New Zealand cruise

Definitely recommend the TranzAlpine, overnight on Doubtful Sound, Bay of Islands, Mount Cook & glaciers, Dunedin…. and so much more. We were lucky enough to spend 6 weeks there and feel we only scratched the surface. We drove ourselves and stayed in motels mainly, some B&Bs, some hotels. I also recommend a stopover in Hong Kong.

My mother had two lovely coach tours in New Zealand, with different interest groups (birds, then gardens) and really enjoyed it. She was in her 70's and didn't want to drive whilst she was there, particularly as she was on her own.

Just to say that I echo the sentiment of staying longer in Singapore. My stepson lives there and it’s a fabulous place. Very little crime and very clean. But alcohol is VERY expensive!

We toured in January this year, we enjoyed it and the people are very friendly, we visited friends who showed us a lot and then drove across to the west coast and across through Queenstown back to Christchurch.

We expected more, we did see the glacier - from a helicopter the scenery was brown hills covered with scrubby pine, the only green we saw was the massive irrigated dairy farms across Canterbury Plain

We did this trip 5 years ago. Singapore for 4 days, into Auckland for 3 days, then a Celebrity cruise around the coast. We thought it the best way to see as much as we could, preferable to driving, on our own, in a motorhome which is a popular choice. We went on a few organised tours, some people may sneer at 'not going alone', but an informed, enthusiastic guide can really make a difference to what you get from a day. We were fortunate too, that it wasn't raining when we sailed Milford Sound. We still get excited when we see wine here which was produced in a vineyard that we visited while we were there.

You go to NZ for scenery which is breathtaking. If you want to admire architecture and history go to Europe. Winter or summer take plenty of warm clothes as well as summer outfits. Went to South Island in December January and absolutely froze.

Only disappointment was Dundedin. Port Chalmers is far more interesting with its museum run by volunteers, lots of history about early immigrants, including ancestors of mine who sailed from Scotland.

We stayed in the Old Post Office in Singapore . It was gorgeous. . You do need a few days. NZ is lovely for the scenery and when we went it was England in the fifties. The cake shops were straight out of the old cook books! I liked Dunedin with train journey up to the mountains,loved Christchurch, Wellington,in fact the whole place was fascinating. Can be stormy around South Island south for cruising.

Milford sound is very very busy during Chinese new year and the boats go out blaring Chinese loudspeakers. We booked with trailfinders and they had no idea. I suppose they know now and wouldn’t advise anyone to go there then. Doubtful sound we stayed overnight on a small boat. Beautiful.

Have been to NZ once and also to Singapore on numerous occasions. We had a hire car in NZ, travelled around for around 10 days no problem at all and then stayed in a property owned by a winery with pool , honesty policy with bottles of wine and beautiful surrounding scenery. Singapore is good if you're relative newcomers to the East and want a less adventurous/'safer' type break than some nearby countries eg Hong Kong. We found best hotel in Singapore to be the Ritz Carlton but have not been for around 5 yrs now. Been to Sydney a handful of times and love it, so much to enjoy! Have. a great holiday.

We went on a two week cruise around New Zealand about nine years ago and it was wonderful. Stopped at all the 'must see' places. The ship's shore excursions were excellent. Would thoroughly recommend.

We booked a 3 week tour around New Zealand with Moatrek. There were 16 of us in a small coach with a driver guide who was excellent. We certainly wouldn't have covered so much ground driving ourselves! We stayed on after the tour to visit friends in Wellington and took the train from Wellington to Aukland.

For Rosiebee, you've had lots of good advice on here, and there's LOADS more - on all cruise queries -- on sites like Cruise co uk, Cruise Critic, and more similar forums. As on here, others have done your planned trip, or very similar.

The advice re ship's tours does surprise some folk, do all you can to avoid them, as invariably you can do better on your own, OR there are cheaper (& very likely better) alternatives that you can pre-book via the i'net. The exception would be ports with lousy public transport, or the likes of Greece with a tricky alphabet, or the luxury cruise lines that include your tours (as you've paid for them with your fare!).

An excellent cruise (& airline) booker that we used several times is IGLU, who can help your plans if needed.

Goldieoldie15

You go to NZ for scenery which is breathtaking. If you want to admire architecture and history go to Europe. Winter or summer take plenty of warm clothes as well as summer outfits. Went to South Island in December January and absolutely froze.

I agree with that, mostly. I went mid-February to beginning of April. Took woolies and never wore them, even though I went to the very south of S Island in March.

Well we bit the bullet yesterday and booked our "Big Trip". It took forever to sort out insurance as DH has had two previous cancers, both signed off at least 8years ago and we both take pills for high blood pressure and cholesterol. We must have spent most of the afternoon on the phone to different firms.. Eye wateringly expensive but necessary.
So next year we will fly to Singapore for 3 nights, then fly to Sydney for 4 nights. We pick up the cruise there, around NZ and back to Sydney - 13 nights. Fly to Singapore for 2 nights then home. As we think this will be our last long haul we are pushing the boat out and going business class for all flights. We're usually quite parsimonious in our day to day life, so this is a real treat and not one that we'll be doing again. Thanks for all suggestions and replies. I've really enjoyed reading about everyone's different experiences.

Have a wonderful time Rosiebee.

Have a great trip, Rosiebee. I'm glad to hear that you booked business class too. It will make the long flights so much more comfortable. I would do the same if we ever repeat that journey.