Does anyone have any info, pro or con, on Sapphire Princess cruise Auckland, NZ - Sydney, Australia? Any recommendations on worthwhile shore excursions? Thanks!

Hi Shirleyh,
Which ports in New Zealand are you visiting
Peter

Shirley, it will depend on what really interests youI can tell you that the ship will dock right in the city of Sydney,a truely picturesque 1 1/2 hrs up the harbour past the Opera House and most likey under the Harbour Bridge you will be breathtaken, with Monorail, Taxi or buses to take you into the CBD or walk along the boardwalk. lets know what your into and will try and help
also we are on Standby that cruise in April to go back to LA on the 4/17

Hi Shirley,
My husband and I and 12 year old daughter are cruising from sydney to auckland on Jan 9th, 2007. We are from victoria, australia,and can offer some advice re:shore excursions if you are interested.

My apologies, we leaveon jan 11th, 2007, not the 9th, that is when we arrive in sydney!

Shirley

Whilst I am from Canberra, I have lived in Sydney and can recommend a harbour cruise as one of the best ways to see the major parts of the city. You will get to see the major attractions - then just having a meal and watching the action on the harbour at Darling Harbour is not a bad place to start.

My wife and I are on the cruise leaving Sydney on 11 January and are counting down the days. Our last cruise out of Singapore was a little eventfull, with the Pacific Sky breaking down - the Sapphire has a much better reputation.

We have an extra night in Auckland at the end of the cruise - so if anyone has a hotel recommendation in Auckland, please let me know.

We did this cruise a little while ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Christchurch - go into the city by shuttle bus and have a walk around. Beautiful city on the river Avon. Very picturesque. Wellington walk from the ship into the city - about 15min walk. Very hilly but interesting. Go in the cablecar up to the lookout. Dunedin do the castle tour and also if you have time the tour to the Albatross rookerie. You can also go through the Cadbury factory there. Hobart walk to city about 15 minutes. Some very interesting historical buildings to look at or you can do the convict tour of Port Arthur. Melbourne catch a tram into the city from the pier - about 15 minutes. They usually have conductors at the tram stop to help visitors if you are not sure what you are doing. Melbourne is my favourite Australian city - best shopping around so we just went into the city for the day and nosed around and visited our favourite places. They also run tours up into the Dandenongs on the Puffin Billy - an old steam train. I think you can also go to Soverign Hill and pan for gold. Sydney do the harbour cruise or catch the Manly Ferry over to Manly and the north shore. Mummsie

hi Aussie from Canberra,
We are going on the same cruise from sydney to auckland jan 9th, 2006. My hubby, daughter and I also cannot wait and are counting down the days. We are staying in Auckland for 4 nights post cruise at the Duxton, not sure what it will be like, is 4 star and close to the city, but not right in the city. We are also staying 2 nights pre cruise in sydney at the Old Sydney Holiday Inn,at the Rocks, so will be looking for things to do there also. I am hoping the ship docks nearby as we have a roof top pool and spa with a view of the bridge and opera house, and would like to see it come into the harbour. Have you booked any shore excursions? We are looking at that now, so many things to chose from!
Regards,
Michele

Hi Aussie down under

I would imagine that she will dock either at the Terminal on the Circular Quay side or against the wharves on the Millers Point side in Darling Harbour. The Pacific Sun was docking at Millers Point, but given her size it would be great to see her on the Circular Quay side. Having stayed at the Old Sydney Holiday Inn, this would be the better side. There is lots to do within walking distance of The Old Sydney Holiday Inn - just around the rocks - then catch a Ferry to Manly and back around to Darling Harbour - from Darling Harbour catch the monorail through the centre of city - you can stop off at China Town, walk to Queen Victoria Building (QVB) - great shopping, get back on and go up and around back to Darling Harbour - great places eat. The Maritime Museum, Aquarium, IMAX are all within Darling Harbour. There is always the bridge climb for those who like adventure. All the best.

Moved Reply:

We did this cruise January 2005. You will love it. The ship is one of the bigger ones in the Princess fleet - plenty of things to do on the sea days. I am not sure what you want to know specifically about the ship. She is big and beautiful. We didn't do any tours because we had been to everywhere in NZ before so we basically just caught the shuttle buses into towns and wandered around. Christchurch is a beautiful city with the river Avon meandering through the middle. You can go on gondola rides. When you do to Dunedin, go and do the tour of the castle and the Albatross Colony. You can also do a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate factory in Dunedin. Tasmania was interesting - its one state we hadn't visited. Hobart is full of historical buildings and we found it very interesting. Mummsie

Moved Reply:

Thanks so much for the info. Sounds great!

Nancy: Thank you so much for your assistance!!!

My question was: We will be in ports of Tauranga, Christchurch and Dunedin in New Zealand and then to Hobart, Tasmania. We enjoy the outdoors & seeing animals. Am curious to know if anyone who has sailed this particular route on Princess might recommend a shore excursion.