Sydney to New Zealand Cruise

Its a big birthday for me in 2017, I'm thinking of a cruise from Sydney to New Zealand. I notice that the cruises have already been released for 2017, but which cruise company to choose is the question.

Does anyone have any recommendations - companies, must visit places? We will probably stay in Sydney for a few days prior to the cruise, but are limited by the number of days holiday that we can take.

We are booked on Holland America 13 day for an Auckland to Sydney cruise. Our two favorite lines are Celebrity and Holland America. Princess does a lot of sailings from Australia but we have never sailed with them. Celebrity Solstice class ships are stunning. HAL has a really friendly crew on (now) mid-size or smaller ships.

The first thing you should decide is do you want a round trip from Sydney or a one way. One ways save some sea days getting back. This allows one ways to have a few extra stops.

Most cruises we looked at stop in mostly the same places in New Zealand. The added stops were in Tasmania and Melbourne on our cruise.

Too bad you have limited time. There is SO much to see either in Australia or New Zealand before or after your cruise. If you haven't been to Sydney before try to stay near the area of the Opera House. It is expensive to stay there but worth it for a short first visit.

If you are looking for a more reasonable rate, we have stayed in the Hyde Park Inn a bit up from there and it is more reasonable and on the free bus line. We are staying there again for our upcoming cruise.

Best wishes for you Birthday!

Thank you jmps, I'll take a look at Holland America we have not cruised with them before. I wondered whether the Auckland to Sydney cruises could be a good option it looks like you save 2 days at sea.

I love researching and planning cruises, that's part of the fun for me. My other half, however, just likes to arrive at the airport knowing very little about what we will be doing.

Before booking a cruise, think about what you want to get out of this trip.

If the main goal is to take a cruise and a secondary goal is to see some ports in New Zealand (and maybe Australia, depending on the itinerary), then a Sydney-NZ cruise sounds right for you.

If the main goal is to see some of the major sights of New Zealand, then a cruise may not be your best bet. Much of the best of NZ is located in the interior and not included on cruises (e.g. Queenstown, Mt. Cook, Lake Taupo) or is not visited since it's on the western side (e.g. Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers) If those are the places you want to see, you might want to plan a land-based trip.

Thank you jmps, I'll take a look at Holland America we have not cruised with them before. I wondered whether the Auckland to Sydney cruises could be a good option it looks like you save 2 days at sea.

I love researching and planning cruises, that's part of the fun for me. My other half, however, just likes to arrive at the airport knowing very little about what we will be doing.

I love to plan as well and my spouse pretty much just shows up too!

GradUT does make a good point about the sights. We plan to spend a week on a self drive precruise tour on the south island visiting Mt. Cook and Queenstown. If you can squeeze in a few more days doing some land touring will really expand your experience.

We did a ten day land tour of Australia a few years ago and that barely scratched to surface there.

Before booking a cruise, think about what you want to get out of this trip. If the main goal is to take a cruise and a secondary goal is to see some ports in New Zealand (and maybe Australia, depending on the itinerary), then a Sydney-NZ cruise sounds right for you. If the main goal is to see some of the major sights of New Zealand, then a cruise may not be your best bet. Much of the best of NZ is located in the interior and not included on cruises (e.g. Queenstown, Mt. Cook, Lake Taupo) or is not visited since it's on the western side (e.g. Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers) If those are the places you want to see, you might want to plan a land-based trip.

Appreciate these wise points above from GradUT, plus the many other posts and factors offered for consideration. What's best? As detailed below on my live/blog, we did our cruise from Sydney to Auckland through Celebrity on their well-designed Solstice ship. Worked very well, including their two-day, overnight excursion that allowed us to sample Queenstown and key parts of the scenic NZ Southern Island. Wonderful!!

The honest truth is that there are so many wonderful options to see and do in both countries. You cannot do it "ALL" or even half in just one trip. On ship versus land options, the correct reality is that BOTH is best. That's what we did with Great Barrier Reef/Rainforest areas near Cairns, plus Kangaroo Island near Adelaide before starting our cruise from Sydney. Then we had added time after the cruise's compelition for in and around Auckland.

Given the long flight times to get down there . . . and back . . . the more time you can spend there, then the more "efficient" you can be to maximize your enjoyment and experiences. Below are a few of my visuals for certain of the "best of the best" locations that we enjoyed most. Many more details and visuals on the full live/blog.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 115,596 views for this posting.

