Tasman Drift – Fiordland & Tauranga from Brisbane

About this cruise

If you've got 13 nights to work with, this sailing from Brisbane on December 23, 2027 through Fiordland National Park, Dunedin, Lyttelton (Christchurch), Tauranga and Auckland is genuinely one of the better ways to spend them. You ease into this one, with a few sea days up front to find your rhythm before the 5 port calls start. Sydney Opera House one day, Milford Sound's fjords another. The Antipodes reward the long flight. If one port sticks with you, it'll probably be Tauranga, Gateway to geothermal wonders. Around 9 hours per port on average, which is generous enough to go beyond the obvious. Grand Princess takes the food seriously, with 10 restaurants to choose from. 6 are included, and the rest are worth the splurge. There are enough performances, events, and social mixers on a cruise this length that you couldn't do them all if you tried. And that's a good problem. This one's for people who really want to switch off. No half measures. Block out the calendar. A December sailing is basically an excuse to chase the sun for a week or two. It's the kind of trip you actually remember afterwards.