South Pacific - Australia Cruise Reviews

The buffet dinning area - most of the meat items were over cooked and dry as a bone- people came early to get good seats and stayed long after eating making it difficult to enjoy dinning. Many food items (left-over) are served the next day in a different fashion.  There was no mention of Alcohol limited to bring on board in either your info or Holland America's info until we were in Auckland so several bottles were removed from our luggage and returned at the end of the cruise.  The was a 15% surcharge on all drinks purchased on board, $4.00 for a bottle of water (crazy)!!! Not piping most of the announcements into the staterooms made it hard to keep current. Visa for Australia was to be $35.00 on board purchase there was an additional $16.70 fee for New Zealand???  Several ports we had to pay for transportation to the city center.  Holland America has to step up to the plate.  I have been on many river and ocean cruises where you can bring alcohol   on board and they save free beer and wine at all meals and water is always free!! Thanks but no more on this cruise line!!!

The cruise is basically transportation to the various populated destinations but one stop blew us away - sailing into Milford Sound.  That was worth the price of the ticket itself!  Absolutely breathtaking!   We loved visiting all the New Zealand cities too - wonderful country and friendly people!

We were very disappointed with the "night life" on board the ship.  HA caters to an older customer (like us) but the total lack of dancing opportunities on board was horrendous.

My daughter needed a vegan diet and the chefs really provided good food for her.  This is always a problem for us traveling away from home.  This made our whole cruise experience great.  While the weather was not quite as good on our trip as expected we had no real problem with the rough seas we experienced.  Mother Nature can not totally be controlled or predicted and definitely some on our cruise suffered from sea sickness.  The Noordam had a very good acupuncture specialist on board who is capable of providing relief to this malady.  I bought his services for other maladies and was very satisfied.  Holland America has provided this type service on other cruises and I really appreciate that.  

We also really enjoyed the Noordam Singers and Dancers shows and also Clara Helms, a great singer.  Anna and Svetlana played beautiful music several times a night in one of the lounges so we were able to enjoy great music most nights.

service was always excellent

shows also very good

 this tip the ship lost power. we gut stuck in the open sea,had to get towed back to Melbourne for repair, lost to much time to complete the cruise as originally was planed. 

I have no problem with the Captain or the crew of the ship. We had very nice accommodations, great service, entertainment and excellent food. The problem lies with who made the decision to keep sailing with a ship that had half of its propulsion system working. We were notified a day before we flew to Sydney that the ship would only be traveling at half speed and would be late arriving at Melbourne with an overnight, no stop in Tasmania (big disappointment). We made it to Melbourne as promised. Then things went south, broke down at sea some 12-15 hours after leaving Melbourne, waited for a tow back to Melbourne (24+ hours). We only visited two ports out of seven and one we visited twice (Melbourne). After the propulsion system was fixed they made a 'b line' to Auckland, NZ the final stop. NCL said we will be fully refunded for the cruise which I haven't received an email stating so? Also offered 50% of what was paid for this cruise to apply on our next cruise. All of this is nice, but a lot of other expenses went into this trip of a lifetime, airfare, hotels and restaurants, not to mention shuttle service and taxi's. I have no proof but I think this was a corporate decision made by NCL to keep this ship sailing and the ships crew was caught in the middle of this poor decision. We were fortunate we weren't further out to sea when the ship broke down. The two star rating has no reflection of the Captain or crew, only of corporate.

I believe this ship is not clean.  I was not sick when I boarded the ship, but by day 4 I was very sick.  So were so many of us.  Four years ago on this same ship I saw employees cleaning everywhere - hand rails, elevator buttons, elevator doors, and I saw purell dispensers everywhere too. Not this time.  It did not seem as clean; the attention to detail in the service was different.  3 of our party saw the onboard doctor.  i had brought antibiotics with me, but am still sick.  two of our party are going to the doctor tomorrow.  I went today.  There is something wrong.  Many people complained of being sick.  People coughed and hacked constantly in the elevators and in the buffet dining room.  Not good.

