Australia, New Zealand, or tropical islands?

Been looking "down under" for a good retirement cruise. Would you recommend doing Eastern Australia, New Zealand or going into the tropical islands (leaving from Australia)? Would appreciate input from anyone who has done these cruises. I see that Raphsody, Radiance and Voyager will be cruising these waters next winter/early spring.

Can't comment about the islands, never been there.

We took a cruise from Sydney to Auckland last month. New Zealand is really a beautiful country with natural wonders, unique blend of Maori and Scottish culture, and amazing marine life (think dolphins!).

It takes a long flight, though. :)

Enjoy your cruise.

Hard to compare as the three are quite different. We have done the islands and enjoyed them but I think the New Zealand cruise would be amazing as the parts of New Zealand I have seen are so beautiful. One thing to remember is that it would be quite a bit colder in NZ than it would be on the Eastern Australia cruise or the islands. If you really like warm weather cruising it is something to consider. The islands can be very hot and humid so if you don't like it too hot also something to consider.

Another option is the cruise around the top of Australia, from Sydney to Perth or vice versa, I think that is an amazing itinerary that goes to places that are pretty hard to get to any other way and it is definitely on my list.

Nice dilemma to have!

Penny

Do both.

These cruises are worth the long flights and cost.

You will need 5 weeks to do the Aust./NZ trip.

2 weeks for the islands.

Princess offers these cruises.

If you like beaches and things such as Snorkeling I would do the Pacific Ocean Islands but otherwise I would do Australia or New Zealand or both as these two countries are some of the best places we have ever visited.

Keith

Another option is the cruise around the Top of Australia, from Sydney to Perth or vice versa, I think that is an amazing itinerary that goes to places that are pretty hard to get to any other way and it is definitely on my list.

I think that a Cruise like that would be great.

Just search for Heavy Seas Tasman "Bass Straight" "Great Australian Bight" as I have on these three several times and certainly would not pay money

My DW ended up in hospital last time we went over Bass Straight and had to have an operation on the back of her throat from vomiting .

"Bass Strait is both twice as wide and twice as rough as the English Channel."

" Tasman Sea ... it is notoriously rough, with many ships lost there during the 19th century."

"Never sail westwards across the south of the Continent (at any time)"

"If you are nervous regarding sea states you should be aware that the southern latitudes of Australia and across to Tasmania can get rough. The Great Australian Bight, Tasman Sea, Coastal Tasmania and Bass Strait can be very rough...but often are not. It is not something you can totally predict."

etc etc

CC Link

I think that a Cruise like that would be great.

 

Just search for Heavy Seas Tasman "Bass Straight" "Great Australian Bight" as I have on these three several times and certainly would not pay money

 

My DW ended up in hospital last time we went over Bass Straight and had to have an operation on the back of her throat from vomiting .

 

"Bass Strait is both twice as wide and twice as rough as the English Channel."

 

" Tasman Sea ... it is notoriously rough, with many ships lost there during the 19th century."

 

"Never sail westwards across the south of the Continent (at any time)"

 

"If you are nervous regarding sea states you should be aware that the southern latitudes of Australia and across to Tasmania can get rough. The Great Australian Bight, Tasman Sea, Coastal Tasmania and Bass Strait can be very rough...but often are not. It is not something you can totally predict."

 

etc etc

 

CC Link

Yes I would definitely want to go around the top of Australia rather than the bottom - weather warmer and seas should be calmer, although as you say you can never totally predict that.

Penny

It really depends on what you like doing / what you want to see. There are big differences between 3 different types of cruises. The best time to cruise New Zealand is Febuary or March. November to January the weather is not settled. Top end of Australia can encounter tropical cyclones as can the Pacific Islands.

Luck of the draw, we sailed over from Australia to NZ last December and the Tasman Sea was as smooth as silk :).

I see that Raphsody, Radiance and Voyager will be cruising these waters next winter/early spring.

Royal is not in Australia in Winter and early Spring. Royal is here Mid spring to Mid Autumn.

The Barrier Reef and Darwin are must sees. Sydney to Perth on the Radiance would be my pick for International Travellers. If doing New Zealand try to pick a Radiance or Rhapsody Cruise for more NZ ports. Voyager is a bit too big.

Glen

Royal is not in Australia in Winter and early Spring. Royal is here Mid spring to Mid Autumn.

The Barrier Reef and Darwin are must sees. Sydney to Perth on the Radiance would be my pick for International Travellers. If doing New Zealand try to pick a Radiance or Rhapsody Cruise for more NZ ports. Voyager is a bit too big.

Glen

I think they mean in their seasons Glen.

Voyager can dock at

Auckland

Tauranga

Napier

Dunedin

There are far more Tender Ports for all Ships in the closer Pacific islands with only Noumea, Vila and Luganville allowing some Ships to Dock.

