First Timer Planning AUS/NZ and would Appreciate your Insight

[cruiser3775]

Australian airlines are very strict on carry on luggage. The limit is mostly 7 kg (15.5 pounds), or sometimes it is 10 kg. There is also a strict size limit, and I've had my carry ons sized and weighed on check in the last two times I've flown. 

You are going to need a range of clothes for the different climates you encounter, so I think you will be better off bringing one checked bag.  It also means you can put things in it that are prohibited in carry ons, and gives you some space to add any souvenirs you buy here.

 

 

[MMDown Under]

5 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

Australian airlines are very strict on carry on luggage. The limit is mostly 7 kg (15.5 pounds), or sometimes it is 10 kg. There is also a strict size limit, and I've had my carry ons sized and weighed on check in the last two times I've flown. 

You are going to need a range of clothes for the different climates you encounter, so I think you will be better off bringing one checked bag.  It also means you can put things in it that are prohibited in carry ons, and gives you some space to add any souvenirs you buy here.

 

 

I agree, as I travel with a medium size port. plus hand luggage.  However my daughters travel with hand luggage only so I know it can be done.

[Aussieflyer]

17 hours ago, crewsgirl said:

WOW! The pics are incredible and are making us want to book a trip. Still figuring out our budget and dates that will work for us. I appreciate all the knowledge and suggestions offered here, keep it coming please. 

 

Do you think it is possible to pack in a carry on only? How dressy are Aussies on cruises? Are most excursions outdoor type activities like hiking, walking, or cities/towns? I am thinking hiking, and whale watching would be amazing as well.  Off for more reading! 

We travel carry on as much as we can, both domestic and international. Even if we do check the luggage in, it is a carryon on size piece of luggage each.The limit for carryon international for QF depends on the class of travel (and I expect this to be the same for other international airlines as well). https://www.qantas.com/au/en/travel-info/baggage/carry-on-baggage.html. There is a max of 2 bags plus a handbag, jacket etc (and depending on the airport, this can be sometimes enforced)

Jetstar is the low cost airline and it is 7kg for carryon  - and they do weigh it, including your jacket, handbag and anything else you are carrying on board. 

One issue with carry on is the LAGs - which have to go in a plastic bag through security - and that nothing sharp allowed. 

When we travel we use laundry facilities - for a 2 week cruise either on board if there is a laundry or send it out. Underwear we do in the bathroom usually (would hate to scare the staff with my "smalls".)

For NZ, I usually take 2 pr trousers/pants, a couple of jumpers/sweaters/cardigans, 2 thermals (long sleeve), 3 t shirts/casual tops, 3 dressy tops, evening trousers (for formal nights), 2 or 3 shawls, 1 pr heels, sandals, joggers, bathers, night attire, underwear - 7 knickers etc, small first aid kit - no scissors, chargers for electronics. I rarely wear dresses or skirts so don't pack them. Makeup etc goes in my handbag. As I don't take any medication, I don't need to worry about packing a supply. Can easily fit it under 10kg. 

I wear another pair of trousers, shirt, cardigan, jacket (for NZ this would be gortex) and the joggers as shoes seem to take up a lot of room. 

When we last cruised NZ in late December pre COVID, it was lovely and hot in Auckland but got steadily colder as we went south - we did need the thermals and wind proof jackets. It did not warm up until we were at Burnie a day or two before disembarking. If you look at a map, the South Island is quite a distance south and a lot cooler than most of Australia. Auckland though is about the same latitude as Sydney. 

Edited June 24, 2023 by Aussieflyer

[SinbadThePorter]

17 hours ago, crewsgirl said:

Do you think it is possible to pack in a carry on only? How dressy are Aussies on cruises?

 

Travelling with a carry-on is great is you can swing it. Just walk off the plane, straight onto public transport and go wherever you want to go. No trailing set of wheeled luggage dragging along at your heels catching every crack in the footpath. No having to stand guard over a pile of luggage while your partner goes looking for a loo. No having to arrive at the airport a hour earlier to make sure your luggage gets on board in time. No losing of said luggage by the airline.

 

That said, 7-10 kilos of clothes is not a lot, especially for NZ. What to remember is that even in Australia, clothes can be purchased. How many T-shirts do you need to bring when you can buy them here for $10? Most ships have sales. If you bring a warm jacket, wear it onto the plane and take it off once onboard. Put as many toiletries as you can in the pockets.

 

How dressy are Aussies on cruises? Let's just say that the majority of male Aussie cruisers that I know of usually need a cattle prod applied to encourage them to dress up. 🤥 Short answer, not very.

