Solo to Australia/New Zealand

[UofMGoBlue]

I'm looking into cruising Australia and New Zealand on Celebrity Millenium in December 2008. As a solo it is rather expensive as you all know. Have any of you ever done the trip? If so, can you tell me about your experience? Thanks.

[kitty9]

I did a 28 day cruise in that area in 2004. It was fantastic and I would go back in a second. The cruise stopped in Aukland and Christchurch and then went to Sydney, Queensland, Hayman Island in the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns and Darwin. I got to hold a koala twice, which is one of the reasons I wanted to go there. I felt very safe and didn't have any problems, although I stuck with tours from the ship. The Australian and New Zealanders were wonderful and friendly. The weather in March was pleasan in NZ and in Southern Australia, but once we got to Queensland and north, it was incredibly hot and humid. If you have the chance, make the trip. Yout won't regret it for a moment.

[UofMGoBlue]

Thank you so much for the info! This cruise doesn't stop in all of the places that you mentioned. Of course, it is a much shorter cruise than 28 days. The cruise stops in several places in NZ before heading over to Melbourne and Sydney. Still, I'm looking at this as a once in a life time experience. I'm really leaning towards going. I don't know if I will ever have the opportunity to travel to Australia again.

 

Did you find that there were any other solo travelers on board?

[kitty9]

I did this cruise on Crystal, as part of their world cruise, and Crystal attracts many singles, so there were a lot of us on board. I'm not sure how many solos will be on Celebrity, but I suspect there will be quite a few. I would also guess that it will be relatively child free, which is usually a good thing. I flew to NZ out of LAX, on a 16 hour flight, but it was mostly overnight so it wasn't all that bad. If that cruise wasn't in December, I would go on it, but I don't like being away from home at Christmas. BTW, you will love Millennium. She's a great ship with a great crew.

[UofMGoBlue]

One of the things I'm hesitant about is that long flight. I hate being cooped up for so long.

 

On my 2 previous Celebrity cruises, there were not a lot of strictly solos on board. It didn't bother me too much. I always hooked up with some nice people that I met on board and I never felt lonely unless I wanted to.

[suz8483]

I would really encourage visitors going "down under" to consider renting a car and driving around the lovely countryside as an addition to your cruise experience. The North Island of New Zealand works really well for this type of adventure. The people are very friendly;not many cars on the road once you are out of Auckland and you can get some good fly/drive rates. I found that it was convenient to make hotel reservations in advance---------not nearly as many choices as the US. You'll LOVE the adventure! Susie