The Island Tours get a younger group of passengers compared to the longer New Zealand Cruises where the age group is normally a bit older.

Been looking "down under" for a good retirement cruise. Would you recommend doing Eastern Australia, New Zealand or going into the tropical islands (leaving from Australia)? Would appreciate input from anyone who has done these cruises. I see that Raphsody, Radiance and Voyager will be cruising these waters next winter/early spring.

We sailed on the Voyager out of Sydney, a 14 nighter.

Awesome experience.

Here is my review -

Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Dec 2012 Australia & NZ

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1754553

We plan to do the islands some day.

I have a three week trip in November that does a bit of all three. But not exactly as you have asked. We are going on the 12-night Celebrity Solstice cruise from Auckland to Sydney starting November 16. This is not going to be a warm weather cruise. So we are getting our warm weather fix by taking advantage of a free stopover from LAX to Auckland via Tahiti, French Polynesia (FP). We will spend 5 nights in Moorea, FP before the cruse. Stopovers in FP are free on Air Tahiti Nui and it breaks up the long trip. This is a great way to see the "tropical islands", but probably not the islands you were thinking of.

Post cruise, we will be spending 4 nights in Sydney. We have been to Australia and New Zealand before, so we are not trying to "see it all" in one go.

We sailed on the Dawn Princess on the 28 day Australia Circumnavigation. Follwed by a 14 night cruise on the same ship to Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. We enjoyed the islands, but really loved Australia.

We have done both - Sydney to New Zealand on Rhapsody (14 nights) and the Islands on Radiance (10 nights). Both were wonderful, New Zealand is spectacular and is a busy cruise with lots of ports and a lot to see. The islands are beautiful but really mainly beaches and relaxation, and I think if you have done the Caribbean it would be a similar experience, except maybe more rustic and less inhabited and less busy. (and therefore less to do and see, other than the beaches).

I am very prone to sea sickness, car sickness etc - it was smooth crossing the Tasman from Sydney, but rough on the way back, but we took Bonine and were absolutely fine. Quite enjoyed the rocking as we didn't feel sick, but you need to take the meds beforehand.

Both ships were beautiful - Radiance is a little bigger and had a bit more for our teenagers to do, but Rhapsody is just as lovely.

The fear and/or the reality of possible seasickness shouldn't be a major factor when choosing a cruise. Modern seasickness medication is cheap, widely available without prescription and it WORKS so pack it and take it if necessary.

For a once in a lifetime retirement cruise I'd pick a much more interesting and varied Oz/NZ itinerary over the Pacific Islands which to be honest can get a bit "samey" after a short time.

New Zealand, especially the South Island is a magnificent country, spectacular scenery, but the only reason we are doing a cruise round this wonderful place is that we have already done 5 weeks of land based touring in 2012. And we still did not see it all!

IMO while a cruise to NZ would give you a snapshot of the country you will miss the best bits unless you are willing to pay big bucks and organise tours from your ship and even then you will have to cram a lot in, in one day. Best thing to do is to get to NZ early and spend some time viewing the South Island at least with a land based tour.

Same with Australia, it would be like flying into LA, hitting a couple of top spots and saying you have visited the US when in reality you have only scratched the surface. We are a big country with miles and days between attractions. Again a cruise will only give you a snapshot. Quick view of city life with Sydney, visit the animals in the wild life parks and that is it - no real 'Australian' experience. Again you need to come into Australia early or stay after a cruise and take some extended time visiting us.

The South Pacific however, you can get a good visit to each of the islands and a feel of the people because the inhabited areas are small. But there is a caveat with this area as well, most cruise ships sail in the cyclone season and when we did the South Pacific we missed two ports because of a cyclone. Visitors from far away lands were not impressed.

Do your homework, its half the fun. If you are happy with a quick glimpse just do your cruise but if you want to immerse yourself you need to do some land based touring as well.

We sailed on the Voyager in Feb from Sydney to Perth - going around New Zealand. The Voyager is big, but this was a long cruise with quite a few sea days and we appreciated that the ship was big. It was a great cruise; the ports of call were all excellent. We especially loved Tauranga and Dunedin. Tacking some few days on at the beginning and end means you'll see a little more around Sydney and the fabulous west coast - which we truly loved.

Been looking "down under" for a good retirement cruise. Would you recommend doing Eastern Australia, New Zealand or going into the tropical islands (leaving from Australia)? Would appreciate input from anyone who has done these cruises. I see that Raphsody, Radiance and Voyager will be cruising these waters next winter/early spring.

All good comments on here. I would not worry too much about the possibilities of rough seas - yes some of the crossings are notorious - in a small ship/boat. Modern large ships can handle these oceans very well - in particular the Radiance class of ship.

Good advice re crossing from west to east with the prevailing winds behind you.

