Shore Excursions in New Zealand

I was doing some research ahead of our cruise to New Zealand in January 2017. When I looked at some of the top rated tour companies, according to TripAdvisor, for some of the ports that we are visiting, they were unavailable to do tours for us without going through Holland America. It appears that Holland America has already booked them. Is this common for NZ ports? I am more use to being able to book them without needing the cruise ship. For example, I can't book my own Taieri Express in Dunedin because the train is booked, I can't book a Lord of the Rings tour in Akaroa because Holland America offers their tour and I can't get to Cape Kidnappers in Napier without going through the cruise line. I am trying to see what options are available out there since the markup by the cruise lines is usually quite high. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

The tours that you mention are very popular and sometimes there are more than 1 ship in port at the same time which means even higher demand. They are also can be quite long and hence the potential to be late back to ship thus an advantage to book with cruiseline.

The Train in Dunedin comes right to the ship at Port Chalmers for cruiseline passengers whereas independents have to embark in Dunedin 20mins away.

Having said all that it is usually possible to make a booking by approaching the tour company independently.

What date are you wishing to book the train?

I have checked the Port Otago website, which lists Noordam and Golden Princess January 8th,

Maasdam and Diamond Princess 22nd January 22nd.

Did you send an email enquiring about the availability of the Taieri Gorge train?

We were on an RCI NZ cruise last Feb/March. The Taieri train excursion was booked up so we went on a waiting list. The list cleared and we got two spots. As I recall it was $220. each, included lunch.

At a prior stop, I think Wellington, we went into a gov't tourist office. They were advertising the same train trip (different train) for $110 AUD (about $90USD at the time). A huge delta. We booked it and cancelled the cruise line excursion.

The difference: We had to take a cab to the train station and a bus back to the ship. Inexpensive. The ship tour had a box lunch on the train, complete with a small bottle of wine each. We bought lunch at a station stop (a barbeque set up by the local Rotary club), then went to the pub.

I would say that 70 percent of the passengers we met on the train and in the train station were from our ship.

Some purchased a package from an independent tour operator that included pick up from the ship and return. Others, like us, bought the train ticket from the gov't tourist office and made our own way to and from the ship.

In Melbournedo the ship's tour that goes to a sheep station for lunch...one of he best tours we've done if they are still doing it..

In Tasmania an independent tour by "Judy" of "Eyesee" or something like that (purple logo) was terrific.

I agree about the railroad tour... Box lunch was nothing to rave about for the price. Actually the train ride was not as scenic as we had expected...you won't miss anything if you do something else (IMO).

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Thank you for the information. It just seems that when I contacted many of the tour companies in the ports we are visiting, many are already contracted to Holland America so we have to go through them for the tour. Was hoping to be able to save some money by doing the tours ourselves.

We are in Dunedin on Jan 8 and I see the Taieri Railway was booked for the morning already and that the afternoon departure is too late to get back to the ship.

Side note - we loved the Lord of the Rings tour -very pricey but a lasting favorite memory. A delicious photo op. Plus they control the numbers of people who can visit this site at any one time so as to not overwhelm the effect. Beautiful drive through the countryside to get there.

We are finding the same thing with Norway. Many of the towns in Norway, NZ and also in Australia are quite small and would not have a large number of operators.

Tourism in Australia and New Zealand is less seasonal than in Europe and businesses and hotels normally expect to be operating all year round. Not yet geared to set up for the few months a year when cruise ships are about.

Are the excursions for your cruise open already?

Thank you for the information. It just seems that when I contacted many of the tour companies in the ports we are visiting, many are already contracted to Holland America so we have to go through them for the tour. Was hoping to be able to save some money by doing the tours ourselves.

 

We are in Dunedin on Jan 8 and I see the Taieri Railway was booked for the morning already and that the afternoon departure is too late to get back to the ship.

Have you tried this company? http://www.goodcompanytours.co.nz/products/5368bf514c9475a4643f4692

I booked it while on a Princess cruise last November, and friends have booked it for March on the Noordam cruise leaving Sydney in two weeks. It was a great day so I hope you can do it. :)

Thank you, I will look at that tour company.

Yes, the shore excursions are up for our cruise already. I am looking to see what is interesting and the prices and then comparing them to what I can find elsewhere.

Side note - we loved the Lord of the Rings tour -very pricey but a lasting favorite memory. A delicious photo op. Plus they control the numbers of people who can visit this site at any one time so as to not overwhelm the effect. Beautiful drive through the countryside to get there.

Fully agree. One of the best excursions of my life.

Tour companies that contract with the cruise line are never avail. for private bookings.

