Australia-New Zealand Cruise - Avoiding Sea Days and the Tasman Sea

Hi,

I posted this on the Princess board too but I thought I'd also post it here. I'm looking at some Australia-New Zealand Princess cruises which start in Sydney with the first two days being sea days and ending in Sydney with 2 sea days beforehand (both to cross the Tasman sea). I'm thinking of dropping off my luggage on the ship, and then flying direct to Queenstown and then re-meeting the ship at Dunedin (where I can ride the train from Queenstown to Dunedin through the Taieri Gorge Railway). Then enjoy the cruise for 7 days, getting off at the Bay of Islands again, and spending two days at Waiheke Island (off of Auckland), flying back to Sydney from Auckland and picking up our luggage from the ship after it arrives in Sydney.

Has anyone done this? Will Princess allow it? Would you recommend it?

I have heard the Tasman Sea can be rough so that is part of the reason why I'm considering this... besides the fact that I hate sea days (and am incredibly bored by them)....

I have no idea whether or not Princess would allow you to do what you are asking. The only way to find out is to ask Princess. Get their answer in writing and show it to the staff on board you ship, so that they are prepared.

.Yes, the Tasman can be rough, but it can also be incredibly smooth. We did a crossing in January and the Tasman was like a millpond, as smooth as glass.

Frankly, if you hate sea days and you don't want cross the Tasman by sea, why choose a cruise that does those things?

Having been in small vessels on some of the roughest waters around the world for weeks at a time - being in a large vessel on the Tasman would be barely rippling for me. One large cruise ships I constantly have to go out and stare at the sea to check we are even moving.

Your plan looks like an awfully expensive hassle to avoid a couple of hours of possible ripples.

You need to ask Princess

 

Frankly, if you hate sea days and you don't want cross the Tasman by sea, why choose a cruise that does those things?

Really have to agree with that part.

Seems like a lot of effort to avoid doing the Tasman crossing which is not that bad even in rough weather

You will still have to pay for the 4 days you miss on the cruise and the flight to NZ can be just as bumpy

If you cant cruise across the Tasman maybe look into an Asian or Alaskan cruise

Just do what ever you are comfortable with

This is just not feasible. Even if you did just an Australian coastal cruise, you still have sea days. Thats what cruising is all about.

And how are you going to get to your luggage when the ship arrives in Sydney?

There is both immigration and Customs to deal with. As well as security.

Thanks, all, for the information and input. Looks like this might be too difficult to pull off.

Thanks, all, for the information and input. Looks like this might be too difficult to pull off.

Agree you're making a smart decision!! Yes, anything is possible, but not always that easy and simple. Lots of good comments earlier from other smart CC Board experts.

For our Tasmanian Sea crossing, it got a little "ROCK 'N ROLL", but we survived!!?? New Zealand was well work the journey as my live/blog and visuals prove below.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 140,139 views for this posting.

Dont give up. You can do something along the lines you want.

Heres a suggestion to consider..choose a cruise that goes from Australia to NZ, you will only have a couple of sea days, but heck you get that on most cruises. When you finish in Auckland , jump on a jet and fly to Queenstown to do what you have planned, then fly back to Auckland and then up to the Bay of Islands,before flying back to Sydney to pick up your return flight home.:)

Dont give up. You can do something along the lines you want.

Heres a suggestion to consider..choose a cruise that goes from Australia to NZ, you will only have a couple of sea days, but heck you get that on most cruises. When you finish in Auckland , jump on a jet and fly to Queenstown to do what you have planned, then fly back to Auckland and then up to the Bay of Islands,before flying back to Sydney to pick up your return flight home.:)

Thanks, David for the words of encouragement. Unfortunately, the Celebrity cruises which start in Australia and end in Auckland won't work for us due to timing. Otherwise, you are right - that's what I would do. That being said DIY drive/fly for 2 weeks in New Zealand should still be pretty fun.

By the way, I completely agree with your quotes - nothing ventured, nothing gained.

you can book Princess departures ex both Melbourne & Sydney that are one way New Zealand itineraries calling at the NZ ports and finishing in Auckland. Alternatively you can start in Auckland on certain departures call at the NZ ports and finish in either Melbourne or Sydney .

