From Noordam in Melbourne, Australia

[Mike B Landlubber]

41 minutes ago, Red Haired Lady said:

Where did you board the ship? I boarded in Sydney on Nov 12 and they had us do another self test on day three. Cabin steward distributed the tests around 8 AM and he looked at it. Instructions were to take a picture of the test and a slip of paper which I did, but he just looked at the test and said I was good to go.

 

 

I boarded in Perth, almost two weeks ago. I posted at the time about a disturbing experience when VeriFly suggested I needed a supervised test even though the HAL info for the cruise said self-administered would do:

 

[Mike B Landlubber]

It wasn’t a great day for photos but here are a few:

 

The fish look back at the local aquarium, an octopus’s garden at the aquarium, and custard with dragon fruit for lunch!

 

 

[Lido deck main]

So times  people leave spaces between the photos when posting, however I love the effect of the first two photos, it looks like you are sitting in the lido and the fish tank is right in front of you onboard the ship.

[JohnCoffield]

Thanks for the updates. We're on our first HAL cruise ever on Noordam in March & really looking forward to it. Hopefully covid testing beforehand will be simple as we are flying to Aus from the UK a few days beforehand.

[Mike B Landlubber]

Had a small ‘moment” on this sea day while eating lunch in the Pinnacle. A freighter passed close by during lunch! Kind of cool…

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Mike B Landlubber

[Torquer]

@Mike B LandlubberCan you tell us about the reliability/speed of the internet onboard the Noordam.  We have been disappointed with it on HAL ships on our prior far northern cruises and would like to know if it is worth purchasing for a cruise in the very southern hemisphere.  Since you are posting to this forum while on your cruise, perhaps it is pretty good?

[Mike B Landlubber]

7 hours ago, Torquer said:

@Mike B LandlubberCan you tell us about the reliability/speed of the internet onboard the Noordam.  We have been disappointed with it on HAL ships on our prior far northern cruises and would like to know if it is worth purchasing for a cruise in the very southern hemisphere.  Since you are posting to this forum while on your cruise, perhaps it is pretty good?

It is workable but not great. Very very laggy. Twice it mysteriously quit working for several hours. I find for my iPad it often stalls while loading a page, but touching the screen causes it to rapidly catch up. I was astonished that streaming video worked when I tried it once for curiosity, then when I tried it again later it worked for a couple of minutes and permanently stalled. Considering that I am getting usable service miles at sea in the southern hemisphere, I actually think it is okay, but it is not your home internet service. If you would miss the internet and keep your expectations realistic I think it is worth the price. Of course wise people will ignore the internet and take in ship activities! 🙂 oh, and you can use the HAL app without internet service. 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Mike B Landlubber

[Mike B Landlubber]

Docked in Sydney and I am now off the ship! (Sadness) I will come back in the evening and put up a few more pics. This was one last view from my balcony. 

[GeezerCouple]

5 hours ago, Mike B Landlubber said:

Docked in Sydney and I am now off the ship! (Sadness) I will come back in the evening and put up a few more pics. This was one last view from my balcony. 

 

Ah, memories.

We've enjoyed reading your reports.

It's almost exactly 3 years since we left the Noordam in Sydney, after a NZ/Australia cruise, and it was one of our favorites.  And then life shut down...

It was our first HAL cruise and hopefully not our last.  We thought that the Lincoln Center chamber group was really excellent, a wonderful surprise.

 

GC

[oakridger]

Thank you for all your reports from this voyage!  I'm still looking at going on Noordam again in the future.

 

~Nancy

[Mike B Landlubber]

Since these got some interest, here are some pics from earlier in the trip before I started this thread:

 

A cockatoo shows his stuff at the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary, fireworks in Sydney, an airliner window view of arriving in Sydney, and Pinnacles Rocks near Perth.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Mike B Landlubber

[oakridger]

That Opera House fireworks picture is just spectacular!!!!

[erewhon]

Appreciated all your reports, thank you.

[Mike B Landlubber]

I looked out the window of my hotel room,  and there went the Noordam from Sydney! Anyone who boarded in Sydney, here is your departure photo! Sorry about the rain effects! 

