Sea Conditions - Australia / New zealand

[Lady of Leisure]

Can anyone advise me what the sea conditions are like on the crossing between Australia and New Zealand, are they generally choppier than the carribean? Did you feel the cruise was a good way to see New Zealand?

Thanks

[kitty9]

The Tasman Sea is widely regarded as the roughest sea in the world, even worse than Drake's Passage--I've asked numerous ship Captains and they all seem to agree that the Tasman is the worst. When we did that "crossing" over to Sydney, it was terribly rough and we had lots of sick passengers. You get the highlights of New Zealand, but to really see that beautiful country, you need to do a lot on a land trip.

[eh2zed]

The Tasman can be rough and it was rolling pretty good when we crossed it. It is not always so, it can be smooth as well but much less often than the Caribbean and others.

[PennyAgain]

It can be absolutely awful! That is why we fly!

[edste]

We did the cruise in 2004 and the water was as smooth as glass. We were very lucky and had a wonderful crossing.

[pedirn]

We did the Tasman Sea in 2006 and had 28 foot seas. All outside decks were closed for a bit and things were crashing off the shelves in our cabin in the middle of the night.

[Lady of Leisure]

Thank you for your replies, I think Ive made my mind up now, we'll do a land tour instead and choose another cruise destination !!

[dforeigner]

[M&A]

The Tasman is rough? After our experience last year I would say no, maybe we were lucky. We did the crossing last April on the Sapphire Princess Sydney around New Zealand and through Fjordland. It was very calm the whole way, never felt any movement.