stickey_mouse

55 minutes ago, Korimako said:

Here's a link to a government website.

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/extending-support-covid-19-elimination-strategy-june-2022

 

 

Thanks. I remain optimistic that by early next year, all vaccinated travelers will be allowed to travel to New Zealand. If not, then something went horribly wrong, such as ineffective vaccines or uncontrolled virus mutations. Time will tell. 

1 hour ago, cruisin'teach said:

1.Antarctica - have done it 3 times!

2. Norway and the North Cape 

3. Baltics and Scandinavia

4. South Pacific and WW2 sites

5. New Zealand and Australia

 

Just curious, how would you compare the fjords in Chile, Norway, New Zealand, and Alaska? Which are the best?

5 minutes ago, Jolokia said:

Sticky Mouse, I did option "b"  a few years ago on the Maasdam in January. Crossing the Tasman Sea can be a bit rough. The winds blow from New Zealand towards Tasmania/Australia. We had some 2 rough days at sea. I would not want to cross into the wind, that is from Australia to New Zealand.

That cruise was great. I have looked at the Feb 3, 2022 from Auckland, may wait until 2023. As a note, you may want to spend a few days in Auckland and in Sydney.

I see you are from St Louis, I am in Alton. John.

 

Thanks! I am from So. Il originally. Good to have someone in the area. I’ll let you know if we end up going down under, and you can join our group. We’re a nice bunch. 

18 minutes ago, Korimako said:

It's highly unlikely any of these itineraries which have a NZ destination will happen. Our borders are to remain closed to international travellers until at least 2022. Only returning Kiwis are being allowed in and they have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival. 

All of these itineraries are for 2022. God help us all if this is still true in February 2022. 

56 minutes ago, tuolumne couple said:

1. Panama Canal (west to east).

2. Hawaii (round trip from San Diego more than 14 days (18 days).

3. Caribbean, round trip 14-15 days  (not a back to back).

4.Panama Canal (east to west) yes I know, it seems the same but , honestly, it's not...

5. Caribbean back to back but longer than 14 days (16-18 days).

 

of course, my wife does not like the B2B, and she always says that her favorite itinerary is the one she hasn't sailed on yet...

 

 

Ok, I have to ask, why is west to east better?

I see so much love for South America. Tell me, is the Chile to Argentina route worth it, even without the extended trip down to Antarctica? Or is the part to Antarctica what makes it? 

Since we cannot cruise right now, let's have some fun and think back on the good ol' days. 🙂 I consider the contributors on this HAL board to be very well traveled, and I really value your feedback.

What are the "Top 5" itineraries on which you have sailed?

Please rank them in order (#1 being the best/winner). Please only include itineraries that are 21-days or less (world tours would obviously be the best, so please refrain, or at least tell us the best "leg" of it). Likewise, for B2B cruises, please break them up and rate separately. 

Hello! I have just begun looking into Australia/New Zealand (early 2022) as a possible alternative to last summer's cancelled cruise to Norway (sadly, I haven't found any comparable Norway itineraries yet). Holland America is currently offering the following itineraries, roughly priced the same. Which would you choose, and why? I assume the one-ways (A & B) are preferred (less sea days)? Also, any preference of starting in Sydney vs. Auckland? Any general comments about the itineraries are also welcome. Thank you!

 

ITINERARY A:

Date	Port	Arrival Time	Departure Time
Jan 20, 2022	Sydney, Australia	--	5:00 pm
Jan 21, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Jan 22, 2022	Burnie, Tasmania	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Jan 23, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Jan 24, 2022	Hobart, Australia	8:00 am	11:00 pm
Jan 25, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Jan 26, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Jan 27, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Jan 27, 2022	Milford Sound, New Zealand	8:00 am	9:00 am
Jan 28, 2022	Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand	8:00 am	4:00 pm
Jan 29, 2022	Picton, New Zealand	1:00 am	6:00 pm
Jan 30, 2022	Christchurch, New Zealand	8:00 am	7:00 pm
Jan 31, 2022	Wellington, New Zealand	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Feb 1, 2022	Napier, New Zealand	8:00 am	2:00 pm
Feb 2, 2022	Tauranga, New Zealand	8:00 am	7:00 pm
Feb 3, 2022	Auckland, New Zealand	7:00 am	--

