Details about AUS / NZ Itinerary please help!

[kald]

First time cruiser and post here. I have been agonizing over which of 2 cruises to go on this December: both are almost the same itinerary. They are:

Diamond Princess departing Sydney Dec 12, Sydney - Auckland

Celebrity Millennium departing Sydney Dec 7, Sydney - Auckland

 

I have found deals to where they are both about the same price. I think I would prefer the Princess ship (we are a young married couple who would like it a little more causal), but the Celebrity cruise appears to have a couple of extra stops (I think you get 1 extra night out of that cruise as well). I am looking for someone who has been on the princess cruise before to tell me if it includes the following things which are on the Celebrity cruise:

 

1. Phillip Island - the Millennium is supposed to be "tendered" there, while diamond just says Sydney, At Sea, Melbourne. Is there any stopping here?

 

2. Fjordland National Park - this is all that the princess itinerary says. The Celebrity one breaks it down as Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, and Dusky Sound. Does the princess cruise sail into these places, or just past them?

 

3. Volcanic White Island - It's listed on the Millennium itinerary (just before Tauranga), but not on Princess's, even though it's right there on the way. Is this a feature on the Princess cruise at all?

 

Thanks so much for your help!

 

Adam

[Cruisin' Chick]

There will be a Princess cruise stopping at Phillip Island, but in December 2009. I think the info I read said that it will be a new stop for Princess.

[caribill]

2. Fjordland National Park - this is all that the princess itinerary says. The Celebrity one breaks it down as Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, and Dusky Sound. Does the princess cruise sail into these places, or just past them?

 

When we went on Princess, it was those three + Thompson Sound and Breaksea Sound

[Flipper133]

Hi Adam

 

We have sailed on Sapphire Princess (sister to Diamond)twice for the Oz/NZ itinery

 

I would recommend Princess lines and especially the Diamond/Sapphire ships. They are an institution in themselves...and always seem to attract attention when in port - unlike some of the other smaller vessels. They are so huge that they will not fit under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

 

No big deal (in my opinion) with missing Phillip Island. Its got a race track and a penguin parade, neither of which you will be able to see.

 

Fjordland is unforgettable - especially in the larger Princess ships where they seem to just turn around in their own length. You will spend a full day in this area visiting a number of sound (esp Milford). The ships arrive early morning and it it late evening before you leave.

 

White Island is also no big deal - I believe it is the top of an extinct volcanoe and all ships pass it as they go into Tauranga.

 

I think Milenium goes into 1 or 2 extra NZ ports but Princess visits the main cities and for me that was enough. Princess used to go into Wellington but has now substituted Tauranga - probably because it is closer to Rotorua.

 

One last point; There is a seperate Forum for Australian Cruisers under P&O Australia. There is heaps of useful stuff there, not just P&O but also Princess, who operate the Sun and Dawn ex OZ.

 

cheers

[Sailaway2Sea]

We were on the Sapphire last February on this itinerary. The Sapphire was docked right up next to the Harbor Bridge in Sydney and right near many things to do and see there. You can take ferries to many other places from there also. We went to Fjordland Park and it included all the sounds you listed. Milford is the first one and you enter it early in the morning. For us, it was around 7:00 a.m. Princess sails right into these sounds with the mountains on both sides of the ship. We only passed the Volcanic White Island, but did not visit there. This is a wonderful cruise!

We have also sailed on the Millennium, but in the Mediterranean. It is also a very nice ship, but we found a better price with Princess.

[kald]

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

Based on your advice, I decided to go ahead with the Princess cruise. Trouble is, by the time my TA went to book it it was sold out! So, I ended up booking the Celebrity cruise after all! I think we would have enjoyed the ship better on Princess, but at least this way we get a couple extra nights, and it's an amazing deal on a CC class balcony cabin (729pp!), which was about the same as the Princess price anyway. Plus this way I was able to see the available cabins and pick the one I wanted (8177 Panorama deck; on the port side so we get the views of NZ while we cruise). There were actually only about 6 of them left, (8 about 20 minutes before that; they're probably all gone by now), so I was lucky to find something when I did.

 

Again, thanks for your quick responses. They really helped me out! I'll be back if I come up with any more questions.

 

Adam