59impala

I am enquiring for a friend, they are thinking of sailing on The Solstice in New Zealand but are thinking of doing a back to back covering the ports of calls twice, has anyone done this? And are there enough excursions without repeating the itinerary. Many thanks.

Im sure there are more than enough options in each port to go around twice.

Another option is going once, finishing in Auckland and joining a land tour - although this is not for everyone. Or finishing in Auckland then flying to Queenstown and doing day trips to the southern lakes - truly the "jewell in the crown". You could then fly out of Christchurch.

Being only a short flight to Paris we have visited many times at at different times of the year. Our happiest memories are from when we have just sat in street cafes 'watching the world go by'. I think one mistake we can make with pre post breaks is to try to squash too much into too few days....there does need to be a balance of 'must see/do things', rest and relaxation and sitting back and soaking in the atmosphere....

 

Have noted your recommendation for Auckland....

Wow! This could have been us taliking. When we first visited Paris, we rented an apartment from a delightful young guy. When I asked him, what we should see in Paris, he replied" do you want to see Pareee, or do you want to live Pareeee" we naturaally said we would like to live Paree. He sent us off to St Germain to have lunch and drink wine for the afternoon. This is probably the best advice we have ever received while travelling. We had a lovely afternnon watching the world go by.

It is great to have a thread that is not about what a miserable cruisline "Celebrity" is.

Life is what you make it, nothing is perfect, but the Celebrity cuises I have been on have been pretty dammed close. Enjoy each day, pre cruise, on the cruise and post cruise.

59Impala,

What part of NZ are you located? Have you ever done any of the 360 Fullers ferry tours from Auckland? We are planning to do several of those while in Auckland. I'm really looking forward to this cruise/trip. We're starting on the east coast US flying to San Francisco for a few days to break up the long distances. We've each been to SF several times, but its one of those places there's always more to do and see. On the way home we have a stop over in Fiji, so we booked our flight to arrive in the am, spend several hours there (sort of like a port of call), then catch the red eye back to LA. Fortunately I sleep well during flights. Again spending several days before heading home. It will be my longest trip yet - 5 weeks. Making the most of our airfare dollars.

Hi, we are from Hamilton, which is about an hour and a half south of Auckland. We have done a few trips on the harbour over the years, and Auckland is a lovely city viewed from the water. It is called the City of Sails, as I understand NZ has the highest rate of boat ownership per head of population of anywhere in the world. Understandable as anywhere in NZ is within an hour and a half from a coastline. You must go to Waiheke Island. It has lovely beaches, restaurants and wineries. Enjoy your stay,

What a fabulous holiday you have planned! Make sure you read up on the Minoans before you go to Crete, visiting Knossos is a 'must do'!

 

What plans do you have for the UK? Have you visited before?

 

We are hoping to do the Sydney to Auckland cruise in 2019 or 2020....We will want a few days in both cities pre and post cruise. We have briefly visited Auckland before (cruise, one day port stop) and as we wanted to visit Hobbiton that was all we got to do....Even when you are planning for years to come it is great researching on line, looking out for TV programmes....Planning is truly half the pleasure of a cruise!

Yes, our holiday should be fabulous. We love the myths and legends of Greece / Crete and are lookinf forward to our time there.

We have only been to the UK very briefly in 2010 when one of our sons was working near Cardiff for a year. We went to London and Cardiff as part of a trip to Europe and this year we are finally returning to see some more.

We are flying to London and are meeting up and staying for two days, in North London, with some lovely people we met on our last cruise. It will be wonderful to catch up with them again and explore their hometown. From there, we are travelling up to join some friends in Macclesfield and we are travelling north England / Scotland- Whitby, Edinburgh, Loch Lomond, the Lake District. We are really excited about this part of the trip also....well, the whole trip should be awesome, especially with a lovely cruise in the middle.

Where in Crete are you staying? We're in Elounda right now but had 3 nights in Chania before this.

Hi, we will be staying in Chania at a wonderful hotel that has a view of the harbour. It looks fabulous.

We had recently rewatched a British TV series called "Who Pays the Ferryman", it was filmed in the 1970s in the area around Elounda. This inspired us to visit Crete, as the food, the music, the scenery, the myths and legends all appeal to us. If you can find the series, have a look. You have to ignore the1970s fashions - they brought a smile to our faces.

Enjoy the rest of your stay. We are looking forward to our trip very much.

Prior to cruise from Venice we flew in to Milan, then stayed a few more days in Varenna, Lake Como. The area is so beautiful I would love to spend more time in the lakes of Northern Italy.

 

This fall we will be spending a week in Auckland before NZ/Australia, then a week after in Sydney area after the cruise.