Because of the small size of the ship you soon were able to make acquaintances. We choose to mostly eat in the white table cloth dining area and utilized the same waiters/servers. We had outstanding service, food and complimentary wine (your glass never went empty unless you refused a refill). Food and selections were great. We utilized the ships tours about 60% of the time and did our own arrangements the other 40%. The tours we went of were worthwhile. The only thing which didn't work very well was the internet service when we were at sea. It was better to down load your emails etc. when you were in port. We liked the 3rd floor because it was close to the lounge where we could get wake up coffee (no pot in the room) and listen to entertainment when we wanted. Dress was mainly casual and dress suits were not mandatory even on captains night even though most people dressed up. Overall loved the cruise and would recommend it to others.

Background - My wife and I have cruised 12 times throughout the world. We live in Texas. We pick our cruises based upon the destination and ports. We do not like “days at sea” and we use cruises to see new places, in a short amount of time.

I was looking for a cruise that sailed around New Zealand but I did not want a cruise that crossed the Tasman Sea from Australia. Ponant was the only luxury cruise line that had such an itinerary. The cruise started in Auckland and ended in Milford Sound (and then to Queenstown). Prior to booking this cruise I had never heard of Ponant and the reviews on various sites were not great.  Here is my attempt to give more information.

Pre and post cruise hotels – We did not buy the Pre or Post cruise hotel options from Ponant. However, we stayed in the same hotels as these packages and arranged our own transportation to/from the ship, at a fraction of the cost. We stayed pre-cruise at the Sofitel Viaduct Harbor in Auckland. This Sofitel is a very nice hotel located right near the harbor area. We were able to take walking tours of the city, the wharf and the museums. Our cab ride to the ship took about 5 minutes.

Embarkment – Once we arrived at the ship, within the check-in window of 4 to 5 pm, we were escorted directly to the gangway. We had our photo taken at the entrance to the ship and were handed our cabin card. They did not even ask for a credit card imprint. We were escorted directly to our cabin and our bags arrived almost immediately. This was the easiest embarkment we have ever had.

Ship – The L’Austral can hold as many as 250 passengers. On this trip there were approximately 200 passengers and 140 crewmembers. The ship is small but seemed to have very good stabilizers, when we hit rough waters. The ship had a small pool with padded lounge chairs, a fitness center with very nice views, and several viewing decks. In addition, the Captain maintained an “open bridge” policy. If the sign was green on the door to the bridge, you were welcome to come in and watch.  The ship is French. The Captain and his direct reports were almost all from France. When the ship would make announcements, the first announcement was in French and the second was in English. About ½ of the passengers were Americans. About ¼ were French.  The remaining crewmembers were from all over the world, consistent with every other cruise line. Internet is available throughout the ship at a price per minute. The internet service was very slow and did not work very well, if at all. You would be better off going to cafes on shore and get free internet.

Activities and children’s club – The ship had a small library and card room plus a couple of bars fore and aft. We spent most of our daylight hours on shore so we did not participate in any of the activities. The ship had a small children’s area. On our cruise there were zero children on board.

Service – Our cabin steward was excellent. Our cabin was very clean and he was very timely. We never came back from a meal or excursion and found him working on the room.  Our servers in the dining room were also excellent. They were very friendly and would know us by name.

