Which itinerary would you prefer…

[sboh]

…and why?

I’m starting to research a trip to Australia and New Zealand for 2026, thinking of doing a land trip in Australia then a NZ cruise. I’m mostly interested in scenery, natural beauty.  I usually cruise with Princess and saw these two itineraries:

 

January 18, 2026-

Sidney

 

Tauranga

Auckland

 

Picton

Christchurch

Dunedin

Fiordland scenic cruising

 

Sidney

 

OR

February 14, 2026-

Sidney

 

Bay of Islands

Tauranga

Auckland

 

Wellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

Fiordland scenic cruising

 

Sidney

 

Thank-you.

[Ozwoody]

Of those two cruises, I would chose the second one.

Although Picton is lovely, the Bay of Islands and Wellington IMHO would give you a better NZ cruise experience.

 

Regards

John

 

[Aus Traveller]

I agree with John. I would choose Wellington (the capital of NZ) over Picton. The Bay of Islands is a bonus.

[ceeceeDee]

I'll second that AT. We're cruising out of Brisbane in February 2026 and the second itinerary reflects ours with the exception we don't go to the Bay of Islands (unfortunately).

[arxcards]

An extra port on the 2nd one, so I would go with that too. Heaps of variety of things to do in Wellington. FYI, our cruise capital is spelled Sydney.

Edited September 14 by arxcards

[icat2000]

Both are good options. Depends whether you want to go to Bay of Islands or Picton. Wellington not really a deciding factor for me. Can be a dreary windy place at times. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Definitely the second one. Not only for the ports but January is still school holiday time so some places could be very busy.

[Ozwoody]

59 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

Both are good options. Depends whether you want to go to Bay of Islands or Picton. Wellington not really a deciding factor for me. Can be a dreary windy place at times. 

🤣 it can be, I lived there for nearly 5 years, they do call it windy Wellington.

BUT, it is great most of the time.

 

[Russell21]

48 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Definitely the second one. Not only for the ports but January is still school holiday time so some places could be very busy.

I agree, as well as children will have gone back to school so there will be less of them aboard.

[cruiser3775]

Also agree, the second one, outside the school holidays, unless you like hoards of children on the cruise.

However, if you are a wine drinker, the first one goes to Picton, and you can do a great shore excursion to the Marlborough wine region.

[sboh]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

An extra port on the 2nd one, so I would go with that too. Heaps of variety of things to do in Wellington. FYI, our cruise capital is spelled Sydney.

Thanks for the heads-up on Sydney. I tried to edit but it won’t let me now.

[sboh]

2 hours ago, icat2000 said:

Both are good options. Depends whether you want to go to Bay of Islands or Picton. Wellington not really a deciding factor for me. Can be a dreary windy place at times. 

Which would be considered more scenic, Bay of Islands or Picton? I don’t drink so wineries not of interest to me.

[SinbadThePorter]

33 minutes ago, sboh said:

Bay of Islands or Picton?

 

Bay of Islands.

[Jean C]

1 hour ago, sboh said:

Which would be considered more scenic, Bay of Islands or Picton? I don’t drink so wineries not of interest to me.

Bay of Islands definitely, google pictures of it and what you can do there, it's a very picturesque, historic and delightful place. Tauranga too, or more correctly Mount Maunganui where the ship docks, is a lovely beachside township, with a beautiful sandy beach and stunning views from the top of the Mount, there's a walkable track to the top for anyone of average fitness. The Bay of Islands and Mt Maunganui are two of my favourite places 😊

[Over from NZ]

6 hours ago, sboh said:

I’m mostly interested in scenery, natural beauty

If that were the case - I'd do it the opposite way. Cruise Australia and land-trip NZ. 

[Blackduck59]

I'm going to throw out the idea of doing a one way cruise Auckland to Sydney or vice versa. Tack on some land time on both ends. It saves a couple of sea days. You can fly in to one country and out of the other.

[buchhalm]

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