Bellair

2024 Summer cruising in Australia on Holland America's Noordam Sailing in & out of Sydney harbour, visiting Port Arthur & Hobart Tasmania, Adelaide & Kangaroo Island, South Australia plus Phillip Island & the Penguin Parade in Victoria. HIGHLIGHTS: A full ship tour of the Noordam : What to expect with food on board : Current entertainment : Tender operations & much more up-to-date Aussie cruising information Come along and join in the adventure.

https://youtu.be/2ljIAXbTr4o

Sailing to the land of the long white cloud aboard Holland America's Westerdam in November 2022. A very smooth crossing the Tasman Sea with blue skies for most of the cruise. The crossing back on the South Pacific was a different weather story. Enjoy the sights, on board experience & the ship. Cameras used were the new Inst 360° camera, Iphone 13 Pro & the DJI Action 2.

https://youtu.be/ty4adNHa208

Utilising the new Insta X3 we captured the perfect days in Sydney harbour & in Milford Sound on New Zealand's South Island Fiordland . Much to the surprise of many, thinking I had a banned drone on board, this video give the impression of flying out the cabin window but instead, using a 3 metre carbon pole to get the shots. The X3 removes the pole with it's twin 360° lens. The full video released soon.

https://youtu.be/daJ2_zMQLww

7 hours ago, WCB said:

Greetings to our wonderful readers!

 

We are currently in a hotel near the Perth airport, planning on flying out this evening at 11pm.   As long as nothing gets cancelled, we should be OK.

Working on reports, which will follow soon.  Stay tuned.....

 

Bill & Mary Ann

Well done & safe travels home folks.

1 hour ago, tennisbeforewine said:

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Fremantle and Perth, Australia

 

Although we were scheduled to arrive in Fremantle on the 22nd, we actually arrived at 8:00 this morning (March 21).  We had booked the Doubletree Hotel in Perth for two nights, allowing one day as a "sea day" to hang around the pool, walk the neighborhood, and just relax.  

 

Well . . . . that wasn't quite what happened.  This morning, our VERY highly placed source told us that Fremantle would NOT allow any passengers to go to a hotel, but had to go directly to the airport for their flights.  That would mean that we would spend two more nights on the ship and go directly to the airport on the morning of the 23rd.  This information was not made public, and when I asked about it at the front desk, the officer there said, "I think you know more than we do."  Finally the announcement was made by the captain (because people really listen to him) that only those people going to the airport would be disembarked - and the groaning and complaining rose to a crescendo.  John was a nervous wreck, but my "What?  Me Worry?" attitude just made me look at tonight's menu and say, "Wow, there are all kinds of things I'd like for dinner."  

 

An hour later, the captain came on again and told us he had good news.  Apparently Canberra, the national capital, had overridden the earlier decision and we could not only leave the ship, but go to a hotel.  Within a half hour, we had our carry-ons in hand, walked off the ship and onto a bus headed for Perth.  One of the nicest things was that Captain Jonathan, who has become a good friend, was on the open area outside the bridge waving at us.  I blew him a kiss and he blew one back. 

 

Half an hour later, we arrived at one hotel, took a taxi to our hotel, and here we are, sitting at a sidewalk table of the hotel's bar, drinking a beer and a cider.  As much as I love the ship, this does have a very relaxed feeling, and this evening we're meeting one of John's former students/tennis players for dinner.  Tomorrow is a lovely free day, and mid-day Rich and Ginni will join us here.  

 

On the 23rd, we'll fly Virgin Australia (which is operating domestically) to Sydney, and on the 24th we head HOME!  We're on United Airlines non-stop to San Francisco, where our rental car will await us for the four-hour drive to home sweet home.  I've always believed that "everything will always work out for the best," and although we're not home yet, things are looking good.  

Our thoughts & prayers go with you. A great attitude you have....Safe travels home! Bellairvideo

We received a letter that now says flight waivers for medical reasons are not possible under any circumstances.  
 

Hi Kindergirl, I sympathize with your situation.

Just so nothing is overlooked, you do know that Freemantle is the seaport for Perth, a much bigger city 9 miles away. I'm impressed by your thoughts of your folks staying at Perth or someone flying out to accompany them back. What I would like to add is:

-as a few cruises are terminating at Perth, staying there for several days may improve the chances of getting a workable flight.

-some major airports have sleeping rooms inside the security area. A couple of times we have consciously chosen misconnecting flights so that we could use these rooms to get 8 hours in a bed before moving on.

-I'm not sure where you are but in addition to the Sydney-Los Angeles flights available, Air Canada has direct flights from both Sydney and Brisbane to Vancouver that would also enable one to cross the Pacific without having to go by way of an Asian airport. The flying time for the segment is 14  hours. If you are on the East Coast, flights via Dubai or Qatar are possibilities.

- https://matrix.itasoftware.com/ is a website that seems to have all the air schedules in one place. You do have to read and use all the buttons to get its full benefits but it will then quickly give you a realistic picture of what air routes might be feasible.


 
Good Luck, Bill

Wouldn't that be a nice gesture?  Sure hope that's what's happening.  The crew worked over - overtime for the Westerdam guests; it's time for them to be rewarded.
 
