New Zealand cruise

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.

Have a wonderful time Rosiebee.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

Singapore: the Night Safari is a,wonderful trip to a nocturnal zoo.
Visitors are taken on silent open cars, stopping by various enclosures to view the nocturnal animals and their activities. A low light is turned on for the duration of the stop.
DH and I really enjoyed it. Do make time for that trip.

Hi there there is always the train
The Northern Explorer – a day-long trip between Auckland and Wellington
The Coastal Pacific – travels the east coast of the South Island between Picton and Christchurch
The TranzAlpine – an internationally-renowned train trip that crosses the Southern Alps on its journey between Christchurch and Greymouth.
I think you can get off and back on. There is only one a day so plan you stop offs. Well worth doing as you both get to see NZ and also you get to see parts that you can’t if on the roads. Nz is stunning especially the South Island.

We have just booked a similar cruise , the one we have booked with co op on princess cruises , February next year . We get 2 days in Auckland then cruise for 14 days and back to Sydney for 2 nights
Get a 3 hour stopover in Hong Kong so going to book a lounge
I’m really looking forward to it hope you decide

Depending on what time of year you go, it can be very chilly in winter.
Some New Zealanders would have you believe they only need to light a fire or put their heat on a couple of times a year! I took vests, layers but a very light mac and I was frozen some of the time! It snowed on North Island when we were there in their spring.

The earthquake museum in Christchurch is very interesting, also the Antarctic Museum. The gondola trip into the Cashmere hills gives outstanding views, and a trip on the tram around Christchurch is lovely. They do an evening dinner one if you’re in Christchurch overnight, but best to book in advance. Akaroa is gorgeous, one of my favourites, as is Kaikora, and the little blue penguin colony at Oamaru is wonderful. These places are all around, or a couple of hours drive from Christchurch.

What lovely replies! Lots to think about. We'll definitely be looking to add some extra time in Singapore. The cruise part starts and ends in Sydney. I did wonder about the possibility of disembarking at the end in NZ rather than do the 2 days at sea getting back to Sydney. Maybe flying back via Los Angeles....???? But we're off to check out insurance this morning then hopefully a visit to Trailfinders, Manchester. I really have appreciated all replies and will post if /when we do settle on an itinerary.

Dunedin and Christchurch on South Island are very interesting for their more recent history.

If you go to Tasmania I'd recommend the Bonorong Animal Sanctuary. This was the one ship's excursion we did as they went after closing at dusk when the animals were most active.

I must admit that we took several wine tours and a nostalgic trip to places where DH lived as a toddler.