"Lots of people coughing and looking ill early in the trip- so probably brought with them and more got on the ship from others by the mifddle and end of the trip.Australia and New Zealand are very humid for us on the west coast of the US so washing clothes a must...."Read More
debbyLA
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Age 75s
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1-10 of 40 Sydney (Australia) to Australia & New Zealand Holland America Line Noordam Cruise Reviews
COVID UPTDATE: a friend traveling with us got Covid, Her symptoms appeared the 2nd day of the cruise, so she got in Ohio before got on cruise (3-5 day incubation period). Medical staff saw and put on meds to prevent needing hospitalization later, She has multiple risk factors to have a bad outcome if not on meds for Covid.
She was put on 3 day isolation and 2 more days to mask then do ...
This is our second cruise on the Noordam. This November 2023 is the exact same cruise we did prior to COVID.
The check in at Sydney was excellent. Five stars as they now stagger passengers arrival times and this was a huge improvement over long, slow lines in February 2020.
Cabin: Looking tired. The bed was comfortable. The sofa was grubby and looked yuck. It was so worn, the cushions ...
Boarded in Sydney and with the VeriFLY app in hand we were onboard in 15 minutes. Our suite was ready and we dropped off our carry on bags and headed to the Lido.
We had a signature suite which we received via an upgrade offer. We had booked a veranda cabin, and the upgrade offer to a suite was too good of a deal to pass up.
Overall we enjoyed the ship and the 25 day sailing. We had 2 very ...
The main focus of this trip was to visit relatives in New Zealand and Australia. After spending a month travelling around the 2 countries we decided to board the Noordam to sail back to Vancouver. We found the ship very clean and well maintained. The cabin was adequate with a great balcony. There was an issue with the air conditioning in our stateroom which took 3 days to fix but we were ...
After reading a lot of negative reviews about HAL we were slightly dubious about our 2nd sailing on The Noordam. The first time we sailed on her was 9 years ago and we hadn't done another HAL ship since
Our first impression was that the ship was very clean and in good order. The staff were really welcoming as we boarded. Our cabins were ready straight away so once we had dropped our carry on ...
We chose this cruise for the number of port stops and we weren’t disappointed! We got a great feel for New Zealand. We travelled with children between 7-14 and they all had a great time. Kids clubs were entertaining and staff were wonderful with them. Although decor was a little dated, cabins were a great size and layout. Balconies were spacious. The new flat screen TVs with on-demand movies were ...
Embarkation port in Sydney is White Bay, not as convenient as Circular Quay, and not at all scenic, being a commercial port. The day before embarkation we received an email advising us not to arrive before one. It would have been much better for planning had the email arrived earlier. We arrived shortly after one and embarkation was fairly smooth; our cabin was also ready.
Buffet:
For the ...
Thoroughly enjoyed Dave Koz and Friends and the entertainment package!!
The actual cruise ship, Noordam, is pitiful. It is dated, worn out, and in need of complete remodeling. The furniture is tired, and the bathroom in our suite never looked clean.
There is plenty of closet space in the suite which we appreciated. On other cruises when we had a suite, we had concierge like service. On ...
Not an ardent cruiser but as land tours were really expensive this was a greay way to see New Zealand. I spent 4 nights on my own in Sydney and 3 in Auckland, both great ports.
I am not fond of comedians but the comic and ventriloquist were hilarious. You can't top the Lincoln Center players. Met lots of people on the promenade deck-a great way to keep fit after all the delicious food. Had all ...
Of fourteen cruises this was my third with HAL. It was nice to renew our acquaintance after a five year hiatus. I'm happy to say that HAL have maintained their high standard, mostly. More on that later.
We came down to Sydney by train and four of us took a taxi from Central to White Bay. I was amazed at how much luggage space was available in the hybrid Toyota, it all went in the back, no bags ...