? for those who have cruised Australia/New Zealand in March, or even better, in both February and March.

[PurpleTraveller]

11 hours ago, mlbcruiser said:

Oh my gosh, I had no idea it was that difficult to see the fjords! Is it mostly fog and or rain that is the weather issue? 
is it also common to miss entering the fjords in February and March?

 

 

For both times I missed the Fjords it was due to large storms coming from the west across the Tasman Sea resulting in heavy seas and strong winds. On our March cruise the weather was so bad that we also couldn't get into Dunedin and had to turn around and sail back up the east coast of New Zealand and through the strait between the north and south islands to get back to Australia. They were the worst seas I have ever cruised on including around Cape Horn! However the weather for the entire cruise before Dunedin was glorious with warm and sunny days. 

 

[Hunter69]

Oh, I won't mention seas as the others have already. The temps where around 15" or 58F to 22" or 68"F. Had 1 day of rain last March 2020. In Dunedin  did the train journey. Worn jeans & T-Shirt most days..

I would go Mid-Feb to March. The school holidays are here in Australia to the first week of Feburary..

As mentioned before, Milford Sound is the best Destination I have been Too.Better then Moorea, Bora Bora, Singapore, Komodo Is. 

Plus you will love the Kiwis. Kia-Ora..

[mlbcruiser]

Nice to read of others’ experiences and it’s helpful to know ahead of time to not count on a particular type of weather. Leaning towards about the second week of February right now. I assume school is back in session by then? 
 

Probably should bring this up in an entirely new thread, but…
So far the booking window hasn’t opened yet for much of February with regard to air travel. Therefore I have run fake bookings to at least see what the plane ticket prices would be. Had to use late January of 2022, returning the first week or so of February. Prices are much higher than I anticipated! Especially on the carrier we would normally go on and most of it’s affiliates. I’ve run the cost from Los Angeles, Dallas, and Honolulu. Of course we still have to get to those gateways from home but have enough frequent flyer miles with a couple of carriers to easily do that. Just depends on how much more it would cost from our city which in some cases might not be much at all.   RT coach has ranged from $2200-$3300 USD. I know it wasn’t more than a year or so ago I would see prices around $1200 or so on some of the same airlines if you caught it right. Before my DH’s mobility issues, we would’ve chosen one of the cool deals where you spend a night or two in Tahiti or Fiji in one of the directions and get a decent fare to boot. Might be too much effort under our present circumstances. So wish we could fly business class but too expensive. DH is 6‘3“ but the best we could probably do is get him into a bulkhead seat. (It’s a long trip!) If anyone has any insight as to tendencies at certain times of the year for the fares to drop or anything, please share your info! I know most of you who have posted didn’t need to fly there from the U.S. but a few of you appear to be from here, so???  I realize things are so different now due to Covid, and so many airlines have cut many of their flights. Some of the ships are pretty heavily booked with people who have had to cancel cruises that should be happening around now that if I wait too much longer to book there won’t be availability on the ships! 

Anyway, thanks for all the information everyone has already given. Please don’t hesitate to share any other info or tips you think might be helpful. Sounds like you all really enjoyed New Zealand a lot. 😊

[BRANDEE]

44 minutes ago, mlbcruiser said:

Nice to read of others’ experiences and it’s helpful to know ahead of time to not count on a particular type of weather. Leaning towards about the second week of February right now. I assume school is back in session by then? 
 

