richwmn

sorry, the quote got cut off again --

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. -- C. S. Lewis

Greetings from Australia, on the way to Tasmania!

3 hours ago, WriterOnDeck said:

Any word yet on the hull cleaning process, Rich? I hope it doesn't affect your NZ ports.

2 hours ago, richwmn said:

Nothing yet, we are supposed to know the first of the month just before leaving Australia

When I replied earlier I was doing so from memory. I just looked at the letter that we got again and here is the portion that applies:

"We anticipate we will receive our official feedback from MPI (Ministry for Primary Industries) by Monday (today) and we are hopeful we will be approved to sail in New Zealand as scheduled. If more work is required, we will conduct that following our call to Melbourne, Australia, and will advise you at that time on the impact to our onward itinerary."

So it appears we will have a more definitive answer later today.

February 26^th, 2024 – Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (pt 2)

As I mentioned this morning, I did the HoHo bus thing in 2019 when I was here before. I chose today to walk out of the terminal and walk along the waterfront. The day was very comfortable for a walk and I ended up walking about 2k from the entrance to the pier. The beach was gorgeous, and unused. There is a walking path, along with a bicycle path, running along the beach front that quite a few people were using. Many people were out walking a variety of dogs. There were also quite a few interesting buildings on the other side of the street with beach views from their balconies.

1 hour ago, WriterOnDeck said:

Any word yet on the hull cleaning process, Rich? I hope it doesn't affect your NZ ports.

Nothing yet, we are supposed to know the first of the month just before leaving Australia

February 26^th, 2024 – Melbourne, Victoria, Australian

We arrived in Melbourne this morning on time. When I finished breakfast I looked out at the terminal building and it looked very familiar. I checked back and just found that this was a stop on my 2019 Vancouver to Auckland repositioning cruise. I had a very nice day then and will probably walk around a bit today.

Yesterday we only had one trivia session for some reason. It was at 7pm and the theme was ‘Celebrity’. We had one team member that got most of the answers right, so we managed 15 of the 17 possible points. Of course, two other teams got sixteen. Dani always uses a year as the tie breaker. We did get that right although it didn’t matter.

After trivia almost everyone moved to the World Stage to see the show. Last night we had a singer, Rebecca Kelley. In her self introduction she said she is from London. While she is a very good singer, she spent a lot of time trying comedy which I don’t think she was as good at. All in all a good show. She promised to do a tribute to Carole King for her next show, which should be good.

Looking at the aft camera on the cabin TV I see two large trucks pulling up, and what looks like a fueling barge. Looks like we are receiving a good amount of new goods today.

For those who are interested, here is a link to what I posted in 2019.

http://travel.wa70.com/pacific/day13/

February 25^th, 2024 – At sea, destination Melbourne

Today is another day at sea, headed toward Melbourne tomorrow. We are headed southeast at 14 knots, to arrive tomorrow morning at 8:00am. It is currently 63°F / 17°C outside with a humidity of 77%. The winds are from the SW, at 8.5 mph.

Yesterday was a nice visit to Adelaide. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but it happened that the train to the city was there so I got on and rode into Adelaide. When I got there the first thing I noticed was that a little place that we got snacks last year was closed. Not intentionally, I headed out of the station in a different direction and saw a different part of Adelaide than last year. It was very much a case of old (last year) vs new (this year). Both parts of the city are very pretty.

The train ride back was uneventful, and the day as a whole was very nice. The weather was beautiful. A late lunch then trivia. The World Stage had a movie last night that I didn’t care to see, so it was a very laid back night. I listened to the band in the Ocean Bar for a while, then went to the Crows Nest for the Dance Band. Both groups contain some very talented musicians and played a good set.

Today we have to do our monthly safety procedure at 1pm, but other than that a regular sea day. I must say that for some reason, after a rough start I slept very soundly last night and ended up sleeping very late this morning.

Today’s activities and menus –

also, the combined spending for everyone in the cabin applies to bonus points for each of the first two passengers in the cabin.

February 24^th, 2024 – Adelaide, South Australia

We are now in Adelaide, which is another duplicate from last year’s World Cruise. The gangway will be set up at the end of my corridor, which means I will have to pass thru a crew space in order to get to the exit. It looks to be a nice day again today. We have had very good weather this entire cruise.

