princess cruise new zealand

Christchurch (Lyttelton), New Zealand

The design, landscape and architecture here are unparalleled. The city is spacious, with the River Avon winding through the gardens and around English-style buildings. Explore the city with its lively entertainment scene, excellent museums, such as Canterbury Museum, and Botanic Gardens, or partake in a countryside tour with a harbor cruise and a view of the hills and the coast. Wildlife excursions to Orana Park Wildlife Trust are also popular.

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New Zealand

By Scubadoc , April 28 in Princess Cruises

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We are on the 14 day crown princess New Zealand cruise February 8 of next year. I thought I was planning early, but I just saw that one of the shore excursions we wanted is already on a waiting list!

Anyone have some great planning ideas already about New Zealand? We have been on the Crown princess already for 20 days so glad to answer questions about the ship. But never been to New Zealand.

We are Lord of the rings fans and hope to do at least two days seeing Lord of the rings sites. The problem is we really want to see the Hot Springs in Rotorua and do the Hobbiton tour. It looks like both of those are from the same port of Tauranga.   

So we are trying to figure out all of these complex plans!

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1 hour ago, Scubadoc said: We are on the 14 day crown princess New Zealand cruise February 8 of next year. I thought I was planning early, but I just saw that one of the shore excursions we wanted is already on a waiting list!   Anyone have some great planning ideas already about New Zealand? We have been on the Crown princess already for 20 days so glad to answer questions about the ship. But never been to New Zealand.   We are Lord of the rings fans and hope to do at least two days seeing Lord of the rings sites. The problem is we really want to see the Hot Springs in Rotorua and do the Hobbiton tour. It looks like both of those are from the same port of Tauranga.    So we are trying to figure out all of these complex plans!

You should check out the destinations forum for NZ and probably get lots of ideas there.

When we did the NZ cruise out of SYD, we rented a car in every port I think (maybe one exception?) and did our own touring around to see sites.  Was not interested in LOTR things, but we did get to the hot springs.  And some wineries and saw some great scenery and other stuff.  I would recommend self-touring if you cannot find a suitable ship tour.

We also do independent small-group tours over ship tours in any case, but NZ seemed like a good place to get out on the highway and see the countryside.

1 hour ago, Scubadoc said: We are Lord of the rings fans and hope to do at least two days seeing Lord of the rings sites. The problem is we really want to see the Hot Springs in Rotorua and do the Hobbiton tour. It looks like both of those are from the same port of Tauranga. 

Be aware that, if you want to do Hobbiton, you can not count on a Princess tour. We did Hobbiton last year and they stopped accepting cruise ship tours. During the pandemic they lost about a zillion dollars due to accepting a ton of reservations from cruise ship companies and then having the ship either not port or having other problems causing all of those reservations to go unused so they had no paying visitors.

I booked way early and privately (even though Princess assured me their excursion was going to be okay) and was glad I did as Princess eventually dropped the excursion. If Princess does offer an excursion to Hobbiton don't trust them. Booking privately they will pick you up at the port and return you there in plenty of time for all aboard.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the tour company we booked with was only accepting 10 people from our cruise. That was it. Once they had 10 people booked they were done. It was also much less expensive than the original excursion listed by Princess.

There are a lot of Hobbitown excursions listed on Viator and/or TripAdvisor.  I also found a interesting small group tour of Auckland on ToursByLocals.  Get out of the ship tours rut and look around at what else is out there.

Arizona Wildcat

New Zealand as said has dozens of companies doing shore excursions.  A Google search of your desired destination and cruise ship shore excursion will give you several choices.

Many companies will not pay the commission the cruise company charges and can only handle 10-30.

Book direct.

Just now, Arizona Wildcat said: New Zealand as said has dozens of companies doing shore excursions.  A Google search of your desired destination and cruise ship shore excursion will give you several choices. Many companies will not pay the commission the cruise company charges and can only handle 10-30. Book direct.

This times 100000

2 hours ago, Scubadoc said: It looks like both of those are from the same port of Tauranga. 

We cruised to NZ pre-Covid and used the company Yehootu has posted above. They have a combined Hobbiton and hot springs excursion from Tauranga that we took. It was a long day but worth it and they are a great company.

We are cruising again to NZ January next year. We enjoyed Hobbiton so much we have booked to go again. Hot springs were a once and done for us. We have booked through same company again.

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Princess is launching an all-inclusive, 4-month, around-the-world cruise for $20,000— see what it'll be like

• Princess Cruises announced a 114-day  world cruise to 52 destinations in 2026, starting at $20,000 per person. 
• Guests who book early would get a free, all-inclusive package, a first for Princess' global itineraries.
• Extended and all-inclusive cruises have emerged as big trends in the vacation industry.

Princess Cruise's new around-the-world voyage will hit two vacation trends in one itinerary.

In January 2026, the company says its Coral Princess will embark on a 114-day cruise to 52 ports in 28 countries and six continents — more destinations than any of its previous global sailings .

