February 28th, We left DunleithTourist Park at 9am and went to The Entrance Shops, where Val had her hair done and I picked up some books from the local Library, to read on our cruise. We drove to Sydney and parked in the Barangaroo Wharf Parking lot, where our Ship was docked, and walked across to the Sussex Street Hotel and met Steven for lunch and a farewell drink. After a nice lunch we walked back to the Car park and boarded our Ship, The Volendam, and Steven took our car to Ed’s place, for the 2 weeks we are away. Everything went smoothly and once aboard the Ship we found our cabin, unpacked and familiarized ourselves with a walk around. We sailed at 6pm and caught the sights of Sydney as we left Port. Sailing under the Harbour Bridge was exciting, not a lot of clearance. We had a “Welcome Aboard” BBQ on the Pool Deck and played Bingo at 9pm. We stayed on for the live show in the Frans Hal Lounge at 9.30am. Our Cruise Director was an Auzzie from Orange (NSW), David Griffiths, the show was impressive, great singers and band and the Dancers were tops. I took in the 10pm movie then met up with Val for Slots and Blackjack in the Casino till 12.30am. A great 1st night on board.
February 29th, Each night we get a “what’s on” list of all the day’s events, which gives a huge selection of activities to choose from, to suit all tastes. This was a sea day, so Val went to a cooking demonstration; I did an acupuncture seminar, played some Table Tennis with Joe, a young boy passenger, and had a go at the Putting Competition. Val went to Bingo and won $96.00. Our Travel Guide (Christina) gave a talk on the first 2 Ports of call, which was interesting and useful. On my way out of the Frans Hal lounge, I ran into a Table Tennis friend from Nelson Bay, what a small world we live in! Barry and his wife Deb were on their first Holland America cruise. It was great to catch up. Val entered the “Slot Machine Tournament” and with the highest score got on to the finals board and a chance to win $500. Only the top 6 scores were eligible for the final. Dinner was “formal” tonight, so we dressed in our finest for the occasion and had a lovely meal at “The Rotterdam” Restaurant. After dinner I took in the onboard movie and then met Val in the Frans Hal Lounge for the Show. We went to the Casino where it took me only minutes to lose my $50 US stake, at the blackjack table. When we arrived back at our stateroom we found a bottle of Champagne and Chocolate Coated Strawberries had been delivered to our room by “Travel the World”, part of the Holland America Group. The strawberries were delicious.
March 1st, This was another “Sea Day”, so I started with the first event in the Volendam Olympics. These are fun events, played only on sea days where you accumulate points and there are small prizes at the end of the Cruise. The first event was Basketball, best of 10 shots at the ring (I only managed 1 through), not exactly my game. Val did a “hands on” cooking show with Joel, a French Chef. The Slot Machine Final was a torrid affair, with the 6 finalists frantically pressing the button on their slot machine, trying to get the top score in the 5 minute time limit. Val didn’t win the money but received a nice T-shirt (just happened to be my size) and a free Pina Colada. Christina gave a talk on our 3rd and 4th ports of call, in preparation for our shore excursions. It was good to know what to expect in terms of money accepted and available transport. In the afternoon they had a fun game of water polo, in the Lido Deck Pool, Guests VS Crew. It was fun to watch and at the end of the game, nobody was claiming victory as they shared a well earned drink from a sopping wet David, the Cruise Director. Val went to Bingo, no luck today but I joined her for the “Battle of the Sexes” Game Show. They needed 3 couples for a boys VS girls quiz. You guessed it, we volunteered. The Girls were asked a set of questions that the Boys would know the answer to and the Boys were asked questions that the Girls would know. It was a lot of fun and we had a tie, one correct answer each, so we all won a free drink. We went to the Rotterdam for dinner tonight and sat with 4 other couples. The meal was excellent again and it’s a good way to meet other passengers. We went to the Show in the Frans Hal Lounge but I left early to catch the start of the Movie. I met up with Val in the Casino after the movie and the Table games were closed down, as tomorrow is a shore day. However I did play the slots with Val and won $50.
March 2nd, We arrived at Noumea, New Caledonia at 11am. We were greeted by a group of Polynesian Dancers on the Wharf. The Dancers put on a good show and their music was what you would expect from an Island Group, very entertaining. We had lunch on board and went ashore at 2.30pm. It’s siesta time in Noumea from 11.30 to 1.30pm. Being a French Island, I changed $50 US for 3570 Franc (sounds a lot but I was surprised how little it bought). We went to the Casino Supermarket, across from the Wharf, and bought a couple of necessities leaving us with 1500f (only Casino We have been in with not a poker machine in sight). It was stifling Hot and Muggy but we walked around Town and were not impressed. The streets were narrow and smelly, buildings not maintained, lots of shops selling the same things, shops were small and cluttered with metal grills over the windows and doors, not inviting. We were glad to get back on board the air conditioned Ship, after 1 ½ hrs ashore. We set sail at 6pm and enjoyed a Pacific BBQ on the Pool Deck, for dinner. Night time we did the usual things, Show, movies, drinks and always finished up in the Casino. On return to our stateroom each night, we would find our bed turned down, chocolates and a towel animal on the bed.
March 3rd, We arrived at Easo, Lifou, New Caledonia at 8am. The Volendam had to anchor in the Bay, so we were taken ashore and back by the Tender Boats. The water around the Island was crystal clear and nice sandy beaches. A lot of the guests came ashore just to swim or snorkel. The Markets were small but had plenty of souvenirs for the visitors. There was a Resort, for those that appreciated “Island Style” living in units or huts. The weather was stifling again (40deg +) so we were back on board for lunch and some cooling down in the air conditioning. We sailed at 5pm for our next Port of call. We had dinner at the Rotterdam tonight, at a table of 10. One couple were from Tasmania, so Val was chatting them up for info. on Tasmania, seeing that is where we want to be at New Year. There were 700 Australians on board but surprisingly we had not met many yet.
March 5th, We arrived at Luganville, Vanuatu at 8am, it was very hot and we had a few showers this morning. After breakfast we went ashore and walked the Dockside Stalls and were entertained by a singing / dancing native family group. Val was accosted by a cute little native boy, giving her a flower for her hair. The first one was given a dollar for his kindness and friendly kiss and then we found that this was the approach at other stalls. We bought a few items for Jessica and Annaliese then the heat drove us to go onboard and recuperate till lunchtime. We sailed at 5pm and had dinner at the Lido Restaurant. The food on this Ship was always good, plentiful and delicious, no matter where you ate. On many days Val enjoyed browsing the onboard shops. The Show tonight was Adam Johnson (Classical Pianist) who put on a great show and that was followed by the Indonesian Crew Show, who did traditional songs and dances from their Country. It was very entertaining. I went to the movie tonight, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor” and the theatre was full. I got the 2nd last seat, 2nd row side. I was so close that they had a small side screen for us to watch, as we didn’t have a good view of the middle big screen. I watched the movie through to the end but it was too disjointed for me. I did get the basic plot eventually but I hate movies that are constantly having “flashbacks”. The movie ran so late that the Casino Tables were closed, so I played the slots with Val for a while. We had to put our watches an hour forward tonight as we were crossing a time zone. Tomorrow will be the first day of our 2nd week on this Cruise.
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