Live! The Grouch on the Noordam for 38 days to New Zealand, Sept. 30, 2018

[Stratheden]

So pleased you and Mrs Whogo enjoyed my home state.  You chose a wonderful area to visit, but what a huge tour for one day. 

[erewhon]

Thanks for your report, glad that you enjoyed such a long excursion..

[cruzincari]

14 hours ago, whogo said:

Saturday, October 27, 2018. Melbourne.

 

Watched the sail in, the Noordam snaked through a narrow marked channel, thought we'd run over a buoy. We backed in to the dock for speedy exit, were tied up before 7:30 AM at 37°50.79' S, 144°55.79 E.

 

The Navigator said it was 55° F, pleasant spring weather.

 

We met our I Heart Melbourne guide, James, just off the pier for our twelve hour tour of the Great Ocean Road and beyond. Long day, lots of time for the five of us tourists in his minivan. The Great Ocean Road is similar to the Pacific Coast Highway. A memorial to veterans of the Great War and built by hand by the same, you can still see pick axe marks in places.

 

Ocean views were spectacular, especially to this kid from the prairie, with rugged coastline, sandy or rock beaches, surf, and a few surfers. Stopped for a morning cup of tea picnic style at a scenic rest stop and were introduced to Anzac biscuits, a sweet oatmeal and coconut cookie that kept well enough to send to soldiers overseas.

 

We chose a seafood cafe for lunch, I had fish and chips, Mrs. Whogo won with a pot of mussels in garlic and white wine sauce. Just after lunch we stopped to see some wild koalas, cockatoos, other parrots, and a kookaburra, definitely a highlight of the day. One koala was asleep about ten feet up a tree, made for good photos. We saw a koala quickly descend a tree, tried to find it, couldn't.

 

We soon left the coast and stopped to walk a loop trail through the temperate rain forest, home to the mountain ash, Eucalyptus regnans, the tallest flowering tree in the world. Plenty of other flora including the tree ferns that I liked so much at the zoo in Sydney. The rain forest was just as impressive as the coastline was.

 

Returned to the coast, here less protected, the Shipwreck Coast and stopped to view the 12 Apostles geologic formations and sheer cliffs. Wind and light rain added some atmosphere.

 

Exciting sightseeing over, we drove about three hours home through lush pasture land. Whizzed by The Blue Notorious Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Google for more information. You will have to take the Flying Spaghetti Monster on faith, might help to put a colander on your head (metal like a true Pastafarian, not plastic. I see a schism in the Church's future).

 

James mentioned that the town of Colac reminded him of an American town, you enter past a McDonald's and a KFC. Ended the outstanding tour with excellent guide back at the ship just before eight.

 

Cleaned up for dinner, same menu we had three days ago.

 

We were to be on this cruise but had to postpone til Oct 2019 due to health issues.....enjoying your posts & reading them with interest to get an idea of what to do at each port of call.   However, have spent most of my time laughing so hard to the point of tears.   Have cruised numerous times on HAL & can see so many similarities of similar cruise mates.  Hate the ship excursions as they are too big w too many “inconsiderates”.  Prefer small group private tours.  Can’t wait til your next posts...I know there are busy days ahead😍

Edited October 28, 2018 by cruzincari
Punctuation error

[whogo]

On 10/7/2018 at 10:13 PM, Bruinboy said:

Mr. Whogo ... three things. One, did you see that new Dr Who for the first time in history of the television show is female? Any relation? Two, we get on the ship for 29 days when you get off in Auckland. So, would you mind going up to cabin 6059 and asking the folk there to leave the cabin in good shape. If they look a little shady, would you mind reporting them to guest relations? Three, we are currently on Kauai. Went to McDonalds to get a spam egg McMuffin. Not on the posted menu, but you can get it as a special order which we did. It was surprisingly good.

 

Have a great cruise. I love your writing style. Very enjoyable read.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I have tried to check on cabin 6059 a number of times recently. First time the room stewards were there wearing hooded Tyvek coveralls and face masks. The second time the security guy outside the door would not let me knock. Other times that whole stretch of corridor is closed. Both times I phoned the room the person who answered was coughing so hard I could barely understand him, think he said everything was okay, so don't worry about a thing, Bruinboy.

[kazu]

1 minute ago, whogo said:

I have tried to check on cabin 6059 a number of times recently. First time the room stewards were there wearing hooded Tyvek coveralls and face masks. The second time the security guy outside the door would not let me knock. Other times that whole stretch of corridor is closed. Both times I phoned the room the person who answered was coughing so hard I could barely understand him, think he said everything was okay, so don't worry about a thing, Bruinboy.

 

LOL 😄😄 😭

[whogo]

Sunday, October 28, 2018. At sea headed towards Hobart, Tasmania

 

Highest praise to Cruise Critic member Meandmyself for organizing yesterday's Great Ocean Road tour. Thanks again.