After a bit of a mess, we did get to Kangaroo Island yesterday. This was also a duplicate from last year. From the tender dock there is a nice walk up a hill to the central business district which includes a grocery store, post office, restaurant, and bars. There is also a big field where a large market was set up last year. I was sad to not see it this year. I discussed it with someone else who was on the WC last year and we decided that when we originally canceled the stop they decided not to set it up. When we rescheduled there just wasn’t time to set up.

After getting to the top of the hill you can continue around and get back to the tender dock using a different road. This road has a very good view of the ocean. The weather was very good yesterday for the walk.

Dani didn’t schedule a 4pm trivia yesterday, so our only chance was last night. I had to leave early so I don’t know how we did, but the first few questions were definitely not easy.

I did get to go to the World Stage last night, and it was a second performance by Jeff Green. From my perspective, it was another good show. He got a lot of good laughs from the audience and his show was non stop.

So at this point this morning we are at Adelaide and we have already been cleared to go ashore. There is a short train ride into the city and a special cruise ship rate to use it. The ride into the city is scenic and ends at a good place in the city. I did enjoy the day last year.

Today’s activities and menus –

Changing again, we are now at Kangaroo Island and tendering has started.

We did make it to Kangaroo Island, we will be here until 18:30.

February 23^rd, 2024 – ‘At Sea’, next port Adelaide

We are currently anchored off South Australia with a twelve hour hull cleaning going on. The temperature is 61°F /16°C under overcast skies. The humidity is 68% and the winds are a bit over 21mph. We will be sitting here all day, and will continue to Adelaide this evening.

Well, change one to plan b. The Captain just announced that the conditions are not safe for the divers to clean the hull so they are talking to the necessary officials to see if we can go into Kangaroo Island for a short visit.

The town of Port Lincoln was nice. From the ship there was a longish walk to the ‘Red Shed’ where everything begins. From there, it is a medium walk along the shore into the city. Friends that did walk said it was a very pretty view for the entire walk. The alternative was a shuttle which was 10AUD and was a quick ride into the city. From there it was a short walk to the HoHo bus, seemingly run by the same company as the shuttle. The HoHo loop was good with some narration by the driver. We did hit the highlights of the city, which had the required KFC, McDonalds, and Hungry Jacks (Burger King). After the loop on the HoHo, it was another short walk to get to the shuttle to take us back to the ship.

Yesterday for the early General Knowledge trivia session we did very well and won for the second time in a row. For the evening session, the theme was ‘Pop Culture’ and we lost again by one point. It was nice while it lasted.

The show last night was the second performance by ‘The Tap Pack’, and it was very good. Both as a group and as singles, the four performers are very good. They did more singing and have good voices, and their dancing is very good. They also took some time to give their backgrounds, which were interesting.

This morning we arrived at our anchorage at 6:00am and I woke up to the sound of the anchor being dropped. The entire process took about an hour. I went to breakfast when the anchor drop was finished and everything was fine. We will see what happens for the next couple of hours.

Today’s activities –

Today’s menus –

32 minutes ago, Will_Dieterich said:

You can do nothing and you will get a visa on board, the cruise line will also charge you.  For HAL the cost was $60, I don't know if that was what Indonesia charged them.

We were told the visa was $35 and there was a $25 fee from HAL

We found out a couple of hours ago that we will not be visiting Kangaroo Island. A hull inspection found that NZ might reject us so we are going to spend some time at sea getting the hull cleaned again by some divers.

February 22^nd, 2024 – Port Lincoln, South Australian

We arrived on time this morning to a very nice day. When you get off the ship it is a bit of a walk, or a shuttle, off the dock. We will see what happens afterward.

We had the typical two sessions of trivia yesterday. We did ok on the early session. The late session had a ‘Botany’ theme and we went into it hoping to get a few right since we all said we didn’t know too much about the subject. Well, it turned out that the questions matched our knowledge and we got all seventeen questions correct. We were the only team that did, so we won without a tie breaker.

Meals were good as always. The World Stage was dark last night. Instead we had Derby Night. This was the same as we did on the World Cruise last year. Starting at 8pm the Ocean Bar Band played to a pretty full Lido Deck crowd. The beverage attendants were out in force and dressed up a bit. The Lido Staff was out with plates of food, making sure that everyone had some treats. At 9pm the ‘horses’ went to the post. We had five this year, staff members who joined in the fun. Each player advanced the amount of a die roll until each crossed the finish line. After the race finished, tickets were drawn for some prizes. It was really a fun evening.

We lost another half hour last night and now we are synchronized with South Australia.

