ATLANTIS Auckland to Sydney Feb. 2010

Just found out from Rich Campbell while I am aboard the Serenade of the Seas that he has signed a contract with HAL for this itinerary starting mid-Feb. 2010 and ending in Sydney for Mardi Gras at the end of February. This is definite and details will go to alumni via e-mail in Dec. The ship is the Volendam. Also there will be 2 back to back cruises on the Azamara Quest starting on March 20, 2010 in Shanghai. Each cruise is 10 days. First cruise covers China and Japan. Second cruise covers Viet Nam, Bangkok, Singapore.

More details later.

Jay aboard the Serenade in Cabo

Thank you

You made my day :rolleyes:

I was looking at all my options to go to NZ in 2010 andin so doing checked all the ships down under. I spotted the Volendams itinerary and saw that one of the cruises terminated in Sydney. Since Atlantis is starting to use HAL this coming year in the Baltic and heaven knows RSVP has a long history with HAL......chartering them seemed like a no brainer. Watch how hast this ship fills up.

Ship: ms Volendam

Ports of Call: Auckland, New Zealand; Tauranga (Rotorua) New Zealand; Napier, New Zealand; Wellington, New Zealand; Picton, New Zealand; Christchurch, New Zealand; Dunedin, New Zealand; Fiordland Natl Park Westbound; Burnie, Tasmania, Australia; Melbourne, Australia; Sydney, Australia

Departure Port: Auckland, New Zealand

Departure Dates: Feb 17, 2010

Now whether the cruise will be shortened and then use the ship as a hotel in Sydney remains to be seen...depending on the Mardi Gras schedule.

All I know is that this cruise gives me the chance to experience some of the extreme sports that the Kiwi's invented. Bungee jumping here I come wont need to hit the head for months afterwards:D .

I wonder if we can get Air New Zealand to doa pink flight for this cruise...heaven knows we can fill up a couple of planes.:p

When do I sign!:D :D :D

RMS Olympic

I expect a draft for all the extreme sports for Australia and New Zealand in a week on my desk:)

PS, RMS Olympic, on an Asia question I wanted to ask, do you know if we need visas for Vietnam for the Asia cruise? I read somewhere that if you take "ship" excursions you do not BUT I might not want to take ship excursiuons

I will comply with your demands as to the extreme sports as you will probably be the only one on board interested in doing the same...and the fact that I take orders as well as give them....so by the end of the week.

As to Asia.......looks like the viseas are done on board ship. The Azamara brochure states passengers should contact the Embassy for each country visited...this made no sense to me. So I looked over at the Parent Company..Rorayl Caribbean and this is what I found:

Q: Are there any special visa requirements for cruises to Cambodia and Vietnam?A: For Cambodia and Vietnam, ship personnel will assist each guest required to secure a visa for Cambodia and Vietnam and charge the guests onboard SeaPass account a one-time fee of twenty-eight ($28.00 USD) dollars for a Cambodia visa and twenty-five ($25.00 USD) dollars for a Vietnam visa. These visa fees include a small processing charge by our local representative.

All nationalities require visas for Vietnam with the following exceptions: Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway.

All nationalities require visas for Cambodia with the following exceptions: Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Laos.

Please Note: The following nationalities will find it extremely difficult to secure a visa for Vietnam and Cambodia, whether through us or by themselves; Pakistan, North Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq and Nigeria.

Please Note: As we will be arranging all visas on board the ship on arrival, immigration will not issue visas for those nationalities that do not require one. These nationalities will be exempt from the nominal visa charge.

So I will be confirming this with my TA tomorrow and will get back to you...but I would expect this policy applies to all ships touring in that area.

Before I forget...all this great service I am providing for you comes with a price.....BUNGEE JUMPING!:D or a basic black speedo......your choice:p

But of course RMS Olympic

Though the best bungee jumping is..... AU NATUREL:eek: :D

See you there

ps thanks for visa information

so what other details did Rich divulge about future cruises?

I checked today on the Holland America website and the Feb. 17 cruise from Auckland to Sydney on the Volendam is still listed as available for sale to the general public. With the present schedule it is a 14 day cruise that arrives in Sydney on March 3. Then the next Volendam cruise is scheduled to leave Sydney on March 3 for an extended voyage.

It has been two weeks since Rich Campbell announced that Atlantis had a signed contract for the mid-February cruise from Auckland on this ship so I am wondering why HAL is still selling it to the general public. I also wonder why the following regular cruise is still listed as departing on March 3. Could that mean that the ship will dock in Sydney for four days? It seems unlikely but I think the Mardi Gras parade is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 27. Something doesn't seem quite right with all this.

Any more info on this? I have always wanted to do a gay cruise in Australia.

I am not expecting anything anytime soon. If the contract has not been signed, then the state of the economy might put such a trip in jeopardy. I have seen cancellations poppong up on the internet for the 2009 line up so people are being impacted already.

I just hope that if there is going to be a NewZealand cruise the word gets out before February. I will be on the RSVP trip in feb on the Eurodam and wouldlook to book the following year if the is no down under cruise.