Smooth Sailing! [emoji846][emoji846][emoji846]

Many thanks for letting me know re your Norfolk Island experience. S glad you enjoyed the video.

In the news here today that some of the South Pacific French islands are not allowing cruise ships to land due to the Coronavirus. The islands are Lifou, Isle of Pines & Mare.

On 1/22/2020 at 10:01 PM, Bellair said:

This video provides a highlight of ports and up-to-date onboard experience during the 6-20 Jan. 2020 cruise visiting ports in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Norfolk Island and New Zealand including a spectacular departure from Sydney

 

Enjoy the cruise!

 

 

South Pacific Islands visited on this cruise: Tadine, Mare-Easo, Lifou-Luganville, Vanuatu-Port Vila, Vanuatu-Anelghowhat, Vanuatu-Noumea, New Caledonia-Norfolk Island, Australia-Tauranga, New Zealand-Waitangi, New Zealand-Auckland, New Zealand

On 1/24/2020 at 3:54 PM, oakridger said:

Very nice video and I especially enjoyed the mixing of the music with sounds from the scenes!  It reminded me of my cruise on the Noordam last year from Sydney to Honolulu........sigh......I want to be on board......now!!

 

Thank you,

~Nancy

Hi Nancy, Thank for for your kind comments.

On 1/25/2020 at 2:36 AM, Bruinboy said:

Outstanding video. We were on the Maasdam many moons ago and a year ago were in Australia and New Zealand of the Noordam. Thanks for sharing. Fun reliving some of our past experiences.

There have been some great deals recently on both the Noordam & Maasdam. Friends were able to take advantage of a Neptune suite unbelievable fare recently.

On 1/23/2020 at 11:41 PM, ozcruizer said:

Thanks for sharing your wonderful video of your Maasdam cruise - lovely ship.  We did Sydney to Queensland and islands of PNG and back to Sydney before Christmas and it was a fabulous cruise too.  We were on the same cruise as you back in 2012 on the Volendam to Asia and I found myself on your video 🙂 

We were on the Maasdam of the rare WW2 S.Pacific cruise in Sep. from Japan to Sydney & also saw some great places in PNG

Here is the video highlights....a wonderful cruise.

https://youtu.be/qilbZf1hEnQ

On 1/23/2020 at 4:15 AM, Krazy Kruizers said:

Thank you for sharing your wonderful video with us.

 

I enjoyed it.

You are very welcome!

On 1/23/2020 at 3:09 AM, BSR said:

Enjoyed the video. 

It was a great 2 weeks on board

13 hours ago, BSR said:

Enjoyed the video. 

8 hours ago, cat shepard said:

Thank you for sharing, this is on my bucket list, so I really appreciate it!

8 hours ago, cat shepard said:

Thank you for sharing, this is on my bucket list, so I really appreciate it!

You would definitely love this itinerary and the islands are so unspoilt.

On 12/5/2019 at 12:54 PM, Crew News said:

 

The food in Club Orange (CO) should be the same as the MDR but with an additional entree (so I have been told) each evening.  Without eating the same food at my regular MDR table and CO on the same evening, it would be hard to compare.  I will try both the MDR and CO on different evenings and post my observations on my live cruise thread.

 

As posted earlier, without such a low price and the OBC, I would never consider the CO upgrade.  Unlike all of my previous cruises, this cruise will be for relaxation with only one shore excursion which gives me the available hours to enjoy the sit-down breakfasts in CO.    The opportunity to have a first-hand experience with CO will allow me to better participate in the CO discussions here on CO.

 

Of course, I will scan every food/beverage menu available.

during our recent cruise (disemarked on Monday) we saw not one person use Club Orange facilities on board the Maasdam. The marked/roped red carpet at reception (not attended by any pax) and the menu item in the MDR included a standard meal itemm each night)

I think it is not working for HAL

11 hours ago, Alphen said:

Thanks for sharing, always fun to view your beautiful video's. Nice to see some familiar faces on Maasdam, a ship we love very much and also under captain P.J., great sense of dry humor and I think currently the only Netherlands Navy reserve captain with HAL, so showing his distinctive Netherlands flag in port.

Wonderful, yes he was a great Captain with a very dry humour indeed.

I hope they made it to Norfolk Island with the Tenders this time....the island is much like Easter Island with 80% chance of not landing.

This video provides a highlight of ports and up-to-date onboard experience during the 6-20 Jan. 2020 cruise visiting ports in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Norfolk Island and New Zealand including a spectacular departure from Sydney

Enjoy the cruise!

This video provides a highlight of ports and up-to-date onboard experience during the 6-20 Jan. 2020 cruise visiting ports in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Norfolk Island and New Zealand including a spectacular departure from Sydney

Enjoy the cruise!

This video provides a highlight of ports and up-to-date onboard experience during the 6-20 Jan. 2020 cruise visiting ports in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Norfolk Island and New Zealand including a spectacular departure from Sydney

Enjoy the cruise!

https://youtu.be/NCPw8hm6b00

Love this post to catch up with all the news and your adventures.

Many thanks for taking the time to write these.

We may not respond often but have enjoyed your trips for years and is a great way to prepare for the many we do.

Keep safe & well

Bellairvideo