t still tied to this pesky “job” thing I wouldn’t hesitate one millisecond to book that cruise on that shop...

[Floridiana]

2 hours ago, Jlhalldc said:

Many Australians? Mostly North Americans?

 

The Princess ship was one of the first to do a circumnavigation. 95% of the passengers were older Australians with stories of sheep stations and cattle transportation to Asian countries. I found it fascinating. It will depend on Regent's market focus whether you have more North Americans or Australians. Australians tend to be more laid back "no worries" with the odd (rough) duck thrown in occasionally.

 

We returned to Australia's east coast 2 more times on 2 different lines as part of longer cruises. All the larger cities, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are destinations on their own. I also liked funky Cairns and remote Darwin and the cruise through the barrier reef between them. The others are smaller places with some interesting natural features in the hinterland. If you can, do an excursion to the red center with Uluru (Ayers Rock) before or after the cruise.

 

This cruise has Komodo island on its itinerary. If you haven't been there yet, go on land to see the large monitor lizards. Sights are guaranteed because the park rangers have created a water hole. They don't feed them any more. It became too dangerous. The shorter walk also goes to the water hole. Photos are Cairns, a Komodo dragon and the Komodo Island bay with the shuttle pier all the way to the right.

Edited October 3, 2019 by Floridiana

[briar14]

3 hours ago, Jlhalldc said:

Thank you for the positive words and info on ports (especially the possibility of missing some due to weather). Curious as to the passenger make-up of your cruise. Many Australians? Mostly North Americans?

Passenger makeup on the Mariner Regent cruise was mostly Americans. Do not worry about what to do on sea days. Regent will keep you busy. We had excellent, pertinent lectures, a Country Fair, wine tastings, games, an auction of “ship experiences” to benefit the Crew Fund, and, of course, trivia and bridge. I loaded lots of books on my Kindle and iPad and barely touched them. DH’s experience was similar. CC picture was taken in Esperance. I’d be happy to answer any questions. 

Edited October 3, 2019 by briar14

[glorygaf]

Wedid a similar itinerary on Seabourn last Christmas and it was great except at this time of year is cyclone season in the southern hemisphere, hopefully you won't experience one as we did coming out of Townsville. Waves over the bow which was fun for a day or two. Mooloolaba is a lovely town but I don't know of any cruises that have actually tendered there due to the large swell that exists and tenders can't be used. Burnie is actually my home town hope you will love it as we did. Exmouth is another that is bit iffy we arrived there in very choppy conditions but the weather improved through the day and most people were able to go ashore. Enjoy Australia its a big country but the people  are okay.

[Hambagahle]

We have friends who are currently onboard Holland America's Maasdam on a very similar itinerary and there is a thread running about this on the HA boards.  Suggest you might want to read that to get an idea as to what the various ports are like ?  (Also suggest you pay no atttention to anything that is described about or on the ship because the Regent experience will be totally different!!)

[Jlhalldc]

12 hours ago, glorygaf said:

Wedid a similar itinerary on Seabourn last Christmas and it was great except at this time of year is cyclone season in the southern hemisphere, hopefully you won't experience one as we did coming out of Townsville. Waves over the bow which was fun for a day or two. Mooloolaba is a lovely town but I don't know of any cruises that have actually tendered there due to the large swell that exists and tenders can't be used. Burnie is actually my home town hope you will love it as we did. Exmouth is another that is bit iffy we arrived there in very choppy conditions but the weather improved through the day and most people were able to go ashore. Enjoy Australia its a big country but the people  are okay.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like Mooloolaba has trouble tendering passengers...especially at this time of year. FIngers crossed for smooth sailing! We are very much looking forward to experiencing Burnie. The Australian people are our favorite part of travelling to Australia!

7 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

We have friends who are currently onboard Holland America's Maasdam on a very similar itinerary and there is a thread running about this on the HA boards.  Suggest you might want to read that to get an idea as to what the various ports are like ?  (Also suggest you pay no atttention to anything that is described about or on the ship because the Regent experience will be totally different!!)

Wow! I didn't know about this thread and can't wait to check it out. Will keep in mind that they aren't  experiencing the "Regent Experience."  I agree with the motto I've seen on someone's CC signature: A bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work"

[Hambagahle]

Indeed!  But I no longer work - at least not for pay!!   What I have seen of HAL from CC and their site makes me want to stay well away from it.  But the ports are the same.  One can always learn...

[Mary Ellen and Bruce]

And I would suggest, since you have an overnight in Melbourne, and you would like to see penguins take a tour.

 

It is a late afternoon, night tour to see the cutest, little penguins and their habitats.

 

Look for Phillip Island Nature Reserve Tours.  

 

I noticed that Regent doesn't offer a tour there.

 

Have a great trip,

 

Mary Ellen😊

 

P.S.  Navigator is one of my favorite ships.

 

[JMARINER]

3 hours ago, Mary Ellen and Bruce said:

And I would suggest, since you have an overnight in Melbourne, and you would like to see penguins take a tour.

 

It is a late afternoon, night tour to see the cutest, little penguins and their habitats...........

Regent might not have a tour there because that might have a special event plant for that evening.

 

For the this past years (2018-2019) Grand Circle Australia voyage they had, for the full cruisers, a night at the Australian Open with a dinner before hand. The seats they gave us were surprisingly good as were the two matches. The men's match we between the Australia first seed and Rafael Nadal.

 

J

[Fletcher]

This cruise itinerary seems OK apart from the northern section.  Alotau and Port Moresby in PNG are dumps, Komodo has become a tourist trap zoo and Benoa a traffic jam.  It's a shame that the most interesting place to cruise in Australia is the Kimberleys and the Navigator completely ignores that area because the ship is too big.  

[Jlhalldc]

Thanks for the helpful tips and suggestions. We are counting down the days until we leave for Sydney for the circumnavigation!

 

 

[kjbacon]

This itinerary looks great! Hope that you have a wonderful time and continue to share. We just booked the world cruise for 2022 that includes Australia so I’m going to be following along with you for your feedback.

[Jlhalldc]

Thank you to everyone who provided good advice and tips on our Circle Australia cruise. We had a terrific time and met some fun fellow passengers -- something that Navigator's small size encourages. She is a fine ship, quirky but charming and luxurious. 

 

If interested, here is a link to my review of the voyage:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=679452&et_cid=3317225&et_rid=235542030&et_referrer=newsletterPopup_control

[Travelcat2]

On 10/3/2019 at 7:22 AM, Jlhalldc said:

This is so wonderful to hear. Seeing more of Australia is our goal. We love the people, expansive natural surroundings and Regent, of course. Thanks for including your favorites and the possibility of missing some tendered ports due to weather concerns. 

 

Frankly, I've been a bit concerned because there is VERY little conversation on CC forums regarding Australia Circumnavigations. Even on the Australia forums. 

 

I suspect that this is because of the coronavirus and the cancelling of many cruises.  This is all that I have been thinking about (we were supposed to be on the Splendor cruise that was scheduled to depart yesterday).  When things calm down there will likely be a lot of responses for you.

 

For those asking about the majority of passengers on Regent, it is typically 80% people from North America, then from the U.K. and Australia.  However, for this cruise, there will likely be more Australians and less British (just a guess based on our 34 Regent cruises).

 

While we have been to Australia twice on a land trip (and love it), we would be more interested in a cruise that includes New Zealand (have been there once on a land trip and need to see more).

[Travelcat2]

A friend just told me that I had not noticed that this thread is months old (thank you).  It always amazes me when an old thread suddenly shows up on page one. In any case, just ignore my post.