Must Do's - First Time Cruising in NZ

Good evening all,

I will be cruising on the Dawn Princess departing MEL on 11/02, and am looking for some help on things to do at each port. Any experienced NZ cruisers out there that can share some top things to do at each port? Also, which port should i seek a car rental vs. a tour?

My ports of call:

Auckland, New Zealand 10:00 am 8:00 pm

Tauranga, New Zealand 5:30 am 4:30 pm

Napier, New Zealand 12:00 pm 7:00 pm

Wellington, New Zealand 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Akaroa, New Zealand 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Dunedin, (Port Chalmers), NZ 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Cruising Fiordland National Park 8:00 am 5:00 pm

Good evening all,

 

I will be cruising on the Dawn Princess departing MEL on 11/02, and am looking for some help on things to do at each port. Any experienced NZ cruisers out there that can share some top things to do at each port? Also, which port should i seek a car rental vs. a tour?

 

My ports of call:

 

Auckland, New Zealand 10:00 am 8:00 pm

Tauranga, New Zealand 5:30 am 4:30 pm

Napier, New Zealand 12:00 pm 7:00 pm

Wellington, New Zealand 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Akaroa, New Zealand 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Dunedin, (Port Chalmers), NZ 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Cruising Fiordland National Park 8:00 am 5:00 pm

I suggest you check out Trip Advisor and also the ports of call part of CC.

But for me must do's are:

Auckland - the Sky Tower and ferry across to Devonport.

Wellington, - the vernacular tram, botanical gardens and the museum.

Akaroa - Whale /dolphin watch

Dunedin - Speights brewery or the Gorge Railway.:D

Wellington...... Free tour of Parliament House. (Not the ship's tour)

Tourist Information Office City Tour

Funicular cable tram to mountain top lookout over the City and

walk back down through Botanic Gardens and Lady Norwood

Rose Gardens

Auckland. Walking tour of CBD where the ship ties up about 200 metres

Away. Include a trip up the Auckland Tower

Take a bus tour of surrounding areas through the tourist office

Dunedin. Taerie Gorge rail trip. Organise direct with the railways on

Taieri.co.nz/bookings. It will be half the price of the same tour

Booked through the ship. Also Cadbury chocolate factory and

Speights brewery

Tauranga. Rotorua trips usually leave from here. We will be on Dawn

Princess for this xmas cruise and have organised car hire from

Here. Tauranga itself is a nice town with a long beach and Mt

Manganui near to where the ship docks. It has a fairly easy

Walking track to the top with excellent 360 d views

You could fill your whole day just walking in and around

Taranga

In all of your port stops go to the local Tourist Information office usually set up right on the wharf. They will organise tours and make suggestion about things to do and see into at particular port. We have found these Offices most helpful

I am sure you will have a marvellous cruise with the highlight of course, being the whole day of cruising through the Sounds

John

LOL,:D just realised the spell check has my post saying a vernacular tram,:eek: one used by ordinary people I would think.:p

LOL,:D just realised the spell check has my post saying a vernacular tram,:eek: one used by ordinary people I would think.:p

Spell Check ??, carnt yoo tern it of,

Whoo nedes it aneway.:)

lol. Thank you for sharing. Have any of you guys done Hobbiton? What about scenic locations?

Sometime ago after many requests we put together a one day visit to Wellington especially designed for cruisers on a one day trip and don't want to spend a lot of money or travel too much. The details can be found on Trip Advisor Wellington Forum in the FAQ section at the top right hand of the page.

In short it involves a walk along the waterfront to Te Papa Museum, a trip up the cable car to the Botanic Garden and a gentle walk down through the gardens back to the ship.

Te Papa is an interactive museum and is free entry.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/ShowForum-g255115-i911-Wellington_Greater_Wellington_North_Island.html

Have a great visit to the "Coolest little Capital in the World".

Mike

Tauranga. Rotorua trips - we used Archer Tours. Jim was absolutely wonderful. Best trip we took on the cruise. It was well priced and Jim made sure we were happy. He has a set plan for everything but is flexible.

Sometime ago after many requests we put together a one day visit to Wellington especially designed for cruisers on a one day trip and don't want to spend a lot of money or travel too much. The details can be found on Trip Advisor Wellington Forum in the FAQ section at the top right hand of the page.

In short it involves a walk along the waterfront to Te Papa Museum, a trip up the cable car to the Botanic Garden and a gentle walk down through the gardens back to the ship.

Te Papa is an interactive museum and is free entry.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/ShowForum-g255115-i911-Wellington_Greater_Wellington_North_Island.html

 

 

Have a great visit to the "Coolest little Capital in the World".

 

Mike

This is my recommendation as well. It is easy to do, fairly cheap and well worth the experience.:D

Have a look at this mob:

https://www.shoretripsandtours.com/

They are very experienced, very professional and will not let you down.:)

I have been using them for a number of years, and seen their business grow from humble beginnings to a very slick and well run organisation.

Their prices are also very competitive.:D

cheers

Sometime ago after many requests we put together a one day visit to Wellington especially designed for cruisers ...

In short it involves a walk along the waterfront to Te Papa Museum, a trip up the cable car to the Botanic Garden and a gentle walk down through the gardens back to the ship.

This is what we did & I agree (with you Mike and also Mic) it was very good. Our suggestion would be take the shuttle into city centre, and walk to Te Papa from there - you can walk from the ship (we did), but the time you spend walking is better spent in Te Papa - we didn't really get to see it all & plan to return on our next visit. Also, just be aware that on 'cruiseship days' there can be a long line for the cable car, so maybe head off early and do that first - it is very near where the shuttle drops you off, and easy walk to Te Papa.