My preference would be to combine some land portion with a combined Australia/NZ cruise of around 18 days with a total time of 30 days. I would avoid the north of our country during Jan/Feb as it will be very hot & humid with the possibility of a hurricane.

We are planning our Alaska tour and understand exactly your predicament. So much to see is such little time.

We are booked for March 19, 2014, 13 day NZ on the ROS and can't wait. We have added following a 9 day stay post cruise, the 18 day Transpacific to Honolulu + 12 day Hawaii to Vancouver. This will be our first trip and are so excited.

I think they mean in their seasons Glen.

 

Voyager can dock at

Auckland

Tauranga

Napier

Dunedin

And don't forget that the Voyager can dock in Wellington as well. :)

I am looking forward to a 14-night Sydney to Auckland cruise on Celebrity Solstice in January 2014. I also had an 11-night Queensland cruise booked on Radiance of the Seas for Feb. 2014, but RCI changed it to a South Pacific cruise. I didn't care for that cruise itinerary, so I decided to spend 2 weeks traveling around the South Island after the Solstice cruise ends. :) I would love to see more of Tasmania and the Australian mainland on a future trip - whether by land or sea.

If you would consider Holland America, we just returned from a great cruise that began in Auckland, did several lovely ports in NZ, then went to Tasmania, Melbourne, Sydney, then hopped across the Pacific to HI, then Vancouver, then Seattle…so only ONE long flight! Also, it was 37 days, but since it's a repositioning cruise, it's way cheaper than a normal cruise. We loved it…and enjoyed having the time change work in our favor on the return! Consider it!

New Zealand, especially the South Island is a magnificent country, spectacular scenery, but the only reason we are doing a cruise round this wonderful place is that we have already done 5 weeks of land based touring in 2012. And we still did not see it all!

 

IMO while a cruise to NZ would give you a snapshot of the country you will miss the best bits unless you are willing to pay big bucks and organise tours from your ship and even then you will have to cram a lot in, in one day. Best thing to do is to get to NZ early and spend some time viewing the South Island at least with a land based tour.

 

Same with Australia, it would be like flying into LA, hitting a couple of top spots and saying you have visited the US when in reality you have only scratched the surface. We are a big country with miles and days between attractions. Again a cruise will only give you a snapshot. Quick view of city life with Sydney, visit the animals in the wild life parks and that is it - no real 'Australian' experience. Again you need to come into Australia early or stay after a cruise and take some extended time visiting us.

 

The South Pacific however, you can get a good visit to each of the islands and a feel of the people because the inhabited areas are small. But there is a caveat with this area as well, most cruise ships sail in the cyclone season and when we did the South Pacific we missed two ports because of a cyclone. Visitors from far away lands were not impressed.

 

Do your homework, its half the fun. If you are happy with a quick glimpse just do your cruise but if you want to immerse yourself you need to do some land based touring as well.

Doing my homework now. We were told by many when we were young that Australia and New Zealand were both huge countries, very different and very worthy of their own trip. We did Australia basically by a land tour with a mix of bus tours, day tours, flight pass (to go to Alice Springs, Ayers Rock and Kangaroo Island and Adelaide (my favorite town:) ). We rented a car to go to Toowoomba to meet my penpal of over 50 years (so neat!!!) and we took a 5 day cruise on a small ship to the Great Barrier Reef a trip so awesome that we vowed to return for other cruises. That cruise is a 9 day small ship cruise along the coast of South Island from Wellington to Queenstown. Before the cruise we will do 9 days on NOrth Island probably as a self drive. After the cruise we will do a week self exploring South Island. The cruise line that does cruises throughout the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand is found on this website: http://www.coralprincess.com.au If you don't know of them, they don't show up on cruise sales or travel agent brochures. Where they do show up is as National Geographic and Lindblat cruises at twice the price. Check it out.

The Islands I did with Princess with 3 days before arranged by ourselves at an outer island (much less price). Loved it -- great culture, friendly folks and cruise ship is so much cheaper way to do a group of islands than the more expensive land tours. Loved it.

If you are older and the chance that you will be in that part the world again is slight -- put together a combo! Find a cruise that goes around NZ Auckland to Auckland or do a land bus tour (trip advisor has a great trip report on a 19 day Great Pacific Tours bus trip). If you get seasick, fly from Australia to NZ -- avoids that "Big Ditch" and is only a 2 hour flight.

So I have been to all. I loved all and you just can't go wrong with any choice. I am sneaking in a free stopover in Tahiti for 5 days because it is Heaven on Earth and why not!!!! I'm there.

Start reading, Start dreaming, get BH involved if possible, list out what you would like to do and rank them, develop the budget and time and start knocking off the list. Don't look back fully enjoy what you chose. Start planning the next trip as you fly home. Works for me:D And welcome to retirement -- the greatest stage of life yet.