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We are cruising on Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas docking @ Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Wellington & Dunedin. Has anyone been on any of the ship tours that they can recommend (or not). We are mid 50s, first time cruisers & not the fittest.

 

Thanks in advance:o

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We are cruising on Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas docking @ Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Wellington & Dunedin. Has anyone been on any of the ship tours that they can recommend (or not). We are mid 50s, first time cruisers & not the fittest.

 

Thanks in advance:o

 

We did this itinerary last year and loved it.

Our favorite port was Tauranga. We just walked around Mount Maunganui. It is only a couple of blocks from the ship and is a very easy trail around the base of the 'mount'. We were able to see Blue Penguins and Sting Rays swimming in the water. There were also seals (sea lions?) basking on the rocks, but they were gone before we got to the rocks they had been on.

 

Wellington; we did the Te Papa museum. It is a free museum all about the Mauri history and culture. My DH doesn't usually like museums, but he really liked that one. It is several stories high, so a lot of stuff to see. If you can walk on flat surfaces for a bit, it's around the wharf from where the ship docks, or you could get a taxi. Here is the website for the museum. http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/pages/default.aspx

 

Napier; we did a three winery tour through RCCL. It is Wineries of Hawkes Bay - NR14. One of the wineries was Mission. All three wineries were very unique from each other and a lot of fun. The only problem is that the tour started at 7am. I don't do wine tastings well at that time of the morning.

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We did this itinerary last year and loved it.

Our favorite port was Tauranga. We just walked around Mount Maunganui. It is only a couple of blocks from the ship and is a very easy trail around the base of the 'mount'. We were able to see Blue Penguins and Sting Rays swimming in the water. There were also seals (sea lions?) basking on the rocks, but they were gone before we got to the rocks they had been on.

 

Wellington; we did the Te Papa museum. It is a free museum all about the Mauri history and culture. My DH doesn't usually like museums, but he really liked that one. It is several stories high, so a lot of stuff to see. If you can walk on flat surfaces for a bit, it's around the wharf from where the ship docks, or you could get a taxi. Here is the website for the museum. http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/pages/default.aspx

 

Napier; we did a three winery tour through RCCL. It is Wineries of Hawkes Bay - NR14. One of the wineries was Mission. All three wineries were very unique from each other and a lot of fun. The only problem is that the tour started at 7am. I don't do wine tastings well at that time of the morning.

 

Thanks for that info. The only think I really wanted to see in NZ is some thermal activity, but all the excursions seem quite expensive. Did you see anything like this on UR trip or hear from the others on the cruise good or bad reports.

 

:)

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The best place to see thermal activity is Rotorua. This is best accessed from Taraunga. We did a ship tour (RC Radiance) & thought it good value. It included morning tea, time at the thermal park & some Maori culture.

 

We also did Te Papa & cable car in Wellington, and just walked around in Auckland & did Sky City. In Dunedin we did city tour & the brewery on a ship tour.

 

Our cruise didn't include Napier.

 

Happy cruising.

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The best place to see thermal activity is Rotorua. This is best accessed from Taraunga. We did a ship tour (RC Radiance) & thought it good value. It included morning tea, time at the thermal park & some Maori culture.

 

We also did Te Papa & cable car in Wellington, and just walked around in Auckland & did Sky City. In Dunedin we did city tour & the brewery on a ship tour.

 

Our cruise didn't include Napier.

 

Happy cruising.

 

Thank U for that, I have been looking at a ship cruise that sounds like the one U did, but I am not overly keen on the Maori culture part of it, I am just really interested in the thermal activity, but all that I read says that they seem to go together and compliment each other and are not split.

 

We are thinking of just doing our own thing in Wellington, we have heard of the volunteers that wear special blue coats (I think) to help tourists. Did you encounter these people and were they help.

 

Our cruise was originally going into Christchurch, but after the earthquake activity earlier this year it was changed to Napier. This is our first cruise and I really want to cram enough but not too much into it. I usually super organise our holidays, so this is a real change for me, just chillin!!! :)

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In our pre-cruise planning we made a list of 'must-dos' for NZ. The geothermal and maori culture were in the top 5 on our lists. So the tour to Rotorua fitted the bill. I had been to Rotorua before, but the other 5 in our group had not.

 

The tour took us to a geothermal 'theme' park, which included the geysers, bubbling mud etc. The maori 'experience' was at the same place. The good thing is that we had a guide who was able to make the most of our time there.

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We are cruising on Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas docking @ Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Wellington & Dunedin. Has anyone been on any of the ship tours that they can recommend (or not). We are mid 50s, first time cruisers & not the fittest... ... :o

 

Hello Sapphire57,

 

We cruised NZ March this year and love it. So beautiful!

 

I don't know how long do you have time in Auckland. We took a long day post cruise trip to Bay of Island. If you have time, do it as a pre-cruise tour. You'll enjoy seeing the dolphins up close.

 

Tauranga is a good base to see the thermal and a bit of Maori experience. We took an excursion called "Rotorua Geyser Tour", including a visit to Kiwi Fruit Orchard (nice) and Kaituna River (don't walk to the river if you don't want to. It's just a river anyway. Just wait in the van). The geysers are eye opening, and the Maori experience is good. Just google cruisetauranga or learning journeys ltd to check if you will like it.

 

We didn't stop at Christchurch, but we did stop at Akaroa. I don't know how far it is from your Napier port. At Akaroa we contacted grandpa Murray. He took us to his farm and we witness the shearing of the sheep, and had a nice tea in his beautiful garden. For more info check tripadvisor for akaroafarmtours.

 

In Wellington we took the ship shuttle to town. From there it is a short walk to the cable car station (go early to avoid the crowds and the long queue).

You can either take the cable car up and down. Or, after the obligatory photo op of the beautiful scenery from the hill-top station, opt to walk down the botanical garden back to town. It is about 2km, but an easy walk as it is down hill. The rose and begonia garden is heavenly.

 

Dunedin, take the ship shuttle to town and explore on your own. The scottish architecture around the octagon (the town center) is the attraction. Just don't miss the chance to sample the famous Dunedin Cheese Sandwich while you are here.

 

Please check your rollcall for more ideas.

Also check the port of call forum.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

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For the thermal ponds around Rotorua we use Archer Tours. We just emailed him and paid him at the end of the tour. I think most of the tours are the same but Jim gave us so much local knowledge. It was the best tour we took in NZ and he worked with us. The price was a lot cheaper than the cruise tours and when there was four of us it made a Hugh difference.

 

I would recommend Jim Archer & his tours. Don't miss it. :)

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