Atlantis announces on sale date for Australia cruise

feb 18th for 10 or more alumni,

disembark at 12:00 pm on day after Mardi Gras parade.

Alumni On Sale schedule (with a block being "held" for aussies, don't know if that means already being sold, but suspect so)

Date: Status:

February 18 Alumni traveled 10 or more vacations

February 20 Alumni traveled 4 or more vacations

February 23 All alumni

February 26 General public

details on main Atlantis site

Sorry for the bad cut and paste, but it's a straight copy from the Atlantis web site listing

17 February

Auckland, New Zealand

4 PM

18 February

Scenic cruising White Island

10 AM

12 PM

19 February

Wellington, New Zealand

3 PM

10 PM

20 February

Lyttelton (Christchurch), New Zealand

8 AM

8 PM

21 February

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand

8 AM

5 PM

22 February

At Sea

23 February

At Sea

24 February

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

12 PM

overnight

25 February Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

3 AM

26 February At Sea

27 February Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

8 AM overnight

28 February Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 12 PM

feb 18th for 10 or more alumni,

 

disembark at 12:00 pm on day after Mardi Gras parade.

 

Alumni On Sale schedule (with a block being "held" for aussies, don't know if that means already being sold, but suspect so)

Date: Status:

 

February 18 Alumni traveled 10 or more vacations

 

February 20 Alumni traveled 4 or more vacations

 

February 23 All alumni

 

February 26 General public

 

details on main Atlantis site

Here's the link with all the details http://atlantisevents.com/cruises_2010_auckland.aspx

Basically this is great news but it is too bad that the itinerary could not include any portion of Fjordland National Park on the South Island.

This area includes Milford Sound which is considered to be one of the most beautiful fjords in the world. I understand that Atlantis felt it was more

exciting to include more cities and less sightseeing days at sea. However, I would not want to travel that far from the USA and not see all of the Fjordland area including Misty Sound, Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound. Problem is solved by arriving in New Zealand early enough to include some days of touring the country prior to embarking in Auckland.

The trip sounds great and I've always wanted to go to Down Under however, at only 2 cruises sailed (3 in a couple of weeks) I doubt our chances of getting on board will be high however, the economy is still not great and with the price of airfare do you think some people might hold off? I can always hope that like other cruises people will put a deposit down and then drop out as it gets closer.

The ship is 1,400 pax. I doubt the thing will book completely by the time the "all alumni" call is sounded. Even if it did, Rich always says get on the waitlist (in this case do it day one that you can). You will more than likely not need it, but I suspect you would clear it anyway.

Honestly, the economy is hurting, and all aspects of the travel industry have been affected. I don't believe that Atlantis is immune from it. Rich just dropped the Tahiti cruise (which as I suspected, broke before the Oz cruise was [air quotes here, "Formally Announced", end air quotes], with an on-sale date. There are a lot of alumni who jumped on that, who may decide to hold off on Oz just yet. That's a lot of expense to drop in a short time. (once you factor in air, and pre-post lodging). Also, the later 2009 cruises are not selling at nearly what one expect at this point.

Take a look at the activity on the Asia cruise, which "sold out" in record time, yet the waitlist (which at one point was over 150 people) has cycled through completely, and continues to churn, and is still perhaps not completely "sold out". This cruise had some of the longest running buzz/demand since I have been cruising with Atlantis (since the 1st Star Hawaii cruise). Yet, it still churned all the way through. That's saying something, especially when it "sold out" to alumni, etc.

I can't (and don't) speak for Atlantis, but I suspect that you'll be able to book something when your "day" rolls around. You might not get the specific category or specific cabin, but I doubt the ship will be completely sold out before it goes on sale to the General Public (and that's with the block of rooms being held for Aussies).

duplicate, sorry

Amusea,

Are you flying to Queenstown to visit the Fjordland Natl Park? I've looked into doing that, but it would be a lot of hassle and expense to have an extra flight and driving time from Queenstown to the park and back. I'm using AA miles and they only fly to Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.

Is there time in Melbourne to do a city tour the first day (arrive in port 2 PM) and to do the Great Ocean Road the second day (leave port 3 PM)? Or vice versa?

Amusea,

 

Are you flying to Queenstown to visit the Fjordland Natl Park? I've looked into doing that, but it would be a lot of hassle and expense to have an extra flight and driving time from Queenstown to the park and back. I'm using AA miles and they only fly to Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.

sej67,

Jetstar is starting up this summer in New Zealand and they have flights from Auckland to Queenstown and return for under $140.00. That's the good news. The problem is getting from Queenstown to Milford Sound. It is a five hour drive from Queenstown and in Feb. the glut of tour buses can make the trip even longer. The portion of the day from 11:00 to 2:00 is the busiest for day trippers that are on tour buses. There is a company called Real Journeys that provides a bus trip to Milford from Queenstown but the length of the journey is about 8 hours because they stop for sightseeing and lunch. This bus is used mainly for those folks that book the overnight cruise on Milford Sound which is the best way to go - boat leaves at 4 PM. The Real Journeys price includes lunch, the bus round trip, dinner and private or quad room on the boat. However, the next morning you disembark at 9 AM and again have to face the trip back to Queenstown. You can book the seaplane IF it flies but that all depends on the quirky weather and the cost is high. Most blogs suggest not driving the road from Queenstown to Milford because of traffic and the road can be dangerous. That doesn't leave many options but I really would like to make the trip. I am open to any suggestions. We are probably leaving for Auckland about a week before the cruise begins and will visit Queenstown in any case. At present the NZ dollar is weak. You get about $1.90 U.S. for each NZ dollar which helps with the total cost.

