New Zealand/Australia

[MercedMike]

O.K. so will I be able to log onto these private tour groups and see what is available and book directly on the internet.....or did you do that once you arrived at the port????

 

What about the time going through Fjordland (???) Park....what did you all do during this time frame.....?? How dressy are the "formal" nights.....we have done Holland America and they adhere to the dress code, as does Cunard....Norwegian usually does not......as you well know, packing for 21 days is not that easy now days.....:cool: Stay with me here, as I have many questions before we leave....

 

LOL -- we like to answer cruise questions -- that's why we hang out on this board!

 

When we decide to go independent, we always book in advance by email. Of course you need to be a wise consumer, check their refund policies, be sure where to meet them, and so on. Remember if you book independent you are on your own and the ship will NOT wait for you. Check the websites that have been recommended and make your own decision.

 

Fjordland is a wonder of scenery -- pretty much like Yosemite with water in the bottom. Find a good spot on deck and relax and watch the natural beauty.

 

On a longer, more "exotic" trip like this one, people tend to be more mature, more experienced travelers, and in general more formal. Most of them will adhere to the dress code on formal night, and will tend to be a bit more dressy on "casual" nights than you will see in the Caribbean, for example. That doesn't mean you have to dress to the nines, just look nice. If you think you look good, you will!

 

I know you will have a GREAT cruise!

 

Mike

 

Cruising with the Halls:

http://www.bully4.us/cruising.html

 

Cruise Countdowns:

http://members.aol.com/cruznphulmike/countdown.html

[foxyh]

In Tasmania, we are looking at the Scenic Huon Valley and Wildlife Park. In Melbourne we are looking at the Puffing Biull Train, Wildlife and Mountain Drive. As for Sydney, we a tour with our hotel stay, to the Blue Mountains and Wildlife Park and the other two days we thought we would see what is available. We don't have enough time to do The Great Barrier Reef.

[CruisinChris]

We also did this cruise in March this year. We loved it. Stayed three nights in Auckland at the Hyatt and stayed after at the Park Hyatt in Sydney - directly across from the Opera House. My pix can be accessed through my webshots link below. We did a combination of private and ships excursions. That worked well for us. We missed out on Fjordland, however, due a storm on the Tasman so we overnighted in Hobart. The extra time there was pleasant. I noticed that while sailing south off the east cost of NZ and the west for that matter that we stayed very close to shore - unusually close based on my cruise experiences. Land was usually in sight. This was to keep us out of the heavier water further offshore - so the cruise experience was more comfortable. Wave heights were substantial offshore as well as across the Tasman. (we had winds in excess of Force 12 which is why we missed Fjordland. The waves weren't as amazing as our 2002 Golden Transatlantic, though). Good fun!

[foxyh]

All of your pictures are awesome.....I do appreciate seeing them.....now we are really getting excited.

 

Your comment about the ship "not waiting" brings back a memory of our cruise through the Meditterrean last fall. We were supposed to leave Naples at 6 p.m. 6 p.m. came and went as did 7 p.m. when the announcement came over the speakers that we were waiting for a tour that was late returning to the ship. Had that not been a cruise sponsored tour, the ship would have left without them. A scary thought!!!!!

 

Good comment about being sure of the reputation of the Tour company and their refund policies.....good thing we have time to research this and come to a good decision. Also very glad to hear the dress code is taken seriously by most of the folks....we like that.

[SPI_Rick]

foxyh, we typcially did our shore excursions through Princess on this cruise. The one Private Tour that we booked was the Spellbound Glowworm Cave tour, which I highly recommend. For information see:

http://www.glowworm.co.nz/

 

Also, I have heard several positive comments by posters who have used Mount Classic Tours in New Zealand.

 

In Australia we did not book any separate tours since we were on a 6-day pre-cruise tour through Princess.

[MVPinBoynton]

foxyh,

We did the Puffing Billy Train and Healsville Sanctuary excursion. It was quite nice and the countryside is much lovelier than I expected Australia to be. We also took a rental van to the Huon Valley to do the Tahune Airwalk. The scenery was pretty, but it took a long time to get off the ship due to the Australian immigration process and the drive was longer than we expected, so we missed Bonorong. Here is a picture of the Huon Valley area.

 

 

This is another example of the geothermal area in Rotorua:

 

 

And lastly a view from the Diamond Princess in the early morning of the Sydney Opera House:

 

 

You are in for an awesome cruise. I wish I could go back sooner rather than later.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

And lastly a view from the Diamond Princess in the early morning of the Sydney Opera House:

 

I've seen lots of photos of the Sydney Opera House,but that would have to be the best yet.Stunning photo.Thank you for sharing.

[MVPinBoynton]

David,

Thank you so much for your very generous compliment. We stayed with some friends who live north of Aukland in Warkworth before our cruise. You have some very stunning views up there also. We really loved your country and it's people.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

David,

We stayed with some friends who live north of Aukland in Warkworth before our cruise.

