Sailnsurf

Thanks to all for their responses. Having followed the HAL board for some time to get a sense of the covid experience elsewhere I get a sense that the Aussie experience has been better. But I agree the arrival of the Transpacific ships will give further insight.

We have aNZ Tasssie Sydney cruise coming up next February and must make a decision whether or not to go ahead next month when the full fare is payable. My wife does not have the best immune system so the risk of covid is areal consideration. It is some while since cruising reopened in Aus so I would be interested in the experience of cruisers about how covid controls and the level of contraction of covid affected their cruise.

I an coeliac and have happily drunk any distllled liqour on my understanding that the distilling process removes the gluten. Am I wrong? Really hope not.

Sounds great. Thanks again.

Thanks to you and Btimmer for your responses. What is it about the Lido pool you liked? I hope it was just the decor and ambiance and did not have anything to do with a large entertainment screen. That is one of the things we did not like on our last Nieuw Statendam cruise and which made us turn to the Vista class ships for our future cruises. I am heartened by what I have been reading on CC that experiences post Covid resumption to cruising seem generally to be improving.

Does not sound like anything worth worrying about. Thanks VMax and rover 16 for the general report. I was a bit concerned cabins might be a bit tired. Loved the Noordam when last on her in 2014 - in fact all the Vista class we have been on but they are ageing. The Pinnacles are just too big and do not give the serenity I look for on a cruise. So if the older ships get too tired it may be time for us to look for something else.

Thanks so much VMax for the links. Did the service elevator cause you any problems? I followed your posts on the Oosterdam because we have a 24 day Med cruise booked next year and gleaned quite a bit of useful information. Thanks for that too.

We have an upcoming cruise on the Noordam and have not been on her since its last upgrade so would welcome information about its current condition particularly relating to cabins and public areas. We will be in a Signature Suite with a larger z shaped balcony - cabin 6117. Any information on that actual cabin would be great.

Could not agree more with the views expressed. HAL' new Pinnacle class ships are moving in the wrong direction. I will only sail in the older smaller ships. Hope HAL is listrning.