Best time to cruise Australia

[yorkshirephil]

We are looking at a cruise around Australia, likely on a Princess ship. They seem to do circumnavigations in Oct and/or March. When do people think the best option is and why, TIA.

[SinbadThePorter]

The seas in the south are generally better in March than October.

 

In the north March is still in cyclone season, October is not.

[capriccio]

3 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

We are looking at a cruise around Australia, likely on a Princess ship. They seem to do circumnavigations in Oct and/or March. When do people think the best option is and why, TIA.

We (a group of 6) had a great Round Australia cruise on Princess last April (April 2 - April 30).  We did miss two ports due to high seas and winds from a cyclone.  Instead of Margaret River we had an extra evening in Fremantle/Perth (passengers were allowed to disembark as soon as we docked) and instead of Busselton we arrived in Broome and afternoon before scheduled and the ship arranged free shuttles into town.  Even with those changes in plans it was one of our best cruises (out of over 30) ever.

[Aus Traveller]

5 minutes ago, capriccio said:

We (a group of 6) had a great Round Australia cruise on Princess last April (April 2 - April 30).  We did miss two ports due to high seas and winds from a cyclone.  Instead of Margaret River we had an extra evening in Fremantle/Perth (passengers were allowed to disembark as soon as we docked) and instead of Busselton we arrived in Broome and afternoon before scheduled and the ship arranged free shuttles into town.  Even with those changes in plans it was one of our best cruises (out of over 30) ever.

A couple of comments - In my opinion you didn't miss much by not visiting Busselton/Margaret River. Another point, there are always free shuttle buses in Broome. It is a working wharf and passengers aren't permitted to walk on it.

 

We have done the Around Australia cruise a few times and always enjoyed it. It is difficult to comment on whether the October or the March/April one is better. If I had to choose, maybe I would opt for October. It is well before the Wet Season in the north whereas March can still be wet. However there is the old comment "Climate is what you expect and weather is what you get" although we know that both are changeable.😁

[capriccio]

30 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

A couple of comments - In my opinion you didn't miss much by not visiting Busselton/Margaret River. Another point, there are always free shuttle buses in Broome. It is a working wharf and passengers aren't permitted to walk on it.

We did miss a private excursion out of Busselton (South West Eco Discoveries Half Day Coastal and Eco Wildlife Tour) that we were looking forward to but the vendor returned our payment within a day.  In Broome we arrived on a Sunday afternoon when both the wharf and town were pretty much deserted.  The shuttle was necessary to get into town and the local tourist office had set up a tent with information but very little was open.  We had a 2 - 3 hour tour scheduled for the next day that met us on the wharf and dropped us off downtown IIRC and then we took the ship's shuttle back.

 

I was impressed that Princess was able to react quickly to the bad weather reports and make alternative plans.  We didn't hear any complaining from other passengers. 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2023 by capriccio

[Cbtours]

We did the cruise last October and loved it. Lots of good weather but esp over 28 days there were plenty of variations too.

 

we missed three ports (which though not required to compensate, Princess gave everyone 15% of their cruise fare back in credits). We appreciated that the captain chose to stay in Fremantle an extra night to allow a weather pressure system to get well ahead of us rather than go through it!

 

Absolutely loved the cruise and the longer time gave it a totally different feel.

[fairywren]

3 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

A couple of comments - In my opinion you didn't miss much by not visiting Busselton/Margaret River. Another point, there are always free shuttle buses in Broome. It is a working wharf and passengers aren't permitted to walk on it.

I have to disagree - I'll take Busselton and Margaret River over Broome anytime.

[lyndarra]

6 hours ago, fairywren said:

I have to disagree - I'll take Busselton and Margaret River over Broome anytime.

Save Broome for a land tour. Not enough time during a port stop to see some of the better things  Broome has to offer. Have been there twice - so far.

[OzKiwiJJ]

11 hours ago, fairywren said:

I have to disagree - I'll take Busselton and Margaret River over Broome anytime.

 

4 hours ago, lyndarra said:

Save Broome for a land tour. Not enough time during a port stop to see some of the better things  Broome has to offer. Have been there twice - so far.

And Busselton / Margaret River also has too many things to offer than can be seen in a day visit. 

 

But that's not the point. Not everyone will be able to spend the time and/or money on a land trip to either of those places. By visiting them on a cruise at least we get a glimpse of some of the interesting places near those ports.

 

I've only been to Broome once (I missed going there again last year as I caught Covid just as we arrived there) however I really enjoyed seeing the old town and visiting Cable Beach. But the one thing that really sticks in my memory is walking out of a cafe on Short St just as a small plane was coming in for a landing! I swear its wheels clipped the top of the tree next to where I was standing!

 

We did a land trip to Margaret River many years ago, staying there for about five nights and that was barely enough time there. Unfortunately land trips are becoming very expensive, and as we get older they are harder to do. 🙁

[lyndarra]

10 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

 

 

I've only been to Broome once (I missed going there again last year as I caught Covid just as we arrived there) however I really enjoyed seeing the old town and visiting Cable Beach. But the one thing that really sticks in my memory is walking out of a cafe on Short St just as a small plane was coming in for a landing! I swear its wheels clipped the top of the tree next to where I was standing!

 

 

Or sitting in the Sun outdoor theatre watching a movie when a 737 (or similar) comes in to land just metres above.😱

[Relaxing Robbies]

2 hours ago, lyndarra said:

Or sitting in the Sun outdoor theatre watching a movie when a 737 (or similar) comes in to land just metres above.😱

When we fly to Broome to visit family members they know it is time to go to the airport and pick us up when they see, hear and feel the plane flying over their homes.

[MMDown Under]

43 minutes ago, Relaxing Robbies said:

When we fly to Broome to visit family members they know it is time to go to the airport and pick us up when they see, hear and feel the plane flying over their homes.

When I flew to Broome and got a taxi to a hostel, I discovered it was next door to the Airport.  Broome is a small place.

 

44 minutes ago, Relaxing Robbies said: