Best cruise from Aus (Under 7 days)

[vegemeter]

What was the best cruise you took from Australia which lasted no more than 7 days in the last 10 years?

 

Why was it brilliant? Price? People? Places?

 

Rules:

 

• Cruise must have taken place in the last 10 years on a ship which is still sailing / line which is still operating
• Links to the cruise (or similar itinerary) are encouraged
• Photos are encouraged
• Suggestions for excursions encouraged

 

Reward? Bragging rights. Also, I'll probably take your cruise.

[GUT2407]

There aren’t many under 7 days 

 

We did 5 nights on Cunard QM, enjoyed 2 nights on Solstice just out and back for a birthday weekend, but everything else ran more than 7 days.

[Russell21]

Sorry, we don't cruise less than 10 days. 

 

[grozzy1]

In November 2017 I took a 5 night Tasmania cruise on Norwegian Jewel. It was my one and only cruise, so by default it's my favourite.

Sydney

Burnie

Hobart

Sydney

It was just the right length for a "taster" cruise

Edited August 2, 2022 by grozzy1

[joejoe 59]

4 hours ago, grozzy1 said:

In November 2017 I took a 5 night Tasmania cruise on Norwegian Jewel. It was my one and only cruise, so by default it's my favourite.

Sydney

Burnie

Hobart

Sydney

It was just the right length for a "taster" cruise

So does that mean cruising wasn't to your liking?

Good pics by the way😀

[SinbadThePorter]

With all the caveats applied I should think we're talking about a cruise from Sydney to Hobart, including Port Arthur, via Eden. Preferably in February. Not much else would fit.

[Debbpen]

Hello there, how about the 5 day Southern Australia Explorer? I don't know how to link it, sorry. It's a Princess cruise from Melbourne to Adelaide on December 14 this year and other departures as well. This one goes to Kangaroo Island-lots of excursions to lovely places, Phillip Island-the daytime excursions sound good but the main attraction is to see the little penguins on the beach in the evening. The other stop is Port Lincoln and I previously did the Rugged Coastline Discovery tour which was good and also walked around the town and the shoreline which is pretty. If you want to extend your cruise to 7 days it also heads back to Melbourne. If you go back to Melbourne then you can do the Spirit of the Coorong cruise from Adelaide which is one of my all time favourite excursions. Pretty drive through wine country and gorgeous scenery on the cruise to the mouth of the Murray River. The boat goes in a lock which was interesting and we also did an easy walk through the sand dunes to see the Southern Ocean. We were served a picnic lunch on the boat. All in all a great day. It was a wonderful cruise which we did in January 2020 but didn't get to Kangaroo Island due to the terrible bushfires at the time. I've been there on a different trip though. I hope this has been helpful. Cheers!

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

39 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

With all the caveats applied I should think we're talking about a cruise from Sydney to Hobart, including Port Arthur, via Eden. Preferably in February. Not much else would fit.

Or a cruise from Brisbane to Airlie Beach.

 

The distances between popular ports in Australia are so big that short cruises don't offer much, especially ones that start and finish at the same port.

[grozzy1]

2 hours ago, joejoe 59 said:

So does that mean cruising wasn't to your liking?

Good pics by the way😀

My plans got postponed a year for obvious reasons, but I'm cruising to NZ this January

[arxcards]

Used to be that most of the cruises that departed Brisbane were 7 nighters before the trend of 3 and 4 nighters started to become more prolific.

Week Fantastique - Brisbane - Noumea - Port Vila - Lifou

Week Tropique - Brisbane - Airlie Beach - Cairns - Port Douglas - around Willis Island

 

And they all departed on a Saturday, which was a great way to only burn a weeks holiday for a winter getaway to somewhere warmer. They were often alternated, so you could get a 2 week B2B, one in North Qld, the other into the Pacific.

 

A couple of these are among our favourite cruises, with plenty to do in each of the North Queensland ports. Last time we spent a day on Daydream Island, a return to our honeymoon location from Airlie Beach; Mossman Gorge & Daintree crocs form Port Douglas. We were late into Cairns, so skipped Kuranda and just walked around the town. For anyone that asks us, we still think it is an ideal option for first time cruisers.

 

No more Pacific Dawn, but Pacific Encounter will have plenty of these ahead, a small number of them on Coral Princess, and likely to be some on Carnival Luminosa if they get their finger out and announce something.  Throw in Quantum of the Seas, missing Port Douglas for a 6 nighter, or 7 nights with an overnight in Cairns. If you are packed for Friday week, this would be awesome 

https://www.princess.com/search-cruise/details/?voyageCode=6213N but there is a sprinkling of them over the next couple of years if you cant make it.

 

We have also done a 7 night cruise from Sydney that had port stops for Melbourne, Burnie, Hobart & Port Arthur. At the time, this was on Rhapsody of the Seas, while other lines cruised a bit slower and did the same stops as an 8 nighter with scenic cruising of Wineglass Bay added.

