New Zealand, Australia & Indonesia Cruise

Day 1 - Auckland

Arrive: Tue 28 January 2025 / Depart: Tue 28 January 2025 at 17:00

Auckland is one of the few cities in the world to have harbors on two separate bodies of water. The central part of urban Auckland covers a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbor on the Tasman Sea, and the Waitemata Harbor on the Pacific Ocean. In addition, Auckland's diverse geography and warm, humid climate has inspired a lifestyle regularly ranked in the world's top ten. A half hour drive from the city there is an abundance of activities: sailing to a secluded island, trekking through the rainforest, picnicking on a volcano, sampling wines at a vineyard or exploring a black sand beach.

Day 2 - Matiatia Bay, Waiheke Island, NZ

Arrive: Wed 29 January 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Wed 29 January 2025 at 17:00

Day 4 - Wellington

Arrive: Fri 31 January 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Fri 31 January 2025 at 18:00

Visually stunning, Wellington is nestled between a magnificent harbor and a natural amphitheatre of forest-clad hills. Its compact size, combined with cultural sophistication, makes it New Zealand's most inspiring urban destination. Wellington's cultural crowning jewel is Te Papa, a donation-only museum that celebrates Australasian natural history, science and culture. Exhibits include Maori artifacts, an extensive Pacific Cultures collection and interactive science exhibits. The city's art scene is flourishing, with numerous galleries and craft markets displaying the work of the country's top artists and craftspeople.

Day 5 - Picton, NZ

Arrive: Sat 01 February 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Sat 01 February 2025 at 18:00

Picton sits at the head of the Queen Charlotte Sound and the sail into and out of town will reveal some classic New Zealand scenery. The town offer access to the Marlborough wine country, other spectacular sounds and lots of outdoor activities such as kayaking, fishing, trekking and cycling.

Day 6 - Kaikoura

Arrive: Sun 02 February 2025 at 07:00 / Depart: Sun 02 February 2025 at 17:00

Backed by a range of the Southern Alps and fronted by a magnificent stretch of sea coast, Kaikoura on the eastern shore of New Zealand’s South Island is a wonderful place in which to contemplate nature. It is famous for whale- and Dolphin-watching, and for the large colony of Southern Fur Seals found nearby. The coastal areas also draw many pelagic seabirds such as albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters close to shore.

Day 7 - Akaroa

Arrive: Mon 03 February 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Mon 03 February 2025 at 17:00

Set on a beautiful, sheltered harbor and nestled in the heart of an ancient volcano, Akaroa is a popular resort village. Located 50 miles southeast of Christchurch, this quaint seaside town is situated on the southern side of the Banks Peninsula and has a distinct French flavor to it. Many street names are of French origin because of its French Whaling and colonial history. One of the first settlements in the Canterbury region of the South New Zealand Island, the town has a rich Maori and British heritage, as well as its French history. Today, the town center is dotted with colonial architecture, and the harbor area is lined with boutiques and cafes.

Day 8 - Timaru

Arrive: Tue 04 February 2025 at 07:00 / Depart: Tue 04 February 2025 at 15:00

South of the Canterbury Plain on the South Island, Timaru is built on the rolling volcanic hills surrounding Mt. Horrible. Originally a whaling station, it grew to serve the sheep stations in the surrounding countryside. Visit the South Canterbury Museum, filled with artifacts and information about the history of the region from the Maori arrival to the present day, and the Aigantighe Art Gallery, housed in a homestead dating from 1908.

Day 9 - Oban, Stewart Island, New Zealand

Arrive: Wed 05 February 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Wed 05 February 2025 at 15:00

You might not realize that New Zealand has a third island. It hangs beneath the South Island and is just about the last inhabited place before Antarctica. The island itself is only about four percent inhabited, and that is its attraction. It is an unspoiled piece of primeval New Zealand. Oban is a very small town, about 800 souls. The phonebook is printed on a single sheet of A4 paper!

