The death of the cruise industry due to Covid has been prematurely predicted. Our experience on this 14-day Holland America Cruise from Perth to Sydney was lovely. The ship was full of Australians and Canadians who had boarded in San Diego for a 59-day cruise, and there were hardly any Covid cases. Everyone dutifully wore masks.
Our Signature Suite was very comfortable with a large balcony. The room stewards made up our cabin everyday and at night left us presents of animal towel sculptures.
One of our favorite activities on sea days was walking the traditional promenade deck. Three times around makes a mile. We often managed several miles a day in additional to walking the port cities. One day we managed 7 miles.
Our favorite entertainment was the ship’s classical musical concerts every evening before dinner in the Lincoln Center auditorium. The big stage entertainment and Rolling Stones dancing bar was a blast too.
We chose to dine in the main dining room where we were pampered by our wonderful Indonesian waiters. The joke was that one night I ordered a cheese plate and our waiter thought I said cheese cake!
Throughout the rough sea crossings, the captain was fantastic. He explained the reasons for his ship maneuvers and cancellations of ports of call. Staff morale and care comes from the top. Every day I saw the ship crew painting surfaces to make them look sharp and disinfecting common area surfaces. We have nothing but high praise for the Noordam and will sail with Holland America again.
Now, off to Brisbane for Christmas and New Years!