[Jean C]

On 6/24/2023 at 5:05 PM, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Travelling with a carry-on is great is you can swing it. Just walk off the plane, straight onto public transport and go wherever you want to go. No trailing set of wheeled luggage dragging along at your heels catching every crack in the footpath. 

I totally agree, for domestic and trips to Aus I only take carry on luggage and make sure I adhere to weight restrictions. Only downside is that when carrying it any distance it can get a bit heavy, but it's oh so convenient for all the above reasons 😊

[Kellyansapansa]

I know most international visitors stick to the eastern seaboard, but the Adelaide Fringe is the second largest arts festival in the world and will run from 16th February to 17th March 2024 if that's something that would be of interest to you. 😊

[Aussieflyer]

41 minutes ago, Jean C said:

I totally agree, for domestic and trips to Aus I only take carry on luggage and make sure I adhere to weight restrictions. Only downside is that when carrying it any distance it can get a bit heavy, but it's oh so convenient for all the above reasons 😊

though does your carry on have wheels - the ones we use do plus usually a smaller bag to carry.

[Jean C]

36 minutes ago, Aussieflyer said:

though does your carry on have wheels - the ones we use do plus usually a smaller bag to carry.

Nah, mine doesn't have wheels 🙁 Holds a lot though 🙂

[Aussieflyer]

15 minutes ago, Jean C said:

Nah, mine doesn't have wheels 🙁 Holds a lot though 🙂

Go for the wheels - so much easier when you are my age! 😂

Ours are indestructible Pacsafe (2 solid inset wheels) - a bit heavy so I thought I would get a newer one which was lighter but they don't make them anymore. I don't like the flimsy spinner wheels as if we ever do check in luggage, that is the part which is most likely to be broken. 

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, Kellyansapansa said:

I know most international visitors stick to the eastern seaboard, but the Adelaide Fringe is the second largest arts festival in the world and will run from 16th February to 17th March 2024 if that's something that would be of interest to you. 😊

Adelaide has a great Cabaret Festival, which is just finishing for this year (7-22/6/24).  They also have the best original agricultural show, the Royal Adelaide Show. (2/9-10/9/23).  We used to combine a visit to the show with a visit to Kangaroo Island, prior to the fires.  They also have the Adelaide Festival (1-17/3/24). I think Adelaide has the best annual festivals. 

[Kellyansapansa]

2 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Adelaide has a great Cabaret Festival, which is just finishing for this year (7-22/6/24).  They also have the best original agricultural show, the Royal Adelaide Show. (2/9-10/9/23).  We used to combine a visit to the show with a visit to Kangaroo Island, prior to the fires.  They also have the Adelaide Festival (1-17/3/24). I think Adelaide has the best annual festivals. 

We sure do! We also have WOMAdelaide from 8th to 11th March 2024. 😊

[MMDown Under]

30 minutes ago, Kellyansapansa said:

We sure do! We also have WOMAdelaide from 8th to 11th March 2024. 😊

My younger daughter went to that one this year.  They rode their scooters there - only in Adelaide, as it is small enough.

[Aussieflyer]

If you do book to come 'down under' crewsgirl, let us know and we can inundate with suggestions for things to do and see 😁

[lucymorgan]

Happy planning!  I just wanted to mention that I have heard good things about Fiji Airways and they are having a bit of a blitz on sales at the moment.  The airline has a good reputation and a lot of Aussies 'in the know' are booking flights with them.  They are a qantas/oneworld partner.  I haven't flown with them myself.  Fiji might be an alternative stopover to Hawaii for you to consider.   https://www.fijiairways.com/en-au/

 

[MMDown Under]

9 hours ago, lucymorgan said:

Happy planning!  I just wanted to mention that I have heard good things about Fiji Airways and they are having a bit of a blitz on sales at the moment.  The airline has a good reputation and a lot of Aussies 'in the know' are booking flights with them.  They are a qantas/oneworld partner.  I haven't flown with them myself.  Fiji might be an alternative stopover to Hawaii for you to consider.   https://www.fijiairways.com/en-au/

 

I have flown with Fiji Airways to Hawaii, with a stopover in Fiji.  I found them a good airline with happy staff. 

[Blackduck59]

@crewsgirl Enjoy your planning. We planned our adventure down under twice and they were cancelled due to Covid.

