Statendam Australia/New Zealand

[masscat]

Anyone been on this cruise leaving from Sydney? I am leaving 12/8 and would appreciate any information regarding boat, things to be sure to do and warnings on what to avoid! How was the Tasman Sea crossing? I have only done one short cruise in the eastern Caribbean so the prospect of the 14 days is a little daunting. However, can't wait to see this part of the world and it's people. Thanks for your help.

[PRINSENDAM]

Anyone been on this cruise leaving from Sydney? I am leaving 12/8 and would appreciate any information regarding boat, things to be sure to do and warnings on what to avoid! How was the Tasman Sea crossing? I have only done one short cruise in the eastern Caribbean so the prospect of the 14 days is a little daunting. However, can't wait to see this part of the world and it's people. Thanks for your help.

 

 

Hello from Sydney!

 

I think you will thoroughly enjoy your cruise. 14 days isn't that long. By the end you will wish it were longer! Nothing much to avoid and I don't think any 'warnings' are necessary.

 

The Tasman can be rough... can be perfectly calm too. If you think you might be affected just pop a couple of bonnine the day before you start the cruise and then keep up with the medication. If you wait until you start to feel ill then it is too late. An ounce of prevention..... ;)

 

We are really getting into summer and the weather here is getting hot. Long range forecast for Sydney is that it will be hot... very hot. Expect temps in the high 90s... or higher. The good news is that the humidity is low... very low. New Zealand will be cooler of course. Bring just one light sweater to be be on the safe side.... or purchase a sweater or sweatshirt on board if necessary.

 

Lots of great ports here and in New Zealand. You are certain to have a good time.

 

STATENDAM is beautiful and there is a good crowd on board at the moment.

 

Good cruising. Have a safe flight.

 

Stephen

[mike35]

We'll be on the 12/22 Auckland to Sydney cruise, and we are most anxious to get your feedback on this wonderful itinerary. This will be our first HAL cruise, and of course we've read the good and bad about the Statendam and some of HAL's more recent "nickel and diming". We take most of these comments as being subjective, and we stick by our motto that "there's no such thing as a bad cruise; some are just better than others".

 

Suggestion regarding possible seasickness: Get a couple of seasick bracelets from your favorite drug store. These are non-medicated and work on the principle of accupressure. DW and many of our friends absolutely swear by them!

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

 

Mike

[chlo]

Hi - there are a couple who are aboard the Statendam at the moment who are doing a daily blog - http://croozedrs.blogspot.com If you have any specific questions, just post a comment on the blog for them.

 

Also the weather has been a bit unpredictable in NZ lately (very cool wind) - so would recommend something warm just in case the cold spell hasn't broken by the time you get here!!!

[Chivalrygirl]

Hi - there are a couple who are aboard the Statendam at the moment who are doing a daily blog - http://croozedrs.blogspot.com If you have any specific questions, just post a comment on the blog for them.

 

Also the weather has been a bit unpredictable in NZ lately (very cool wind) - so would recommend something warm just in case the cold spell hasn't broken by the time you get here!!!

 

CroozeDrs vbmenu_register("postmenu_8427399", true);

Cool Cruiser

Join Date: Feb 2006

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Code Red on the Statendam

A few days into our lovely NZ/Aus cruise, but we're still under "Code Red". Apparently, there was an outbreak of something nasty on the last cruise (the extra cleaning steps caused a huge delay for embarkation). Even though no one is sick on this cruise, we're still paying the price (no hot tubs, no self-service of any sorts, no salt/pepper shakers, purell baths before dinner). We've now been on here for over 72 hours so we're all waiting for this to end. Any verification of sickness from the last cruise, or is this HAL being over-conservative? My wife is a microbiologist, so we understand this sort of risk...but it's getting a little crazy...

 

(Otherwise this has been a great cruise... check it out at croozedrs.blogspot.com).

__________________

CroozeDrs

 

Carnival Fascination - Southern Caribbean (1995)

Holland America Maasdam - Western Caribbean (2002)

First European European Stars (now MSC Sinfonia) - Western Mediterranean (2003)

Celebrity Century - Western Caribbean (2004)

Costa Atlantica - Western Caribbean (2005)

Holland America Zuiderdam - Eastern Caribbean (2005)

Booked--Holland America Statendam - Australia / New Zealand (Nov 24, 2006)

 

Yep the weather in NZ is still very unpredictable, even in Auckland where it tends to be warmer than the south, winds very cold. Even had snow in the SI last week, and watch out for icebergs :D One light jacket or something that breaks the wind should be enuf.

[Juanita462]

We have been on the Statendam 3 times and noro was there every time. We did the NZ - Australia itinerary last year - a very delightful one with all the ports - we just fell in love with Australia and the New Zealand folks were so pleasant.

 

Tasman Sea - we had 32 foot waves - very rough. Sea bands are good but I also take ginger capsules which work well, but, as with bonine you must take it before you actually get sick. I also take ginger tea bags for sipping something hot which is soothing.

 

My BIL is a former sea captain and he says that, like legionaires, the virus gets into the ventilation system and can spread that way. He says that it is very expensive to totally sanitize the ventilation system but feels that this is the only way to completely clear the ship of the virus. That is his opinion anyway.

 

We were still in code red when we arrive in New Zealand and we were concerned about all the new pax getting on and not knowing that there was noro aboard.

 

weather - we had the strongest wind we have ever encountered in Auckland - and we live on the coast. You definitely need some cool weather wear just in case. We wore jackets most of the time in New Zealand but Australia was warm and lovely.

 

The decorations on the ship are really fantastic - they started some time ahead as we crossed the Pacific and added more touches every day - it was fun to wander around and pick out what was new each day. We did wonder if some of the Christmas trees would topple with the storm in the Tasman sea but they never did. Hopefully they will have the Indonesian crew sing "O Holy Night" at the Christmas eve service - that is something I wouldn't have wanted to miss. also they had a huge choir made up of most of the crew - very impressive.

 

masscat - we were on the ship for 50 days and had a great time - people make more of an effort to be friendly on longer cruises. When we received our 100 day medallions we got a huge cheer from all the new friends that we had made during the cruise - that was really nice.