 

Slept in this morning until after seven. Used the public computer in the library, heard voices singing a hymn and saw an overflow crowd for mass in the little Half Moon room. The larger Hudson room was set up for a craft group.

 

Calm, solo breakfast for me in the dining room with the printed Times Digest, a pot of tea, and with “Tales of the Jazz Age” on my Kindle. I suppose you'd call “Tales” an anthology of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories, all good, some are quite funny, current tale is “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, did not know Fitzgerald wrote it.

 

Our 9:00 AM position was 39°29.13 S, 145°57.96 E. We were headed southeast, 132°, at 16.5 knots in the Bass Strait (remember that for trivia) between Tasmania and the mainland.

 

Missed the grand opening ribbon cutting of the new collection at Merabella Boutique. With a little more foresight, I could have signed up for the craft cruise and learned how to do argyle socks (Part I) this afternoon.

 

We missed the Indonesian Rijsttafel for collector's voyagers we were invited to a couple of days ago so we attended today's that we weren't invited to. The entryway had a few Indonesian decorations, waitstaff were in native dress. We realized the captain and another officer were at the other door, did not go back to meet them. Krupuk (prawn crackers) were waiting at our table for us. We were soon served gado gado, a cold salad followed by a chicken and coconut soup, soto ayam. We could not taste the coconut.

 

The main dish of nasi goreng (friend rice) had a bit of sliced omelet on top and was accompanied by a meatball, chicken sate (chicken on a stick), beef Sumatra (beef stew), breaded coconut shrimp, sambal green beans (muy picante), and a banana fritter. Condiments serundeng (peanuts and coconut flakes), kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), were not spicy, sambal was, could remove paint and gave a needed boost to my bland meatball. Javanese rice pudding with caramel sauce finished the meal, everything delicious.

 

Lost at afternoon and evening trivia, ate an early dinner in the Lido to make it to a packed early show by comedian magician Nick Nickolas. Won at music trivia playing solo, the 60's are my specialty.

 

Lowered my opinion of “Tales of the Jazz Age”, not all the tales are great.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Enjoying your reports.

 

So funny about cabin 6059.

 

Do love that lunch.

 

Congratulations at winning the music trivia!!

[Bruinboy]

5 hours ago, whogo said:

I have tried to check on cabin 6059 a number of times recently. First time the room stewards were there wearing hooded Tyvek coveralls and face masks. The second time the security guy outside the door would not let me knock. Other times that whole stretch of corridor is closed. Both times I phoned the room the person who answered was coughing so hard I could barely understand him, think he said everything was okay, so don't worry about a thing, Bruinboy.

Mr. Whogo, thanks for the update. I’m glad things have calmed down on deck 6. My guess is by coincidence that was Mrs. Loud and Long’s cabin and they had to install extra insulation so the people on either side of her could sleep without hearing every detail of her life ... especially the five grandchildren. I’m sorry you are disembarking when we embark. It would have been fun to share an adult beverage or two. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. You are now on the portion we will be experiencing. 

Edited October 28, 2018 by Bruinboy
Spelling and grammar

[erewhon]

Congratulations on winning music trivia.

Thanks for your report.

 

[Stratheden]

11 hours ago, Bruinboy said:

Mr. Whogo, thanks for the update. I’m glad things have calmed down on deck 6. My guess is by coincidence that was Mrs. Loud and Long’s cabin and they had to install extra insulation so the people on either side of her could sleep without hearing every detail of her life ... especially the five grandchildren. I’m sorry you are disembarking when we embark. It would have been fun to share an adult beverage or two. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. You are now on the portion we will be experiencing. 

Coincidently we have just booked for Dec.22nd ex Sydney for 23 days.  There were only two SS cabins available. We selected 6056 and 6059 is still available.  Looks like we chose well. 😂😂😂

[whogo]

Monday, October 29, 2018. Hobart, Tasmania

 

Beautiful day, partly cloudy, 54° F/12° C. We were docked before 7:00 AM at 42°52.95' S, 147°20.42 E. Teaser... Can we get any farther south? Wait and see. Until now my Nuvi GPS has been able to pick up satellites while inside our tender view cabin, never thought it possible. The satellites are no longer cooperating. Loaded with North American street maps, the base map of the world gives an adequate view of the rest of the world. Dravuni Island was not shown, but I could navigate the major roads on our Great Ocean Road tour.

 

Prince Harry and his wife are still traveling around the South Pacific. He has worked around my cruise schedule to avoid being in port when I am and overwhelming local admirers and security.

 

Glen cut my hair on board, $29 including tip, 45% more than at home, 100% better, the man is an expert.