The couple I would add is instead of going into Christchurch (long bus ride), do the Akaroa Mail Run - absolutely superb.

Here is a link for you: http://www.akaroa.com/tours/akaroas-eastern-bays-scenic-mail-run

The other one is Black Rose Limos in Napier. If you get a group together, Glen will pick you up at the ship and drop you back. The "Limo" is like a Hummer inside. If you can't get a group together, he will be where the tours are when you get off the shuttle bus.

Here is a link http://www.blackroselimos.co.nz/

Cheers

Di

Good evening all,

 

I will be cruising on the Dawn Princess departing MEL on 11/02, and am looking for some help on things to do at each port. Any experienced NZ cruisers out there that can share some top things to do at each port? Also, which port should i seek a car rental vs. a tour?

 

My ports of call:

 

Auckland, New Zealand 10:00 am 8:00 pm

Tauranga, New Zealand 5:30 am 4:30 pm

Napier, New Zealand 12:00 pm 7:00 pm

Wellington, New Zealand 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Akaroa, New Zealand 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Dunedin, (Port Chalmers), NZ 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Cruising Fiordland National Park 8:00 am 5:00 pm

Hi

In NZ we never do ship tours as it just so much cheaper to do it yourself. Auckland- there is so much to see in walking distance from the port.

Tauranga- we hire a car to take a drive into Rotaroa or go for a drive down the coast .

Napier-You take the shuttle into town and walk around lots to see and its a beautiful town. If you are into wine . Princey tours are great or Black Rose is meant to be good too.

.http://www.visithastings.co.nz/local-activities/prinsys-rural-experience-and-wine-tours/

Wellington- you can walk or catch the shuttle into town (fee) and then the tram and the gardens.

Akaroa -Dolphin watch/swim book direct with Blackcat or one the other companies as it is cheaper than the boat or the mail run.

Dunedin-We like to use Goodcompany tours. We have done a private tour with them and also there train tour Adult tickets was less than half the price of the ship .

http://www.goodcompanytours.co.nz/shore-excursions-dunedin

Enjoy your cruise New Zealand is lovely.

Cheers Trish

Good evening all,

 

I will be cruising on the Dawn Princess departing MEL on 11/02, and am looking for some help on things to do at each port. Any experienced NZ cruisers out there that can share some top things to do at each port? Also, which port should i seek a car rental vs. a tour?

 

My ports of call:

 

Auckland, New Zealand 10:00 am 8:00 pm

Tauranga, New Zealand 5:30 am 4:30 pm

Napier, New Zealand 12:00 pm 7:00 pm

Wellington, New Zealand 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Akaroa, New Zealand 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Dunedin, (Port Chalmers), NZ 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Cruising Fiordland National Park 8:00 am 5:00 pm

In Auckland we took the city bus from the Britomart and hiked up Mt. Eden. After walking down, we took the bus back toward Queen street and walked around checking out the shops and taking the free Queen St bus.

Tauranga my group split up. One took a non ship tour to Hobbiton. My mom and I took the Twin City Express bus over to Rotorua and went to Skyline Gondola and to Ogo Zorb.

Akaroa was a beautiful little town to walk around. We did that in the morning and then in the afternoon we took a tour over to Flea Bay for penguin and kayaking. My mom took the Princess tour of the Tranz Alpine Railway. She said it was nice but not really worth the money.

Dunedin we took the city bus in from Port Chalmers and visited Baldwin Street, Cadbury, Speight Brewery, Dunedin Chinese Gardens and the Railway Station. While I did the Brewery, Mom toured the Olveston historic home.

The link to my whole review is in my signature. Have a great time!!!

Connie

PAST CRUISES:

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

Auckland - sky tower or Kelly Tarltons cheaper to buy on line and free bus near port or harbour cruise cheaper for early purchase on line next to port

Tauranga we hire a car (Pegasus) the families favourite is Gondala and luge ride or a visit to a thermal park with hot spa and mud bath

Napier Black Rose Limousine tour excellent, winery, strawberry farm, lookout etc

Wellington cable car and Te Papa

Akaroa tours sold at dock - double decker bus tour or jet boat ride

Dunedin hired a car Larnach Castle, worlds steepest street

These are just a few ideas of places we have enjoyed, at the moment we are investigating different options for our 3rd NZ cruise next April.:)

There is a free red bus in Auckland along Queen Street (main street) and you can get time table and route map in town. If you arrive in Auckland a few days early, then you can book a lot of tours from Auckland.

From Tauranga, we have booked the Hobbiton tour with Shore Trips and Tours. The cost is NZ$149 which includes return transport from pier (and sightseeing on the way). I searched the Hobbiton Movie Set website and it describes its tour as "On the most picturesque private farmland you can visit the Hobbiton Movie Set from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies in a fascinating two-hour guided tour. The set has been completely rebuilt for The Hobbit and will remain as it was seen in these films and The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The set has been completely rebuilt for The Hobbit and will remain as it was seen in these films and The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. During your tour you will see Hobbit Holes, The Green Dragon Inn, The Mill, double arched bridge and other structures and gardens built for the films." The tour cost is NZ$75.

Other excursion companies conduct tours from Wellington but they are to locations where the movies were made - there are mixed reviews on same.

Comments from fellow cruisers on other ports are very useful too.

I agree with an earlier poster. We went with Jim Archer of Archer tours in Tauranga and it was wonderful! Actually I am in the promotional video on his website! He was wonderful and it was the best shot excursion on our trip from Sydney to Perth.