achay

Interested in small ship cruises to Australia or New Zealand for first-time travelers to this area of the world. Recommendations appreciated - which areas to visit, any experiences with small ships. We like rugged scenery, small-town life, arts, crafts, learning about culture and history.

marg

There are small ship cruises in the Broome/Kimberley area in Western Australia and I've heard very good reports from people who have taken them. I think they take about 100 passengers and not cheap. The last time I looked about $10,000 for two weeks. There are cruises along the east coast with the larger cruise ships and Princess does a full round Australia cruise.

Diamantina

Have you tried posting on the cruise ship forum?
https://www.fodors.com/community/cruises/

I've never been on a multi-day cruise nor am I familiar with them, but I live in a NZ city with two cruise ship ports. Looking at our local schedule, these are ships with passenger capacities of under 1000 that will be docking in our city over the summer. But as I said, I'm out of my depth here! It seems not as many cruise ships are scheduled this season as compared to before the pandemic.
Soleal, Le Laperouse
https://en.ponant.com/destinations/new-zealand
National Geographic Orion
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/e...ralia-pacific/
Azamara Quest
https://www.azamara.com/en-nz/destin...ealand-cruises
Heritage Expeditions
https://www.heritage-expeditions.com...aland-cruises/
Coral Adventurer
https://www.coralexpeditions.com/au/...s/new-zealand/
Seabourne Odyssey
https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/find-...H16E/4287.html
Silversea
https://www.silversea.com/destinatio...nd-cruise.html

achay

Wow, thanks for taking the time to send such detailed information. This will give me lots to look at. Thanks again!

achay

Palmerston North is our sister city. I live in Missoula, Montana USA. Thanks again!

Diamantina

You're welcome. I later came across this website, which sells trips for various small cruises, including some of the ones I listed. It might make things easier for you:
https://www.small-cruise-ships.com/s...rt=name&page=1

You wrote, "Palmerston North is our sister city. I live in Missoula, Montana USA." You must be curious! I see each city has a river running through it and the two are of similar population sizes. Palmerston North is home to the country's finest veterinary school. I've only passed through Palmerston North once, many years ago, but it's described as a nice small city. Do you plan on going there? It's about a two-hour drive from Wellington, NZ's pretty capital.