Day 10 - Fiordland National Park

Arrive: Thu 06 February 2025 / Depart: Thu 06 February 2025

New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park is the largest of the country’s 14 national parks, at 4,868 sq. mi./12,607 sq. km. Located on the southwest corner of the South Island, it was founded in 1904, to protect the natural environment for nature lovers and trekkers. It comprises a large portion of the Te Wahipounamu UNESCO World Heritage Site. The key features of the park are the mountain ranges of the Southern Alps, which rise to heights from 1,500 m/4,900 ft to over 2,500 m/8,200 ft., as well as the spectacular U-shaped glaciated fjord valleys that cut into the mountains as deeply as 25 miles from the sea. There are three major fjords that are navigable by your ships, Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound. Your exact itinerary will be determined by your captain depending on the weather and other conditions on the day. But whatever course you sail, you will be treated to spectacular waterways curving between sheer cliffs towering thousands of feet above the mirrored surface of the fjord. Depending on recent rainfall, waterfalls tumble down the rock faces from above. Many of the peaks have nicknames based on their resemblance to animals or other objects of previous observers’ imaginations. You are also likely to see seals, birds including fiordland penguins, bottlenose dolphins and possibly such other fauna as red deer or whales.

Day 10 - Milford Sound, New Zealand

Arrive: Thu 06 February 2025 at 12:00 / Depart: Thu 06 February 2025 at 19:00

Milford Sound is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, off the Tasman Sea. Part of the Fjordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site, it has been judged one of the world's top travel destinations in an international survey. Frequently visited by rain, the mountain peaks rising from the waters of Milford Sound are often softened by mist and an air of almost flawless and overpowering mystic calm. Acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination.

Day 11 - At Sea

Day 12 - At Sea

Day 13 - At Sea

Day 14 - Melbourne

Arrive: Mon 10 February 2025 at 10:00 / Depart: Mon 10 February 2025 at 23:00

Located at the mouth of the Yarra River, Melbourne was founded by free settlers in 1835, 47 years after the first European settlement in Australia. Transformed rapidly into a major metropolis by the Victorian gold rush in the 1850s, Melbourne became Australia's largest and most important city, and by 1865 was the second largest city in the British Empire. Today, Melbourne is a major center of commerce, industry and cultural activity, and is consistently ranked as one of the most livable cities in the world.

Day 15 - Phillip Island (Cowes), Australia

Arrive: Tue 11 February 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Tue 11 February 2025 at 23:00

At the Conservation Centre, view koalas at tree-top level on a skywalk, and attend the sunset “Parade” when Little Penguins waddle from the sea to their nests among the dunes.

Day 16 - At Sea

Day 17 - Eden, Australia

Arrive: Thu 13 February 2025 at 07:00 / Depart: Thu 13 February 2025 at 14:00

This picturesque town near the border of New South Wales and Victoria was the site of a thriving shore-based whaling industry that depended on the cooperation of orcas, which herded baleen whales into Twofold Bay. Learn about it at the small but informative Killer Whale Museum. The Sapphire Coast Marine Discovery Centre concentrates on smaller sea-life. Ben Boyd’s Tower looms over Disaster Bay in the scenic national park named after the eccentric 19th-century magnate. The town’s name is unrelated to the biblical garden. It was named for George Eden, first Earl of Auckland.

Day 18 - Sydney

Arrive: Fri 14 February 2025 at 07:00 / Depart: Fri 14 February 2025 at 17:00

Sydney is a cosmopolitan, multicultural city surrounded by golden sand beaches, World Heritage areas, lush national parks and acclaimed wine regions. Sydney owes much of its splendor to its magnificent harbor. Arriving by ship provides an unequaled impression, showing off the city's famous landmarks: the dramatic white sails of the iconic Opera House and the celebrated Harbor Bridge, looming over the skyline.

Day 19 - At Sea

Day 20 - Moreton Island, Australia

Arrive: Sun 16 February 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Sun 16 February 2025 at 22:00

At 23 miles long and 72 square miles in area, Moreton is the third-largest sand island in the world. It is part of a sand barrier system that includes the larger Fraser Island, and separates Moreton Bay from the Coral Sea about 27 miles north of Brisbane. Moreton Island National Park encompasses 98 percent of the island, where visitors flock to experience activities such as “sand-tobogganing” down the slopes of 920-foot Mount Tempest, the highest stable coastal sandhill on earth. They also enjoy fishing, kayaking, surfing and snorkeling over the Tangalooma Wrecks offshore. Tangalooma is the largest of four small towns on the island’s west coast. It was an active whaling station from 1952 until 1962. There are no roads on Moreton Island, so visitors get around by 4WD vehicles or ATVs. A popular site to visit is the picturesque red-and-white Cape Moreton lighthouse, built in 1857 and Australia’s oldest.

Day 21 - At Sea

Day 22 - At Sea

Day 23 - Townsville

Arrive: Wed 19 February 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Wed 19 February 2025 at 18:00

The unofficial capital of North Queensland, Townsville is tucked inside the Great Barrier Reef in the northern tropics. Its municipal beach, The Strand, is consistently rated among Australia’s cleanest. Take a ferry to Magnetic Island, an unspoiled UNESCO World Heritage Site just offshore, or visit the Billabong Sanctuary wildlife reserve.