I've never thought of it as relaxing pre-cruise. I've just thought that it makes sense to get the maximum benefit of airfare dollars.

This is a great thread.

in 2015 we flew into Milan and trained to Varenna also. What a great spot! We explored the area for five days, hopping on and off the ferries and visiting all the gorgeous lake towns. We loved it and would love to visit again one day. We then flew to Istanbul where we had three nights pre cruise - this was also a great place to visit.

After the cruise we visited the south of Spain (Granada, Seville) - loved Spain too!

We leave NZ in four weeks for another trip to Europe which includes a Celebrity cruise - best of western meditteranean. We have five nights Crete pre cruise and a week in the UK post cruise.

When you come from down under you have to make the most of your time away, and lets face it, you need a bit of time to recover from the flight and time zone change.

Herbanrenewal - enjoy your time in Auckland and Sydney.

Saw the same thing and laughed about the crazy amount of vitriol generously applied by a few regular posters, regarding X. How they chastise the "cheerleaders" yet it appears the consensus is with the "cheerleaders."

 

How can that be???

Yes, after reading some reviews, you wonder if you will be cruising in a leaky rusty bucket! Great to see, the vast majority, me included, think Celebrity is first rate.

Cheerleaders, lets keep up the good work!

I've done this cruise but not on the solstice. We enjoyed it even though the weather in NZ was less than perfect (we got quite a lot of light rain). The temps were cool but not cold. Australia was nice and warm:). The crossing was terrible though, very rough and cold. No chance of going outside those days. Fortunately none of us got sick and we made the best of those 2 days. We have booked a great barrier reef cruise on the Solstice for next March. Looking forward to that one:D

Yup, Australia is "nice" and warm.....http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11799298

Quick question. We are on a cruise disembarking Rome, can any regular cruiser tell me if Celebrity have busses going to the airport for a cruise finishing in Rome? I know we got a Celebrity transfer for a cruise we finished in Barcelona a couple of years ago.

Just investigating possible ways to get to Fumicino for a flight at 12:40 on the day of disembarkation. Looking at private transfers also. Does anyone know the likely cost of a Celebrity transfer??

Thanks.

What a fabulous review! I can almost taste that food and those drinks, mmmmm. You have certainly made us feel like we are there. Keep it coming, it is lovely "living" your cruise.

I am trying to access details of a cruise we I am considering. The website is asking me for country of residence which is New Zealand. When I put in NZ it fails to populate the drop down box:confused:

We have never had to add our country of residence before. Must be something new, just a pity it doesn't work for us down under. I'm sure if Celebrity want our money they will get it working.

Appreciate the good, challenging, put-him-on-the-spot question. But, kind of like asking which child does a parent like best. The quick, easy answer is to say . . . BOTH . . . were super, totally wonderful. True!!

 

The more detailed and honest answer is that New Zealand probably finishes in first place. We super loved best, probably in this order, Kangaroo island, Lizard Island/Great Barrier Reef/Rainforest and Sydney from our travels in Australia. Really wonderful, fun, interesting experiences there.

 

BUT, overall, traveling bottom to top, New Zealand was such a collectively-amazing location for nature, sights, people, food, wildlife, fun, fresh air, vivid colors, etc. In part, I am basing much of that conclusion from my wife's various comments and reactions she has shared with others since we have been back.

 

We have been fortunate to have traveled in twenty two different countries in Europe. Multiple times for visiting some of the usually-suspect countries such as England, France and Italy. Plus, lots all of the United States. And, I have also done Cuba, Argentina, etc. Lots of great places. We have been very fortunate to have traveled to many wonderful places and seen so much.

 

Both of these countries are very young and amazing, especially for their natural offerings. If asked and offered a chance to go and live there for four months, the choice would probably be NZ. Loved it!!

 

But our least favorite? The rough Tasman Sea!!

 

Does this help a little? Keep up the good questions. More pictures to come.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now over 134,693 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

I agree with your assessment of which is best Terry. Of course I am biased. What I love most about NZ is that you can drive anywhere here and the whole landscape changes. Nowhere in NZ is further than two hours drive from the coastline, you drive through forests, mountains and lakes in a short time period. We drove from Napier to Hamilton last weekend. We went from beaches, through forests, past Lake Taupo and the associated volcanoes, through beautiful farmland (think Hobbiton) home. Simply stunning.

Next month we are flying to Christchurch, hiring a car, driving to Lake Tekapo, then on to Wanaka, finishing up in Queenstown and flying out of Queenstown home. The South Island of NZ is stunning in autumn.

Keep up the good work Terry, you inspired us to cruise the Mediterranean in 2012 on the Solstice after reading your review of the eastern med. We love your photos. All the best.

Gosh, I would be more worried about how close to the land they were!