Hi,

 

I'm thinking of dropping off my luggage on the ship, and then flying direct to Queenstown and then re-meeting the ship at Dunedin (where I can ride the train from Queenstown to Dunedin through the Taieri Gorge Railway).

 

There is no train at all that goes from Queenstown to Dunedin.

 

The Taieri Gorge train is strictly an excursion train that goes from Dunedin to Middlemarch and back again.

Hi,

 

I'm thinking of dropping off my luggage on the ship, and then flying direct to Queenstown and then re-meeting the ship at Dunedin (where I can ride the train from Queenstown to Dunedin through the Taieri Gorge Railway).

 

There is no train at all that goes from Queenstown to Dunedin.

 

The Taieri Gorge train is strictly an excursion train that goes from Dunedin to Middlemarch and back again.

 

See http://www.dunedinrailways.co.nz/our-journeys/dunedin-to-queenstown

Hi,

 

I'm thinking of dropping off my luggage on the ship, and then flying direct to Queenstown and then re-meeting the ship at Dunedin (where I can ride the train from Queenstown to Dunedin through the Taieri Gorge Railway).

 

See http://www.dunedinrailways.co.nz/our-journeys/dunedin-to-queenstown

 

Yeah, right. Special tour. That's a train, plus a coach - not a train.

You cannot ride a train from Queenstown to Dunedin.

Ok, minor correction. It would still be fun - Coach plus Train from Queenstown to Dunedin.

Why don't you just make you NZ trip a land trip. At one point we considered an NZ cruise but quickly realized how much of the country we would miss -- not to mention of inconvenience of short times in port. So instead we recently returned from a month long land trip -- 10 days of the trip we were doing an intensive Wilderness Travel Off a The Beaten Path hiking trip -- the rest of the time we were on our own. We traveled from place to place by most every for, of transport -- rental car, ferry, small charter and scheduled commercial flights, helicopter, jet boat, and train. It was an amazing trip and I know know I would have been very frustrated had I done this trip as a cruise ( and I love cruises!) your approach of dropping bags, flying to NZ to meet the ship, disembarking early etc. sounds very cumbersome and tiring.

Why don't you just make you NZ trip a land trip. At one point we considered an NZ cruise but quickly realized how much of the country we would miss -- not to mention of inconvenience of short times in port. So instead we recently returned from a month long land trip -- 10 days of the trip we were doing an intensive Wilderness Travel Off a The Beaten Path hiking trip -- the rest of the time we were on our own. We traveled from place to place by most every for, of transport -- rental car, ferry, small charter and scheduled commercial flights, helicopter, jet boat, and train. It was an amazing trip and I know know I would have been very frustrated had I done this trip as a cruise ( and I love cruises!) your approach of dropping bags, flying to NZ to meet the ship, disembarking early etc. sounds very cumbersome and tiring.

Yes, NZ is very easy to get around, a land trip would be much better, so much to see and do, consider hiring a car and go for it, it's beautiful :)

We spent 14 days of our NZ/Aus time in NZ. I cannot imagine that any cruise would be better especially if you want to include Queenstown and Dunedin. We rented a car (did tours in Queenstown) to get to Dunedin. There is a fast way and a slow way around the coast which was very interesting. We went to Christchurch from Dunedin (Christchurch is worth a full day) and then took planes to Wellington and Aukland. There are other things on both islands that we did not do that sounded great. Cruise somewhere else or around Australia to see more that way. Do a land tour of New Zealand.

Firstly the best time of year to travel in and around NZ is February/March.

If that is suitable for you I would recommend doing a one way cruise between NZ & Australia (either way round) with some time in NZ to visit inland places like Queenstown, and some time in Australia. NZ cruising is spectacular - I spent 40+ years living there, and during that time travelled to most places in NZ, but the cruise experience was just awesome!

To do justice to NZ by land really requires about 5-6 weeks - three in the South Island and at least two in the North Island.