This is a trip report of our Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand 14 night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's "Legend of the Seas" from March 17 through March 31, 2002. We purchased their air and sea package. Prices seemed to vary a lot for what people actually paid for similar staterooms. It seems that those travel agents who pre-bought blocks of cabins offered the best deals (Costco Travel is also very competitive). We checked with Royal Caribbean about the on-line travel agency we worked with and were reassured that they book a lot of space. About 400 people who took our cruise continued on for the "repositioning cruise" to Hawaii via Tahiti. 90% of our clothes were for cooler weather; hence the reason we had fantastic warm and sunny weather for most of the trip, except for a bit of rain on our last day in Auckland.
This was our 4th Royal Caribbean cruise and the 3rd on the "Legend of the Seas" (other "Legend" cruises were to Alaska and Mediterranean). First two were outside cabins and last two inside, deck 2, center ship. Since we spend so little time in our cabin, we'd rather use the savings on interesting excursions. Cabin layout was very efficient. The variety of food was good and we enjoyed all of our meals.
Lots of information is available in the Eyewitness Travel Guides to Australia and New Zealand. Both books are excellent and are available at online bookstores. Each book is printed on glossy paper with 1200 (Australia) and 1100 (NZ) photographs.
Day 1, March 17
Arrived in Sydney at around 7:45 am on a United Airlines 747-300, nonstop from San Francisco. The 14 hour flight wasn't bad. They served us dinner, a snack and breakfast. Since it was near 90 degrees on arrival, we changed into our shorts at the airport and followed the numerous RCI guides to the shuttle bus staging area. After going to the Intercontinental Hotel for early cruise check-in, we boarded a bus for a complimentary two hour Sydney sights tour before going to the ship. We were assigned to the second dinner seating at 8:30 pm and the late show starting at 10:30 pm. In the Mediterranean, we found the second seating and late show were too late for us, especially with the early morning excursion departures. There we also ended up eating an extra meal around 6 pm of pizza or a burger at the snack bar. For this cruise we were able to switch to the main seating. "Casual" dress for dinner tonight.
Day 2, March 18
Changed money in the ship's conference room for small purchases. Most places take credit cards. Another warm day, close to 90. After breakfast in the Windjammer, we took the free RCI shuttle to the Rocks area of Sydney and walked over to the famous Opera House. Guided tours are available. We didn't take the opera house tour but instead roamed the outside (couldn't go inside the auditoriums without a guide) and then went back to the ferry area for lunch. We ate at Rossini's, an Italian cafeteria-like restaurant with outside seating near the ferry terminal. The reasonably priced portions were large enough to split between the two of us and the quality was excellent. We returned to the Rocks to pick up the free shuttle and got off again at the second stop near the 1000 foot high AMP Tower. We rode the elevator to the top for a nice panorama of the city. The ticket also included an interesting multi-media virtual tour of Australia. Then Linda did some shopping downtown while I rode the monorail over to the Maritime Museum. There were two ships, an Aussie destroyer "Vampire" and submarine "Onslow", both which you can walk through with an upgraded museum admission. It took about 25 minutes to walk back to the ship. We had a mandatory life boat drill at 5:15 pm and the ship left for Melbourne at 6:00 pm sharp. Due to RCI's new policy, you are not allowed to bring any alcoholic beverages on board the ship for consumption in your room. They X-ray all bags as you board and will confiscate any alcohol. We don't drink a lot but did enjoy having a glass of champagne or beer in our room on previous cruises. "Smart casual" dress for dinner.
Day 3, March 19
For the most part, we had a relaxing day at sea on our way to Melbourne. There was some excitement though when a passenger with a twisted intestine had to be airlifted by helicopter to a mainland hospital for emergency surgery. The helicopter hovered above the moving ship while a paramedic was lowered on a cable and winched up again with the patient. Quite a crowd watched from deck 10 and Viking Crown lounge.
Day 4, March 20
Docked at Melbourne, we took the Vintage Countryside tour, leaving the ship at 7:45 am. Bus took us first to the 100 year old "Puffing Billy", restored by volunteers to preserve some railway heritage. Next on to the Healesville Sanctuary to see kangaroos, wallabies, the Tasmanian devil, wombat, platypus, koalas and other native fauna. Our next stop was for lunch at the Ferguson winery in the Yarra Valley. They served us a hearty roast beef lunch with lots of their locally produced red and white wines. It was about 50 miles back to Melbourne with a short city tour before being dropped off at the ship. "Casual night" for dinner. Ship departed at midnight for Tasmania.
Day 5, March 21
Today is Linda's 50th birthday. We had a relaxing day at sea. On her first bingo card, Linda won $121! "Smart casual" dinner.
Day 6, March 22
Arrived in Hobart, Tasmania at 7 am to the singing of children's choir. Our 6 table mates (siblings and their spouses from Florida) found a local van waiting by ship and paid $300 US for the driver to take them to the prison at Port Arthur and other local sights. We checked out the town of Hobart on our own, an easy walk into town. About 15 kids under 5 were playing on the playground equipment, all with hats. I asked one of two adults with them why and was informed the kids must wear the hats and have lots of sunscreen as protection from the sun. With the vanishing ozone layer, Australia has the highest melanoma skin cancer rate in the world. City bus took us to a viewpoint on Mount Nelson at the old flag signal station. If you want to hire a van, it's important to be off the ship by 7:30 am. "Casual" dinner. The Tasmanian Police Pipe (bagpipes) and Drum band entertained us in the centrum before the ship's show and on the dock as ship pulled away from the dock at 10 pm.