 

Warkworth is just up the road from here.We are at Orewa.You would have passed through as you left the motorway and headed onto the coast road. Orewa is the one that has that long beach.

[foxyh]

:pWe are staying in Auckland for 3 days prior to embarkation. Staying at the Langham Hotel.....the Glo Worm Grotto comes with the hotel stay. Many recommendations are the Sky Tower, of course, and taking the ferry across the water to (Devenport?????)

 

In Taurangua, we are looking at the Maori Culture and Taurangua Hilites;

In ChristChursh the Attractions of ChristChurch; ub Dunedin the Town and country by train...

 

Have decided to take your advice and stay onboard the ship at Fjorland Park. Good time to get my video camera out and shoot...:cool:

 

Staying at the Four Seasons in Sydney which is supposed to be right on the water overlooking the Opera House and Bridge.......

 

Was the trip going over long and overwhelming.....we will be on Air New Zealand from LAX direct to Auck. I assume they will show movies....

 

We are in Cabin C520 and our friends are in Cabin C532....any one know anything about this deck???? We were told we would be put on the upgrade list (fat chance) .......this ship and date are sold out and have been for several months. We made these reservations in Feb. of this year.

[MVPinBoynton]

We were in C619 on the Diamond. If I were you I would request not to be upgraded. Your location is very centrally located and Caribe is the best deck in my opinion. It is centrally located and most importantly, you will have a very large balcony. Half of it is covered and the other half is open. You can see pictures of our cabin in our review. It should be about the same as yours.

 

We loved the Four Seasons. Great hotel in a great location. We thoroughly enjoyed Air New Zealand. The trip was much easier than I expected. We flew from Miami to LAX, then on to Aukland. I did take a sleeping pill to help me sleep after dinner and a movie. Since our flight out of LAX was around 10:00 PM, we were ready to go to sleep anyway. Plenty of movies to watch on the flight.

[foxyh]

Very Good....we leave Grand Junction at 4:00 p.m. fly to LAX and leave LAX at 9:00 p.m....I thought we would also take the "mild" sleeping pill until our arrival in Auck at 7 a.m. two days later......I am sure we will not be able to check into our room until after noon, so what the heck......go for it......

 

Any recommendations as to eating places??:cool:

[SPI_Rick]

foxyh, we also stayed at the Langham Hotel when we were in Auckland. It was a very nice hotel......not as centrally located as I would have liked...but very nice. We took a cab from the hotel to the Kelly Tarlton Aquarium; took the free Aquarium shuttle bus back to the waterfront; walked around near the waterfront where there were many restaurants; continued to walk around the downtown area to Victoria's Market (a disappointment) and the Sky Tower/Sky City Casino (not a disappointment); and then took another cab back to the hotel after we wore ourselves out.

 

Just a word of caution......things in Auckland may be farther than they appear on a map. Auckland is not a flat city. We found that what appeared to be just 'a short little walk' between attractions sometimes turned into a climb up and down 2 or 3 hills to get there....but it is worth it....just think of it as a chance to get a little exercise after all those hours on a plane.

[foxyh]

O.K.......next question....currency......did you find you needed local currency or are credit cards widely acceptable. I really dislike coming home with too much foreign currency because our banks rip you off in the exchange rate. Will the tour directors (drivers) accept usa currency for tipping???? How much local currency is enough???? What about paying taxi drivers????

[alirat]

...some of your questions. Yes credit cards are widely accepted, Visa, Mastercard, Diners and American Express.

 

Tipping is not a general practice in New Zealand, but appreciated when it happens! Its not expected, although it can be found that some restaurants put a bit on the bottom of the bill for tips. There are tip jars in cafes and bars on the counter that are shared among staff. The restaurant and wait staff definately don't depend on tips for their income.

 

There are quite a few currency changing places around the main business district (CBD).

 

If you get a chance to stray from that central area do try Ponsonby Road. It has great restaurants and cafes and some very very nice fashion boutiques.

 

Auckland isnt a very 'central' place and always seems to be in the process of building, I often wonder how our visitors cope!

 

I hope you enjoy your visit.

[barbarah33]

I took this cruise a couple of years ago and adored it!! We flew into Auckland 3 days early to give us time to see the city. In each port - with the exception of Melbourne, we took at least one ships tour and they were all wonderful. Certainly I enjoyed some more than others but I am happy I did each one and don't have any complaints. Then we stayed in Sydney for 4 days after the cruise. After that we flew up to Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef for 5 more days of relaxing and amazing sites before returning to Sydney for another day and half and finally home. We figured if we were going all the way down there we would 'do it right.' So we got two of the largest suites on the ship and stayed in the best hotels/resorts we could find. (Once in a lifetime vacation.)

 

If you have any specific questions about particular Princess tours that I took I would be more than happy to answer them for you. Enjoy every part of it!!

[foxyh]

:) Thank you for your response. I certainly do appreciate hearing from someone "in the know"....we have heard so many wonderful things about your country and we are very anxious to experience all of it......

 

I assume tipping will not offend anyone.....it is a cultural "thing" in America.

This place you mentioned to visit in Auckland.....reached by walking or other means of transportation.:rolleyes:

[WAVTAM]

We did this in January 2006 as a b2b, so we visited each placed twice. We used the port boards, and booked all independent tours. I feel we saw more and paid less. WAVTAM

[foxyh]

I took this cruise a couple of years ago and adored it!! We flew into Auckland 3 days early to give us time to see the city. In each port - with the exception of Melbourne, we took at least one ships tour and they were all wonderful. Certainly I enjoyed some more than others but I am happy I did each one and don't have any complaints. Then we stayed in Sydney for 4 days after the cruise. After that we flew up to Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef for 5 more days of relaxing and amazing sites before returning to Sydney for another day and half and finally home. We figured if we were going all the way down there we would 'do it right.' So we got two of the largest suites on the ship and stayed in the best hotels/resorts we could find. (Once in a lifetime vacation.)

 

If you have any specific questions about particular Princess tours that I took I would be more than happy to answer them for you. Enjoy every part of it!!

I agree with you......we have given serious thought to staying to see the Great Barrier Reef; however, time precludes any extra stays, so we truly hope to see as much as we can.....

 

Give me your opinion on the following shore excursions we are looking at with the cruise lines:

 

Auckland....we have a city tour; and then we have a full day Glo Worm Grotto tour that comes with the hotel stay.

 

Taurangua (Wellington) The Maori Culture and Taurangua Hilites

 

ChristsChurch: Attractions of Christchurch (this encompasses several sites)

 

Dunedin: Town and Country by Train

 

Fjordland Park: Staying on board and enjoying the scenery.

 

Hobart (Tasmania) Scenic Huon Valley and Wildlife Park

 

Melbourne: Puffing Billy Train and Wildlife Mountain

 

Sydney: 3 days that will include a city tour and a full one day tour of the Blue Mountains.

 

Too little time: too much to see.....:eek:

[qld cruiser]

Hi Foxyh, My husband and I are doing the same cruise. the tours you are doing are all good. we have been to N.Z three times now and we love it. the scenery is out of this world.

this will be our first cruise on the Sapphire, but have cruised before a few times on Pacific Princess.

 

we are aussies from the whitsunday area of Queensland.

 

kindest regards, Lorraine:) :)

[foxyh]

Hi Foxyh, My husband and I are doing the same cruise. the tours you are doing are all good. we have been to N.Z three times now and we love it. the scenery is out of this world.

this will be our first cruise on the Sapphire, but have cruised before a few times on Pacific Princess.

 

we are aussies from the whitsunday area of Queensland.

 

kindest regards, Lorraine:) :)

Excellent.......where will you embark the ship???? There will be four of us, but fun loving and extremely friendly people....we will be in Cabins 520 and 532....perhaps we can get together at one of the lounges during a sailing day.......We would love to meet aussie people........:p

 

Helen

[whynotnow]

Seeing Australia and New Zealand has been a lifelong dream for me. My husband would like to visit that area but he can not and does not sleep on airplanes.

 

We live on the East Coast and would have to fly to CA -probably a day ahead -no problem. How do you get through the long flight to Australia?

 

We both really like Australian wines and would love to visit the wine areas - both Hunter and Barossa Valleys.We love visiting wineries where ever we go. I'e done some research but need to learn a lot more.

 

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[foxyh]

Seeing Australia and New Zealand has been a lifelong dream for me. My husband would like to visit that area but he can not and does not sleep on airplanes.

 

We live on the East Coast and would have to fly to CA -probably a day ahead -no problem. How do you get through the long flight to Australia?

 

We both really like Australian wines and would love to visit the wine areas - both Hunter and Barossa Valleys.We love visiting wineries where ever we go. I'e done some research but need to learn a lot more.

 

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

No problem....we plan on visiting some wineries while on tour. I would be more than happy to share our experiences and wine information with you.:rolleyes:

[qld cruiser]

Hi there, we are embarking in Auckland. leaving here on the 11th March, flying from Mackay to Brisbane then across to Auckland.

Would love to meet you all on board. I am sure we would have something in common to chat about.

will keep in touch. kindest regards, Lorraine.

[mummsie]

:) Thank you for your response. I certainly do appreciate hearing from someone "in the know"....we have heard so many wonderful things about your country and we are very anxious to experience all of it......

 

I assume tipping will not offend anyone.....it is a cultural "thing" in America.

This place you mentioned to visit in Auckland.....reached by walking or other means of transportation.:rolleyes:

No need to tip in either Country. The cabbies probably earn more an hour than you do. :) Same with restaurant staff. My son was working casual in a restaurant here and getting almost $20 per hour :)

 

I hope you enjoy your stay in Australia. We actually did the Auckland to Sydney trip a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. We didn't go on any tours - we just caught Princess organised busses or walked into the main areas to have a look around. We had been to most places on our own a few years before so we had seen everything we wanted too. I would suggest when you go to Dunedin that you go to the castle and also the albatross nesting areas. They are really interesting. Gayle :)