Journalist Ruth Taber currently is on board an 11-day cruise aboard Oosterdam and will be blogging throughout her voyages. Fifty-five years ago the s.s. Statendam left Hoboken, N.J. on the first “Grand World Voyage” – and fifty-five years ago today, January 26, 1958, my “best friend” and I tied the knot in NYC. What better… read more of “Cruise Diary:…”
If you’ve been following my blog, you will know that we had a bit of a diversion and a change in the order of our ports en route to our first port of call, Port Vila on the island of Efate which is one of Vanuatu’s 83 islands. Three days after sailing from Sydney, we… read more of “Vantage:…”
Last month in Tauranga, New Zealand, 11 crew members from the Oosterdam went on a crew tour to the Hobbiton Movie Set where the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were filmed. Everyone had a great time. Joe Reina is Oosterdam’s human resources manager.
We invited our Facebook fans to share with us their “Favorite HAL Ship of 2012.” Here are some more of the stunning entries. Thanks to all for sharing! This photo was taken of the Oosterdam in Apia, Samoa. My husband and I took the transpacific crossing from Vancouver to Sydney to celebrate our 25th wedding… read more of “Facebook Fans Share…”
Turnaround day in Sydney following a sad farewell to new-found friends last night, but with the spectre of new friends being made over our next sector, a 10-day jaunt to New Caledonia and Vanuatu, apparently with a tropical cyclone (Frieda) thrown in. No worries, our path to these South Pacific jewels has been altered to… read more of “A (Short) Day in…”
See ya, New Zealand … we’re off towards Sydney. Seas relatively flat, almost cloudless sunshine, and an auspicious start to our two much sought-after relaxing days at sea. Phew! What a busy New Zealand cruise sector it’s been! Racing here, racing there, meeting up with friends, seeing new places (even for an 18-year Kiwi veteran),… read more of “Reflections –…”
We invited our Facebook fans to share with us their “favorite HAL Ship of 2012.” Here are some of the stunning entries. Thanks to all for sharing!
We New Zealanders often think of New Zealand as two separate countries, divided by the Bombay Hills which are located just south of Auckland: “North of the Bombays” and “South of the Bombays.” Quite frankly, Auckland is a different place for us who live South of the Bombays — in the “rest” of New Zealand…. read more of “North of the…”
