Prototypical Viking Cruise to New Zealand & Australia

Item: Viking Orion
Rating: 4.8
Author: ricepady1

Viking Orion Cruise Review to South Pacific - Australia

ricepady1

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 30

Overall rating:

4.8 out of 5

14 Night New Zealand & Australia (Auckland To Sydney)

Sail date: January 10, 2020

Ship: Viking Orion

Cabin number: 4084

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

Biggest omission on this cruise is MILFORD SOUND. I hoped against hope that we were really going there but we did not. I would recommend this trip but if you want more ports in New Zealand or longer in ports, I would recommend you don't pick a cruise that adds extra days in Auckland or Sydney unless it's more than 2 weeks.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

There were 4 experts and lots of enrichment talks which I really like.

Entertainment

I don't care much about the stage entertainment and don't usually go to the shows.

Children's Programs

18 and over only

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Viking Orion has the Explorer Dome with three 3D shows which we really enjoyed.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Auckland, New Zealand

5 out of 5

We enjoyed the port but some of the time here could be spent elsewhere.

Thumbs Up 0

Tauranga, New Zealand

5 out of 5

We really enjoy the Maori performances and tour thru the geothermal areas. We needed more time in this port.

Thumbs Up 0

Napier, New Zealand

4 out of 5

Napier is a pleasant town and interesting but not the highest priority.

Thumbs Up 0

Wellington, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Lots to see here which we did last time. This time we did an independent eBike trip.

Thumbs Up 0

Christchurch, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Love the botanic gardens and trolley restaurant tour which we booked thru Viking.

Thumbs Up 2

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand

3 out of 5

We did the ship's excursion to see the endangered yellow eyed penguins at Nature's Wonders. We don't think the description provided was very accurate. The penguins are obviously in need of protection but the ships description led you to believe you'd be somewhat close to them. In stead we saw the back of one in high powered binoculars.

Thumbs Up 0

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

4 out of 5

We really like Tasmania but the reduced time in port kept us from taking the independent tour we would have liked.

Thumbs Up 0

Melbourne, Australia

5 out of 5

Viking provided city tour was a good one.

Thumbs Up 0

Sydney, Australia

4 out of 5

Sydney is fine but having the ship at White Bay cruise terminal is a real disadvantage for sight seeing. The gigantic ships are the ones that get the prime berth at the overseas cruise terminal.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Easy and fast.

1 Comment

javawoody 3 years ago

Thanks for the review and sharing your story

Thumbs Up 0

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