 Dining – The ship has two dining areas. The main dining room is on deck #2 and can accommodate all passengers. The dining room on deck #6 always had a buffet set-up for the meals. This dining room could not hold all the passengers so reservations were required. We ate 100% of our dinners in the main dining room. In the main dining room, it was “open” seating. You could sit anywhere you liked. Sometimes we ate with others and sometimes just the 2 of us. Dinner service started at 7:00 each night but often we wouldn’t arrive until 7:30 or 8:00. Not a problem. Breakfast was served buffet-style in both dining rooms although you could also order eggs and omelets, as preferred. The dinners were French cuisine. At each meal you had a choice of 3-4 entrees. You could also order a generic steak, chicken or fish dish also. The only time selection was limited to one entrée was on the Captain Welcome dinner and the Captain’s Gala dinner. For these two dinners, they suggested coats and ties. The entrée was lamb one night and beef filet the 2nd night. There was always a vegetarian option.  If you like French food and cuisine, this ship will thrill you. My wife loved the food. Personally, I would have preferred simple meat, potatoes and vegetables. The chocolate desserts were wonderful. Each night 8 lucky guests were able to eat at the Captain’s table. We assumed these “lucky” guests were the high-rollers in the Owners Suites. Much to our surprise, on the 6th night of the cruise, we returned to our 4th level cabin and were invited to eat at the Captain’s Table – What a wonderful man and a very special evening.

Cabin – Most of the cabins are balcony cabins. The majority of the cabins are approximately 200 sq. ft., not including the small balcony. As others have mentioned, the toilet is in a small room, by itself. In the next small room is the shower and sink. In the main part of the cabin is the bed and a chair. The balcony has 2 small chairs and a small table. On most ships, we try to book cabins approx. 300 sq. ft. On this ship, that was not an option. You went from the 200’ cabin to the large suites. The cost of the cabins increases slightly as you go higher on the ship but the cabins are the same size whether on 4, 5 or 6. Try to get a cabin in the middle or towards the front for the best ride. On this itinerary, we traveled in a clock-wise direction so you really needed an “odd #” cabin (starboard side). Get “even” (port side) if taking in reverse.

Entertainment – I never book a cruise for the entertainment value. This ship had 4 dancers and 2-3 singers. We did not go to any of the main evening performances. The theatre is small but could accommodate all passengers.

Ports and excursions – We had $500 of shipboard credit and we used our credit on 2 shore excursions. The cruise line offered 2-3 excursions per port. The excursions were well selected but very pricey. If we did not have the shipboard credit, we probably would have arranged all of our tours ourselves. I have reviewed the ports in more detail in the Port Review section. Here are the highlights:

Tauranga – Took a tour to Rotorua arranged via Zealander. We ended-up as the only guests so we got a very personal tour. Saw geysers, Rotorua Lake area, Redwoods, waterfalls, Kiwi farm and Maori show.

Napier – Took a Whirlwind Tour arranged with Hawkes Bay Scenic Tours. Once again, we were the only guests so our tour was private. We saw all the sites of Napier and had a wine tasting at Mission winery.

Wellington – We rode the Red Cable Car and then did our own walking tour of the city.

Picton – This was the first shore excursion booked from the ship. Their vendor was Cougar Tours. We had a boat ride across the harbor and were dropped-off for a guide-led hike along a portion of the Queen Charlotte track. Very nice!

Akaroa – We booked the “Swim with Dolphins” from Black Cats. The bay has Hector dolphins. We did see the dolphins but the water was too rough to swim with them. They refunded a portion of our cost.

Dunedin – This was the 2nd excursion arranged from the ship. The tour took us, by bus, to the Ortago Peninsula. On this peninsula, we saw nesting Albatrosses, nesting penguins and many very young, baby seals. A great wildlife area!

Disembarkment and Queenstown – The cruise ended at Milford Sound. Milford Sound is a beautiful area in the fiords of the South Island. We met the bus at 7:30 which was earlier than we expected from the printed material (which said 9:00). Disembarkment was no problem. The cruise fare included bus service to Queenstown. In Queenstown, we stayed at the St. Moritz hotel. This boutique hotel is located within walking distance to the CBD. Queenstown is a very vibrant area with many adventurous activities. We took the gondola to the top of the mountain and hiked some trails at the top.

Summary ----  Overall, we enjoyed this cruise very much. The itinerary was great and I would cruise with Ponant again.  In particular, we enjoyed the small size of the ship.

