cbowls30 Posted Monday at 01:36 PM #1 Share Posted Monday at 01:36 PM Hi We are researching a cruise to NZ in February, primarily to do the sounds, I've read quite a few posts saying that it's really common for ports to be cancelled on NZ cruises...can anyone share their experience of the weather in February in NZ? Did you have many port cancellations? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamin'ofthesea Posted Monday at 02:08 PM #2 Share Posted Monday at 02:08 PM It does seem to be common for ships to miss the sounds. We travelled to NZ from Australia January 2020 and missed due to weather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted Monday at 07:00 PM #3 Share Posted Monday at 07:00 PM We have been lucky and have never missed them, however it does seem to happen often. Big seas or winds may delay arrival or restrict access or cause an earlier departure. Then there is always the possibility of the hull requiring cleaning or a medical emergency. If the sounds are a must see or must do, visit on a land holiday separately or pre or post cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muffinz Posted Monday at 07:29 PM #4 Share Posted Monday at 07:29 PM Unfortunately you can't predict the weather in advance and there's no way the ship captain will know if they are going to miss a port or not until the morning of that port stop - and this does not just apply to NZ either We had some friends who did a NZ cruise from Sydney and they missed 2 port stops (Auckland / Christchurch?) due to bad weather We did the Great Barrier Reef cruise in 2018 and were supposed to stop in Airlie beach, but the captain came on the PA and said the harbour master in Airlie beach has advised the weather was too rough and we wouldn't be tendering in to Airlie beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare arxcards Posted Monday at 08:38 PM #5 Share Posted Monday at 08:38 PM (edited) We haven't missed a NZ port, but we have been lucky with not having to cruise around a weather event. Missing the fiords seems to be the only hit/miss part of the itinerary excepting for extreme weather conditions. Some ships missed ports last season due to failing the bio-security inspection on their hulls. Most of the cruise lines should have learned from their ignorance of these bio requirements, and I would hope they now have it all sorted. PS: We did miss one port, with Christchurch substituted with Wellington. They had a major earthquake just a few days prior. Things seem much more settled now. Edited Monday at 08:41 PM by arxcards PS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbowls30 Posted Monday at 08:44 PM Author #6 Share Posted Monday at 08:44 PM Thanks for the replies, we're coming from the UK so it's a big, and expensive risk! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare arxcards Posted Monday at 08:56 PM #7 Share Posted Monday at 08:56 PM 9 minutes ago, cbowls30 said: Thanks for the replies, we're coming from the UK so it's a big, and expensive risk! I get that. We are bound for the UK next June and face the same risks. Some things we just can't control, but they mostly end up OK on the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliburn Posted Monday at 09:12 PM #8 Share Posted Monday at 09:12 PM 21 minutes ago, cbowls30 said: Thanks for the replies, we're coming from the UK so it's a big, and expensive risk! Some of the carnival group ship got turned away because of dirty hulls but the weather is pretty unpredictable. One time we got snow in the sounds at the height of summer ,nothing is certain. If you really want to see Milford sound you might consider flying to Queenstown and go from there. Hire a car or a tour,it’s pretty spectacular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ozwoody Posted Monday at 10:26 PM #9 Share Posted Monday at 10:26 PM I don't know that the Sounds are "the" must see, on a cruise to NZ, there are many other must see's there. We have done four cruises to NZ which included the Sounds, and were lucky and got in on all of them, they are spectacular and a great part of a NZ cruise, however I would not rate them better than many other cruise stops, NZ pretty well is a exploration delight. February is not a bad time to cruise NZ. My advise is go and enjoy your trip, every cruise runs a risk of missing a port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ceeceeDee Posted Monday at 11:23 PM #10 Share Posted Monday at 11:23 PM 53 minutes ago, Ozwoody said: I don't know that the Sounds are "the" must see, on a cruise to NZ, there are many other must see's there. We have done four cruises to NZ which included the Sounds, and were lucky and got in on all of them, they are spectacular and a great part of a NZ cruise, however I would not rate them better than many other cruise stops, NZ pretty well is a exploration delight. February is not a bad time to cruise NZ. My advise is go and enjoy your trip, every cruise runs a risk of missing a port. We're cruising NZ in February 2026. Really looking forward to it. Thus far the only part of NZ I have seen is the inside of Auckland airport going to and from America. We're fully aware we may not get to the Sound, but as you say John, NZ has some pretty amazing locations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairywren Posted yesterday at 12:01 AM #11 Share Posted yesterday at 12:01 AM This is just my opinion and in no way mean any disrespect, but if the Sounds are the primary reason for travelling all the way from UK to NZ, then I would save my money and do a Norwegian cruise instead. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinbadThePorter Posted 22 hours ago #12 Share Posted 22 hours ago (edited) I've been on half a dozen NZ cruises and never missed a port. In the South Pacific islands I've missed not just ports, but entire itineraries. It's all a matter of odds. February in Milford can be anything between miserably cold and wet to sunny and cool. You just take the rough with the smooth. 😀 Edited 22 hours ago by SinbadThePorter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruiser3775 Posted 22 hours ago #13 Share Posted 22 hours ago (edited) I've only been on one NZ cruise, and we were lucky to get into the fjordland sounds. Milford was in heavy rain, but that only made it more awe inspiring. The weather cleared when we went through Doubtful and Dusky Sounds. Some of the most spectacular cruising I have been on. So I can understand why it would be such a disappointment if you missed out on that one day of your NZ cruise. However, if you are coming that far, and your prime aim is to see the sounds, maybe you should pick a cruise that ends in Auckland, and then fly down to Queenstown, and visit the fjordland area from the land side. You can then do some local cruises in smaller ships which will be even more spectacular from a lower viewpoint. Here's a link: https://www.milford-sound.co.nz/milford-sound-cruises/ https://www.fiordland.org.nz/things-to-do/activities/boat-cruises/show/doubtful-sound-overnight-cruises/ Edited 22 hours ago by cruiser3775 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted 20 hours ago #14 Share Posted 20 hours ago We've done four Auckland to Sydney cruises during the peak season and never missed a port. We've also had two NZ port stops each on two longer cruises during early spring and did miss the Bay of Islands on one of those due to strong winds making tendering not viable. Usually the weather in NZ is most settled in February and March, pre-Christmas tends to have more unsettled conditions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Relaxing Robbies Posted 17 hours ago #15 Share Posted 17 hours ago We have done 4 New Zealand cruises. We missed Tauranga once due to bad seas in February, and Napier twice in November/December. We love cruising through the sounds enjoying the beautiful scenery, and have been fortunate not to miss them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tranquility Base Posted 16 hours ago #16 Share Posted 16 hours ago 11 hours ago, arxcards said: Some ships missed ports last season due to failing the bio-security inspection on their hulls. 11 hours ago, arxcards said: Missing the fiords seems to be the only hit/miss part of the itinerary...... We had both in Dec '22. Floated offshore Tauranga for 24 hours whilst the divers were down. This caused a missed Dunedin port and Fiordland cruising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixx Posted 16 hours ago #17 Share Posted 16 hours ago 11 hours ago, cbowls30 said: Thanks for the replies, we're coming from the UK so it's a big, and expensive risk! February is the most settled month weather wise here in NZ but like all itineraries there are no guarantees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeebeeH Posted 11 hours ago #18 Share Posted 11 hours ago On our February cruise this year we were fortunate to not miss any of the ports. Our Dunedin tour guide told us that there are some large cruise ships that do have problems coming into port because of their size, especially with bad weather and have to cancel those ports as a result. We had a bit of rough weather crossing the ditch but could still dock in Dunedin, another ship 1 day ahead of us couldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now