 

Another one that was awesome, but not likely to be repeated soon. 7 nights, 3 ports to PNG with Cairns as homeport. P&O did a couple of these short seasons out of Cairns to Conflict Islands, Alotou, and Kiriwina Island. They had to work hard to sell them, but I think they could have persevered.

[MicCanberra]

Tassie cruise in December is about the best cruise that is longer than a 2 or 3 night cruise but under 8 nights.

[Aussieflyer]

We were booked on a Silversea Muse 6 day itinerary in Australia earlier this year which was cancelled due to restrictions still in place. Most of its cruises are at least 14 days so this short one was going to be a lovely little break as the ship is gorgeous. Sadly it did not happen.

We did a short 4 day on QM2 (Adelaide to Sydney) when she did the first circumnavigation of Australia (that's where my avatar picture comes from). Out from Warrnambool we met the Young Endeavour and she let off a cannon volley to welcome us and we replied with a very loud ship's horn. A helicopter flew over taking photos.

I remember it was a special cruise as the commodore was onboard being the first time QM2 had circumnavigated the country. It was a really big deal. The only downside was that we had an inside (something we almost never do) and it was really really dark.

We have a Queens Grill coming at at the end of January on Queen Elizabeth for 5 days so that should be pretty special too.

Edited August 3, 2022 by Aussieflyer

[Over from NZ]

We're from NZ. They talk about NZ being very beautiful.. however our Queensland cruise ranks up there. If you haven't explored your backyard and seen tropical Queensland - it's rather spectacular. Whitsundays etc. 7-night return from Brisbane. I think Princess and P&O both offer the same itinerary. The Low Isles catamaran excursion one of the best and well organised we've ever been on. 

[Newby58]

On 8/3/2022 at 6:05 PM, MicCanberra said:

Tassie cruise in December is about the best cruise that is longer than a 2 or 3 night cruise but under 8 nights.

Do you mean the Ovation cruise 7th Dec? 7 nights, goes to Adelaide and Hobart. We also have 4 nights on Ovation to Eden booked. Next year we are doing the Greek Isles on Celebrity Infinity. 7 different ports in 7 days. I’m exhausted just writing about it. 

[MicCanberra]

I was referring to one that I did back in 2014 but yes, small cruises sailing from Sydney would include Tasmania would be the best.

[GUT2407]

We do Sydney to Tas most years, it is a great option, though some versions run slightly over 7 nights, I think the shortest we did was 5, early 2024 is 12 it depends on what other Ports are in the mix

[CCC's]

I am booked on Majestic Princess 20 November 2022 for 5 day cruise..... Sydney,  Port Arthur, overnight Hobart, return to Sydney.  A nice short cruise to ease back into sailing after 3 long years. 

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

We do Sydney to Tas most years, it is a great option, though some versions run slightly over 7 nights, I think the shortest we did was 5, early 2024 is 12 it depends on what other Ports are in the mix

We have done a 4 nighter that was simply Sydney - Hobart - Sydney. We just saw it as a weekend getaway, almost like a cruise to nowhere that went somewhere. Good for a long weekend, but not enough for a holiday.

[GUT2407]

4 hours ago, arxcards said:

We have done a 4 nighter that was simply Sydney - Hobart - Sydney. We just saw it as a weekend getaway, almost like a cruise to nowhere that went somewhere. Good for a long weekend, but not enough for a holiday.

I wish they did more of those. But probably a bit late for us.

 

[MicCanberra]

38 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

I wish they did more of those. But probably a bit late for us.

 

Are you allowed to cruise again?

[GUT2407]

2 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Are you allowed to cruise again?

They haven’t said never, but did make me cancel one later this year. Still booked for 2024 and crossing my fingers, but ……

[NSWP]

3 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

They haven’t said never, but did make me cancel one later this year. Still booked for 2024 and crossing my fingers, but ……

Westerdam cancelled Gut? Crikey 2024 is a long way out for a  cruise booking young fella.

Edited August 13, 2022 by NSWP

[MelbTone]

My last pre-COVID cruise was on Queen Elizabeth: Melbourne - Adelaide - Kangaroo Island - Hobart - Melbourne. Well it would have been, but we had to skip K I because of fires. Good itinerary for a short Australian cruise.

[GUT2407]

19 hours ago, NSWP said:

Westerdam cancelled Gut? Crikey 2024 is a long way out for a  cruise booking young fella.

Yes Uncle Les, Dr said unless or until we get these strokes and falls 7nder control it is a big fat NO

 

and as I had a team of ambos and fairies here yesterday it’s not exactly looking good. Booked for March 2024 with fingers crossed. 

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, GUT2407 said:

Yes Uncle Les, Dr said unless or until we get these strokes and falls 7nder control it is a big fat NO

 

and as I had a team of ambos and fairies here yesterday it’s not exactly looking good. Booked for March 2024 with fingers crossed. 

Why were there fairies there