ozcruizer

On 6/3/2024 at 1:17 PM, Blackduck59 said:

I think the headline is a little broad and unfortunately misleading. While for the OP's cruise Westerdam is scheduled to be at Whitebay, that is not where she will always be. For our Westerdam cruise, later in the 2025 season she will be at OPT. So for the cruise in question they will get the transit under the Bridge, for us later in the year we won't.

It mainly depends whether there is a larger ship in the harbour as many of them do not fit under the Bridge. If no other ship is scheduled for the OPT then it’s likely the HAL ships will berth there. 

I love following your cruises and I love the way you join in with whatever is happening on the ship.  So sorry it had to end as it did, but so pleased you're on the way to recovery.  What a gem John is.  I also have one of them!

All the best for your complete recovery and looking forward to your WC 2025.

We did a short Carnival cruise with our family recently (our first and last 🙂) and I was very surprised to see the waiters dancing on the tables. Back to HAL for future cruises!

We use Cover More and on our last cruise I was unlucky enough to come down with Covid which meant four days of cabin isolation, diagnosis and anti-viral medication.  We put in a claim to Cover More and they are paying out everything we claimed.  We've never needed to claim anything previously on thirteen cruises so we are happy with that.

I enjoy reading your blogs so much. All the best for what could be a rather different world cruise this time.

We returned from a 10 day cruise from Sydney to New Zealand and back to Sydney just under a week ago. It was our 14th HAL cruise. I must emphasise that none of what happened was due to HAL or the Noordam crew but it was probably our worst cruise ever. We always enjoy our HAL cruises, hence this being our 14th. We missed most of Milford Sound because of the time difference (our fault) and the next day we missed Dunedin because of high winds although the Captain did try to dock.  Finally, we managed to dock at Lyttleton (Christchurch) and had a lovely day revisiting for the first time since the 2011 earthquake.  Next morning I woke with a sore throat and sniffles so had a Covid test and sure enough I was positive. I was then confined to our cabin for the last four days of the cruise while my husband remained negative and still remains so, in spite of a heavy cold. Very disappointing for us but life happens. It could have been worse. 

It’s 4 years that we stopped in Brisbane so it would have been at the old terminal. The BICT opened in 2020. In fact I didn’t even know there is a new terminal!  It wouldn’t be close enough to Brett’s Wharf where we caught the Citycat (ferry) as it’s 12.5 km (7-8 miles) from the BICT. Unless there’s a shuttle, your best bet would be to get a taxi to the city or to Brett’s Wharf. Sorry I can’t help you further as Brisbane is not my home city. Have a great cruise!

When we berthed in Brisbane it was a short walk to the ferry which travels along the Brisbane River to the city and we got off at Southbank (a very pretty area) and to get to the city we walked across a major bridge and there we were, in the city. A much nicer way to get there. 

Looking forward to following along with you to one of my favourite destinations.  Have a wonderful time!

We've done a few cruises on the Noordam including New Zealand.  We also cruised from Honolulu to Sydney in 2015, its inaugural voyage to Australia.  Love New Zealand and hope to do yet another cruise there when the Noordam returns next season. We like the size of the Vista ships.

We've done a few cruises on the Noordam including New Zealand.  We also cruised from Honolulu to Sydney in 2015, its inaugural voyage to Australia.  Love New Zealand and hope to do yet another cruise there when the Noordam returns next season. We like the size of the Vista ships.

On our last cruise in November 2022, I ordered distilled water at Guest Services straight away (couldn't find how on the site) and had it delivered by nightfall that day.  I have always paid for it on HAL (since I began using a CPAP machine in early 2018).  

3 hours ago, WCB said:

So pleased you enjoyed our beautiful country and were able to do it pretty much without the fear of Covid sending you home prematurely.  I hope the rest of your voyage goes smoothly.

 

 

Probably depends on the ship.  We were on the Westerdam and the gingerbread village went up around 4-5 December.  

Just had a thought.  Sydney's Central Railway Station has lockers where you can store luggage.  It's a distance from Circular Quay but fairly quickly reached by the City Circle trains.  I thought it might help if you want to do a bit of exploring while in Sydney tomorrow.

The arrival time is still listed as 6.30 am on the Sydney ports schedule but I will be keeping an eye on it.  I hope it doesn't mean we will miss Eden, seeing Phillip Island has been cancelled.  Good to hear Covid numbers are down.

Does that mean you will miss out on the Bay of Islands?  That would be a shame (one of my favourite ports in NZ) as I would imagine the ship would go to Auckland rather than the Bay of Islands.  Just get back to Sydney by next Wednesday!! 😜

I've been trying to find distilled water for my CPAP machine but cannot find it on the order forms as before.  I'm guessing I will just have to ask for it on board.

We have just received this information, along with an updated mask-wearing policy although you probably already know about that.  It's concerning, but we're still looking forward to embarking next Wednesday.

2 hours ago, Btimmer said:

When was your attempt?  Based upon what I see outside and the Captain's careful wording, I'm not optimistic.

This time three years ago.  It was all part of our PNG cruise.

Good luck with tendering to Moreton Island tomorrow.  We missed it because of rough seas.

Loved seeing your photos of Alotau - we visited PNG on our very last cruise on the Maasdam, three years ago.  I've been watching the Westerdam's progress online and can't wait to board on 23 November.  Just a bit concerned about the Covid cases on board though.  Is it making any difference to your enjoyment?

On 10/11/2022 at 11:33 AM, Btimmer said:

So far it does.  But the itinerary changes weekly.

We visited the Conflict Islands on one of the last Maasdam cruises in 2019.  Of course we had to tender ashore and it was to a floating jetty!  We did a cruise on a glass bottomed boat there - fabulous.  I hope you do visit there as it was a lovely port.

Think I'd rather be stuck in a glass elevator than one of the inner ones!

I will be following your voyage as we will be boarding the Westerdam in Sydney on November 23.  So looking forward to it (even though we live in Sydney) as it's three years since we last cruised.  We did the trans-Pacific crossing on the Noordam in 2015 and would love to do it again.  Stay safe and have a great cruise.