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Holland America PNG cruise

aussielozzie18
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aussielozzie18

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Thinking of doing a last minute cruise on Holland America next month to FNQ and PNG.  Syd/Gladstone/Airlie/Cairns/PNG various ports/Brisbane.  2 weeks.  Being Dec I know it will be hot and stinger season in FNQ. Apart from that can you see any negatives?  Normally cruise Royal so I know HA will be more sedate.  Any thoughts on this one from you frequent cruises on this forum?

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SinbadThePorter

SinbadThePorter

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2 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Thinking of doing a last minute cruise on Holland America next month to FNQ and PNG.  Syd/Gladstone/Airlie/Cairns/PNG various ports/Brisbane.  2 weeks.  Being Dec I know it will be hot and stinger season in FNQ. Apart from that can you see any negatives?  Normally cruise Royal so I know HA will be more sedate.  Any thoughts on this one from you frequent cruises on this forum?

 

It's a bargain so grab it while it's still there. I would have jumped at it, but I already had a cruise booked for the same time.

 

HAL is rather sedate, but no more stodgy than Princess.

 

The Nordaam is a very nice ship. Well laid out and with good facilities.

 

PNG is a great cruise destination. The islands are fantastic. Rabaul is very interesting. Although Alotau is probably the least inspiring of the ports.

 

Go.

Edited by SinbadThePorter
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sewgood

sewgood

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16 minutes ago, Bescotti said:

I’m also on this cruise, along with some other family members. I checked with both the PNG Consul and HAL to confirm that HAL will organise the PNG visa. Apparently not all the other cruise lines do this.

 

Good to know.

Thanks

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aussielozzie18 Great Review Rare

aussielozzie18

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Thank you for the clarification re visa.  Much appreciated.  For those of you already booked, are the port tours all booked out?  Also, I am madly doing my research but a couple of basic questions: I have read elsewhere that 1 bottle of wine person is permitted free.  Additional bottles have a corkage?  Plugs are they US & Euro?  I assume pool towels are supplied by cruise line.  Can they be taken off at ports?  Any other basic info you can think of to throw my way would be great.  Thank you.

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Bescotti

Bescotti

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3 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Thank you for the clarification re visa.  Much appreciated.  For those of you already booked, are the port tours all booked out?  Also, I am madly doing my research but a couple of basic questions: I have read elsewhere that 1 bottle of wine person is permitted free.  Additional bottles have a corkage?  Plugs are they US & Euro?  I assume pool towels are supplied by cruise line.  Can they be taken off at ports?  Any other basic info you can think of to throw my way would be great.  Thank you.

Most port tours are still available so I’m not going to book mine until I’m onboard.

 

You are correct regarding wine - 1 bottle permitted free per person plus corkage for additional bottles.

 

There should be one Euro and one US socket at the dressing table.

 

Towels will be provided in your cabin to take ashore - they are usually striped, different from the pool towels provided on deck.

 

Something a lot of passengers don’t seem to be aware of is that you can phone the Dining Room when it opens at 5.30pm and order off the evening dinner menu (available on the HAL intranet on your phone, tablet, etc) and have it delivered to your cabin at a time you nominate and there is no charge for this. I’ve done this with others when we couldn’t be bothered dressing up for the Gala night but wanted to enjoy menu items from the Gala menu. As one of the others had a large rear facing balcony, she had her steward set up table and chairs out there for us.

 

 

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NSWP

NSWP

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It really bugs me re PNG visas, we give the PNG Govt hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid, but where does it go?  Then they have the nerve to hit their givers, us !!! a visa fee !! :classic_ninja:  I went to PNG in 1970 and again in 2006, to tell the truth, I could not see much of the Aussie aid dollars spent.  I have my suspicions.:classic_ninja:

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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

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59 minutes ago, Bescotti said:

I’m also on this cruise, along with some other family members. I checked with both the PNG Consul and HAL to confirm that HAL will organise the PNG visa. Apparently not all the other cruise lines do this.

Cheers for that.

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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

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6 minutes ago, Bescotti said:

Most port tours are still available so I’m not going to book mine until I’m onboard.

 

You are correct regarding wine - 1 bottle permitted free per person plus corkage for additional bottles.

 

There should be one Euro and one US socket at the dressing table.

 

Towels will be provided in your cabin to take ashore - they are usually striped, different from the pool towels provided on deck.

 

Something a lot of passengers don’t seem to be aware of is that you can phone the Dining Room when it opens at 5.30pm and order off the evening dinner menu (available on the HAL intranet on your phone, tablet, etc) and have it delivered to your cabin at a time you nominate and there is no charge for this. I’ve done this with others when we couldn’t be bothered dressing up for the Gala night but wanted to enjoy menu items from the Gala menu. As one of the others had a large rear facing balcony, she had her steward set up table and chairs out there for us.

 

 

Excellent information. cheers

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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

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4 minutes ago, NSWP said:

It really bugs me re PNG visas, we give the PNG Govt hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid, but where does it go?  Then they have the nerve to hit their givers, us !!! a visa fee !! :classic_ninja:  I went to PNG in 1970 and again in 2006, to tell the truth, I could not see much of the Aussie aid dollars spent.  I have my suspicions.:classic_ninja:

We give aid to many other countries as well and have to get visas for entry.

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SinbadThePorter

SinbadThePorter

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26 minutes ago, NSWP said:

It really bugs me re PNG visas, we give the PNG Govt hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid, but where does it go?  Then they have the nerve to hit their givers, us !!! a visa fee !! :classic_ninja:  I went to PNG in 1970 and again in 2006, to tell the truth, I could not see much of the Aussie aid dollars spent.  I have my suspicions.:classic_ninja:

 

They visa us because we visa them.

 

With regards to HAL, I believe that they are still charging for gratuities on top. So that is an extra expense to look out for.

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NSWP

NSWP

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1 hour ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

They visa us because we visa them.

 

With regards to HAL, I believe that they are still charging for gratuities on top. So that is an extra expense to look out for.

Sure we visa them because they visa us, but they don't give us any foreign aid, lol.

 

But you can visit reception and ah hem..'adjust them.  Don't repeat that on the HAL board, I would get smashed.

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NSWP

NSWP

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2 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Thank you for the clarification re visa.  Much appreciated.  For those of you already booked, are the port tours all booked out?  Also, I am madly doing my research but a couple of basic questions: I have read elsewhere that 1 bottle of wine person is permitted free.  Additional bottles have a corkage?  Plugs are they US & Euro?  I assume pool towels are supplied by cruise line.  Can they be taken off at ports?  Any other basic info you can think of to throw my way would be great.  Thank you.

With all due respect, if you go over to the HAL board on CC, I am sure you will get the up to date answers to your queries.  Given that the HAL fleet does not sail our waters that often, compared to other mainstream lines like P&O Australia, Princess, RCI, Carnival etc.

 

Anyway I would appreciate any comment on Noordam after your cruise as we are on her 21 April.

 

Above all, enjoy your adventure.

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Bescotti

Bescotti

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14 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

It's been a few years since I last cruised HAL. Do they still provide shampoo and conditioner or have they gone the way of others and supply generic "shower gel"?

 

HAL provides Elemis shampoo, conditioner and shower gels in dispensers. I usually take my own as I’ve got very sensitive skin.

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NSWP

NSWP

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16 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

It's been a few years since I last cruised HAL. Do they still provide shampoo and conditioner or have they gone the way of others and supply generic "shower gel"?

Reading a current blog from Noordam on HAL board, Shampoo and conditioner are provided, topped up as necessary.

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