I was doing some research ahead of our cruise to New Zealand in January 2017. When I looked at some of the top rated tour companies, according to TripAdvisor, for some of the ports that we are visiting, they were unavailable to do tours for us without going through Holland America. It appears that Holland America has already booked them. Is this common for NZ ports? I am more use to being able to book them without needing the cruise ship. For example, I can't book my own Taieri Express in Dunedin because the train is booked, I can't book a Lord of the Rings tour in Akaroa because Holland America offers their tour and I can't get to Cape Kidnappers in Napier without going through the cruise line. I am trying to see what options are available out there since the markup by the cruise lines is usually quite high. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

Hi there,

We are off on the Noordam 14 night cruise around NZ next month and I had no trouble booking independent tours in most ports. For Hobbiton we have booked what looks like a great tour (with a beer at the Green Dragon Inn included) with a company called Shore Trips & Tours, booked via Viator. I have used Viator for a few bookings as you feel confident that they only use reputable companies (have used them in Europe previously), and there is usually a clause which guarantees that if you miss the sailing for some reason they will ensure you get to the next port to pick up the vessel there. I was stunned that the Hobbiton excursion booked through HAL was US$363 per person for a 5 hour tour, whereas the one booked via Viator, which is also a 5 hour tour, is only NZ$293 per person. That is a huge difference, and so it was an easy decision to make. In Dunedin we found a great excursion through a company which was mentioned on an earlier post - Good Company Tours. Okay, it doesn't include that train trip, but they do provide you with a transfer into Dunedin from the port, drop you off at the Quadrant in the middle of the city, pick you up from the railway station after a couple of hours of wandering independently, and then take you on a 2 hour bus tour of the area. Do check out what Viator has to offer, though, as you may be very pleasantly surprised at what is available. Good luck. :)

Tour companies that contract with the cruise line are never avail. for private bookings.

Respectfully this is not always true. Generally speaking it is, but I have inadvertently booked private tours with companies that ships use and discovered it after. Ie. Chartered catamaran in Bermuda and found out after cruise ship was using them in the morning;).

The iSites are good for picking up tours once you are in port. We also organised our own trip to the Weta Cave in Wellington - just take the number 3 bus to Mirimar - it takes about 30 minutes. Book your Weta tour online before you go.

In Akaroa we did a harbour cruise with Akaroa Dolphins - $75 booked online - it was sensational!

Have a wonderful cruise!

On a stop prior to Dunedin try going into a NZ Gov't tourist booking office. My guess is that you will be able to book the Taieri train. You might was to try this on your first stop in NZ. This was a last minute cruise for us. We has planned an independent trip in NZ however DW had a prior medical issue that precluded us from driving for 10 day days.

When we took it there were actually 2 trains. One train came right to the dock. My guess is that RCI chartered the entire train and then sold seats. The other train was slightly longer and left from the Dunedin train station. This train went slightly further than the RCI train.

We met a few people who had been on that RCI train. They felt ripped off...especially when they learned that the public train was available for less than half the cost. The public train did have a running commentary. We actually enjoyed leaving from the station. It was a beautiful building. It gave us an opportunity to walk around Dunedin prior to departure.

On another note several years ago we met an expat family who had returned to their home in St. Vincent. They gave us a review of how the cruise companies treat the tour operators. They were independents. Essentially the cruise lines sail off with, in their words, 'all the money'. Very little is left for the operators-usually 30-40 percent. It is one of the reasons why we prefer independents.

I agree about the railroad tour... Box lunch was nothing to rave about for the price. Actually the train ride was not as scenic as we had expected...you won't miss anything if you do something else (IMO).

We did the Taieri rail trip a year ago which we organised ourselves. It was good but didn't quite measure up to another rail tour we did years ago, the Tranz Alpine from Christchurch to Greymouth, but unfortunately such a trip would not be practicable on a cruise. We booked with Good Company Tours. Another excursion we did was to visit a historic home (can't remember the name) in Dunedin, which also gave us time to look at the city. There's often an excursion to Larnach Castle too.

Enjoy whatever you decide to do!

Ozcruizer

I used this company when we were in Dunedin. Chris Roberts was he owner and easy to work with. I set it up with my Roll Call and we filled two vans. The better tour guides are booked ahead but they also, at least on our cruise, had another van at the dock for those who were getting off and wanted a tour. Heres the link: http://www.backtonaturetours.co.nz/dunedin-tours.html

I agree about the railroad tour... Box lunch was nothing to rave about for the price. Actually the train ride was not as scenic as we had expected...you won't miss anything if you do something else (IMO).

 

 

We did the Taieri rail trip a year ago which we organised ourselves. It was good but didn't quite measure up to another rail tour we did years ago, the Tranz Alpine from Christchurch to Greymouth, but unfortunately such a trip would not be practicable on a cruise. We booked with Good Company Tours. Another excursion we did was to visit a historic home (can't remember the name) in Dunedin, which also gave us time to look at the city. There's often an excursion to Larnach Castle too.

 

Enjoy whatever you decide to do!

 

Ozcruizer

The historic home would be Olveston.

The Dunedin historic home of Olveston.

http://www.olveston.co.nz/