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Auckland - One Day Sightseeing Tips


Kilnwood

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Our flight from San Francisco lands in Auckland at 5 a.m. We're pretty good at sleeping on flights, and because we only have a limited amount of vacation time, we won't be able to spend any extra time in Auckland before flying in that day; our ship sails at 6:30 p.m.

 

Can anyone share a suggestion about where to stow our luggage while we sightsee prior to checking in for the cruise and how to arrange a sightseeing tour of Auckland and perhaps a bit of the surrounding area if time permits? We'll be in Auckland at the end of January.

 

Thank you in advance.

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You can find a good local tour company by going to the NZ i-site network, http://www.i-site.org.nz/auckland These are council run informatioon centres who have details of all the best tour companies, you can try google to find them also, most will meet you at the airport, provide a half day tour [that would be enough after a long flight i think] and then drop you at the ship which you can normally boatd around 1 to 2 pm. They would look after your luggage, do a tour share and then share the cost of this with others if you are on a budget.

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Some small & personalised tour companies would be only too willing to have you bring your luggage with you on your tour, then there is no wasted time in double-handling. But do be aware, that for tour companies to *legally* pick-up from the Airport, they require a licence from the Airport Authorities to do so! (unless they park in the parking area like the regular Public do). Tripadvisor is a great place to find out about tours.

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I remember on our last cruise over there, some of the passengers did leave their luggage in lockers. I just cannot remember where, but the i-site on the local wharf rings a bell. Where the Fullers ferries go from, nextdoor to 'our' wharf. Some of the locals may be able to shed some light on this for you, or perhaps email this i-site with an enquiry. Just an idea.

Jen

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Hi again,

After my last post, I did a google search, out of curiosity....this is what I found. There is a post on cc dated Sept 8th 2009.....says the visitor information centre on Princess Wharf stores luggage for the day. This the wharf where the cruise ships dock. Their ph no is +64 93070612 and basically open during business hrs. I also found on virtual tourist site these same details, with a list of two others, being the Sky City in the atrium (too far and up hill), and of course the airport (at a charge of $15 per bag, wow).

Hence this i-site on the wharf should be the go, and the one used by cruisers last year.

Hoping this helps. A lot of the hotels also have storage lockers, but you prob have to be booked in to stay.

Jen

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  • 2 weeks later...

There is a quality accreditation system in New Zealand called Qualmark and the best accommodation providers and tour operators have a Qualmark rating. There is a star rating for accommodation and other ratings such as "activity" for activity or tour operators. Then there is also an Enviro rating (Bronze, Silver and Gold) for the very best Ecotours, Qualmark Enviro Gold being the very best. An accreditation system such as Qualmark means any company is trustworthy, since it has been independently assessed.

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Qualmark is the "official" quality accreditation system in New Zealand. However, it is a pay-to-belong assessment system, (and not everyone can afford the many hundreds of dollars joining fee, and/or finds it actually is worth it!). The assessments are only carried out once every 12 - 24 months...(and a *lot* can change during this period, and until the company's assessment 'comes-around' they are still intitled to hoist the Qualmark flag!!...for an actually experienced example; a company going bankrupt and owing money...so how is this operation trustworthy!?). The Qualmark Assessment system also informs the owner when their assessment will take place...the owner [of course] has adequate time to "prepare" to have their surrounds (and also his staff) showcasing the very BEST.

Public review systems (like that of Tripadvisor) give *current* accounts of how a tour or accommodation really is. If things are not up-to-scratch, it would be heard about a lot quicker than waiting for re-assessment from Qualmark!

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Qualmark (which is endorsed by Tourism New Zealand) is a world-leading quality endorsement system from New Zealand and is a very trustworthy quality assessment system for NZ tourism providers. In case things go wrong, a customer can always go to Qualmark to state their case but that is not possible if an operator is not part of such a Quality system. Nothing is ever perfect but Qualmark is in fact excellent :). The great thing about forums such as Cruise Critic is that we don't always have to agree, right?

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Would think Qualmark was [better] if the Assessors actually participated in the Activity they were assessing... to judge how the operator interacts with his guests, to hear what the operator tells his guests, and to see if the guests are enjoying themselves. One has to wonder just how the Qualmark rating is made from an "office-based" assessment!?!?

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