The Vancouver winter games are Feb. 12-28. A major conflict for some of us who get Olympic fever every couple of years!

But of course it won't keep my partner and me from taking this cruise, which sounds divine. Guess we'll just trust that the DVR can capture most of the competitions and pageantry. I always give myself a news blackout while on vacation anyway.

I realize that things can change drastically, especially with this economy, but I just wanted to reiterate what Rich Campbell said in October. According to his statement the contract with HAL for the Volendam had been signed and that alumni would be receiving an e-mail about booking this cruise sometime after Thanksgiving but most likely in December. Now I am not sure if that announcement will also include the 2010 Asia cruises but they are only three weeks after the end of the cruise in Sydney. I hope so because unless the piggy bank runs dry I'm thinking of booking Australia and Asia as sort of back to backs.

I'd love to do a local gay cruise.:)

They had a gay charter last year for 3 nights on a local ship, which was meant to be a 'regular' cruise. When it got to 500 for the group, the cruiseline thought it would be best if hte ship was chartered.

I guess we'll have to keep an eye out to see what happens.

Until the other day, the Feb. 17 2010 cruise from Auckland to Sydney that was supposedly chartered by Atlantis was still listed on the official HAL website as a regular cruise even though Rich Campbell said that he had a signed contract for the Volendam. Now it has been removed from the HAL site (even though it still appears on some online cruise agency sites) which is encouraging. What is not clear is the length of the cruise. The original HAL cruise was from Feb. 17 (Auckland) to March 3 (Sydney). The prior cruise from Sydney to Auckland is still listed as disembarking in Auckland on Feb. 17.

Rich Campbell has said several times that he limits the Atlantis cruises to a maximum of 10 days because this enables people to take only two weeks off from work and still allow for travel time. He is following this rule for the Asia cruises for 2009 and 2010. The schedule for this Atlantis cruise seems to be Feb. 17 to March 3 which is 15 days. Also, the original schedule had the cruise arriving in Sydney on March 3. However, if the ship is going to arrive in time for the Mardi Gras parade it must be in Sydney by Sat. Feb. 27. So, what happens with the extra four nights before the next cruise starts on March 3? That cruise is a very extended one (71 days ending in Vancouver) so I doubt that HAL would be willing to attempt to change the schedule of that cruise. All very interesting but it seems hopeful that the Australia/New Zealand Atlantis cruise will become a reality soon. Alumni should watch their e-mails for an announcement.

Your latest post gives me reason to think things through. My reason for going on a cruise in that region is to see New Zealand having already attended Mardi Gras. If the cruise were to be shortened and the ship to be a hotel for a 4 day period, I would opt out. As a hotel it would be expensive...I would spend no time on the ship and probably take meals out in town. The walk from Circular Quay isn't bad, but becomes an issue if you want to run back to your room periodically.

So I will wait and see......if the cruise is short I may consider the Pied Piper offereing in January on Princess...or even a straight cruise on my own. If touring is paramount, then all the gay trappings of on board festivities become unimportant to me in the big scheme of things.

Pricing might also be less with PP or doing it on my own...we shall see.

So thanks for the post..it provides food for thought.

Tom

Tom,

Any group, including Pied Piper and Atlantis, that has already tied themselves to a contractural price may wind up charging much more for this cruise than a cruise agency if the economy keeps falling. For instance, right now you can book the Volendam for Feb. 2009 on an internet agency site beginning at $1000 inside or $1200. outside - 14 days from Sydney to Auckland which is about a 70% discount. So if you don't care about Mardi Gras it might be a good idea to wait and see what happens with prices for 2010.

My partner and I want to plan at least five days of touring in New Zealand before boarding in Auckland and another five days after the cruise for touring Australia.

We also want to see about linking the Atlantis cruise in Australia with the two Atlantis cruises in Asia that begin about twenty days after the Australia cruise ends. This is just about the right amount of time to see a little bit of Australia and then fly to Singapore where on can easily reach Cambodia and Viet Nam before winding up in Shanghai by March 20 for the first Azamara Atlantis cruise. I'm now investigating "Circle Pacific" fares which are a great deal - cheaper than a simple round trip between the USA and Australia/New Zealand, epecially in business or first class which are an amazing bargain. Right now it's just planning but that is part of the fun.

Jay in Tucson

If the Sydney parade is Sat. 2/27, is that the last day of festivities in Sydney? Do most people party for several days up to the parade day, or does it continue for a few days later? If the ship would normally arrive March 3, it sounds like we'd have to have quite a few nights anchored in Sydney in order to make the parade date.

When Rich Campbell announced the Feb. 2010 New Zealand/Australia cruise which is now on the Volendam, he mentioned that he was able to get the schedule changed and it now has just become official on the HAL board.