 

ITINERARY B:

Date	Port	Arrival Time	Departure Time
Feb 3, 2022	Auckland, New Zealand	--	5:00 pm
Feb 4, 2022	Tauranga, New Zealand	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Feb 5, 2022	Gisborne, New Zealand	8:00 am	3:00 pm
Feb 6, 2022	Wellington, New Zealand	9:00 am	6:00 pm
Feb 7, 2022	Christchurch, New Zealand	7:00 am	7:00 pm
Feb 8, 2022	Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Feb 9, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Feb 10, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Feb 11, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Feb 12, 2022	Hobart, Australia	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Feb 13, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Feb 14, 2022	Burnie, Tasmania	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Feb 15, 2022	Melbourne, Australia	8:00 am	6:30 pm
Feb 16, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Feb 17, 2022	Sydney, Australia	7:00 am	--

 

ITINERARY C :

 

Date	Port	Arrival Time	Departure Time
Jan 5, 2022	Sydney, Australia	--	5:00 pm
Jan 6, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Jan 7, 2022	Hobart, Australia	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Jan 8, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Jan 9, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Jan 10, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Jan 10, 2022	Milford Sound, New Zealand	7:00 am	8:00 am
Jan 11, 2022	Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Jan 12, 2022	Lyttelton (Christchurch), New Zealand	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Jan 13, 2022	Wellington, New Zealand	8:00 am	4:00 pm
Jan 14, 2022	Napier, New Zealand	7:00 am	2:00 pm
Jan 15, 2022	Tauranga, New Zealand	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Jan 16, 2022	Auckland, New Zealand	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Jan 17, 2022	Cruising	7:00 am	2:00 pm
Jan 18, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Jan 19, 2022	Cruising	--	--
Jan 20, 2022	Sydney, Australia	6:00 am	--

 

I'm also looking into the Australia to New Zealand itinerary. So many options!!

1 hour ago, iancal said:

We always wanted to do this cruise.  Until we spent five winters in Thailand, with trips to Cambodia and Vietnam.   We realized how very much we would miss in those countries by doing a cruise or by doing a quick cruise tour.

 

A Japan cruise is on our bucket list.

 

The OP was right about the  flight times.  It is 18 hours straight for us to Singapore.   23 hours to Bangkok with at least on stop.   Long way to go for 14 days.  We typically go for 2 months in our winter.

Thanks. I’m only asking about the quality of the itinerary. I understand it will miss much of the sights, but that’s true for virtually any cruise to land comparison. And as for the comments regarding the long travel times- I am aware. But I am a 36 year old professional who can’t be away for 6 weeks at a time. Congratulations to all who can afford to be away like that, but I am not one of them. Thanks for the comment, though. 

7 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

I am not sure what the OP means by 14 day far east discovery.  The Noordam is taking 14 day Far East cruises constantly from October, 2021 to April, 2022 when she does a repositioning to Vancouver.  The first part, til February is mostly Southeast Asia and after that is Northern Asia, mostly around Japan.  We are taking a back to back to back starting 14 February, mainly because we prefer cruising around Japan to cruising around Vietnam and Thailand and we are also of the opinion if you are going to fly across the Pacific, don't do it for a short cruise.

Ray

 

I would probably prefer Japan as well, as it's a country I'm dying to visit. However, I can only go early in the season, and I'm worried it might be too chilly. Plus, does one get a pretty thorough overview of Japan from a cruise? Just wondering. 

7 minutes ago, kazu said:

 I understand what Kirk is saying as even though we can’t/won’t cruise as long as him I won’t even go to Europe unless we are staying close to a month.  It doesn’t have to be on the cruise completely.  It can be a stay as you are talking about.