Day 24 - Cairns

Arrive: Thu 20 February 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Thu 20 February 2025 at 17:00

A cosmopolitan city flanked by pristine rainforests and golden beaches, Cairns is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, Kuranda, and the Daintree rainforest, a World Heritage protected area. The city was recently renovated to enhance its image and provide a relaxing place for visitors and locals to congregate and have fun. Cairns Esplanade, once a huge grassy park, now features an excellent facility incorporating an outdoor amphitheatre, a sandy swimming lagoon, walking tracks, shops and restaurants, and an environmental interpretation center.

Day 25 - Great Barrier Reef

Arrive: Fri 21 February 2025 / Depart: Fri 21 February 2025

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the largest single structure ever created by living organisms. It consists of 2,900 separate reefs and 900 islands, and stretches 1,400 miles along the Queensland coast in the Coral Sea, and is clearly visible from space. The reef was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. The organisms in question are tiny coral polyps. There are some 400 species of hard and soft corals inhabiting the Barrier Reef. Reefs grow slowly, by means of the deposit of a calcareous remnant of a polyp. Living polyps have zooxanthellae algae living in their tissues in a symbiotic bond whereby the coral supplies materials needed for the algae to photosynthesize, and the algae in turn supply materials needed by the polyps. The algae also gives the corals the colors that we find so enchanting. The reef that mesmerizes us with its myriad colors and shapes, and which supports a fabulous variety of other life forms, is the result of millions of years of such growth. Its survival is believed to be severely threatened by a number of affects, most of which are directly attributable to human activities.

Day 26 - At Sea

Day 27 - At Sea

Day 28 - Darwin, Australia

Arrive: Mon 24 February 2025 at 11:00

Despite its small size, Darwin is a modern, multi-cultural city, and its proximity to Asia makes it ideal for travel. Named after the famous scientist, Charles Darwin, the area was originally settled by the Larrakia Aboriginals. The Dutch arrived and mapped the land in the 1600s, followed by the British in 1939, when the town was given its English name. Darwin has a beautiful coastline, as well as numerous parks and gardens, making the city a top spot for outdoor activities.

Day 29 - Darwin, Australia

Depart: Tue 25 February 2025 at 18:00

Despite its small size, Darwin is a modern, multi-cultural city, and its proximity to Asia makes it ideal for travel. Named after the famous scientist, Charles Darwin, the area was originally settled by the Larrakia Aboriginals. The Dutch arrived and mapped the land in the 1600s, followed by the British in 1939, when the town was given its English name. Darwin has a beautiful coastline, as well as numerous parks and gardens, making the city a top spot for outdoor activities.

Day 30 - At Sea

Day 31 - At Sea

Day 32 - Komodo Island

Arrive: Fri 28 February 2025 at 07:00 / Depart: Fri 28 February 2025 at 16:00

This island national park isn’t the only place the large (up to 10-foot) monitor lizards known as “Komodo Dragons” live. But they are protected here, and flourish as they have in the region for millions of years. Follow your guide and listen carefully to his instructions, because despite their torpid appearance, these giants can really move when they want to, and they apparently aren’t picky about what sort of prey they pursue.

Day 33 - Lombok

Arrive: Sat 01 March 2025 at 11:00 / Depart: Sat 01 March 2025 at 22:00

Lombok means honesty in the local language, your first clue to the essence of this unspoiled locale. On this mountainous island you can see how Bali was in the old days: non-commercialized and uncrowded. Agriculture is the main industry and the hillsides are terraced with pineapple, bananas, corn and tobacco plants. The island of Lombok also produces the most potent cloves, nutmeg, pepper and coriander. Above these gentle foothills rises the sacred volcano of Mount Rinjani, at 12,300 feet the second highest peak in all of Indonesia's 13,700 islands.

Day 34 - Benoa, Bali

Arrive: Sun 02 March 2025 at 07:00 / Depart: Sun 02 March 2025

Located on the southeastern coast of Bali is the small village of Tanjung Benoa. Still considered a fishing village, Benoa has developed over the past 20 years into a major player in the tourism sector. The calm waters and the beautiful white sand beaches have made Benoa the prime water sport area of Bali. Being a peninsula that is only accessible from one direction, Tanjung Benoa is still relatively quiet with a more relaxed feeling.