South Pacific - Australia Cruise Guide and Reviews

We loved everything about this cruise and Seabourn Encore is now at the top of our favorite cruise ship list. The crew onboard was fantastic we met a lot of great travelers onboard some of which have become great friends. We only wished that we had more time in a couple of ports, but other than that, everything was exceptional. The coronavirus was just starting to spread to the US and Europe while we were on the cruise and we were hoping at the end of our cruise we would be quarantined on board as we weren't ready to get off the ship even after 16 days onboard. This was the longest cruise we have done and thought it might too long for us, but because there was so much to do in the ports and the onboard/at sea days were so fun (thanks to the new friends we made), we could have easily stayed on for another 7-14 days. Sadly they made us get off the ship! The memories made on this vacation are ones that I will truly cherish. The new friends made, the stories shared and the overall experience of this trip is beyond words. We were so glad that we opted to cruise on a smaller ship like Encore as the personalized service and more intimate experience was exactly what we had hoped for with this vacation. This was truly a trip of a lifetime for us and I highly recommend to anyone that will stand still long enough to hear about it. My husband and I both agreed that we could easily live in New Zealand or Australia and it would be hard to decide between the two given the opportunity.

Our overall experience was fantastic. The attendants were all superior, rooms were clean and public areas were also. The ship is going into the renovation and should update some of the older looking areas of the ship. We really enjoyed the ports of call and the tendering operations were well run. We our loyal Celebrity customers and this cruise just added to our continued loyalty. We have already signed up for our next cruise in 2021.

It want to specifically thank Chris Festerman, our cruise rep., for giving us great advice on this specific cruise, especially on the warning of rough waters when crossing the Tasman sea. Also, his recommendation on taking the Jewel surely paid off. The cruise was great!

Our cruise began as an overnight in Sydney NSW, leaving later the next evening. Then, we spent a day at sea before landing at Burney, Tasmania. From there, we stopped at Melbourne, Victoria, where we overnighted until the following afternoon. The next two days were spent sailing in the Tasman Sea toward New Zealand. On the following day, we entered Milford Sound, followed by Doubtful Sound and finally Dusky Sound. Upon exiting Dusky Sound the ship entered the Pacific Ocean, sailing to Port Chalmers, the gateway to the city of Dunedin. On the following day, we Anchored off the coast of Akaroa, which is about an hour and a half from Christchurch. The next day was a visit to Wellington. From there, we spent two days at sea before returning to Sydney. This was a nice relaxing cruise.

They did a great job of keeping the ship clean and sanitized!