 

Boarded our tour coach about 8:45 for an eight hour excursion to Port Arthur, the one time penal colony. Just 27 of us aboard made for a manageable tour. Guide Liz was excellent, as was our driver Lester and our on site guide Colin. Must have been more than 90 minutes to and from Port Arthur, we had about four hours there, not enough time to see everything. Colin presented an open air lecture on the prisoners, soldiers and civilians. Beautiful landscape, looked much like England and the buildings were constructed in that style. The grass was covered with wallaby poop, they must be infested with them, we did not see any of the nocturnal creatures. Boarded a catamaran to see the area from a different perspective and enjoyed sugar free Cokes during the ride.

 

The excellent Visitor Guide saw us through a self guided tour of the commandant's home, officer's quarters, guard towers, penitentiary before meeting our group at the asylum for the included meal. Described as a light lunch in HAL's tour brochure, it was a hearty meal of tomato soup, sandwiches, and decadent chocolate cake worthy of a cruise ship.

 

I nearly missed the museum in the asylum. Kind of rushed after lunch to take in the separate prison, church and garden. Had fifteen minutes to buy and write postcards to family members. Postcard stamps to the USA were AU$3.00 each.

 

Stopped to view the Tasman Arch, a natural arch carved by the sea, neat, nothing like it at home in the Midwest.

 

Back about 4:45, we took a walk, mailed our postcards and stopped for a drink at Pearl & Co, Victoria Dock. I had a hoppy Moo Brew Pale Ale, Mrs. Whogo a tomato juice. Guess which one of us ordered olives to share as a bar snack? Hint: I'd have ordered crisps or something else salty.

 

Won at evening trivia, we had a ringer on our team. Lamb chops in the dining room were delicious this time. We move the clock the wrong way tonight for a 23 hour day as we head east to New Zealand.

 

[Bruinboy]

13 hours ago, Stratheden said:

Coincidently we have just booked for Dec.22nd ex Sydney for 23 days.  There were only two SS cabins available. We selected 6056 and 6059 is still available.  Looks like we chose well. 😂😂😂

Looks like you dodged a bullet!

[puppycanducruise]

Congrats on winning the trivia.

[erewhon]

Port Arthur is an interesting place.

Congratulations on winning trivia.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sounds like you had a wonderful day.

 

Olives can be salty!!

 

DH pays $25 (tip not included) and he has very little hair -- not a fancy barber shop either.

 

Congratulations at winning the evening trivia.

[whogo]

Monday, October 30, 2018. Headed towards New Zealand in the Tasman Sea.

 

The ship rolls and pitches a bit more in the Tasman Sea, not bad, yet, we have seen worse this trip. Breakfasted alone again in the dining room, very relaxing to read while my omelet and tea are brought to me. 55° F/13° C is too chilly for me to read on deck, I miss it, found a chair in the library. The private craft group is working on Teddy Bear Sweaters this morning, the exciting Argyle Socks Part II is tomorrow.

 

10:00 found us at 43°31.72' S, 151°00.00' E. Our course: 94°, is just a hair south of east. Speed 18.7 knots. Skipped the mariner's lunch, others went, the Lido was nearly empty. Lamb again for me and a huge serving of asparagus, gotta get green veggies when you can.

 

Exciting time reading in various parts of the ship. I lasted ten minutes with my Kindle on the promenade deck, with a sweater under my light jacket I could have lasted longer. Won at afternoon trivia with a new team, lost at evening trivia.

 

We communicated poorly with our waiter at gala dinner. I don't like béarnaise sauce, figured I could scrape it off the filet mignon. Surprised the béarnaise sauce was spread over crab meat on top of the filet which was on top of mashed potatoes, all circled by jus. Yuck.

 

Mrs. Whogo ordered hers without sauce, got the béarnaise, not the jus. Double yuck for her. I'm sure it is all our fault.

 

Jumping time with a packed house in the piano bar, left to watch “Playback” in the showroom, was not my thing at all. Back to the cabin to post this and set my watch forward another hour, last time change until we fly home.

[erewhon]

Another restful sea day.

Congratulations on winning afternoon trivia.

[NSWP]

Enjoy NZ @ The Shaky Isles, they had a 6.2 quake the other day.    Prince Harry and Co are leaving soon, sad you will miss them, they could have come on board Noordam for happy hour.😁

 

Thanks again for your on board reports.

Edited October 31, 2018 by NSWP

[whogo]

Wednesday, October 31, 2018. At sea between Tasmania and New Zealand

 

Slept late. It is not the 23 hour days that get to me, it is staying up to 2:00 AM to reset my watch that does me in. We are cruising east at 16.8 knots. But you want to hear about the wild Tasman Sea and the waves crashing over the bow and broken dishes and all.