Here is a picture from our New Zealand South Island JetBoat ride that my wife loved so much. From Akaroa, we did a combination ship excursion that included both the rail trip to the mountains/National Park, plus JetBoat. Notice her hands and those of others in our row super tightly gripping the safety bar? That says so much about the speed and thrills while roaring up and down this amazing stretch of scenic river. We've had lots of great moments on this trip, but one was a unique and special ride in a location that is spectacularly world-class near the NZ Southern Alps. And, perfect weather with good friends adds to the great joy!!:

From our group's Bay of Islands water fun, we got to do real sailing, including going out into the nearby Pacific Ocean! See the proof and success below. It was both a perfect weather day and such fun sampling this great region of northern NZ. One of the options for those in our Central Ohio group on this custom, private sailing was to help to do as much (or as little as desired) in helping make this sail experience happen. Here you can see Captain Murray guiding the ship from this great vantage point on the back of the Zindabar. Was this exciting and scenic for our group?:

Here is one of my visuals in connection with this steamship sailing leading to the dinner at the sheep station at the other end of this scenic lake near Queenstown. This was during our two-day Solstice excursion to explore so much for the scenic interior of NZ’s South Island. You will see lots of scenic mountains and areas during this sailing that is a key part of this evening fun. And, there was food!! Also on this two-day trip, we did a winery, an old gold-rush town, where bungee jumping started, a rainforest, etc.:

This is Old St. Paul's church in Wellington. It is the former cathedral in the Diocese of Wellington for the Anglican Church. As an example of 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture, they adapted to colonial conditions and materials. It is at 34 Mulgrave Street, close to the New Zealand Parliament. Its construction was completed in June 1866. After a significant battle to prevent its demolition, Old St. Paul's was purchased by the New Zealand Government in 1967 and restored. Although not a parish church, it remains consecrated and is a popular for weddings, funerals and other services. It is constructed from native NZ timbers. The interior has been likened to the upturned hull of an Elizabethan galleon with its exposed curving trusses and roof sacking. The flags displayed in the nave include the Royal Navy, NZ Merchant Navy and US Marine Corps. Many of our Marines were stationed in Wellington during World War II. My wife is in yellow walking down the center aisle as she absorb the building details. This was a very important and "moving" site to experience. :

At Te Puia near Rotorua in northern New Zealand during the Tauranga port stop, this Maori performance starts its ceremonies outside and then we entered the Wahiao Meeting House. Fortunately (with some skill), I was in a prime front row seat to be able to get great pictures, video, etc. Plus, experience the quality for how these members share these cultural traditions.:

From Port Arthur, the historic Tasmanian penal colony seen during our stop in Hobart, here is just one of the many views for some of the sights there. This gives an overview for a portion of this prison site. This location was nearby to the water area as the prisoners would arrive from England for this “visit”. It took six to nine months to make the journey from England to this distant part of the world.:

Like you we are doing a New Zealand cruise in 2017 but have already booked. We are spending a week on the South Island revisiting our favourite spots and getting to a couple of places we haven't been to before. Then we are flying from Dunedin to Auckland on the Thursday the cruise leaves and hop on the Solstice for a scenic trip back to Australia.

Its a good cruise calling into the major NZ ports and through the Sounds which are a 'must see', then onto Hobart in Tasmania then to Sydney. That cruise is in February which is a great time to visit both countries and it is also done in the reverse from Sydney to Auckland.

The only issue I have with it is that it does not visit the Bay of Islands which I would like to cruise in and out of one day, though I have already visited on a land tour.

the best day of our new zealand cruise was the day spent cruising in the fiordland national park in the south island especially Milford Sound.

we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day and also a pod of dolphins

As said above, if you want a cruise and to see a little of both countries great, if you want to see both countries a cruise may not be the best way.

I would add that the one way cruises that include Melbourne and/or Hobart are better than the return if you are flying all that way. Otherwise you really don't see Aus at all.

Dear All

Thanks for all your comments lots to look at and consider. I'm thinking that the Auckland to Sydney cruise is a very good option for us and add nights in both Auckland and Sydney. Can anyone recommend a good hotel in Auckland that would be close to the cruise terminal.

Dear All

Thanks for all your comments lots to look at and consider. I'm thinking that the Auckland to Sydney cruise is a very good option for us and add nights in both Auckland and Sydney. Can anyone recommend a good hotel in Auckland that would be close to the cruise terminal.

The Hilton is on the pier right at the ship. It is expensive but not as high as the one in Sydney.

We have just booked on the Emerald Princess for the Feb 13 2017 sailing from Sydney to Auckland.

As mentioned above there are about 3 Princess ships sailing out of Australia all summer so they have plenty of options to NZ and around Aus.

We weighed up our options on ports of call as we are from Melbourne it means flying to Sydney and flying home from Auckland. However price wise this will work out cheaper than doing the round trip back to Sydney (go figure!)

We are mainly cruising for the cruise aspect as I have extensively travelled through the interior of NZ.

The bonus for us is that it does stop at some of my favourite places in NZ (Picton and Napier specifically) as well as Hobart. And more importantly the price was good as well.

We have just booked on the Emerald Princess for the Feb 13 2017 sailing from Sydney to Auckland.

 

As mentioned above there are about 3 Princess ships sailing out of Australia all summer so they have plenty of options to NZ and around Aus.

 

We weighed up our options on ports of call as we are from Melbourne it means flying to Sydney and flying home from Auckland. However price wise this will work out cheaper than doing the round trip back to Sydney (go figure!)

 

We are mainly cruising for the cruise aspect as I have extensively travelled through the interior of NZ.

 

The bonus for us is that it does stop at some of my favourite places in NZ (Picton and Napier specifically) as well as Hobart. And more importantly the price was good as well.

Yep seems like yesterday we got Pacific for a few months.

Dec next year looks like, Sea, Sun, Dawn, Golden and Emerald, but I do miss Pacific.