P & O Cruises of Australia harbors the cruise ship Pacific Dawn in Brisbane. The ship embarks from this port on 14- night cruises around New Zealand. The cruise is aptly named White Cloud Wonders because the ship travels each night to a different region in New Zealand, allowing travelers the chance to view exotic, endangered wildlife, Maori culture or major cities such as Auckland, brimming with the history of European settlement. It features 184 balcony cabins.
P & O Cruises
P.O. Box 2006
North Sydney, NSW 2059
Australia: 011-61-13-24-94
New Zealand: 011-64-800-780
As of June 7, 2010, the Sun Princess, operated by Princess Cruise Lines, began round-trip cruises from Brisbane to New Zealand. The 14-night cruises begin at New Zealand's Fiordland National Park and continue to the other regions in the same manner as the Pacific Dawn. There is little variance between the prices charged by the two companies for the two-week cruise. The Sun Princess is larger than the Pacific Dawn, with 400 balcony staterooms. Princess Cruise Lines is the largest cruise operator in the region.
Princess Cruise Lines
800-456-7245
Both P & O Cruise Lines and Princess Cruise Lines have New Zealand destination cruises that embark from Sydney instead of Brisbane. The Pacific Jewel, operated by P & O Cruise Lines, has a 13-night White Cloud Wonders cruise from Sydney to various regions in New Zealand. The Diamond Princess, operated by Princess Cruise Lines, embarks from Sydney on a 12-day cruise beginning in Auckland with visits to Tasmania, Fjordland National Park, Dunedin, Christchurch and Tauranaya. According to awcv.com and pocruises.com, the cost for either of these cruises is about $350 more than the cruises from Brisbane.
