New Zealand private tours

[Aussie Gal]

Cassasandra,

 

Thanks for all your help and information. We have decided to go with the ship's tour as it seems it will be the only one we can do. With regard to the drinks package, I have worked out what we drink in a day and there is no way we would get our value from it. We will probably look for a wine package that only has bottles of wine, when we get on board.

 

Jennie

[sandandsea lovers]

Have a wonderful cruise everyone. If it's any consolation the train price with RCCL was US$199 ($159 child) and $232 if town tour was included. Ask them if you can get get off at the station on the return and do a local town tour privately from the i-centre.

 

As far as drinks are concerned we had a wine packagee, soft drink package and water package biut not an all inclusive 0ne. I think at $750 each you would be on a fluids only diet:eek:. Max price of any one drink on RCCL was about $8. Half price during happy hour. A 10 bottle wine package worked out to $28 per bottle v $35.

I would be inclined to wait with the drinks packages until you got on board and sussed things out.

Cassamanda, I believe we cannot purchase the wine package anymore. When I go on the Celebrity site it says this package is unavailable. I do wish we could as we had the 10 bottle wine package on Radiance and it was a substantial saving.

[Stargazing]

On the Mount Maunganui side where the ship docks, you can walk from Pilot Bay to the base track at the Mount this will bring you out on the other side which is the surf beach side (miles of sandy beach). there are a few shops and cafes on that side.

 

At the foot of the Mount is the Hot Water Salt Pools complex with yummy ice cream shop across the road.

 

The Mount main street runs in between harbour and surf beach and there's shops and dining.

 

You could take a bus from the i-site information building next to the port to Bayfair Shopping Centre (about 15mins drive) or go over the bridge to Tauranga City.

 

Near Bayfair there are 2 golf course which visitors can play and hire golf clubs:

http://www.mountgolf.co.nz/

http://www.omanugolf.co.nz/

 

If you're feeling adventurous you could take a gyro plane aerial flight over the Mount http://www.gyrate.co.nz/

 

Over at Tauranga you could walk around the downtown shops etc.

Walk up to the Historic Elms Mission Station

See the Tauranga Art Gallery

 

Some closeby out of town places are:

Mills Reef Winery

McLaren Falls Park on route towards the Kaimai Ranges

Minden Point Lookout

Kiwi 360 at Te Puke town.

If you wanted to see the above you would probably be best to hire a car or use a local sightseeing company.

[CJcruzer]

I would like to pick your brain on your Taeiri Gorge Trip if you don't mind. How far out did you book your train trip and did you do it directly with the railways? I have just looked at the cost of the excursion with Celebrity and it is $193AUD p.p. whereas if we do it ourselves, it is only $84NZ which is under $80AUD p.p. so it makes sense to do it on our own. We will be in Dunedin from 7am until 5pm so we have plenty of time. If you book a group, say 10 people, do you save anything overall and did you have to pay upfront?

 

Thanks for any information you can provide.

 

Jennie

 

We booked the train quite a few months prior to sail date, possibly Nov? For a March sailing. We had a medical evacuation in The Sound, so we were told we would be delayed at least 1 hour arriving into Port Chalmers, which made the independent train virtually but not quite, impossible to catch on time. We only reserved our train tickets under one name for the group of 10, we did not prepay and no, there was no group discount...Each couple could pay their own portion by cash or credit card.

 

I emailed the train station, and they told me about a coach/train combination with an included one hour city tour....Coach left from Port Chalmers approx 9:30 -9:45 am, arrived at train station in Dunedin for a 10:15 coach departure (we got off to take pics and exchange voucher for train ticket) and then proceeded up to Pukerangi, where we met the train, which was going to do the return trip through the Gorge. Our route up by coach was through different scenery.

One hour sightseeing with stop at Baldwin street, etc. Tour finished by 2:30 -2:45pm and the driver was nice to bring the 10 of us up to Olveston Mansion for our scheduled private tour. Olveston was beautiful, I would recommend you make time for it.

 

Price for the coach/train/city tour was 120 NZ$, we paid at the I-site Visitor Centre in Port Chalmers, right by the pier -they operate a visitor centre located in a large container, on days when passenger ships are in port. The coach held possibly 18-20, we were 14 in total, which included our group of 10. There was a second bus which was almost full.

 

Just a note, for the train, had tickets in the old fashioned authentic cars, I believe the ship's excursion were in newer cars.

 

Hope this helps, although if there are no seats on the train, it doesn't really matter which route you take,

[Aussie Gal]

Stargazing,

 

Thanks so much for all that valuable information for out time in Tauranga. We are in Noosa in QLD at the moment but when I return home next week, I will print it out and also look at all the links.

 

Welcome also to Cruise Critic, I see that it is only your 3rd post. If all your posts are going to be as valuable as this one, you will be a great asset to Cruise Critic.

 

Jennie

[Aussie Gal]

CJCruiser,

 

Thanks so much for getting back to me with all the info regarding the train. Unfortunately, we will be going with the ship as apparently there will be 2 ships in Dunedin on the day we are there. I am wondering how far away from sailing that we can book the ship's excursions. They are not open as yet for March next year. I presume around 6 months before we sail would be the right time.

 

Jennie