The original Holland America itinerary had the ship arriving and leaving Sydney on March 3. Now the cruise following the Atlantis cruise will leave Sydney on Sunday February 28 which is in line with the Sydney Mardi Gras parade which I think will be February 27. This will mean that the Atlantis passengers will get to spend the night of the parade on the ship before having to disembark the next morning - meaning a lot of groggy fellas:p. Passengers who had booked the regular cruise on the Volendam starting March 3rd are commenting on what a good deal they have received now because they are leaving on February 28 instead. A few extra days of sailing without much extra cost. So it seems to be a win/win situation for all concerned. The itinerary on HAL still shows the Atlantis cruise leaving Auckland on February 17. This means that there will be eleven nights on the ship or what the cruise industry calls a 12 day cruise.

I keep waiting for the announcement by e-mail to Atlantis alumni. Also the announcement for the Asia 2010 cruises on Azamara.

Looking over the HAl itinerary...if I take ythe Feb 3 cruise and eliminate Tasmania and Melbourn that would get the ship into Sydney on the 27th for an over night for the parade. I could live without Tasmania as long as the New Zealand stops remain the same. But if New Zealand is short changed.....then I think I will consider the Pied Piper cruise.....its all about New Zealand for me.

The pricing will be of interest considering the economy although the ship is not that big to fill. But if a contract is already signed, backingout ofr Atlantis is no longer an option.

So I will wait and see what the true itinerary is and pricing before I get too excited. On the Asia cruise in March I am going to ask Rich Cambell if he is considering a "pink flight" with Air New Zealand like the one scheduled last year that was a complete sell out. With that many ship passengers, there would easily be enough passengers for one if not two planes. A 14 hour flight is a long time to be bored...been there and done that.

Thanks again for the update.

Tom

Tom,

I only see one Australian cruise on the Pied Piper website and it is taking place in Jan. 2009 on the Celebrity Millennium which will not be returning to Australia in 2010. The most intensive New Zealand itinerary of the ships sailing the Auckland/Sydney route seems to be on Rhapsody of the Seas which skips Tasmania and Melbourne in favor of more time around the Flordland National Park area.

when I look at their web site, I find a 12 night cruise on the Diamond Princess departing Sydney on Jan 4, 2010.

We'll sail from exciting, gay-friendly Sydney, Australia and visit Melbourne before winding up in Auckland, New Zealand!

Sorry Tom, you are correct. I didn't scroll down far enough! However it is a 12 day cruise and only half of that time is spent in New Zealand. It does include Melbourne and Tasmania but it is something to consider. I see that Pied Piper also has an Oasis of the Seas group forming in 2010. I wonder if the Diamond Princess itinerary is the same one that Atlantis will be using but in reverse. Prices look like they will be less than Atlantis but Pied Piper now has to eliminate the fuel surcharge that is listed at the bottom of the price list.

Jay in Tucson

Well of course I've been watching and hoping for this Australia cruise

Everything is always subject to change

But alas to dream, and ponder

1. But I am going to hope for Tasmania. I've always wanted to visit there (I have heard great things about its beauty - let alone its Tasmanian Devils)

2. And I laughed when I read

Now the cruise following the Atlantis cruise will leave Sydney on Sunday February 28 which is in line with the Sydney Mardi Gras parade which I think will be February 27. This will mean that the Atlantis passengers will get to spend the night of the parade on the ship before having to disembark the next morning - meaning a lot of groggy fellas:p.

Everybody will be partying all night - and then have to dash to get their bags out

3. and RMS Olympic - you are way too "sports oriented" for Pied Piper

Too sports oriented for Pied Piper? Does that mean the "typical" Pied Piper passenger is more sedentary?

Pied Piper would provide family dinner companions that would be a bonus but not a guarantee of compatibility. I had fixed second seating on the Solstice 2 weeks ago.......dinner a high point for me was way too quiet. One married couple from Canada did not speak English. One single guy ate quietly and provided yes and no answers. Another married couple from Canada were friendly but quiet. The remaining couple that were from The Villages in Florida were nice to talk to and kept me from staring at my plate the whole meal.

Tasmanian devils......really cool animals....something I can relate to in their tenacity.....and their shreaking.....I should learn to do that at just the right moment.:p

So the big question is Pied Piper on the Diamond Princess, Atlantis on the Vollendam or maybe a main stream cruise. Just so I can do some off the wall things in Kiwi Land.........Bungee, zorb, and who knows what else. Now shearing a sheep? I would prefer to trim the human bear species on the ship:D

But its this Asia cruise that I need to concentrate on and what excursions to do. Due to the countirs we are visiting I will probably stick with the ships offerings to play it safe. Now if I make New Zealand in 2010......independant tour operators to experience those activities I have in mind. An you will bungee........maybe you can do it in the buff:eek:

The Festival Guide for the 2009 Sydney Mardi Gras carries a full page ad from ATLANTIS for the following:

17 February - 28 February 2010 - Auckland to Sydney Cruise

on the VOLENDAM - carrying 1400 passengers.

The Mardi Gras Parade/Party 2010 is on Saturday 27 February.

This confirms what earlier writers have gleaned - and my travel agent is just a bit miffed that Atlantis will not provide any further information when it is 'out of the bag'.