It's the Carnival Corp brand's latest appeal to the extended cruising trend . But it's not the only fad this four-month vacation is targeting.

The sailing, which starts at $20,000 per person, also marks the first time Princess is offering a complimentary all-inclusive package as a way to entice early bookings.

Ultra-long and all-inclusive cruises have emerged as big trends in the industry.

Regent Seven Seas, Azamara, and Oceania's 2024 around-the-world cruises all sold out before departing in January. The former was fully booked within three hours, while every cabin on the latter was called for in 30 minutes.

Besides being high-end, these three companies share one commonality: some level of all-inclusiveness , as is common with premium cruise lines.

Mass-market cruise companies rarely go the all-inclusive route.

Princess, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian are generally beloved for their affordability.

But if you want to experience all their ships have to offer, be prepared to face a list of up-charged amenities like pay-to-play rides and specialty restaurants . After all, there's a reason their base fares are much cheaper than their increasingly popular ultra-luxury, all-inclusive counterparts.

But Princess has been increasingly vying for a slice of the luxury cruiser pie.

The cruise line says guests who book its 2026 world cruise early (that is, by the end of October) will receive its most inclusive Princess Premier package for free. The perk — launched two years ago — covers amenities that typically have a fee, like WiFi, premium drinks, some specialty restaurants, and workout classes.

Travelers who reserve one of the ship's high-end cabins by the same deadline would also receive complimentary airport transfers and airfare, services normally exclusively offered by luxury cruise lines .

The itinerary would have two roundtrip embarkation options: Fort. Lauderdale, Florida, on January 5, 2026, or Los Angeles 16 days later.

From there, the 2,000-guest Coral Princess would sail more than 35,000 nautical miles to ports in North America, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Australia, Asia, the Mediterranean, Europe, and Central and South America.

It wouldn't be Princess' longest voyage — that title goes to its 116-day world cruise in 2025 — but it would be one of its most destination-heavy.

While two days longer, next year's around-the-world cruise would hit six fewer ports and four fewer countries than its 2026 counterpart.

According to the itinerary, about half of the 2026 voyage consists of sea days.

That's a lot of time on the water with no land in sight. Luckily, travelers can keep themselves entertained by attending lectures and programs related to the destinations, leisuring around the adult-only lounge, or taking a dip in Coral Princess' four pools.

The 21-year-old ship also has 10 places to grab a bite, although the Italian and steakhouse restaurants are considered specialty. Premier is the cruise line's most inclusive package, but it only includes 16 free dinners at these upcharge restaurants, paced once a week.

Princess is still a mass-market cruise line, after all.

The company has been increasingly dangling its inclusive package as a big perk.

The company says its two-month-old Sun Princess will debut in the US in October with its first-ever Sanctuary Collection . Travelers who splurge on these expensive and luxurious accommodations would be rewarded with two major benefits: a private lounge and Princess Premier.

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28 countries for $25K? Princess' World Cruise will offer 'more all-inclusive experience'

On Princess Cruises’ 2026 world cruise, the line will one-up itself.

The 114-day sailing will visit 52 ports, the most destinations for any of the line’s world cruises.

Terry Thornton, the line’s chief commercial officer said the voyage “addresses a growing interest in longer voyages that make stops at more exotic destinations, and the urge to do it as part of a more all-inclusive experience,” according to a news release .

“Our 2026 World Cruise offers our most destination-rich itinerary ever so guests can immerse themselves in a global experience rich with landmarks, ancient ruins, unique landscapes, wildlife, gastronomy, cultures and heritage,” he added.

What is a world cruise? It's not a 'shoot-from-the-hip decision'

When is Princess’ 2026 world cruise?

The cruise will sail round-trip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Jan. 5, 2026, on the line’s 2,000-guest Coral Princess ship.

 Guests can also opt to sail round-trip from Los Angeles on Jan. 21 instead.

Where will the cruise go?

Guests will sail to 28 countries on six continents, and the stops will give passengers access to 45 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The itinerary also features late departures from more than a dozen ports, including Honolulu, Hawaii, Singapore, and Sydney, Australia. Guests will also stay overnight in Hong Kong.

The cruise will include the line's first-ever stop in Boracay, an island in the Philippines, and Coral Princess will make new world cruise calls to Puerto Chiapas, Mexico and Ponta Delgada in Portugal’s Azores Islands . Guests can enjoy destination-specific programming on board, such as themed deck and sail-away parties, lectures on Mediterranean history and art, World War II and more.

How much does the cruise cost?

The round-trip Fort Lauderdale departure currently starts at $25,214 per person based on double occupancy, while the Los Angeles option starts at $24,004, according to the line’s website .

Guests who book by Oct. 31, 2024, will get a complimentary Princess Premier package that includes Wi-Fi, premium alcoholic drinks, specialty coffee and more; $500 in onboard credit each for two passengers; and transfers from local airports, among other perks.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].