You will find the people on this board friendly and helpful. I will give a few thoughts for you. Our plan before and when we re-plan this adventure was a one way starting in Auckland, we planned to arrive 3 days before the cruise. Our itinerary was on Celebrity Eclipse and was quite complete, unfortunately Celebrity has moved and edge class ship and I don't like them. There is a good itinerary on HAL Noordam that includes 2 stops in Tasmania and is around your time line. I am tempted but I think we will wait until after I retire in September 2024. Be aware that itinerary mentions "fjordland" but not Milford sound so that is something to consider (I'm sure our Aussie and Kiwi friends can give some thoughts on Milford sound. We planned a road trip in Australia making the route so we could meet some of the friends we have made on CC. As it turns out we will need to rework the road trip, we have made more friends, that's why we will probably wait until we don't have to think about getting back for work.

[ceeceeDee]

Good for you Blackduck! I hope you really enjoy your trip Downunder when you finally get here!!!

[possum52]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

@crewsgirl Enjoy your planning. We planned our adventure down under twice and they were cancelled due to Covid.

You will find the people on this board friendly and helpful. I will give a few thoughts for you. Our plan before and when we re-plan this adventure was a one way starting in Auckland, we planned to arrive 3 days before the cruise. Our itinerary was on Celebrity Eclipse and was quite complete, unfortunately Celebrity has moved and edge class ship and I don't like them. There is a good itinerary on HAL Noordam that includes 2 stops in Tasmania and is around your time line. I am tempted but I think we will wait until after I retire in September 2024. Be aware that itinerary mentions "fjordland" but not Milford sound so that is something to consider (I'm sure our Aussie and Kiwi friends can give some thoughts on Milford sound. We planned a road trip in Australia making the route so we could meet some of the friends we have made on CC. As it turns out we will need to rework the road trip, we have made more friends, that's why we will probably wait until we don't have to think about getting back for work.

If going to Fjordland, it would be very unusual to not go to Milford Sound, unless the weather/seas are not good and the ship can't get in safely.

[arxcards]

Milford Sound is part of Fjordland National Park, which also covers Doubtful, Dusky, Thompson & other sounds/fjords.

 

On ships itineraries they are interchangeable.

Any ship listing fjordland or fiordland is intending to visit Milford Sound

Any ship listing Milford Sound usually intends to visit all of the others as well.

 

Yes, Milford Sound is the most spectacular, but the others are beautiful as well and they all make for a wonderful day of scenic cruising.

Edited June 29, 2023 by arxcards

[Blackduck59]

9 minutes ago, possum52 said:

If going to Fjordland, it would be very unusual to not go to Milford Sound, unless the weather/seas are not good and the ship can't get in safely.

 

That's what I thought Leigh but on other itineraries for HAL Fjordland and Milford sound are shown separately. That was the one thing about that itinerary that had me say "huh?". I think we would be very interested in that itinerary to start our down under adventure. Of course the road trip will need to be re-routed. We will be keeping an eye on what is offered after my retirement date.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

 

Any ship listing Milford Sound usually intends to visit all of the others as well.

Not necessarily. Westerdam last Christmas only went to Dusky and Milford Sounds. It didn't do the usual transit through Doubtful Sound for some reason. The original itinerary only showed Fiordland scenic cruising so I'm not sure if it was a last minute decision or not. The weather was perfect so that wasn't the cause. 

[Sparky74]

20 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

…We planned a road trip in Australia making the route so we could meet some of the friends we have made on CC. As it turns out we will need to rework the road trip, we have made more friends, that's why we will probably wait until we don't have to think about getting back for work.

If you’re planning a road trip in Australia there’s a few things to be aware of. We drive on the left. We measure distance in kilometres. It’s a big country and the majority of the population lives along the coastal fringe. 
 

Although our population is relatively small, Australia has a large land mass. Driving between Sydney and Brisbane (for example) CAN be done in one day but I wouldn’t recommend it. Cairns is a long way from Sydney, so is Perth. I wouldn’t think of driving either of those routes unless I had plenty of time and wanted to see things (or visit people) along the way. 
 

JMHO

YMMV

🙂

[Blackduck59]

4 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

If you’re planning a road trip in Australia there’s a few things to be aware of. We drive on the left. We measure distance in kilometres. It’s a big country and the majority of the population lives along the coastal fringe. 
 

Although our population is relatively small, Australia has a large land mass. Driving between Sydney and Brisbane (for example) CAN be done in one day but I wouldn’t recommend it. Cairns is a long way from Sydney, so is Perth. I wouldn’t think of driving either of those routes unless I had plenty of time and wanted to see things (or visit people) along the way. 
 

JMHO

YMMV

🙂

 

You do know I'm Canadian right?

[Sparky74]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

You do know I'm Canadian right?

Is that any guarantee of anything? 🤣🤣🤣

[Blackduck59]

14 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

Is that any guarantee of anything? 🤣🤣🤣

 

Some people are hard to be polite to, I think I won't bother.