Cruise Specialists hosts Steve and Wendy Bodenheimer are continuing to share their journey with us from aboard the 2016 Holland America World Cruise. Previously they shared the experience of navigating the Panama Canal, sailing the Pacific in to French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, New Zealand and now we see Australia through their eyes.

Our journey over the Tasman Sea to Australia turned out to be not as rocky as originally predicted. We did have our share of seasick passengers – but not us.

Melbourne

We arrived in the Port of Melbourne to a beautiful morning and Wendy had a tour with a group of our Cruise Specialists Guests.  By coach, we drove through the Dandenong mountain range for some spectacular scenery in the tall mountain forests. We made a stop at Grants Reserve, a park in Sherbrooke Forest where we got to feed the very tame Australian parrots that live there. Then it was on to Menzies Creek, a stop on the Puffing Billy Railway for our ride on the Australia’s favorite narrow gauge steam train. It’s a short half hour ride through the forests, fern gullies, and farmlands, over the beautiful old trestle bridge, to the small town of Belgrave. It’s the only train in Australia where you can sit with your feet hanging out of the windows while you watch the scenery go by. The volunteer conductors and station crew are all dressed in vintage attire to add to the old fashioned feeling of the experience. 

Sydney

Sydney, Australia marks the end of the first major segment of this World Voyage. We had approximately 150 passengers disembark and a similar number joining us. For our group, we had one leave and gained 7.

Sydney is a fabulous city with lots to do: The famed Sydney Opera House; the Harbor Bridge (climbable for a pretty steep fee); the Taronga Zoo; the world famous Bondi and Manly beaches; the Royal Botanic Gardens; China Town; The Rocks, a lively entertainment area; Darling Harbor, scene of dozens of restaurants and bars… the list goes on.Our first tour stop was the Sydney Koala Park, about a 45-minute drive out of the city. People are not allowed to hold koalas in this part of Australia, but we were able to get right next to them for pictures. We also saw a sheep shearing show – interesting if you’ve never seen it before. There were also wallabies, kangaroos, platypuses, kookaburra birds, and assorted other animals, unique to this part of the world. Lunch was an extensive buffet served at revolving stations in the Sydney tower, a revolving restaurant with  360-degree views of the city. And then it was time to rush off to the Sydney Opera House, this was a highlight for most Guests, so we really couldn’t be late. When three of our group failed to show up at the meeting place after lunch, rather than hold up the whole bus, Steve stayed behind to find them while the bus went on to the Opera House. Fortunately he found them quickly, jumped in a taxi and was able to catch up with the group before the tour began. {Ahh the benefits of a Cruise Specialist host!!}The Opera House is a fascinating place and the tour guides are excellent. We visited the concert hall, and one of the smaller studios as well as learned the history of the building project and a lot about the unique construction. This is a not to be missed experience for Sydney visitors. Some of our fellow guests actually returned to the Opera House that night for a performance of the Barber of Seville.

HOLLAND AMERICA VISIT

A tradition of the World Cruise is the arrival of the Carnival Corporation “big wigs” for a few days of festivities, Q and A sessions, interviews, and cocktail parties. Boarding in Sydney were Arnold Donald, the CEO of Carnival Corporation and his family; Orlando Ashford, the President of Holland America Line and his family; Stein Kruze, the CEO of the Holland America Group within Carnival Corp; the Director of the Holland America Mariners Society;  and a few other administrative people from Seattle. This was the beginning of the “free booze” period, a rare and much sought after phenomenon among cruise passengers.It started with a sail-away cocktail party where the wine and beer flowed freely – and it wasn’t even the house wine! The following day we were invited to a special Mariner Luncheon for people with more than 950 sailing days – more free wine- even better quality. And really fabulous food served in an elegant atmosphere. We sat at a table hosted by the Executive Housekeeper – an amazingly happy man considering the stress of his job.

That night was the big Australian Beach Party. Real sand was brought in and spread on the Lido deck. Giant beach balls filled the pool. A group of Bondi beach lifeguards were imported to add some authenticity to the event. A 6-piece Australian party band played for several hours and a massive seafood buffet was presented (giant prawns, lobster, shrimp, oysters and clams). They also served crocodile and kangaroo for the adventurous. And the alcohol flowed for 3.5 hours, all free, anything you wanted. So you can imagine, there was some major over-indulging.Photo source

Continuing on with the alcohol orgy, another cocktail party was given by the Holland America President, Orlando Ashford, just for our Cruise Specialists guests. That says a lot about how highly they regard our agency and we were of course delighted to attend. Most of our Guests were there and enjoyed a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Everyone who wished to had a chance to meet Orlando. He’s a charming man, easy to communicate with. That same evening, a number of our Guests attended a special dinner for Presidents Club members (1,400+ cruising days), which we heard was an elegant affair.Photo source

In the middle of all this, we were supposed to go to our next port of Mooloolaba on the Australian Coast. It would have been a first for our ship and for HAL. Unfortunately, the seas did not cooperate and the port was closed. The Captain and staff scrambled to find an alternative and on Monday, we will be going to Townsville. We have actually been there before but don’t remember much from our 2010 circumnavigation of Australia.

We are actually pretty tired from all this partying. Luckily we have two days in port coming up where we don’t think anyone will be offering free drinks. We’re entering the Great Barrier Reef area which we’ll tell you about later.

Everyday is a new adventure with our Cruise Specialists hosts!

Find out more about joining them on a future world cruise!