Agree with British! We took the Spotlight of Australia land tour 3 years ago and it was incredible! You cannot beat snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef and Ballooning over beautiful lands. We love Australia so much that despite the long flights we we are booked for the Kangaroo Island/Tasmania/Seal Beach trip in February 2021.
I'll take the opposite view. We did Cruising Down Under in 2017 and for us it was the best choice. There have been some changes since we took it, but the tour remains fundamentally the same. If you compare the Grand Aus. & NZ tour to this one, the main differences are Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the New Zealand itinerary. Grand Aus. & NZ takes you Uluru. For many people, this is a bucket list item. If that's you, then you should do the land tour. For us, it was a long diversion just to see a big rock. Cruising gives you more to see in New Zealand, which was really the highlight for us. And if you're feeling bad about missing the rock, you get to see an active volcanic island instead. Plus, one you get on the boat, there's no more packing and unpacking for more than a week.
Jerry - If you have more specific questions or concerns, please do a follow up post.
I'm signed up for Cruising Downunder for March 2020
I'm concerned about the wild fires and about White Island.
Anyone else on this trip and your concerns.
I'm also arriving a day early in Melborne (March 12)
Anyone have a suggestion for an independent activity for the day
I'm signed up for Cruising Downunder for March 2020
I'm concerned about the wild fires and about White Island.
Jerry-
First of all, if you haven't already, be sure to read the notice from Tauck about the bushfires (the green bar at the top of the Tauck home page). The only impact on the trip so far seems to be bad air quality in Sydney. You have two months before your trip, the fires should be long out by then and the ocean breezes will clear the Sydney air in a few days. As to White Island, as you can see from the picture I previously posted, the ship comes within a couple of miles of the island, no closer. You can monitor alerts for New Zealand volcanoes at https://geonet.org.nz/ I don't think there is much danger to a ship making a short stop, but I'm sure that if there's any appreciable risk, Ponant will bypass the island (which would be a shame).
Comments
I would do the land tour, it’s very good and much cheaper
Agree with British! We took the Spotlight of Australia land tour 3 years ago and it was incredible! You cannot beat snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef and Ballooning over beautiful lands. We love Australia so much that despite the long flights we we are booked for the Kangaroo Island/Tasmania/Seal Beach trip in February 2021.
I'll take the opposite view. We did Cruising Down Under in 2017 and for us it was the best choice. There have been some changes since we took it, but the tour remains fundamentally the same. If you compare the Grand Aus. & NZ tour to this one, the main differences are Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the New Zealand itinerary. Grand Aus. & NZ takes you Uluru. For many people, this is a bucket list item. If that's you, then you should do the land tour. For us, it was a long diversion just to see a big rock. Cruising gives you more to see in New Zealand, which was really the highlight for us. And if you're feeling bad about missing the rock, you get to see an active volcanic island instead. Plus, one you get on the boat, there's no more packing and unpacking for more than a week.
Jerry - If you have more specific questions or concerns, please do a follow up post.
WHITE ISLAND
I'm signed up for Cruising Downunder for March 2020
I'm concerned about the wild fires and about White Island.
Anyone else on this trip and your concerns.
I'm also arriving a day early in Melborne (March 12)
Anyone have a suggestion for an independent activity for the day
Jerry-
First of all, if you haven't already, be sure to read the notice from Tauck about the bushfires (the green bar at the top of the Tauck home page). The only impact on the trip so far seems to be bad air quality in Sydney. You have two months before your trip, the fires should be long out by then and the ocean breezes will clear the Sydney air in a few days. As to White Island, as you can see from the picture I previously posted, the ship comes within a couple of miles of the island, no closer. You can monitor alerts for New Zealand volcanoes at https://geonet.org.nz/ I don't think there is much danger to a ship making a short stop, but I'm sure that if there's any appreciable risk, Ponant will bypass the island (which would be a shame).
Have a good trip.
I hope you have a great trip and no impact from the bushfires