Was 2021, was 2022, 2023...possibly: Long Haul to Aus and NZ - Thanks Avios and Amex!

[tonymc]

Update 02/08/21: And with Covid-19 still with us, we've taken the decision to put back yet another 12 months (and one day!), now departing Sydney on 19th February 2023! Similar itinerary to our 2022 cruise, but as it leaves on a Sunday, we will probably arrive in Sydney the day before, then have 4 or 5 days in Sydney when we arrive back, followed by the daytime Sydney-Tokyo flights, a full day in Tokyo, and then a daytime Tokyo-Heathrow-Manchester flight back home.

Here's hoping for a hat-trick of Avios Business Class seats there and back!

The good thing is that we now have the option to book a Med cruise next year as MSC are offering a 50% discount to NHS staff, so we may well be sailing, just with a much shorter flight!


Update 13/12/20: With all the changes to date, and BA's cancellation of our flights, our new itinerary is (hopefully) as below. With the cruise now leaving a day earlier (on the Friday rather than the Saturday), it will give us the opportunity to fit in a flying 24 hour visit to Tokyo, which will not only break up the return journey, but also mean we can have a daytime flight SYD-Tokyo, and another daytime flight Tokyo-LHR-MAN, and hopefully reduce jet-lag.

Day 1: 11/02/22 Fly MAN-LHR-SYD
Day 2: 12/02/22 Still flying
Day 3: 13/02/22 Arrive Sydney early morning
Day 4: 14/02/22 Sydney
Day 5: 15/02/22 Sydney
Day 6: 16/02/22 Sydney
Day 7: 17/02/22 Sydney
Day 8: 18/02/22 Embark Princess' Regal Princess
Day 9: 19/02/22 At Sea
Day 10: 20/02/22 At Sea
Day 11: 21/02/22 At Sea
Day 12: 22/02/22 Dunedin
Day 13: 23/02/22 Christchurch
Day 14: 24/02/22 Wellington
Day 15: 25/02/22 At Sea
Day 16: 26/02/22 Tauranga
Day 17: 27/02/22 Auckland
Day 18: 28/02/22 At Sea
Day 19: 01/03/22 At Sea
Day 20: 02/03/22 At Sea
Day 21: 03/03/22 Disembark Sydney early morning, final sightseeing, overnight in Sydney
Day 22: 04/03/22 Fly SYD to Tokyo
Day 23: 05/03/22 24 hours in Tokyo
Day 24: 06/03/22 Fly TOK-LHR-MAN (daytime)[/COLOR]


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Update 21/09/20: Ah well - it had to happen with the current Coronavirus situation. DW and myself decided yesterday that it wasn't looking as if we would be travelling, and if we did, we probably wouldn't enjoy it with all the restrictions that may be in place. Add to that, the NZ government have currently stopped issuing visitor visas, so we may not even be able to get into NZ anyhow!

So this morning, a call to Princess and we are rebooked on virtually the same cruise but now departing in February 2022, with the same mini-suite (and the same cabin number), drinks package, wifi and tips, and a further £200 cheaper than our 2021 price .

Really simple to change it, and a big thanks to the agent for sorting this out and ensuring our deposit was transferred to the new booking.

Now all I have to do is try and snag Avios flights for Feb 22 when they are released!

Well, with old(ish) age creeping up on us, a few years ago DW and myself started a list of places we would like to visit without DD (much to her disgust!), and Australia or New Zealand were two on the list.

A plan was hatched to build up our stash of Avios points to enable us to travel in comparative comfort on BA Club World. This was by means of maximising the various Amex card bonus reward points, obtaining the Amex Companion Voucher, and also cashing in Tesco Clubcard Rewards for Avios, which has resulted in us now having sufficient for the trip.

Once we started looking into the logistics, I had forgotten that BA don't fly to NZ, the nearest point being Sydney. However, after we had enjoyed our Med cruise last year, thoughts turned to the option of cruising down under, and very fortunately, Princess had a 13 night departure that coincided with our planned dates which would allow us to visit Sydney, and also a number of New Zealand locations.

We took the plunge and booked this over the Christmas holidays, with a low deposit and half-price drinks, tips and wi-fi package. Overall, the cost was probably only slightly more than compared to arranging it ourselves.

When looking a a rough itinerary for NZ, we realised we would probably be spending the equivalent of 4-5 days driving during the day, and on top of that we had accommodation, car rental, fuel, food, drink etc, so the cruise would deliver us overnight to the main places in NZ without the driving hassle.

(UPDATED): It pays to keep tabs on the prices. Today I noticed that the price for our balcony cabin had come down by some £200 each, so I have upgraded to a mini-suite and it is still over £100 less than I originally paid.

Having now secured flights in both directions in Club World (I was on-line at 1am this morning for our return flight! ), I guess not much is going to happen over the next few months, but we will be spending quite a bit of our "lockdown time" looking at accommodation in Sydney, things to do, trips from the cruise ports etc.

Currently, our plans are:

Day 1 19/03/21 Fly MAN-LON-SYD
Day 2 20/03/21 Still flying!
Day 3 21/03/21 Arrive Sydney early morning. Staying at Barangaroo Park Apartments.
Day 4 22/03/21 Sydney
Day 5 23/03/21 Sydney
Day 6 24/03/21 Sydney
Day 7 25/03/21 Sydney
Day 8 26/03/21 Sydney
Day 9 27/03/21 Embark Princess' Regal Princess
Day 10 28/03/21 At Sea
Day 11 29/03/21 At Sea
Day 12 30/03/21 At Sea
Day 13 31/03/21 Dunedin (NZ)
Day 14 01/04/21 Christchurch (NZ)
Day 15 02/04/21 Wellington (NZ)
Day 16 03/04/21 At Sea
Day 17 04/04/21 Tauranga (NZ) (where we have relatives)
Day 18 05/04/21 Auckland (NZ)
Day 19 06/04/21 Bay of Islands (NZ)
Day 20 07/04/21 At Sea
Day 21 08/04/21 At Sea
Day 22 09/04/21 Disembark Sydney early morning, final sightseeing, overnight in Sydney.
Day 23 10/04/21 Fly SYD-LHR
Day 24 11/04/21 Fly LHR-MAN

Fingers crossed, movement restrictions will be lifted by then both at home and abroad, so something to look forward to once we get past the next few weeks.