Cruising Australia and New Zealand - options! (Baltimore: where to stay, home)

[Enjoying my life]

Cruising Australia and New Zealand
We live in the US and are enjoying the opportunity to travel now that we are retired. Our problem is that it becomes overwhelming, deciding where to stay and what to do while there. Somehow it seems that we are never sure if we have gathered enough info and how to make decisions. We have found that we have enjoyed our trips the most when we have followed a mix of recommendations combined with what we find researching ourselves.

Visiting with a travel agent we came away with the suggestion to do tours. Some would be guided and leave time on our own. Have others found this enjoyable? This would be new for us, we have always been totally independent travelers.

Which brings us up to our next big trip. We have booked a 14-day cruise.

- Wednesday, Sail out of Sydney, Austraila
- Thur, Friday at Sea
- Saturday, Cruise Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, Duskey Sound
- Sunday, Dunedin
- Monday, Akaroa
- Tuesday, Picton
- Wednesday, Wellington
- Thursday, Napier
- Friday, Tauranga (Roturua)
- Saturday thru Monday am Auckland
- Monday, Tuesday at sea
- Wednesday, disembark in Sydney

Since we will be flying to the other side of the planet, where it is summer and our home in Wisconsin will be in deepest winter, it seems like a good idea to build this trip up a bit. We are not limited by time constraints, would really like to add 2 - 4 weeks to this trip. See some of the things that make this area so wonderful and unique.

Hubby is 61 and I am 57, we are in good health. We enjoy walking/hiking, seeing nature, meeting people. From what we have been able to find so far, we feel like we would like to spend some time in Cairns and Sydney, but probably most of our time in NZ.

Any thoughts or insight from others would be more than welcome.

Thanking you in advance for your kindness,

[Digger 68]

You need to talk to my Father. Him and his Wife have been both places. I think in the 90's, and in the last 5 years. They were on a cruise recently but I am not sure where they went. I will ask him.

[Enjoying my life]

Thank you, any input is much appreciated.

[Enjoying my life]

Funny, but even that response has provoked a shift in our thinking. If we focus on eastern Australia this trip we have a great excuse to return to this part of the planet to explore NZ in the future. And the cruise will allow us to see small bits this trip anyway.

So, if we flew from US to Cairns and worked our way to Sydney where we will board the ship. What are the 'musts' to see and visit?

Thanks again

[james777]

Have you thought about posting this in the city-data travel forum? It is a great group of experienced travelers; I think you would get a lot more helpful responses. Good luck in your travels.

[Enjoying my life]

Thanks, I appreciate your guidance. I will do so now.

[Digger 68]

Pop said you wasted your time booking a cruise. My Father can be quite to the point. I think the point he was making is you are going to miss a lot. You will be on the big boat most of the time.

(I doubt I will ever travel the way many people do, but the last thing I would do is go on a big ship with a couple thousand people, no thanks, EVER! I don't care if my Father and his wife like them either.)

From Baltimore to Sydney it’s 24 hours by air. That includes typically switching planes in Los Angeles and then a flight to Sydney. One of the things they’re missing is that’s a miserable flight and if I were to do that trip again I would upgrade to business class since you’re not packed in the plane like sardines. Some of the places they are going to stop in New Zealand are a waste of time. Both wifey (I changed her name) and I enjoy cruising but sometimes cruises do not lend them selves to places like Australia and New Zealand which we spent 23 days on a land tour.

[Digger 68]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ouby...ature=youtu.be