Is there time in Melbourne to do a city tour the first day (arrive in port 2 PM) and to do the Great Ocean Road the second day (leave port 3 PM)? Or vice versa?

This is another excursion that we have looked into. You would not be able to travel the complete length of the road and back on Day 2. You might be able to see half of it IF you don't stop but it depends on the traffic and you have to be back on board at 2:30 the latest. Unfortunately, the best part is the farthest section of the road. If Melbourne is as wonderful as many people have reported, we will probably fly back there after the cruise ends in Sydney since we have no definite time schedule. Here is an interesting quote from Wikipedia regarding the road:

The road's speed limit varies from 80 km/h (50 mph) to 100 km/h (62 mph) out of urban areas. However, its sharp curves make it difficult to maintain those speeds. It is a two lane roadway (one lane in each direction). Urban area speed limits vary from 50 km/h (31 mph) to 70 km/h (43 mph). There are speed cameras at intervals along the road.

When I booked the NZ/AUS cruise today I asked about the possibility of the ship stopping in Milford Sound and the answer was in the negative.

amusea

Did you have any problems getting the cabin selection you wanted? I hope they still have some balcony cabins still left by February 23rd. This is going to be an awesome cruise.

As a 4-cruise Alum, I've tried all day today to get through on both the toll-free and regular number and received busy signals. I hope they're open this weekend since the initial schedule calls for all Alums to have access on Monday the 23rd and I know the lines will be busy all day then, too.

Sigh. :(

amusea

 

Did you have any problems getting the cabin selection you wanted? I hope they still have some balcony cabins still left by February 23rd. This is going to be an awesome cruise.

I had trouble getting through as did some other folks. It took almost three hours of hitting the repeat dial button on a continuous basis beginning exactly at 10 AM California time. I usually book a balcony cabin and on the Volendam they are large and well appointed. But there is a limit to all this. Three Atlantis cruises now booked. So we decided to lowball it. I had sailed on the Amsterdam for 65 days about a year ago and I know all the cabin layouts of the ship which the deck plans do not show accurately. There are a few cabins with unusual layouts in that they are square rather than long rectangles and I was able to get one of those but it was my second choice. According to the Atlantis site there are some balcony cabins left but I would not expect them to last past early Monday. The key is not to be too fussy about location. Just for your information, New Zealand weather in February is not balmy. Temperature highs in the low 70s are common and sometimes it is much colder so the balcony may not get optimal use as it would in the Caribbean. I wish you luck in nabbing one on Monday but I first wish you luck on getting through to the reservation department.

As a 4-cruise Alum, I've tried all day today to get through on both the toll-free and regular number and received busy signals. I hope they're open this weekend since the initial schedule calls for all Alums to have access on Monday the 23rd and I know the lines will be busy all day then, too.

 

Sigh. :(

Believe it or not, I finally got through (and on queue) at 4:50 PM Pacific Time. Although I did not get my first or second choice of Category D cabins (there were some that looked really interesting on Deck 6), I did get my third choice of a Category E cabin on Deck 2.

My reservationist said that the ship is almost 1/2 sold just in 3 days. I don't know how the "reserved block for Aussies" affects this.

I booked an entire room and likely will hunt for a cabin mate later this year. (I may find a compatible companion on the Tahiti cruise later this spring.)

Anyway, just wanted to let you folks know that persistence pays off when you're calling and that the cruise is approaching the "wait list" syndrome.

Happy cruising! :)

Thank you amusea and sfgoguy

I had a feeling this was going to happen and with the ship being a little smaller and less balconies (I'm a little claustrophobic) I knew it might be hard.

Based on the Atlantis website tonight; the only balcony cabins left are in the AA Category which I would take if I am able to get through.

I guess I can always waitlist for one if I have to and see what happens.

It took me about 30 minutes to get through the busy signals this morning, but finally got booked in a Category A Balcony (right before it sold out).

and rodraad makes it on today

knock on wood, God willing he'll be there:rolleyes:

We got a AA-Balcony reserved too.

Can't wait for what will be on great big PARTY!

Well, we booked this morning/afternoon and got a AA room on Deck 3, however, after thinking more about it we decided to cancel our reservation. We would have rather had a veranda so we figure we'll possibly go another if Atlantis offers it again, and if not, then we just tour the continent ourselves. It looks like there will be rooms available when it's open to the public and I expect in 5 months before the cruise, when you can cancel without penalty there will be more people dropping out. I think the economy is really going to have an effect on the cruises for the future.

I was able to get through as soon as they opened the phones for reservations today. We booked a M-Inside stateroom and are really excited about the trip!