Our cabin was on the 6th floor & around the corner from the stairs & elevator.  There was hardly any passenger foot traffic in the area & as such fairly quiet.  Our cabin, although dated & unremarkable, was quiet, comfortable, clean & more than adequate for two on this 30 day cruise.  We had sufficient storage for our clothes, without having to use the sets of drawers under the bed & sofa couch.  We had a comfortable king size bed, but the sofa has reached at least a 4 - 5 star Mariner status plus.  We had a nice size balcony with 2 deck chairs with ottomans & small round table.  Our 2 suitcases fitted under the bed.  We had a bathtub shower combination in our washroom.

There are a lot of things to see & do in Sydney on your own.  Locals are friendly & helpful and Sydney has a good transportation system to get around in.

Sydney (Australia)

We not only saw live our 1st time, but interacted with the kangaroos.  We were also up close & personal with a koala.

Due to weather conditions, we missed this port.

Port Arthur

There are lots of things you can do in Adelaide on your own.  Again, the locals were friendly & helpful and Adelaide has great transportation to get around in.

Adelaide

We went to Flinders Chase National Park and saw the Admirals Arch & the Remarkable Rocks.  At the Raptor Domain, we saw a trained wedge tailed eagle, a friendly barn owl & other birds.  At the Hanson Bay Sanctuary, we saw koalas in their natural habitat.

Another big city where there's lots of things to see & do on your own.  Again, friendly, helpful locals with good transportation to get around in.

Melbourne

Burnie had a complimentary shuttle to take the passengers into the small town.  Friendly locals & very walkable.  Got to try the "scallop" pie at Banjo's Bakery Cafe.  Free wifi at the city hall.

Burnie

We were tendered into the port of Eden.  There was a small local market set up for the cruise ship passengers near by.  Eden also had a shuttle bus to take the passengers into town.  Eden is small & walkable.  We visited the Killer Whale Museum which was ok.  Free wifi at the city library.

Eden (Australia)

Whenever a cruise ship is in town, a local market is set up about a 5 minute or so walk away, from where the ships are docked.  It's like a park like setting for people to enjoy.  The locals makes this as an excuse to enjoy their day here.  Very friendly people here.  

This is where the "terrible" rating arises.  It should be noted that most if not all stores in Gladstone, for all intent & purposes are closed on Sunday, the day which we happened to dock.  To sell us a $30 pp shuttle bus ticket to a closed town is unbelieveable.  Holland America ought to have known that Gladstone for all intent & purposes is closed on Sunday and should have advised their passengers accordingly.

It was ok for a taste of their local cultural event.

It was ok to meet & visit with the locals.  It was interesting, but I did not enjoy that they'd expect you to buy things from them or pay them when you take photos of them or their things.  An uneasy feeling...just saying.

Kiriwina (Papua New Guinea)

This involved a city highlight bus tour, along with a 2 hour luncheon cruise on the Brisbane River.  OK lunch & a nice peaceful cruise on the river.  Good view of the city skyline & riverfront from the water.

We experienced the rainforest by gliding over its canopy by gondola; had a guided rainforest tour on an army duck vehicle, interacted with more kangaroos, seen more koalas, a crocodile & other native animals; watched aboriginal performances & tried throwing a boomerang.
Overall, this was a better than average excursion, Good.

Again, I found the service at the Lido & in the dining room to be very good.I found the service to be very good.

Noordam Review

Our longest cruise yet with an old reliable friend.

Rating by category

Additional details

Cabin Review

Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom

Port Reviews