Rhapsody of the Seas Cruise to NZ 07/01/2010

[weed1327]

Hi all,
Was just wondering if anybody could tell me distances from the New Zealand Ports into town.

If it's more than walking distance what is the cost of other modes of transport into town? i.e shuttle, taxi etc.

Also, what do you believe is the best website to use to get maps of the ports we will be stopping at.

Thanks so much

Weed1327

[MalNZ]

Hi, I am a New Zealander, which ports are you visiting?

In Auckland, the ships dock right in the city. Depending on what you want to do, there is quite alot of things quite near by, with out doing a tour.

July is our winter and we do get quite a bit of rain

Mal NZ

[weed1327]

Hi MaINZ,
We will be visiting Bay of Islands, Auckland,Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
weed1327

[MalNZ]

Hi
The Bay of Islands is really beautiful and you will be tendering into shore, as they do not have a port there. It is lovely area to just walk around, but there is also alot of history in Northland, so a tour to Kerikeri or even up to 90 mile beach would be good, but that is a long trip and may not be offered. If you just want to do your own thing, I highly recommend the ferry over to Russell, which leaves from Paihia and only takes about 15minutes or so each way. Russell is one of the original settlements, so has quite alot of history.

Auckland, as mentioned before has the cruise ships coming right into the city area, just walk off the ship and the shops are across the road. Where the ship docks, there are also alot of ferries that do harbour cruises and also you can go to Devonport, which is on the other side of our harbour bridge. Devonport is a nice destination with great shops and a beach area. We also have the hop on hop off bus service which would take you to the main attractions in the Auckland area. I always find these good if you are on a budget.

Tauranga is a lovely area also, but not sure where the ship comes in there. It is very near Mt Maunganui which has a wonderful beach and shopping area, but since you are coming in July, it would not be swimming weather here.

Napier is usually has a warmer climate and it is quite a small place, again not sure how far the port is away from the town, but I imagine it would be quite close. Have quite a few wineries in this area.

Wellington is our capital city and the port is in the city but not sure if walkable.

In Christchurch the port is in Lyttleton, which is not in the city. The drive to the Christchurch city is really lovely, if you do not just take the tunnell. Akaroa is also a lovely place to visit, which has a french feel about the place. I love Christchurch, a lovely place, very green with lots of parks. It would be quite cold down there in July and you could even get snow.

The North Island destinations above, do not get snow at this time of year, but we do get quite abit of rain

Dunedin is definitely a cool place to visit. The city area is walkable from the Port area but it is not that close. Dunedin is very pretty, I was working down there a couple of weeks ago and my hubby came down with me and enjoyed being a tourist, and we did not have a car.

I hope this helps - sorry could not give you more details on some ports, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate.

Where are you from?

MAL NZ





http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/...newzealand.cfm

[weed1327]

Hi MaINZ
Thanks again for the info.
We are cruising NZ in January
Hubby and l are from a regional city called Mildura, which is at the top of Victoria near the New South Wales border, 555 kilometres from Melbourne.

weed1327

[MalNZ]

Gosh, sorry - the dates are a worry, did not realise that you were from down this end of the world

You will have lovely weather. Especially in Napier and Tauranga. Also the South Island can get really great weather BUT nothing like your area of the world. It may seem cool to you LOL

If you need any further help, please do not hesitate to ask.

We will be stopping in Melbourne for four nights on the way back from our Caribbean Cruise, do you know Melbourne very well?

MalNZ