Shore Excursions

[horsing around]

We are booked on Norwegian Jewel 14 day Australia/New Zealand Nov. 30 and I am wondering if anyone has had experience with shore excursions booked locally versus cruise line? Since this is a cruise of a lifetime for us, I want to have the best experiences possible. What about Viator? Just need a little help here. Thanks in advance!!

[gaechann]

We are booked on Norwegian Jewel 14 day Australia/New Zealand Nov. 30 and I am wondering if anyone has had experience with shore excursions booked locally versus cruise line? Since this is a cruise of a lifetime for us, I want to have the best experiences possible. What about Viator? Just need a little help here. Thanks in advance!!

 

 

 

Welcome! Hoping you have a wonderful time "down-under". My first cruises here I booked via the Ship but now I know that at every Port there are volunteers to assist you with finding what you are after.

That said if you really want to experience something special like snorkelling on the Barrier Reef then it's important to book ahead.

Unfortunately the Reef is some distance from the coastline which means most of your tour time is spent getting out there then returning leaving not much time at all for viewing the coral & fish life.

ALSO for your information there is a forum especially for Australia & New Zealand cruisers. We are mostly a very friendly bunch & will be more than happy to assist you further with any specific enquiries about either country.

Best wishes - Gae

 

 

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[casofilia]

You must remember that NCL has done very little cruising in the Australia/New Zealand market. This is the first real summer they have spent here as last year was a bit of a write off due to problems with the Star. I doubt you will get much information about the NCL shore excursions.

[4774Papa]

We did Australia in 2013 on Celebrity and it was great. We spent three days pre cruise in Perth and five in Sydney. I found some great local tours. Grey Line had some good tours out of Sydney. These were not shore excursions.

 

You need to be careful booking private tours to the reef out of Cairns. This is true especially if your ship tenders into Yorkey's Knob instead of docking at Cairns.

 

Consider the Skyrail rain forest experience. It was great.

 

There are lots of private tours available for NZ. We have some booked through our roll call here on cc.

 

One tour company is zeelander tours.

 

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[Sauer-kraut]

Viator is a just a third party broker for excursions, you can book directly with the tour companies that Viator if offering. Have you checked out the PORTS OF CALL boards for Australia/New Zealand here on Cruise Critic? You will probably find more helpful responses.

[Cruiseenthusiast101]

I have sailed Australia two times within the past 10 years. I recommend booking extractions through the ship when port schedules are a bit tight (meaning 5-7 hours in port). This will cost a bit more than booking privately but it will ensure you, the boat will not sail with out you. For longer port stays (8-12 hours), I recommend booking through the tour companies Viator is offering. This will allow you to have more options, but at a lower price. I do this with all the cruises I go on, not just the Australian and NZ cruises. Hope this helps!