Probably should bring this up in an entirely new thread, but…
So far the booking window hasn’t opened yet for much of February with regard to air travel. Therefore I have run fake bookings to at least see what the plane ticket prices would be. Had to use late January of 2022, returning the first week or so of February. Prices are much higher than I anticipated! Especially on the carrier we would normally go on and most of it’s affiliates. I’ve run the cost from Los Angeles, Dallas, and Honolulu. Of course we still have to get to those gateways from home but have enough frequent flyer miles with a couple of carriers to easily do that. Just depends on how much more it would cost from our city which in some cases might not be much at all.   RT coach has ranged from $2200-$3300 USD. I know it wasn’t more than a year or so ago I would see prices around $1200 or so on some of the same airlines if you caught it right. Before my DH’s mobility issues, we would’ve chosen one of the cool deals where you spend a night or two in Tahiti or Fiji in one of the directions and get a decent fare to boot. Might be too much effort under our present circumstances. So wish we could fly business class but too expensive. DH is 6‘3“ but the best we could probably do is get him into a bulkhead seat. (It’s a long trip!) If anyone has any insight as to tendencies at certain times of the year for the fares to drop or anything, please share your info! I know most of you who have posted didn’t need to fly there from the U.S. but a few of you appear to be from here, so???  I realize things are so different now due to Covid, and so many airlines have cut many of their flights. Some of the ships are pretty heavily booked with people who have had to cancel cruises that should be happening around now that if I wait too much longer to book there won’t be availability on the ships! 

Anyway, thanks for all the information everyone has already given. Please don’t hesitate to share any other info or tips you think might be helpful. Sounds like you all really enjoyed New Zealand a lot. 😊

@mlbcruiser   What cruiseline are you doing?  We found EZAir with Princess to be a very good deal.  No payment until final bill and able to change flight up till final balance.

Edited February 16, 2021 by BRANDEE

[mlbcruiser]

Probably Royal Caribbean because of the level cruiser we are with them. And everyone has their own taste but we tend to like their entertainment a lot and some of the bells and whistle‘s. We do like the talks that Princess can sometimes give in certain places and I think they are probably very good in that part of the world. Princess is the second most likely. But we don’t get nearly as many perks with them. In the past whenever I have checked,   the cruise line air prices are not better than what I have found myself. That doesn’t mean it will hold true for this and it’s not that I wouldn’t check into it, but I guess I’m very controlling and I like to control my comings and goings myself. But if I see they’re offering some special pricing On air it could certainly sway my choice! It can complicate things if you need to cancel or change your cruise, too.Thanks for the tip, though. 

[mlbcruiser]

By the way, I noticed that some of you have edited your posts. I used to be able to edit for a few minutes after I posted before they changed this website. I can’t seem to find out how to do it now! Found a lot of information about how they can only delete certain posts that have personal information in them. That’s not the info I have been after though. Nothing appears right after I post that says edit like it used to.???

[GUT2407]

The three dots up the top if memory serves.

 

yep, after posting I edited this via those dots.

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by GUT2407

[BRANDEE]

33 minutes ago, mlbcruiser said:

Probably Royal Caribbean because of the level cruiser we are with them. And everyone has their own taste but we tend to like their entertainment a lot and some of the bells and whistle‘s. We do like the talks that Princess can sometimes give in certain places and I think they are probably very good in that part of the world. Princess is the second most likely. But we don’t get nearly as many perks with them. In the past whenever I have checked,   the cruise line air prices are not better than what I have found myself. That doesn’t mean it will hold true for this and it’s not that I wouldn’t check into it, but I guess I’m very controlling and I like to control my comings and goings myself. But if I see they’re offering some special pricing On air it could certainly sway my choice! It can complicate things if you need to cancel or change your cruise, too.Thanks for the tip, though. 

We paid $4200 for two roundtrip business class. I chose the airports and the carrier and the flights.  We extended the flights pre and post cruise.  Keep an eye on their specials. The saving on the flights were tremendous but you do have to go on the cruiseline you prefer.  Does RC have their own airfare program, too?  I prefer to book my own flights, too. But on these multi flights, especially outside of the USA, we have had better pricing and the ability to cancel if something happens.

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by BRANDEE

[Aus Traveller]

Our schools go back in the last week of January - usually around 27th or so. Maybe the airfares in late January are higher than they would be in early February because of this. At the moment, because of COVID and the limited number of flights travelling, fares seem to be much higher than normal. This could change. In 2019 I booked a flight from NYC to Australia on QANTAS to return from a half-world cruise - later cancelled. I preferred to go with that airline. I saved $700 by booking through Princess EZair. In addition, when the cruise and the flight were cancelled, QANTAS was offering a credit for the amount paid for the flight, but Princess gave me a full refund.