It’s just it’s a long travel time (we are in the middle of nowhere so connections) so when we go we want to make it worthwhile.

14 days will fly by - especially with the ports you have.  If you can explore your pre and post cruise port in depth before and after your cruise I think it will be worthwhile.

 

I get it- vacations always fly by. But a month-long trip is out of the question for us. And that's a shame you won't go to Europe for less than a month- it's not that far! 

1 minute ago, KirkNC said:

Personally we would not fly that far round trip for a cruise that was only 14 days.  I understand that others would.  We are retired so we have the luxury of time and our cruises to that area are much longer.  For example, in May of 2022 we will fly to Tokyo for a cruise but the cruise is 90 days with disembarkation in Lisbon.

 

Congratulations. 

2 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

My comments would be that it’s a long way to travel to and from for a 14 day cruise.

I guess I don't quite understand your comment. There would be days before and after the cruise, most likely. But 14 days seems long to us; the longest we've ever done was 10 nights. 

Hello,

 

I would like opinions on HAL’s 14-day Far East Discovery itinerary (Singapore to Hong Kong). Did you enjoy it? How does it rate compared to the other 14 (or so) day Asian itineraries? Thanks!

Does anybody have any experience or opinion on the partial Panama canal cruises? I am considering the 11-night itinerary on the Eurodam for next January or February. Is partial entry into the canal even worth it? What about the late arrival in Aruba and early departure in Cartagena- is there time to enjoy them? Any opinion or critique of the itinerary is welcome. The 11-night itinerary is below. Thank you!
 

What about Skjolden vs Eidfjord? Doesn't seem to be much draw to either? 

 
 July 11 onboard the Reflection includes Geiranger

I think I’d still prefer the 8 night. We can take a day trip to Geiranger from Alesund.

Unfortunately, my group's Norwegian Fjord itinerary, set to sail next summer, was cancelled (Holland America). I am considering, as a replacement, an 8-night itinerary on the Celebrity Reflection. The itinerary is as follows:

 

Amsterdam

Flam

Alesund

Skjolden

Olden

Bergen

Amsterdam

 

Any thoughts on this itinerary? I really wanted to go to Geiranger but figure we can do a day trip from Alesund. We previously sailed on the Silhouette and enjoyed it very much. Does the extra deck on the Reflection make it noticeably more crowded?

 

Thanks!

1 minute ago, Ine said:

That depends how long your ship will be in Alesund and if you will have plenty of time.

 

I believe it's 11 or 12 hours.

1 minute ago, Ine said:

Sailing into or from Alesund is by far not as great as sailing into/from Geiranger.

 

I'm sorry, I should have been more clear. From Alesund, you can get a private excursion on a smaller boat that sails to and from Geiranger. It's a day trip, from Alesund.

Geiranger by far is the most beautiful sailing into and from the fjord. So any sailing with Geiranger as stop it the best! https://www.fjordnorway.com/geiranger

I think we can get a ‘private’ sailing in and out of Geiranger from Alesund, a stop in Itinerary B. So I’m not sure Geiranger automatically wins in this case.

Just thinking out loud here. Technically, if I wanted to do both Geiranger and Flam, I could get to Geiranger via the port stop in Alesund in Itinerary B, but there is little chance of getting to Flam from any of the Itinerary A ports. Thus, Itinerary B wins out, if Flam and Geiranger are priorities (I still need to do some more research to determine if this is true). 

19 minutes ago, frankh1969 said:

Have they posted the dates for these cruises in June or July?

 

Not yet. Itinerary A will replace our June 6 itinerary and still leave on June 6, 2021. 

35 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

Of the two itineraries you mentioned, I would choose #1.  Why?  Because of the visit to Geiranger.  Tours up into the mountains are memorable; sailing through the fjord past the Seven Sisters Waterfall, very scenic.

 

Flam has its own attractiveness as a port.  During my North Cape cruise, both were on the itinerary and I really enjoyed both equally.  

 

 

Thank you. Could Itinerary B possibly make up ground if we plan a day trip to Geiranger for our day in Alesund?