Q&As

The cancellation policy is that you are able to make amendments to your booking upto 30days prior to date of booking, for the Doubtful sound overnight cruise in New Zealand.

Comment by: Everything New Zealand (Jordyn) on 14th Dec 24 at 12:33

The Twin/Double rooms on the Doubtful Overnight cruise all have 2 windows, the quad rooms have one window  

Comment by: Everything Travel Group on 30th Apr 24 at 09:53

Hiya Patrick,  Thanks so much for your question regarding the Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise Twin Share (Doubtful Sound). You will return into Manapouri at 12.00 PM the following day so yes you will depart the navigator at around 10.30 AM from Deep Cove and begin your journey back to Manapouri.  It is recommend to only bring your carry-on/ overnight bag, on the boat as there is not enough storage to have all your luggage you would need to leave this in your vehicle overnight while you are on

Comment by: Everything New Zealand on 20th Sep 23 at 12:41

The Price for Doubtful Sound Overnight is per person.

Comment by: Everything New Zealand on 28th Aug 23 at 13:32

Hiya Colleen,  Thank you so much for your question in regards to the Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise Twin Share (Doubtful Sound) - They do offer transport from Queenstown but this is at an additional cost. 

Comment by: Everythig New Zealand on 10th Jul 23 at 11:13

Hi, i am looking to book an overnight cruise with you for the 5th and 6th of july for two people. We are also employees at Cardrona ski resort and were told there is some kind of reciprocal program with the cruise. Please let us know if that is possible. Kind regards, Noah

Comment by: Noah Lane on 19th Jun 23 at 15:22

Thanks for your inquiry regarding the Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise Twin Share. The twin share is a private room with a bedding configuration of two single beds. There are also private rooms with one double bed. Additionally there, are shared quad rooms which consist of 4 singles beds.

Comment by: Matt - ETG on 9th Dec 22 at 12:34

Thank you so much for your enquiry.  Yes, we can certainly book a twin share room for you on the Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise. We have 1 last twin-share cabin available on the 1st of April, all the other days are booked out for private rooms.

Comment by: Everything Queenstown on 3rd Mar 21 at 17:33

The Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise is a licensed cruise so you should purchase all alcohol from them on board. 

Comment by: Nige - Everything Travel Group on 31st Dec 19 at 10:41

Generally the night before you do the Doubtful Sound overnight cruise, people stay in Te Anau which is just a short 20 minute drive from Manapouri where the Doubtful Sound boats leave from. There is plenty of accommodation in Te Anau.

Comment by: Everything Travel Group (Callum) on 21st Feb 17 at 23:47

The Doubtful Sound overnight cruise is very popular and often books up 6+ months in advance. Much of February and March is already booked up, so I would definitely advise booking asap. If you could let me know what dates you are thinking then I can check the availability for you.

Comment by: Everything Travel Group (Callum) on 2nd Jul 16 at 16:40

The quad share rooms on the Doubtful Sound overnight boat only sleep a maximum of 4 people and there is no room to add an extra fold out bed for a child. The option for you would be to book 3 adults and 1 child in the quad share room and the 4th adult could go into another quad room that would have other travellers in it. Alternatively, if you wanted to have your own rooms then 2 adults could go into a private double or twin room and then you could book out a quad share room for the 2 other adults and 1 child plus you would need to pay for the 4th bed by booking a 2nd child rate. That would mean you would have 2 private rooms

Comment by: Everything Travel Group (Callum) on 14th Jun 16 at 12:50

You can either book a private room for 2 people (with a double bed or 2 single beds) that has your own ensuite bathroom, or you can book a single bed in a quad share room that you will share with 3 other travellers (of the same sex) and you share a bathroom with a few other rooms. The Doubtful Sound overnight cruise is very popular and often booked up many weeks/months in advance during the peak season.

