what trips to do

We are doing the 12 night australia/newzealand cruise, and dont know whether to take a cruise trips or indipendant tours. does anyone know of good companies for this. we fly out on the 24th November as usual every thing to the last minute.:D

There's no way for us to make recommendations without knowing your ports of call and your interests.

The Australia/New Zealand ports are not like those in the Caribbean where lots of tour guides are waiting for walk-up tours--you need to find a tour and book in advance.

My rule-of-thumb is to book city tours with a private guide (or do self-guided tours) and to book ship-sponsored tours for those that take me at some distance from the ship so that I'm not worrying about "missing the boat". But, having waited this late, you might have problems booking both ships excursions and private tours. Good luck!

I have taken a New Zealand cruise before & most of the ports will

have local tour operators at the pier or at a visitors centre.

The downside to waiting until you're there is you have to queue for your turn. (sometimes, especially in Tauranga, there was a long queue ).

We are doing the 12 night australia/newzealand cruise, and dont know whether to take a cruise trips or indipendant tours. does anyone know of good companies for this. we fly out on the 24th November as usual every thing to the last minute.:D

In Napier I booked a wine and cheese tour online called Views and Vines. He picked you up from the ship gangway and take you to a boutique winery then up a mountain to a private area for wine and cheese. Fantastic day! Otherwise ISite NZ has their booth when you get off the ship and you can book tours from there. We find that a couple of times.

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I have taken a New Zealand cruise before & most of the ports will

have local tour operators at the pier or at a visitors centre.

The downside to waiting until you're there is you have to queue for your turn. (sometimes, especially in Tauranga, there was a long queue ).

At Tauranga, if you walk just outside the wharf, there will be people there offering tours.

In addition, you can catch a local bus to Tauranga (where I did my best local shopping in NZ) or just walk around the beaches at Mount Mauriganui and local shopping area (touristy, but nice), where ship berths.

http://www.newzealand.com/au/tauranga/

NZ is an easy country to arrange your independent travel as you go.

Bon Voyage.

There's no way for us to make recommendations without knowing your ports of call and your interests.

The Australia/New Zealand ports are not like those in the Caribbean where lots of tour guides are waiting for walk-up tours--you need to find a tour and book in advance.

 

My rule-of-thumb is to book city tours with a private guide (or do self-guided tours) and to book ship-sponsored tours for those that take me at some distance from the ship so that I'm not worrying about "missing the boat". But, having waited this late, you might have problems booking both ships excursions and private tours. Good luck!

On our recent trip we found it easy to get local tours at all of the ports for about one third the shipboard rate. Almost all towns have tourist offices that will provide a range of options. Tour operators in New Zealand will guarantee getting you to the ship and will drive you to the next port in the eventuality something causes a delay. In Sidney your hotel will have a good selection of local tours as well.