Fiordland scenic cruising ?

[Alaskanb]

Is there a "best" side of the ship to have a balcony for scenic cruising in Fiordland. We will be on the Diamond Princess in 2015.

[subaru94]

Does not really matter which side of the ship for the Sounds, you get great views either side and when you go into the Milford Sound the ship goes in turns around and comes back so you get to see both sides hope this helps

[Alaskanb]

Does not really matter which side of the ship for the Sounds, you get great views either side and when you go into the Milford Sound the ship goes in turns around and comes back so you get to see both sides hope this helps

Thanks.

[Wastegirl]

As Suburu 94 said, it is not critical to be on one side or the other. What does matter is if your ship is doing 'scenic cruising' through the fjords and along the coast. We were on Portside departing from Sydney, so we came into Milford Sound with our verandah facing the coastline. We got into Milford very early in the morning and this allowed us to jump out onto our balcony (in our PJ's) and watch while we enntered the sound, we then quickly dressed and went to the front deck (pointy bit :D )of the ship which was opened especially for viewing and this gave us an 360 degree view which was the best (cold and windy though, we were dressed for it).

 

Then coming out of Milford Sound and proceeding along the coast to Doubful and Dusky Sounds we were able to go back to our verandah, with a cup of coffee and a currant bun :) to just sit and watch the coastline, it was beautiful. Again we were alerted about going into Doubtful and Dusky by the fact we could see the entry point, then made our way to the front position again for the 360 views.

 

If going through Doubtful and Dusky, you don't go in turn around and go out, you meander through several sounds entering at one point and existing another, so it is good to have a 360 view for this.

 

Then after leaving this area, we again sat on our verandah (this time with red wine and cheese) and watched the coastline as we rounded the bend with the southern alps in the distance. Stunning.

 

Yes we could have done all of this anywhere with good viewing on the ship but we certainly utilised the comfort of our verandah. As for the rest of New Zealand, we did sail quite close to the coastline on quite a few occasions and watching the sunset over the coast and the ocean was fantastic.

 

This all comes down to price though, we were willing to pay for a specific cabin on a specific side.

[Gnomey]

I think if you were splitting hairs the port side might just come out ahead, mostly for the reasons outlined by Elise. I hope the weather is kind to you as it is really beautiful.

 

Steve.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Wouldn't it depend on the itinerary?

 

If the ship came straight over from Australia, or down the west coast of NZ, cruised Fiordland then went on round to the east coast then the best side to be on would be Port as that would be the side closest to shore travelling in that direction.

 

However if the ship was coming round from the east coast of NZ then the best side would be Starboard, as it would then be closest to shore.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Wouldn't it depend on the itinerary?

 

 

Yes.

For the fiords themselves, especially Milford , best place is up on the top deck to get 360 views and to appreciate how high the peaks are.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Yes.

For the fiords themselves, especially Milford , best place is up on the top deck to get 360 views and to appreciate how high the peaks are.

 

True.

 

I've only done Milford sound but it is amazing from the water. We did an overnight trip with Real Journeys. It was excellent, nice cabins, great food, and we had the perfect weather. It bucketed down driving into Milford so a million waterfalls that evening, then next morning was clear and sunny. Gorgeous!

[Alaskanb]

Great info--we have a starboard balcony so that will be great. We tend to use it like Wastegirl. Thanks.

[johndon]

On the Princess ships "Dawn" "Sun" & "Sea" there is a deck far forward, even further forward than the bridge, on decks 10 & 11.

There are no directions on the ships as to how to access these decks but access is on both sides of the ship at the forward end of the long cabin corridors on decks 10 & 11.

A door at the very end of the corridors leads into an airlock and then another door inside the airlock leads out onto the decks.

The decks go from one side of the ship to the other and the views from here are unparalled for entering and leaving ports and for cruising the sounds. You are able to walk from port to starboard on the decks and there is nowhere on the ship that is further forward.

When in the open sea the doors are sometimes locked as it is very windy and a little dangerous out on these decks but in the sheltered waters and travelling at low speeds this is the best viewing position on the ship.

 

John

[Alaskanb]

We will be on the Diamond Princess so don't have access to that lovely front deck...

[yeah-its-us]

Good subject.....thanks for the input.....we're heading through Fiordland in about 2-3 weeks on the Celebrity Solstice, as the itinerary indicates that we are heading up the East Coast, our veranda will look to the Coast.....besides we should get a great view of the harbour bridge as we head out of Sydney. :)

[yeah-its-us]

On the Princess ships "Dawn" "Sun" & "Sea" there is a deck far forward, even further forward than the bridge, on decks 10 & 11.

There are no directions on the ships as to how to access these decks but access is on both sides of the ship at the forward end of the long cabin corridors on decks 10 & 11.

A door at the very end of the corridors leads into an airlock and then another door inside the airlock leads out onto the decks.

The decks go from one side of the ship to the other and the views from here are unparalled for entering and leaving ports and for cruising the sounds. You are able to walk from port to starboard on the decks and there is nowhere on the ship that is further forward.

When in the open sea the doors are sometimes locked as it is very windy and a little dangerous out on these decks but in the sheltered waters and travelling at low speeds this is the best viewing position on the ship.

 

John

 

We were told about these doors last time we were on the Dawn, but could never find them...guess we were looking inthe wrong place...

[Mercruiser]

I wrote this post in response to some specific questions on another thread about Celebrity Solstice. Some of it may apply to your situation. I think the bottom line is that any balcony would be great as long as it has an unobstructed view.

"Here are my pictures taken from the balcony of #1206, aft, on the November 16, 2013, Celebrity, Auckland to Sydney cruise. We had picture-perfect weather in Dusky, Doubtful, and Milford sounds. The aft balcony provided a wonderful view. I would pick the aft again for this particular itinerary. But honestly, any balcony would be fine as long as it in not directly below the pool deck overhang. In the New Zealand sounds, a lot of the scenery is "up". Some of these cliff faces are 3000 feet high, almost straight up from the water. So I'd avoid the recessed cabins on the Penthouse and Resort decks due to being under the pool deck overhang."

 

View of Bowen falls in Milford Sound

View of Mitre Peak in Milford Sound

[yeah-its-us]

I wrote this post in response to some specific questions on another thread about Celebrity Solstice. Some of it may apply to your situation. I think the bottom line is that any balcony would be great as long as it has an unobstructed view.

"Here are my pictures taken from the balcony of #1206, aft, on the November 16, 2013, Celebrity, Auckland to Sydney cruise. We had picture-perfect weather in Dusky, Doubtful, and Milford sounds. The aft balcony provided a wonderful view. I would pick the aft again for this particular itinerary. But honestly, any balcony would be fine as long as it in not directly below the pool deck overhang. In the New Zealand sounds, a lot of the scenery is "up". Some of these cliff faces are 3000 feet high, almost straight up from the water. So I'd avoid the recessed cabins on the Penthouse and Resort decks due to being under the pool deck overhang."

 

View of Bowen falls in Milford Sound

View of Mitre Peak in Milford Sound

[/QUOTGreat photos!!!! We sail 10th March which is actually just over a week away......we are in 6225 which is pretty close to the center & about half way up.....but if we can get to the the bow we will. Certainly something to look forward to......

 

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