Day 7, March 23
First of two days at sea on our way to New Zealand. Our friends on deck six say the ship is swaying quite a bit. We are on deck two and have some creaking noises as the ship sways from side to side but no hint of seasickness. There is a free Internet class on sea days at 9:30 am. Sign up in advance. Class includes about an hour of free Internet and e-mail access. You must have a web based e-mail account such as Yahoo or Hotmail. I think AOL might work too. As long as you can get your e-mail from a public library or friend's computer, you can get it on board. You can minimize your connection fees if addresses are entered before your trip and your letters are written out in advance. Save online time (50 cents/minute) by clicking "print" for your e-mails and reading them offline. Lots of Internet access on shore in both Australia and New Zealand for about US $2.50/hour. "Formal" dress at dinner.
Day 8, March 24
Second sea day enroute to Fjordland National Park in SW New Zealand. Warm, clear weather and lots of people around the pool. In general, we found most of the entertainment good and the food offered something for everyone. Shows while at sea tended to be a single performer and dancing routines were on nights we were docked and had a more stable stage.
Day 9, March 25
Arrived at Milford Sound at 7 am. Sun not up yet but light enough to see the majestic mountains rising from the water on both sides of the ship. This was an "up and back" trip with the ship making a U turn at the end and back into the open water again around 8:30 am. We arrived near Doubtful Sound around 11:00 am, traveling east on Thompson Sound and going back out in Doubtful sound around 1:00 pm. Finally we went into Dusky Sound at 3:30 and were out at 5:30. Wind was strong but sun was shining brightly. "Formal" dinner with lobster (several if you want).
Day 10, March 26
We arrived at Dunedin at 7 am. We didn't sign up for a tour but with two other couples hired our own car instead. Ron was our driver and charged an hourly rate to bring us around town to the magnificent old stone railroad station, the yellow eyed penguin refuge, the Larnach Castle and more Dunedin sights. We also stopped at a sheep farm and watched as sheep were sheared. "Casual" night. Our table mates took the Taieri Gorge Railway tour and liked it a lot. Local bagpipers gave us a nice sendoff.
Day 11, March 27
Left ship at 8 am for excursion to Arthur's Pass on the TranzAlpine Railroad. Bus dropped us off at the train station a mile from the ship. For photography, the platform near the end of the train was much better than the reflecting glass inside the cars. At Arthur's Pass we got off the train and boarded a bus to a catered lunch in Klondyke Corner in the Arthur's Pass National Park. Later at Homebush Farm we saw a sheep dog herding, sheep shearing, and a museum of old farm equipment including many "hit and miss" internal combustion engines. We also got a tour through Christchurch.
Day 12, March 28
Day at sea, nice rest. Quite windy, did our laps on the pool deck 9, walking through the spa. Too windy up on the jogging track. Jim went to the photography lecture. Went to final "Big Bucks Bingo". Third and last "Formal night".
Day 13, March 29
Tauranga, New Zealand. We took the "Scenic Goldmine Railway & Walking Tour" which included a mural tour around Kati Kati, hiking in the Karangahake Gorge, lunch in Waihi and riding the vintage Goldfield steam train. Then we went to the Martha goldmine overlook and drove back an hour for a Tauranga city tour. Our table mates took the whitewater rafting trip and said three people were forced to remain on the bus because the rafting company had three too few life vests. Restrooms were few and far between, the trail down to the rafts was very slippery, their new tennis shoes got soaked, rafting was in the 1.5 difficulty range, lunch was a standup affair, and there were no facilities for changing into dry clothes. Women finally were able to change one by one in the stand up baggage compartment in the bus! "Casual" dinner.
Day 14, March 30
Ship docked at Princes Wharf in Auckland near the city center. We wanted to rent a car and check out the western beach communities but no single day car rentals were available at the information center because we didn't reserve ahead. They were available at the airport, but that was too far away. Instead we took Fuller's ferry to Rangitoto Island National Park. There was a tram that brought us most of the way up the hill, with about a half mile walk to the summit. "Casual" dinner on ship.
Day 15, March 31
Departure day. Our flight from Auckland left at 8:45 pm, so we had most of the day to explore the city. Since we had purchased the air option, we placed our bags were placed outside our cabin door the night before departure and the next time we saw them was at the airport. We were off the ship by 10:00 am and were bused to the Sheraton Hotel where RCI had rented the ballroom as a place to relax and have some snacks until it was time to head to the airport. We left our carry on bags in a holding area at the hotel and then walked to the national museum to see some Maori history and then took a cab over to the Victoria Park Market. A city bus dropped us near the hotel.
We had a great time and would like to go back, maybe next time renting a small motorhome and exploring areas away from the larger cities. We took about 600 digital photos with our Sony Cybershot S-70 camera, downloaded them each night to the laptop computer and deleted about half of them.