We won’t have to adjust the clock again for several days. I did sleep well last night, and woke up this morning at about the right time.

I will be going into Port Lincoln in a few minutes. Here are the activities and menus --

1 hour ago, Ready2go11 said:

Rich, thank you for taking the time to post all the menus, daily programs and experiences. I know it takes time. 
 

I just booked my first voyage on the Volendam for later this year so I have been looking for any and all info on the ship. 
 

Yesterday I watched a YouTube video of a deck-by-deck tour of the ship. I saw the Queens room looks like it’s being used for arts and crafts and that video showed the Kings room set up for private dining. Have you seen people eating in the Kings room or is it being used for any special purpose that you can see?

 

thanks in advance for any reply!

Both the King’s Room and Queen’s Room are general meeting rooms, along with the Hudson Room. Each is used for various functions during the cruise based on the requirements of ship’s staff and various groups that might be aboard. I know that the King’s Room was used for a special meal for the President’s Club earlier in this cruise. Right now all three rooms are being used for organized activities. The Queen’s Room is being used for Watercolor, the Hudson Room is being used for Bridge Instruction, and the King’s Room appears to be people playing cards. Since we are currently on a ‘Grand’ cruise the ship provides more activities than the typical seven to fourteen day cruise. On a typical short cruise, these rooms may be used for meetings or classes by groups, such as continuing education groups, that request them.

February 21^st, 2024 – at sea, destination Port Lincoln, South Australia

Another uneventful night aboard Volendam. The seas remain calm and the ride has been smooth. We are currently headed East at 16 knots and should make Port Lincoln on time tomorrow at 8:00am. We lost another hour last night and will lose another half hour tonight to match the time in our next few ports. The temperature is 68°F / 20°C under broken clouds. The humidity is 84% with winds about 15mph.

The two sessions of trivia yesterday went well. Of course we didn’t win, but we are always close. The evening’s session was ‘Geography’ and it wasn’t identifying shapes of countries. The questions were a nice selection of information about geography and the winning team got 16 out of 17 points. As happens frequently, there was a tie. Dani’s tie breaker is always the year something happened, and whoever is closer wins.

After trivia I went directly to the World Stage. Our entertainment was a comedian, Jeff Green. His act was funny and well received by the audience. He was on stage a little over the normal time, but it seemed like it was shorter because it was fun.

After the World Stage show I roamed around the ship for a bit. The entertainers in the various venues have been aboard since we boarded in January and still get a good crowd. Last night the Piano Bar was about 2/3 full and the Ocean Bar maybe a bit less. I also went up to the Crows Nest, but missed the Dance Band by a few minutes. The people that were still there said the band had a small crowd dancing.

I also donated to the casino for the first time this trip. I played Roulette for about a half hour and managed to walk away with half of what I started out with. All things considered, not too bad.

Tonight’s activities and menus --

I am currently on Volendam and we visited Komodo Island a few days ago. All announcements about going ashore specifically mentioned both HAL and Private excursions and both were allowed to get off the ship.

I believe @Cruising-along did a private excursion and may answer you with more specifics.

1 hour ago, WriterOnDeck said:

I love following your trip, Rich. And I'm glad to hear they are offering creative writing and drawing. Can you tell us who the instructor for each is?

 

Thanks!

Marianne was part of my trivia group and was on the ship until Fremantle. She split the cruise (and the cabin I understand) with Margery who is now on board.

February 20^th, 2024 – at sea, Destination Port Lincoln, Western Australia

We lost an hour last night, and will lose another 1½ hours over the next two nights in order to match the time in Port Lincoln. We are currently traveling due east at 16 knots and will arrive at our destination Thursday morning at 8:00am. The temperate is currently 68°F / 20°C with 86% humidity. The wind is around 21mph and the skies are overcast.

Yesterday the two trivia sessions went well, as always the first was general knowledge. The second had a theme of ‘True Crime’, and consisted of major crimes that hit the headlines. Dani recited a major disclaimer before she started to the effect that some of the crimes were very bad and she would understand if anyone left. My group did not find that any of her descriptions rose to that level. The winning team got a score of 16/17.

I left the Mix right after trivia and headed for the World Stage, as did most of my group. Last night the feature was called ‘B Side’ and was very good. As mentioned before, this group called ‘Grand Cruise Repertory Company’ does an excellent job with the shows. They were scheduled for 12 shows and have been doing about one show a week. They have been a very welcome addition to the cruise.