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Mike B Landlubber

[cunnorl]

Thanks Mike for the great pictures!
     We are still on and the “rocking and rolling continue.  The new Captain just came on warning everyone to be careful. 
    Had a beautiful day in Sydney- walked 9 miles. 

[boeckli]

8 minutes ago, cunnorl said:

Thanks Mike for the great pictures!
     We are still on and the “rocking and rolling continue.  The new Captain just came on warning everyone to be careful. 
    Had a beautiful day in Sydney- walked 9 miles. 

 

Hope you have a great cruise. Boarding Noordam in February.  Who is the new captain?

[cunnorl]

Captain Marek Zoll is the new captain. The previous one has gone home on vacation. 
    

[boeckli]

2 hours ago, cunnorl said:

Captain Marek Zoll is the new captain. The previous one has gone home on vacation. 
    

 

Thank you 🙂

[jayhawk66]

On 12/13/2022 at 5:51 PM, Mike B Landlubber said:

Eggs Benedict in classic English Breakfast on a sea day. We really are headed north as promised. Shore excursions for tomorrow in Eden appeared in the Navigator app as promised this morning, so those who want to can book. I’m glad to see the option, though I would rather have seen Hobart!

That breakfast looks delicious! What map app is that a screenshot of? I’m intrigued with the speed and direction included. Thanks.

[SilvertoGold]

4 hours ago, cunnorl said:

Thanks Mike for the great pictures!
     We are still on and the “rocking and rolling continue.  The new Captain just came on warning everyone to be careful. 
    Had a beautiful day in Sydney- walked 9 miles. 

9 miles:  wow!  Certainly the city to do that marathon in :)  

Hope you have a wonderful continuation of your cruising!

Thanks for your posts on this thread, very enjoyable and informative.

Edited December 17, 2022 by SilvertoGold

[Mike B Landlubber]

8 hours ago, jayhawk66 said:

That breakfast looks delicious! What map app is that a screenshot of? I’m intrigued with the speed and direction included. Thanks.

That is CoPilot GPS. I bought it because It includes all the data so you can navigate without a data connection. I’ve used it for years and been happy. You do have to buy a package of data for each region where you want to use it, and the data uses a good chunk of phone memory. I have used it overseas and in remote parts of the US for years and recommend it.

 

https://copilotgps.com/en-us/

[Torquer]

@Mike B LandlubberThanks for your very interesting cruise report; it was very helpful to us for our cruise on Noordam in February.  One final question....do you happen to know if the MDR was open for lunch on embarkation day?  I know it is hit or miss and depends on the ship/cruise, but if it was open for you, it might also be open for our cruise.

[Mike B Landlubber]

4 minutes ago, Torquer said:

@Mike B LandlubberThanks for your very interesting cruise report; it was very helpful to us for our cruise on Noordam in February.  One final question....do you happen to know if the MDR was open for lunch on embarkation day?  I know it is hit or miss and depends on the ship/cruise, but if it was open for you, it might also be open for our cruise.

My memory is vague, but I am pretty sure I ate in the Lido that day. It was my first cruise in over four years, and boarding had been easy when I had feared the worst over Covid restrictions, and I was in a bit of shock the first few hours! 🙂 So I doubt I knew at the time, and certainly don’t remember now!

[colbe]

14 minutes ago, Torquer said:

@Mike B LandlubberThanks for your very interesting cruise report; it was very helpful to us for our cruise on Noordam in February.  One final question....do you happen to know if the MDR was open for lunch on embarkation day?  I know it is hit or miss and depends on the ship/cruise, but if it was open for you, it might also be open for our cruise.

MDR was open on embarkation day in Sydney at the start of this cruise. 

[auslyn]

On 12/16/2022 at 2:48 AM, JohnCoffield said:

Thanks for the updates. We're on our first HAL cruise ever on Noordam in March & really looking forward to it. Hopefully covid testing beforehand will be simple as we are flying to Aus from the UK a few days beforehand.

Hi John,

Just introducing ourselves  ...  We are Steve and Lyn from the Yarra Valley (near Melbourne, Aus).  We recently booked our cabin for this cruise.  We look forward to meeting you.

Kind regards.