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 ~ Depart NRT
18th ~ Arrive 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 ~ Arrive 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

Auckland to Rotorua Road Trip
Tuesday 25th
1) Mercer Cheese
2) Mamaku Blueberry Experience
3) Cinema in Rotorua - Wicked 2

Tours/Sightseeing in Rotorua
Wednesday 26th
1) Mountain Jade tour
2) Afternoon Tea
3) National Kiwi Hatchery - Kiwi Encounter
4) The Buried Village of Tarawera
5) Te Po Indigenous Evening Show w/Dinner

Thursday 27th
1) Hobbiton Movie Set Tour w/Lunch or Breakfast (on waitlist for breakfast tour)

Fiji
Friday 28th
- Temple
- Cinema - Zootopia 2
- Evening Cultural Experience
 

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

 

[Amunet]

I decided to only do the Auckland Zoo on the 25th. It looks like a lot of fun and I don't want to be rushed trying to go to different places.
I also moved Afternoon Tea for the 26th so it can be a lunch between 2 tours

 

[Amunet]

And I have to do a change in plans again due to my flight on the 28th being an early one so I had to change my car rental reservation.
Originally it was for a 12pm drop off at the airport but that option is no longer available as I need to drop it off at 5am. The only rental services available for that time were at the airport for pick up and drop off. So this means I have to take a shuttle or some type of transportation to the airport from the cruise terminal to pick up my rental car. Due to what I have read about traffic, I think it would be best for me to leave the Auckland area right after picking up the car.
So instead I found a few stops along the way to visit. If I take the Intercity bus from downtown Auckland to the airport, that won't leave until 11am so, depending on when I get off the cruise and through customs, I may have some time to walk around.

I also just heard about the The Buried Village of Tarawera and want to squeeze that in as well.

Edit: Oh the reason why I have movies in my itinerary is because movies are usually released SUPER late in Japan compared to English speaking countries. This will let me be able to watch the movies soon after they come out (or release day for Zootopia 2). Plus I can compare cinema experiences to other countries i have visited/lived in.