First time to ever go on a cruise and fortunately for me, it was with Holland America.  I never felt so pampered, felt so special, and so taken care of than while I was on board the MS Noordam, from waiters to cabin boys, the front desk staff and the whole sailng crew. 

Need more entertainment shows!

While it is difficult to select a "favorite" part of the cruise, perhaps the most impressive part was the precision and timeliness with which every operation was handled. Typically short and rapidly moving lines, baggage at the cabin door or airport entrance promptly, excursion bus in place and on time, etc.

Radiance of the Seas is a wonderful ship.  Not too big.  Not too small.  The decor was recently updated and is very nice.  The dining experience in the Windjammer (casual, cafeteria style) was very good.  The food was as good or better than the main dining room, without the hassle of having to dress-up.  The food in the main dining room was fine, except the steaks are underwhelming.

Entertainment was very good, except for the comedians (perhaps the Australian humor is not our style - rough language).  The musicians in both the theater and in the assorted lounges are outstanding!

Embarkation and disembarkation in Sydney can be inconvenient when the ship requires tendering (whenever the Ovation is in port), but provided the benefit of an equivalent harbor tour (at no extra charge).  

The ports of call are wonderful.  We will return!!!!

Enjoyed the cruise very much.  I've been on Celebrity Solstice so I knew my way around already.  I usually book Conceirge level. but didn't seem to receive priority boarding like last time.  Workers on ship very nice, fun and always polite. 

This was an amazing trip. So many beautiful sights to see as well as one welll run ship. Although I never personally met the captain, his humor and leadership were evident from his daily posts As well as the wonderful crew. I have cruised many times before and this one was a notch above all others.  We enjoyed our time on and off the ship. Visiting the shire where lord of the rings was filmed amazed all, the rough ride to the seal colony was worth every bump. We did the overnight excursion to Queenstown. I was a bit Leary of leaving the ship and missing the pass  through dusky sound, but it was worth it. Our night in Queenstown was fabulous we traveled via an old steam encgine boat to a working farm. Where we we treated to yet another wonderful buffet with the beat foood. Slow cooked pork, lame chicken etc was amazing.  We saw a sheep sheared and enjoyed seeing their sheep dogs inaction.  We traveled into Milford sound on a day that rained 9.5 inches. This led to seeing rainbows on the water as well in the distant mountains   By our last trip off the bus we were drenched and cold. The rain provided us with spectacular water falls that made it all worth it.  A bit of an adventure waiting for the cruise ship to pick us back up, made for another adventure just getting back on in all the wind and rain. We were welcome with towels and hot chocolate. The food aboard the ship as well as off was excellent. This is a great trip and highly recommended. 

The overall experience was extremely positive but then we got very lucky and fortunate which improves everything. We were assigned a table of six for the early seating. We ended up with two other couples who we had so much fun with that the highlight of each day was having dinner with them.  The cruise was under booked with about 550 guests. They had about 480 staff and crew on board so you could not move far without someone helping you or serving you. Food was excellent in all aspects of the club. We did not do Prego or Silk Road much as we wanted to enjoy our friends in the main dining room. Those two places were very good as well. The Lido Cafe for breakfast/lunch was exceptional. Trident Grill makes an excellent hamburger. Most of our excursions were cultural in nature and we found them very informative and enjoyable. Others on board had excursions that they felt less positive about. I really thought the "at sea" lecture series to be one of the highlights of the cruise. What fantastic people sharing their experiences. The evening entertainment was also very good especially the show "Imagination". Thee were some "hiccups" at times but in a three week cruise this can be considered inevitable. Some friends had less positive experiences in terms of services rendered and excursion availability but these were more exceptions rather than normal practices. Overall ships comfort was impressive. Some rough sea days (10 feet + seas) made walking about interesting but not impossible. Stabilizers did an impressive job!!! I would be happy to take a Crystal Cruise again. I am not sure I would fly 20 hours to do so.