 

That's not happening. We are rolling slightly, the curtains move a bit, the ship is barely rolling, and I have heard no seasickness reports. Seas look wilder than they feel.

 

We are happy with our tender view cabin. The big window lets in light even if it does not offer a view. There are USB ports on each side of the bed, something I haven't seen on previous HAL cruises and twice as many outlets at the desk, two 115V and two 220V.

 

The refrigerator quietly cools, we have enough closet space. The corner cabinet in the bathroom holds our daily toiletries, the under sink shelf holds the overflow. The shower spews plenty of hot water, Mrs. Whogo is happy with the less than full size tub. We had a few hours of toilet trouble, everything else has worked all the time. The picture quality is low on the old flat screen TV, not that we are TV watchers. The laundry has always had a gold sticker and my boxers are usually right side out. The white bar soap is much better than the old lemon yellow stuff. I am a happy camper despite my grousing.

 

I have found the inside temperature within tolerance throughout the ship, a few people have been chilly. Today's Lido special was the Caprese Corner, food from Capri, I think, olives, tomatoes, cheese and other Mediterranean foods. Mrs. Whogo liked it, I went for Vietnamese from the Asian corner.

 

Spent the day moving from reading spot to reading spot, always able to find a quiet place to read. I lasted 52 minutes on a promenade deck chair, 55 degrees is a bit chilly, still nice to be out in the fresh air.

 

I sat through three numbers from tonight's rock violinist, Yoomia. She talked too much, yelled in the microphone to get us to yell that we were having a good cruise. I could not pick out a melody in her songs, when she started talking about designer shoes and being a shopaholic I high tailed it out of there.

 

The bar crawlers (9:30 bar hop, US$22) showed up at the piano bar, bringing a good vibe and lots of voices for a Bohemian Rhapsody sing along, best thing to happen there. Caught a bit of the Halloween costume contest and then to bed. My Wednesday is ending at 11:30 PM while it is 5:30 AM in the central time zone.

 

[Dogstar]

1 hour ago, whogo said:

Caught a bit of the Halloween costume contest and then to bed. My Wednesday is ending at 11:30 PM while it is 5:30 AM in the central time zone.

 

Happy Halloween from the Pacific Time Zone !!! 👻 🎃  Thank you for your continued reports, enjoying immensely. 

[ozcruizer]

2 hours ago, whogo said:

 

 

I sat through three numbers from tonight's rock violinist, Yoomia. She talked too much, yelled in the microphone to get us to yell that we were having a good cruise. I could not pick out a melody in her songs, when she started talking about designer shoes and being a shopaholic I high tailed it out of there.

 

 

 

I think Yoomia performed on our last Noordam cruise.  Well, I can't remember her name but I sure do remember one performer who talked almost non-stop about her shoes and her dress.  Does she really think people are interested?  

Ozcruizer

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your report.

 

I wouldn't like a performer who talked about her shoes, dress and being a shopaholic.

[whogo]

Thursday, November 1, 2018. Scenic cruising Milford Sound and more.

 

Wow! It's too narrow! Those were my first thoughts entering Milford Sound. Milford Sound is a fjord, not a sound. What a sight! Steep mountains plunge into a narrow finger of sea. It's beautiful, my vocabulary won't suffice. Google some photos. Cruise here yourself.

 

We lucked into clear skies. I was out on the bow before sunrise as we cruised up the fjord past a few waterfalls We reached the largest waterfall as we ran out of ocean. We held position there and slowly turned. I watched as the rising sun's rays gradually worked their way from the peaks to the base of the mountains. The changing light and ship position offered ever changing views, add in a half moon for flavor. I searched for wildlife, hoped to see seals or penguins, saw only a duck or goose on the water and a few gull like birds. Stayed out on the bow for all but a few minutes until they closed the bow at about 8:15, right on schedule.

 

We headed south with New Zealand off the port side as it grew cloudier, were at 44 degrees south latitude at 9:15. Entered Thompson Sound, more great scenery, not as steep and narrow as Milford Sound. We circled Secretary Island and Doubtful Sound

 

Our final jaunt into the fjords was in rain and overcast skies. We circled Resolution Island via Breaksea Sound east and Dusky Sound west. Nearing the end of our journey through Fjordland National Park, I finally sighted a group of fur seals on a little bare island. No penguins, dolphins, or whales for me. Returned to open sea past Five Fingers Peninsula. Great scenic cruising, one of the highlights of the cruise.

 

Afternoon trivia was cancelled. Lost at evening trivia and lost the music trivia tie breaker. Nobody out late, busy day today and long excursions tomorrow.

 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sounds absolutely breath taking!!

[puppycanducruise]

Milford Sound sounds amazing.  Maybe someday I'll get to see it too.

Thanks for sharing.