Noordam Review
SOUTH PACIFIC 2017: New Caledonia, Fiji and Vanuatu from Sydney
Rating by category
Additional details
We always find the South Pacific to be a beautiful and very relaxing place to visit and the people are so friendly. Always glad to return to the South Pacific... wish it was closer as the flight is long.
We stayed 2 nights precruise at Ovolo Woolloomooloo hotel, very clean and quiet (on the HOHO bus line and walking distance to Circular quay and parks. We hit a heat wave in January. We did not realize that this is summer break for the Australians so there was a lot of children onboard so keep in mind if this is a concern to you.
Hope the following youtubes are of help to you in your planning of the ports we visited https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVmQFwCb0y4quUfQWyoCQsieQQ6hF6szd
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom
Port Reviews
Sydney (Australia)
Sydney is a great city to visit.
Noumea
We took the HoHo bus for $10pp/USD. Buy tickets locally (50% more onboard) Enjoyed the locals market.
Isle of Pines (New Caledonia)
Very pretty island ...it rained early morning so we just walked around and went for a swim.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVmQFwCb0y4quUfQWyoCQsieQQ6hF6szd
Embarkation and disembarkation went smoothly.
HAL no longer seems to provide speakers which is really missed especially at days at sea.
The entertainment onboard was poor. We enjoyed the classical music in the Explorers Lounge as the other entertainment was so poor. We left several shows as did many others due to the lack of quality.
We ate several times at the Italian restaurant and found the food there very good...much better than the Main Dining room. We have taken many many cruises thru the years and it seems that the quality of HAL's food and entertainment has definitely taken a downturn in the last few years. The staff are always friendly and attentive and HAL offers great itineraries. Hopefully, they will improve their quality of food and entertainment back to their old standards.