Favorite time of year for "Down Under" and Favorite itinerary?

[nini]

We are quite the "wimps" from the Pacific Northwest" in the U.S.A.

So, what are your suggestions for your favorite time of year to visit? We would love their Spring or Fall.

What have been your experiences? 

And, do you have a favorite itinerary for newbies? We are totally open for B2B's or other options

and spending some time there.

 Thanks!

[Chiliburn]

4 hours ago, nini said:

We are quite the "wimps" from the Pacific Northwest" in the U.S.A.

So, what are your suggestions for your favorite time of year to visit? We would love their Spring or Fall.

What have been your experiences? 

And, do you have a favorite itinerary for newbies? We are totally open for B2B's or other options

and spending some time there.

 Thanks!

I think you would like to get away from your winter ?

our cruise season runs September to March roughly, our spring to autumn.

our school holidays and main holidays are mid December to the end of January.Thats peak prices a busy time.

so there’s a couple of shoulders there you can get a bargain.

 Itineraries New Zealand is a must and then the Australian coast or the islands 

[GUT2407]

Google “temperatures in Sydney” to get some idea, if your North West our summer may be a bit much for you.

 

October or March, may be more reasonable. Nov to Feb you can expect a fair number of 100 degree plus days.

[nini]

Thank you both and for the info on school being out. We do not mind cool/ chilly but since we live on the coast of Washington state, we are not used to higher temps. We did well in Italy last October even though it was still a bit on the warm side.

[GradUT]

Having lived in Australia for a few years and based on your stated wish to avoid hot weather, I definitely recommend skipping the months from November - February. It’s beastly hot everywhere—some worse than others.  However, a problem with that is that those months are a prime time to visit New Zealand.  Since NZ is located further south than Australia, the summer months are actually quite pleasant. 

 

Have you considered self-touring (or even guided-touring) by land as opposed to a cruise?  I love cruising, but you miss a lot of the best parts of Australia (and New Zealand) on a cruise because you are relegated to seeing only the ports.  And with a land tour of Australia, you could choose to travel from May - September when the cruises don’t sail.  Those are the best months for the Great Barrier Reef area and the unique Top End (Darwin, Kakadu, Litchfield and Katherine).

 

[Chiliburn]

4 hours ago, nini said:

Thank you both and for the info on school being out. We do not mind cool/ chilly but since we live on the coast of Washington state, we are not used to higher temps. We did well in Italy last October even though it was still a bit on the warm side.

Do you have a preferred cruise line?

A popular itinerary for North Americans is to fly into Auckland NZ and do a land tour.

Then get on a one way cruise to Australia ,stay a bit and fly home. Or the other way around.

But most cruises leave and return from Sydney or Melbourne.

Edited August 13, 2019 by Chiliburn

[nini]

Preferred is Princess. May try Viking Ocean.

[Chiliburn]

4 hours ago, nini said:

Preferred is Princess. May try Viking Ocean.

We are trapped in the Royal Caribbean loyalty scheme so can’t help.

But Princess has 5 ships here at times I’m sure there’s something for you