Comment by: Everything Travel Group (Callum) on 16th May 16 at 10:45

There are 2 overnight boat companies that operate on Doubtful Sound. The Navigator boat operated by Real Journeys does not operate during winter months and finishes up on the 21st May. However there is another boat run by Fiordland Expeditions, that does operate all year. This trip offers a smaller, more personalised boat that sleeps up to 14 people. 

Comment by: Everything Travel Group (Callum) on 17th Mar 16 at 20:57

Yes this is possible to book the Doubtful Sound overnight cruise with a pick up in Te Anau and a drop off in Queenstown. You'll just need to pay for the return option from Queenstown and then in the 'additional information' field in the booking page please mention where in Te Anau you need to be picked up from.

Comment by: Everything Travel Group (Callum) on 1st Oct 15 at 10:34

Hi Isabelle. There Fiordland Navigator boat operated by Real Journeys does not operate overnight cruises during winter, however there is one overnight boat that operates on Doubtful Sound during winter. There are currently rooms available on the Fiordland Expeditions boat departing on the 10th or 12th August. 

Comment by: Everything Travel Group (Callum) on 24th Mar 15 at 17:20

Hi Philippa. It's a good question and not one with a short or simple answer. Basically, NZ maritime law states that anyone over the age of 1 needs to be assigned their own bed on board a vessel. If they are under 1 year old then they can sleep in a cot but if they are over one then they do need a bed which means you need to pay the child rate for them. This means that on the Doubtful Sound overnight cruise or the Milford Mariner overnight boat, which both only offer double or twin share, that you would need to book a twin room for 1 adult and 1 child and then a 2nd room sole occupancy for the 2nd adult. This is not a very cost effective way to do it I'm sorry. Alternatively, you could book a quad share room on the Milford Wanderer boat. These quad share rooms normally sleep 4 people but you can book the room out for just the 3 of you. In order to do this you would need to book 2 adults and 1 child and then an extra child to keep the 4th bed empty so no other traveller books it and you get the room to yourselves. The cost would be $270 per adult and $135 per child (so $810) in total for the Milford Wanderer quad share room if you drive yourself to Milford Sound and meet the boat there, or $1218 in total if you get the return coach from Queenstown. The overnight cruises on both Milford and Doubtful Sound are extremely popular and often book up many weeks in advance. I have checked the end of January and start of February and there are still a few days where there are quad share rooms available. If you would like to book please let me know which exact date you are thinking of and I can check if there is availability for you.

There is another company that operates small boat overnight cruises on Doubtful Sound and they offer a family room for 2 adults + 1 child.

Alternatively, you could do a day cruise on Doubtful Sound or Milford Sound and your 2 year old would travel for free. You can drive to the boat departure or you can get return coach transfers from Queenstown. 

Comment by: Everything Travel Group (Callum) on 10th Dec 13 at 11:08

Hi Linda. The Fiordland Navigator Doubtful Sound overnight boat sleeps up to 70 passengers and during the busy summer months (Dec - Feb) the boat is usually fully booked. The Navigator is a large vessel however and even with 70 passengers on board there is plenty of room for everyone to enjoy the experience. I would advise booking in advance as this boat is very popular and is often booked out.

Comment by: Everything Travel Group (Callum) on 3rd Dec 13 at 12:57

Hi Peter

Yes, you can self drive from Queenstown to Manapouri for Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise, it's an easy drive and very scenic with lots of great stops on the way to take photos. When you make a booking I can email you a map that shows you exactly how to get there. It takes approximately 2.5 hrs from Queenstown to Manapouri.

Comment by: Everything Travel Group (Kris) on 22nd Sep 13 at 08:57

Hi Carol, you can certianly depart for the Doubtful Sound Overnight cruise from Te Ana and return to Queenstown you will just need to book the Queenstown rate and mention in the additional information field that you want to be collected from Te Anau and returned to Queenstown. There is no cheaper rate in doing this they still need to reserve your seat from Queenstown and can't book anyone else on to ensure you can get back through to Queenstown. 

Comment by: Everything Travel Group (Belinda) on 5th Sep 12 at 13:29