Rough weather prevented a full port experience. Regent Operations screwed up the pre-cruise package so air package was sub par. My advice, NEVER trust Regent to make the air arrangements. Do the air deviations. One of the excursions was cancelled. Others were rushed. Frustrating. Cruise ship credits were worthless unless you were a spa freak. Clothing selections were very poor. What was on hand was good quality and fairly priced. Food was OK and service was excellent. Cabin was very nice and Steward tried his best. Luggage arriving three days into the cruise didn't help. Movie selection great but TV channel selection was very poor. 

Loved the staff on the ship. Everyone was friendly and they did an exceptional job accommodating some special requests and making up for a cabin issue we had (see cabin review). The service was truly beyond reproach! 

We were unable to make it until Akaroa (Christchurch) due to rough weather, so that was disappointing but probably not their fault (some other passengers questioned whether or not we really needed to cancel that port, or if they were just trying to save money, but we'll never know). 

By today's standards, the ship was a bit small, old, and unimpressive. However, it was clean, nice-looking enough, and easy to navigate around. Just not one of these mega huge, modern ships. The only thing I was a little disappointed in was the on-board entertainment. With the exception of one or two great performers and/or activities, most of it was pretty poor. We went for the ports and excursions though so it wasn't too bad. It just made the at sea days a bit boring. 

Also, be aware that the reputation Holland America has for catering to an older crowd is very true. The average age on the ship was about 65-75. We were very much in the minority, being in our 40's. But again, we were there for the excursions and ports, so this wasn't a big issue for us. 

After a very tiring flight, we got on board and discovered a very well worn room.  There was no place to plug in our CPAPs for sleeping.  We had informed the cruise line that this was necessary.  Our cabin steward had to get an extension cord and tape it across the floor.  The bathtub was peeling and very difficult to get in and out of.  The crew was very nice and we enjoyed meeting so many interesting people.  The docking for the ship was far from the communities and required a bus ride or shuttle to get to anything.  We loved our tours and I particularly enjoyed going into the bush to see kangaroos and koalas.  For anyone planning to go, give yourself an extra day or two at the beginning of the cruise to be over jet lag by the actual departure day.

One comment:  We were given vouchers for $500 each for the next cruise, which expire May 2018.  We signed on for a next cruise on board - London to Stockholm, which starts in June ! Any suggestions ?

 As very experienced cruisers with close to 30 past cruises we Definitely would NOT recommend  this ship to anyone.  The best part was of our trip

getting offf the ship halfway through the cruise.  Most attractions were either closed or broken most of the time.  On the rare occasions that things were operating the lines were long and the experience very short and disappointing.  We were told that we would be dining in a different themed restaurant every night and this was not the case.   No steam or sauna in the locker rooms.   A very small, very poorly designed thermal suite was available at a pricey additional charge and often times the steam room was broken.   It is also a coed facility.  Mattresses were hard and no supplemental padding was available.   Most entertainment  was fair at best and often canceled and rescheduled.   Ports of call canceled which left many sea days with nothing to do as there were no real activities offered other than gambling and sales pitch type of seminars in the spa.  Outdoor decks were often CLOSED due to poor weather.   Ifly, Northstar, flow rider, walking tracks etc. all located on outdoor decks and not accessible.  Flowrider not operating properly much of trip and when operating correctly & when operating  staff arrived late and quit early most of the time most of the time.  Staff also lost key to basketball hoops and bumper cars.   We were told there is only one key which is really hard to believe.   Much difficulty with the spa when trying to book appointments.   We attempted to rectify many situations by discussing with upper management and things only got worse.    We have never before left a cruise halfway through but things were so bad that we decided to disembark the day before Christmas Eve and attempt to make other arrangements to salvage  what was left of our vacation.  

From the start everything was very good organized. As always, room was great, service - excellent, dining - very good, excursion - all "A+".

We are glad we sailed this cruise.