The ride since yesterday afternoon has been very smooth. We seem to have stayed just before or after weather problems on this cruise. We just missed two cyclones, and in Fremantle we had two nice days which were bracketed by 100°F days.

We passed the halfway point on this cruise last night. I am eight days away from halfway thru my itinerary.

Today’s activities and menus –

Some pictures of Albany

February 19^th, 2024 – Albany, Western Australia

Today we are docked, and from the looks of it we are close to town. It should be a nice day in town, a little cooler than the past few days.

Last evening was very nice. The early trivia session was good. The theme of the late session was ‘History’ and we managed to tie. Of course, we lost the tie breaker. I guess we need to work on that aspect of the game.

Last night the entertainment on the World Stage was a group called ‘The Tap Pack’. This is a group of four men doing a tap dance routine with a bit of singing. Both the singing and dancing were entertaining and the audience seemed to appreciate it.

We lost our creative writing instructor in Perth, and got a drawing instructor in exchange. I understand there was a bit of a problem with the number of people showing up for the first session yesterday. I hope it gets straightened out, seems like a nice activity.

Here are today’s activities –

And today’s menus –

February 18^th, 2024 – at sea, Destination Albany, Western Australia.

Today is another sea day, and a good day to relax. We are headed south at 11 knots and scheduled to arrive in Albany at 8:00am tomorrow. The skies are overcast and the temperature is 68°F / 20°C. The humidity is 81% and the winds are at 16.5mph. Overall a pretty nice day.

Yesterday evening the topic of the late trivia was hair styles. This was pictures of various hair styles and we were supposed to give the name of the style. Top score was 14, we got 12 so not too bad.

After the trivia session was over, I headed to the World Stage to see the show. The show featured Akos Laki, billed as an instrumentalist. I skipped his first show because I didn’t think I would enjoy a sax as the featured instrument. I have to say I was wrong. The show was good, he is very accomplished at both instruments he played, sax and clarinet, and his talk was interesting. The songs he played were suited to featuring the instrument, and he played them well.

Here are the activities and menus for today.

I just walked back and took a look at that area. I was wrong, there is a nice little deck area there, and there are doors to get from your cabin outside.

6 hours ago, scluvsrain said:

I haven't been on the Volendam since 2013.  I'm sure it's been updated, and I will be on the 2025 NYC 45 day Med sailing.  I'm wondering if all of the cabins (OVs) have been updated to include shower only and the interactive TVs?

 

We've booked 2704 on main deck which is far aft.  Hoping it will be quiet?  Not sure what's down below us and if there is a back door at end of corridor to the back of the ship?

 

Thanks for any info you could provide.  😄

As far as I know, all cabins have been upgraded to the interactive TV system. My ocean view (3300) does have the upgraded shower and I believe most do. I don't know if there is any outside area on deck 2 to exit to, I don't think so. 

February 17^th, 2024 – Fremantle (Perth), Western Australia Day 2

It has been a nice evening in Fremantle. Yesterday I took a long walk thru the city which sort of mirrored my walk last year. There were a couple of differences, but not many. It again started with taking the shuttle into town. We were dropped at the same place and as with last year the volunteers were there to help us and were very nice.

I was on a bit of a mission yesterday. At an earlier stop I went into an Australian Post Office store with @Cruising-along Carolyn. While in there I noticed an upgraded cell phone for a price I could consider, but I wanted to be sure it would work. I talked to support and was assured that it would. I kinda tried looking for it again for the last couple of stops but wasn’t successful. I asked the volunteer for a possibility and she suggested a nearby store. That happened to be a local supplier, so they didn’t have any unlocked phones. I saw a Target, and checked there. The Post Office was also across the street, but neither had what I needed. In Target the person suggested a place named ‘Officework’. I put that in my phone and set off. For some reason I kept messing up the instructions and kept getting further from the store, so I walked back to the bus. The same nice volunteer was familiar with the store and told me how to get there. Turns out, it was very close to the dock. I walked there and found the phone, actually a little better than the one I had looked at. The employee was able to look up my carrier (T-Mobile) and said that I would have no trouble. I bought it for a little bit less than I had expected.

I then walked across the street, and a little bit down the road and got back on the ship. After trivia and a bit of frustration I had a new working phone.

It is another pretty day today and I’m sure everyone will have a good time.

Today’s activities –

Today’s menus –

Some pictures of Fremantle –