Shore Excursion Reviews

[roberts2005]

I would appreciate it if any past Australia/New Zealand cruise passangers (any cruise line) would post a short review of their favorite shore excursion.

[MVPinBoynton]

I posted the Princess and private excursions I took on our recent Diamond Cruise at our website www.thepreismans.com . Hopefully it will give you an idea of some of the wonderful things you can do in this amazing land.

[travelnnana]

My travel albums are posted on:

http://elizabeth-lewis.magix.net/

click on Australia New Zealand - view photoshow and click on the icon with the arrows and it will fill your screen.

We particularly enjoyed the Taori GOrge Railway out of Dunedin.

Enjoy your trip

[MercedMike]

We had some ship's excursions, and some private excursions, and enjoyed all of them. You can read our report and see our pics at

Australia/New Zealand

 

I would especially recommend Arthur's Tours anyplace in New Zealand. He will customize just for you.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Spikesgirl]

and we booked all our excursions through the ship, mostly so that we could remain stress free during them. Our cruise took us to Bay of Islands, which I don't think happens anymore. It was fun, especially sand broading down the dunes and riding along the beach. We also hit geo- thermal areas outside Rotorua, which were very interesting to my DH. Wellington we did a shopping excursions, which actually turned into one of the better excursions we did, mostly due to the people we met along the way. We did the "romantic tour of Christchurch" and that including punting down the Avon, tea and lots of really interesting churches. The fjords were fascinating, but my all time favorite stop was Hobart. I loved the town, the people, the island, everything we saw and did was a hoot - even if I did get 'mugged' by a wallaby. We had a lvoely trout feed and visited a great forest reserve, along with getting up into the mountains for a look at the land that only escaped convicts mapped.

 

We also checked out Melbourne - this was the only city that we did on our own and I felt somewhat cheated. We learned so much about the culture and history of the cities that we had toured previously and we

came away with nothing more than a less-than-satisfying stop here. next time, we will definitely tour with a group.

 

We did spend extra time on both ends of the cruise to get a feel for Aukland and Sydney. If you stay in Sydney, check out the Bridge walk and the backstage tour of the opera house. Every city we stopped in had a wonderful botanical garden, so if you like flowers that's something else to consider.

 

I would check some books out of the library and read up before you go - then match the excursions that best suit your interests.

 

Charlie

 

The biggest thing is to make sure you don't

[roberts2005]

Spikesgirl:

 

Our Holland America cruise passes up Hobart for Burnie. In Burnie we hope to visit an animal farm. In Wellington did you manage to visit the museum? I hear it is wonderful.

 

Thank you to all the others who posted links to their photos.

 

Robert

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Spikesgirl:

Our Holland America cruise passes up Hobart for Burnie. In Burnie we hope to visit an animal farm. In Wellington did you manage to visit the museum? I hear it is wonderful.Robert

 

 

In Wellington the Museum is called "TePapa".

 

http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/English/

 

It is about a 20 minute walk along the waterfront from where you will berth.It is open every day from 10am and admission is free.The waterfront itself is interesting as it has all been redeveloped and is is wide open to the public.The Museum is quite modern with lots of interactive exhibits.From outside, a city circle bus will take you into the city and the main shopping area.(Small charge)If you ask to get off at the cable car stop you can ride up the hill for some great views of the city.

Just a note......if you decide to walk back to the ship,make sure you cross onto the waterfront side as the other side ends up at a stadium and there is a motorway (freeway?) between you and the ship.

 

All of the stops on this cruise can be easily done on your own ,but as a previous poster has said ....a group tour has a guide and you get to see and learn a lot more.

[KiwiIan]

In Wellington the Museum is called "TePapa".

 

http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/English/

 

It is about a 20 minute walk along the waterfront from where you will berth.It is open every day from 10am and admission is free.The waterfront itself is interesting as it has all been redeveloped and is is wide open to the public.The Museum is quite modern with lots of interactive exhibits.From outside, a city circle bus will take you into the city and the main shopping area.(Small charge)If you ask to get off at the cable car stop you can ride up the hill for some great views of the city.

Just a note......if you decide to walk back to the ship,make sure you cross onto the waterfront side as the other side ends up at a stadium and there is a motorway (freeway?) between you and the ship.

 

All of the stops on this cruise can be easily done on your own ,but as a previous poster has said ....a group tour has a guide and you get to see and learn a lot more.

Just to add a note re options for tours in your ports of call. In fact theres 3 choices. You can take one of the ships organised tours, often very good but you will be in a large group and these can be expensive. Another option is to find a local tour guide/company and arrange a DIY tour but with an experinced local proffessional guide and tour vehicle. Depending on the tour these will range from about $100 to $200 NZ$ for a full day tour, often to include luncj and activities. Pre booking is recommmended as when the larger ships are in port theres a real rush to find one of these. You can take a chance and walk of the ship hoining to an operator free, but better still to pre-arrange a tour deal through the internet. Final choice is a totally DIY tour, either walking, public transport of self drive hire car, but these can be a bit stressful and you miss out on a lot of local knowledge. If you need any more info just post here and i will be pleased to assist. Regards Ian [Tauranga]