Disembarkation in Auckland

[jms]

We're booked on the Sapphire for next Spring and need to make an air reservation to Sydney the morning of disembarkation in Auckland. Can anyone tell me how early they were able to disembark? I'm looking at 2 different ANZ flights - one at 9AM and the other at 1PM. Is the 9AM too early? It seems to me that the ship is probably docked overnight in Auckland prior to disembarkation. Any help will be appreciated :)

Thanks!

[ErinH1]

A 9 a.m. flight is out of the question. The ship did not dock there the night prior, this year at least. I think they start letting people off at 7 a.m. if you have signed up for a Princess Auckland excursion. After that the rest of the passengers get off in assigned groups. It takes an hour to get off the ship (stand in line), collect your luggage and go through NZ immigration/customs (stand in another line). Then it's caos trying to get a taxi (stand in a long line) with all the people getting off & all the people wanting to get on. It's a 30-45 minute drive to the airport depending on time of day & traffic. So you'll be doing good if you even get to the airport by 11 a.m.

[Lobbylin]

ErinH1

 

If you were on a Sydney to Auckland cruise, did you also have to do NZ customs and immigration at the first port of entry in NZ (in our case Dunedin)as well as Auckland?

 

I too am disembarking at Auckland in Jan 08 from the Celebrity Mercury and was hoping there would be no formalities at disembarkation. We dock at 7am and I was hoping to be off the ship at 9am.

 

It's not imperative if we don't get off that early, It's just that I had booked a taxi tour of Auckland with a plan to end at the airport at 12midday for our 14.20hr international flight.

 

Thanks!

[ErinH1]

Lbackwith:

 

As you can tell we were on Princess so I don't know if Mercury will be the same. But NZ immigration actually came on board our ship at the last Australian stop, Hobart. The next day each passenger had to fill out forms and present themselves to the NZ authorities. It was, of course, an at-sea day so not really too inconvenient. When we got to our first stop, which was also Dunedin, nothing else needed to be done.

 

Yes there are definitely formalities when disembarking in Auckland. Also, keep in mind at the airport you have to go to an office to pay a departure fee/tax. Plus, as I recall there were not one but two inspection stops before being allowed to the gate. So for peace of mind I would arrive a minimum of 90 minutes ahead for an international flight. It's not a huge airport and wasn't that crowded for us early evening, but there are extra steps involved.

[Lobbylin]

ErinH1

 

Thanks for the heads up!;) I can see we may need to delay our taxi pick-up from the port!

 

Linda

[jms]

I guess we'll book the 1PM flight. I hadn't even thought about AKL customs/immigration!! Thank you for the help with this dilemma.

[pinksuit]

We're booked on the Sapphire for next Spring and need to make an air reservation to Sydney the morning of disembarkation in Auckland. Can anyone tell me how early they were able to disembark? I'm looking at 2 different ANZ flights - one at 9AM and the other at 1PM. Is the 9AM too early? It seems to me that the ship is probably docked overnight in Auckland prior to disembarkation. Any help will be appreciated :)

Thanks!

 

By all means, take the later. If you have time, consider staying the night so you can have a tour on the 14th.

PinkSuit