Melbourne to Auckland ~ A Festive Occasion

[Amunet]

Affected by the Adventure's Maiden Voyage being delayed, I have decided to use one of my discounts on this cruise ... and I'm super excited

The Who: Me! PhD Student researching in Japan


Where: Disney Wonder, Cabin 6511

When: November 20th - 25th 2025

Why: To help me be happy after my cat died

Not only is this a kind of a last minute booking, but it's also a lot of firsts for me!
This will be my first ...

• Christmas themed cruise (my favorite holiday season!)
• Visiting Australia
• Visiting New Zealand

This will also be my 5th Disney Cruise!

So while this may be a short PTR, I'm still planning a lot!

I'd also like to point out: no, as a student, I do not make it a habit to go on cruises due to limited financials. I had saved up my money for the previous Adventure B2B cruises but had spent it all trying to keep my cat alive. Fortunately, my school was able to reimburse most of my money I lost so I can still go on a cruise. Also, this cruise is the same price as one of the adventure cruises, so it works out!

 

[Amunet]

Plans:
November
17th ~ Fly to MEL
18-20 ~ Stay in MEL for tours/sightseeing
20-25 ~ Christmas Themed DCL Cruise on the Wonder
25th ~ Auckland to Rotorua
25-27 ~ Stay in Rotorua. Tours/sightseeing
27 ~ Rotorua to Auckland
27-28 ~ Stay in Auckland
28 ~ Depart AKL
28 ~ Fiji 13hr stop
29 ~ NRT


Tours/Sightseeing in Melbourne
Tuesday 18th
1) The Bourke Gallery | Our Way: Celebrating Indigenous Art
2) Melbourne Museum | Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard

Wednesday 19th
1) History and Donuts Walking Tour
1) Hellenic Museum | Rituals: Gifts for the Gods
2) ACMI: Game Worlds Exhibition


Auckland Plans
Tuesday 25th
1) Auckland Zoo
2) Wine & Cheese Cruise ~ maybe


Tours/Sightseeing in Rotorua
Wednesday 26th
1) Mountain Jade tour
2) National Kiwi Hatchery - Kiwi Encounter
3) Te Po Indigenous Evening Show w/Dinner

Thursday 27th
1) Hobbiton Movie Set Tour w/Lunch or Breakfast (lunch, breakfast on waitlist)
2) Afternoon Tea

Fiji
Friday 28th
TBD

Flights & Hotels have been booked

 

[Amunet]

Well, found a great deal on a car rental so I hopped on that deal right away.
Now I can actually do everything I want to. The bus schedules had some conflicting times with things I wanted to do.

 

[Amunet]

Okay updated plans with order in which to do them.
Unfortunately I cannot reserve anything yet but once I do I'm booking that Hobbiton tour and Te Po Dinner first thing.
So everything above is a hopeful list

 

[Amunet]

Well, I emailed the Hobbiton tours because booking directly through them would be impossible as the tours for my dates are full. They were kind enough to put me on the waitlist for the second breakfast tours, which means i would need to switch around my plans. I think i still will book a third party tour though just in case i don't get off the waitlist.

 

[Amunet]

Gah and I just found out about ACMI!! Im going to replace the history tour with that instead.

 

[Amunet]

Okay, I've officially booked flights. I splurged on my 9 hour flights for more legroom. But even so, I got very good pricing considering. I also am leaving earlier than planned on the 28th but that also means I have a stop in Fiji and will do a tour there!

I've booked all hotels as well, along with the two most important tours: Hobbiton and Te Po. For the Hobbiton tour, I had to book through a tour company, not the website itself due to the website being fully booked BUT the Hobbiton tour people did put me on the waitlist for their Second Breakfast tour! Thankfully the tour company tour (which is for lunch) has full refunds on cancellations up to 2 hours prior to the tour.

I also ordered the Holiday cabin decorations onboard.

I am SOOOO excited for that. I've always wanted to do a Very Merrytime cruise