[NSWP]

3 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Our schools go back in the last week of January - usually around 27th or so. Maybe the airfares in late January are higher than they would be in early February because of this. At the moment, because of COVID and the limited number of flights travelling, fares seem to be much higher than normal. This could change. In 2019 I booked a flight from NYC to Australia on QANTAS to return from a half-world cruise - later cancelled. I preferred to go with that airline. I saved $700 by booking through Princess EZair. In addition, when the cruise and the flight were cancelled, QANTAS was offering a credit for the amount paid for the flight, but Princess gave me a full refund.

If I was doing a fly cruise with Princess in the current climate I would use Princess EZair, because they are refunding, not just giving credit. Quite competitive air components.

[BRANDEE]

10 minutes ago, NSWP said:

If I was doing a fly cruise with Princess in the current climate I would use Princess EZair, because they are refunding, not just giving credit. Quite competitive air components.

When our cruise was cancelled early due to covid, Princess got us home due to using EZAir. I came home Quantas and American Airlines.  Also, I have a credit with Delta for the unused return flight home from Sydney to NYC.  

Edited February 17, 2021 by BRANDEE

[mlbcruiser]

Sounds like the Princess’s Easy Air program works out really well. Especially if something goes wrong. So you all do make a good case for it. Royal Caribbean has something called Air2Sea, I think it is called. You basically use some interactive site they have and pick your own flights etc.  I don’t know if there is any savings but somehow they work it all out for you. They do charge $15 or $20 or so to handle it. I’m not very up on it since I have always booked independently. I was more aware of The easy air program with princess because I did consider it when we did our Alaska cruise, but didn’t use it in the end.

[mlbcruiser]

GUT2407, thanks for responding about how to edit. I just clicked on the three little dots when I did my last post just to see if I could have edit it had I wanted to. Sure enough, the edit option came up. Oddly enough, when I tried it a couple of times yesterday all I got was Report or Share (?).  Thanks so much for your help!

[possum52]

19 minutes ago, mlbcruiser said:

GUT2407, thanks for responding about how to edit. I just clicked on the three little dots when I did my last post just to see if I could have edit it had I wanted to. Sure enough, the edit option came up. Oddly enough, when I tried it a couple of times yesterday all I got was Report or Share (?).  Thanks so much for your help!

There is a time limit you have to edit your posts. I'm not sure how long it is. So once that time has passed, when you click on the three dots, it will only show 'Report or Share' and not edit.

 

Leigh

[Aus Traveller]

5 minutes ago, possum52 said:

There is a time limit you have to edit your posts. I'm not sure how long it is. So once that time has passed, when you click on the three dots, it will only show 'Report or Share' and not edit.

 

Leigh

I think the time limit in which you can edit a post is 20 minutes.

[mlbcruiser]

In the past, before they made the more recent changes to the website, it always seems like I only had five, maybe 10 at the most, minutes to edit a post. I know when I was unable to edit yesterday and went to the help section of the site,  I couldn’t find the information. When I  did an online  search asking about editing on CC, many comments from CC  came up about the topic of editing and deleting posts. Different posters  mentioned different time allowances to edit. I know I did see that someone said 20 minutes,  but in my experience I’ve never had that length of time on here to edit. Perhaps it is 20 minutes now, though. When I was trying yesterday and did not get the edit option, I was trying immediately after I had made a post. In fact the first time was to try to make a change in the title when I first posted my question. I just posted the question over again with the correct title. So I still think there might have been a glitch going on for a bit. Anyway thank you and I’m glad to be able to find that option again.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thread titles can't be edited unfortunately.

[BRANDEE]

mlbcruiser  if you are looking into Princess , you may consider buying stock (it is low now)  You get OBC credit for each cruise depending on length of cruise.  You need 100 shares.  Also, if you are a veteran, Princess give military OBC credit per cruise.

Edited February 17, 2021 by BRANDEE

[GUT2407]

57 minutes ago, mlbcruiser said:

GUT2407, thanks for responding about how to edit. I just clicked on the three little dots when I did my last post just to see if I could have edit it had I wanted to. Sure enough, the edit option came up. Oddly enough, when I tried it a couple of times yesterday all I got was Report or Share (?).  Thanks so much for your help!

