Cruise options from Australia

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GladstoneTim

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Hi all,
Being Australian-based I think I might get more relevant suggestions from this website. In Dec 15/ Jan 16, looking to have five of the family undertake a cruise, preferably about 14-18 days in length. New Zealand and South Pacific cruises have been ruled out as they have been taken previously. Naturally cost is a consideration -cruise fare, add-ins and flights. Have investigated some Celebrity Cruises ex-HKG and SIN which seem reasonable. Has anyone other suggestions which could fit a modest budget? How are airfares and cruise costs for Hawaiian cruises for Australian-originating guests? Anywhere else?
 
Hi all,
Being Australian-based I think I might get more relevant suggestions from this website. In Dec 15/ Jan 16, looking to have five of the family undertake a cruise, preferably about 14-18 days in length. New Zealand and South Pacific cruises have been ruled out as they have been taken previously. Naturally cost is a consideration -cruise fare, add-ins and flights. Have investigated some Celebrity Cruises ex-HKG and SIN which seem reasonable. Has anyone other suggestions which could fit a modest budget? How are airfares and cruise costs for Hawaiian cruises for Australian-originating guests? Anywhere else?

We are about to embark on the Celebrity Honolulu to Sydney cruise onboard the Celebrity Solstice. 18 nights $2800 in a verandah cabin.. then of course we had the added expense of $800 for flight to Honolulu. We have chosen to stay 8 nights in Waikiki before cruising, but that is our choice.The time you are wanting to cruise is the most difficult because they are mid season & cruising as you are looking at HKG and SIN etc are repositioning cruises & are only available when the Ship is repositioning for a season.

They are however on the whole cheaper than a regular in & out of Sydney type cruise. The Solstice returns to Honolulu in April (I think) so you could look at cruising there & flying home. I did see an advert earlier this week for $3300 (from) which included flights, 2 nights in hotel & cruise on the Solstice's return to Honolulu trip..
 
What sort of age group are you looking at? This can be a factor in deciding on a cruise line or itinerary.
There is a thread going over on the Cruise Critic site Australia and NZ Cruisers board about cheap cruises that might be of interest.
 
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The parents will be early 50s with the kids 12-20.
Ok, so personally I would not be looking at a cruise with a lot of sea days in a row. December/Jan is not really repositioning season so most cruises will be more port intensive. If you want a special cruise maybe look at cruising over Christmas or New Year, but these cruises tend to be more expensive per day (high demand). Depending on interest, you could look at a shorter cruise out of say Singapore and then spend some time at a resort. Most of the easy to access cruises from Australia tend to be NZ or South Pacific or up the coast to QLD. RCI's large ships (Voyager and Explorer) should have enough to keep the kids busy but looks like their itineraries are all Australian. I like Azamara but think it is a bit dear for what you are after and perhaps is not so all-age friendly, with an older demographic. I see Princess has a number of cruises leaving from Singapore for 10 - 12 days, maybe they would suit.
As you are forward planning, the last minute cruise offerings would be no good for you but VTG is a good way to see what is on offer, but be aware that Princess along with a number of other lines do not allow non-US residents to book in the US and they must use the AU site (which can be more expensive and with less perks).
 
As you are forward planning, the last minute cruise offerings would be no good for you but VTG is a good way to see what is on offer, but be aware that Princess along with a number of other lines do not allow non-US residents to book in the US and they must use the AU site (which can be more expensive and with less perks).
Thanks for the reminder. We have a Princess Cruise booked from 3rd - 19th December (Long Beach - Santiago) and used VTG for research but ultimately booked vis Cruise Pilot (part of VA) and so will get VA points for the booking. It was not strictly the cheapest, though pretty close, so the points were what pushed us to book there. Also their phone service was/is brilliant.
 
I've used vacations to go too with great success. They've told me they can't book Princess cruises though for Aussies.
 
Thanks for the reminder. We have a Princess Cruise booked from 3rd - 19th December (Long Beach - Santiago) and used VTG for research but ultimately booked vis Cruise Pilot (part of VA) and so will get VA points for the booking. It was not strictly the cheapest, though pretty close, so the points were what pushed us to book there. Also their phone service was/is brilliant.

Actually what I posted is not strictly accurate so I am correcting it. The cruise lines have grandfathered those who had already used O'S TAs before they put the restriction into place. Lots of people are therefore still able to book O'S, just not me :(

I have booked Azamara and Celebrity through O'S online agents and know of people booking Cunard. I know Princess, HAL, Oceania, MSC and several others do not allow booking O'S, with a veiled threat that you may not be allowed to board, but i know of some TAs willing to sell to Australian cruisers, foregoing their commission.

Ah Pushka, I was just thinking of you as I typed this.
 
Ok, so personally I would not be looking at a cruise with a lot of sea days in a row. December/Jan is not really repositioning season so most cruises will be more port intensive. If you want a special cruise maybe look at cruising over Christmas or New Year, but these cruises tend to be more expensive per day (high demand). Depending on interest, you could look at a shorter cruise out of say Singapore and then spend some time at a resort. Most of the easy to access cruises from Australia tend to be NZ or South Pacific or up the coast to QLD. RCI's large ships (Voyager and Explorer) should have enough to keep the kids busy but looks like their itineraries are all Australian. I like Azamara but think it is a bit dear for what you are after and perhaps is not so all-age friendly, with an older demographic. I see Princess has a number of cruises leaving from Singapore for 10 - 12 days, maybe they would suit.
As you are forward planning, the last minute cruise offerings would be no good for you but VTG is a good way to see what is on offer, but be aware that Princess along with a number of other lines do not allow non-US residents to book in the US and they must use the AU site (which can be more expensive and with less perks).

Thanks for your wisdom, insight and advice.
 
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