Rare aussielozzie18 Posted November 7, 2018 #1 Share Posted November 7, 2018 (edited) 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? Edited November 7, 2018 by aussielozzie18 Typo in heading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted November 7, 2018 #2 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I can't think of any negatives apart from what you have mentioned already, go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare lyndarra Posted November 7, 2018 #3 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I'm on that one. Go for it. Probably get a good price as HAL seem to be pushing to get it, the Noordam, filled. Less likely to have hordes of kids like other lines at that time of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinbadThePorter Posted November 7, 2018 #4 Share Posted November 7, 2018 (edited) 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 November 7, 2018 by SinbadThePorter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare aussielozzie18 Posted November 7, 2018 Author #5 Share Posted November 7, 2018 Thank you Mick, Lyndarra & Sinbad. The cabin price has dropped by $300 since I got the email 24hrs ago. Think I will book it. Such an interesting itinerary. Doesn't seem to be alot of cruises to PNG from Sydney on offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted November 7, 2018 #6 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I have thought of one thing and that is will you have time for the Visa, or does the cruise line organise that for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted November 7, 2018 #7 Share Posted November 7, 2018 1 hour ago, MicCanberra said: I have thought of one thing and that is will you have time for the Visa, or does the cruise line organise that for you? We have been to PNG on a few cruises and on each occasion, the cruise line organised the visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted November 7, 2018 #8 Share Posted November 7, 2018 1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said: We have been to PNG on a few cruises and on each occasion, the cruise line organised the visa. Excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bescotti Posted November 8, 2018 #9 Share Posted November 8, 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewgood Posted November 8, 2018 #10 Share Posted November 8, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare aussielozzie18 Posted November 8, 2018 Author #11 Share Posted November 8, 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bescotti Posted November 8, 2018 #12 Share Posted November 8, 2018 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSWP Posted November 8, 2018 #13 Share Posted November 8, 2018 (edited) 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 !! 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. Edited November 8, 2018 by NSWP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted November 8, 2018 #14 Share Posted November 8, 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted November 8, 2018 #15 Share Posted November 8, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted November 8, 2018 #16 Share Posted November 8, 2018 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 !! 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. We give aid to many other countries as well and have to get visas for entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Kruzer Posted November 8, 2018 #17 Share Posted November 8, 2018 The money collected for visas would probably not even pay the wages of the people who issue them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare aussielozzie18 Posted November 8, 2018 Author #18 Share Posted November 8, 2018 Thank for that info much appreciated. Not getting into the debate on visas. Likely to come back with more questions once I've printed off my paperwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinbadThePorter Posted November 8, 2018 #19 Share Posted November 8, 2018 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 !! 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. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare aussielozzie18 Posted November 8, 2018 Author #20 Share Posted November 8, 2018 Thank you for the reminder re the grats. I factored that in when I was looking at the cruise cost. I think it's $15.95 USD pp per day but I am happy to be corrected or when I check my paperwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare lyndarra Posted November 8, 2018 #21 Share Posted November 8, 2018 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"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSWP Posted November 8, 2018 #22 Share Posted November 8, 2018 (edited) 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. Edited November 8, 2018 by NSWP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSWP Posted November 8, 2018 #23 Share Posted November 8, 2018 (edited) 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. Edited November 8, 2018 by NSWP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bescotti Posted November 8, 2018 #24 Share Posted November 8, 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSWP Posted November 8, 2018 #25 Share Posted November 8, 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now