Perhaps you were clicking on the wrong post, if it isn’t your post you get report or share. Or if you click on your own post out of time that is all you get.

Edited February 17, 2021 by GUT2407

[Aus Traveller]

36 minutes ago, mlbcruiser said:

In the past, before they made the more recent changes to the website, it always seems like I only had five, maybe 10 at the most, minutes to edit a post. I know when I was unable to edit yesterday and went to the help section of the site,  I couldn’t find the information. When I  did an online  search asking about editing on CC, many comments from CC  came up about the topic of editing and deleting posts. Different posters  mentioned different time allowances to edit. I know I did see that someone said 20 minutes,  but in my experience I’ve never had that length of time on here to edit. Perhaps it is 20 minutes now, though. When I was trying yesterday and did not get the edit option, I was trying immediately after I had made a post. In fact the first time was to try to make a change in the title when I first posted my question. I just posted the question over again with the correct title. So I still think there might have been a glitch going on for a bit. Anyway thank you and I’m glad to be able to find that option again.

Going back years, I have often edited a post some time (15 minutes and more) after I posted it, but I have noticed, that as soon as it passes the 20-minute time limit, I can no longer edit.

[DeeDee Groff]

1 hour ago, BRANDEE said:

mlbcruiser  if you are looking into Princess , you may consider buying stock (it is low now)  You get OBC credit for each cruise depending on length of cruise.  You need 100 shares.  Also, if you are a veteran, Princess give military OBC credit per cruise.

 

I am sure the OP may very well appreciate your suggestion about buying Carnival stock now while it's low.

 

Your pointing out that Princess gives military and veterans a discount served as a reminder to me about a benefit that I had forgotten about because it's been at least several years since I've cruised with Princess even though I am Elite with them.

 

I checked out this forum because I am in the position that I have had two HAL Oosterdam sailings cancelled in fewer than six months:  September 27 from Seattle to Auckland and March 28 from Auckland to Seattle.  I am beginning to wonder if New Zealand and Australia will open to cruise ships so I can try for the third time which would be March 31, 2022 from Auckland to Seattle.  

 

If I am cancelled from that sailing because the ports will not be open, I had the bright idea that I could try for the first segment of the HAL 2023 World Cruise, Fort Lauderdale to Sydney, January 3 - February 9, 2023.

 

Reading this forum has been very enlightening to me because while I have had quite a bit of experience cruising around Australia and traveling in the interior, I have very little experience in New Zealand, and I've picked up quite a few helpful tips.  Thank you all and stay safe!

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

Going back years, I have often edited a post some time (15 minutes and more) after I posted it, but I have noticed, that as soon as it passes the 20-minute time limit, I can no longer edit.

Yep, 20 mins, too late.

[mlbcruiser]

Deedee, I’m glad to see others getting something out of this thread. That’s why this site is so great. People are always willing to help and you can get so much information from others! Hope you get your bookings renewed and end up on the cruise or cruises you most desire.

[DeeDee Groff]

6 hours ago, mlbcruiser said:

Deedee, I’m glad to see others getting something out of this thread. That’s why this site is so great. People are always willing to help and you can get so much information from others! Hope you get your bookings renewed and end up on the cruise or cruises you most desire.

 

Thank you so much!

[tribefan]

On 2/14/2021 at 9:11 PM, mlbcruiser said:

Considering an Australia/NZ cruise in either February or March of 2022.  I have read up a little bit on weather conditions but would like to hear actual experiences/comparisons from those who have cruised these regions in both months.  Of course weather and sea conditions are often not “normal” & can’t be known in advance, but it’s sort of helps to know the likelihood of experiencing very many all day rains, extremely rough seas, 

or other conditions making it uncomfortable enough that it affected the enjoyment of your cruise. Or if conditions caused numerous excursions to be canceled. 
Thanks for any input!

 

Just plan on going with us on Feb 9th!!!!  Would be awesome to finally be able to cruise together since this is how we met on a cruise board how many years ago???