{"id":14767,"date":"2018-11-29T21:06:14","date_gmt":"2018-11-30T02:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/?p=14767"},"modified":"2018-12-23T21:07:59","modified_gmt":"2018-12-24T02:07:59","slug":"m-s-amsterdam-sydney-australia-into-the-south-pacific-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/?p=14767","title":{"rendered":"M.S. Amsterdam: Sydney, Australia Into the South Pacific Ocean"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thursday – November 29, 2018<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, we moved from our hotel in Sydney onto the Holland America ship The M.S. Amsterdam. \u00a0The cruise ship began a \u201cGrand Asia & Pacific Voyage\u201d from Los Angeles two months ago. \u00a0It circled the western Pacific Ocean with stops in Russia, Japan, China, Viet Nam, Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia. \u00a0We joined the Amsterdam in Sydney for the last leg of its voyage across the South Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

The ship will make stops at the islands of New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Western Samoa, American Samoa, and Hawaii before ending its Grand Voyage in Los Angeles, California. \u00a0We had two days in Sydney’s port on board, so we explored the Amsterdam and settled in to our home-away-from-home for the next 25 days. \u00a0Here are some photos of the ship. \u00a0It\u2019s lovely. \u00a0There were several comfortable seating areas:<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

The Main Theater:<\/p>\n

\"DSC<\/p>\n

The Dining Room:<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

The Amsterdam is the smallest ship we\u2019ve ever sailed on, so it\u2019s quite cozy and easy to get around. \u00a0When we boarded, the woman at the registration desk told us that 150 passengers disembarked in Sydney and 70 new passengers embarked. \u00a0We later learned that there are only 805 passengers on board cruising from Sydney to Los Angeles with a crew of about 600.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

The weather deteriorated to strong winds and rain by the time The Amsterdam was ready to sail away from the dock on Wednesday evening. \u00a0Jeff and I sat by a rain-splattered window in \u201cThe Crow\u2019s Nest\u201d in the forward part of the ship as we sailed past Sydney Harbour. \u00a0We said our \u201cGoodbyes\u201d to the city we had enjoyed during the past two weeks.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

The wind increased and it was raining harder. \u00a0The Harbor Pilot was on board while two tugboats guided the Amsterdam out into the Tasman Sea. \u00a0When we cleared the last buoy, I saw the Pilot Boat struggling to get closer to our ship to collect the pilot. \u00a0Waves washed over the little boat and it rolled wildly side to side.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

We marveled at the talent and abilities of the driver of the Pilot Boat. \u00a0The Amsterdam, which was also rocking and rolling furiously, slowed its speed as much as possible, so the Pilot Boat could come alongside. \u00a0The driver tried unsuccessfully three times to get close to our ship. \u00a0A crewman was lashed to the deck of the Pilot Boat and finally with one quick maneuver, the smaller boat got close enough for the crewman to grab the Pilot and get him onboard. \u00a0They very quickly went below decks. \u00a0What an exciting scene to watch! \u00a0Everyone of us cheered and sighed in relief for the Pilot and his brave crew.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

The Pilot Boat returned to Sydney and The Amsterdam continued out into the raging Tasman Sea. \u00a0We had a rough night ahead of us and it was difficult to sleep as the Amsterdam rolled and rocked in the surging water. \u00a0Huge waves banged against the hull when the ship dipped forward. \u00a0The wind beat against the windows. \u00a0The ship shuddered and shook and the walls of our cabin creaked all night. \u00a0The next day, Captain Fred Eversen, said the waves had been well over 20 feet high. \u00a0It was an exciting beginning to our Pacific crossing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thursday – November 29, 2018 On Tuesday, we moved from our hotel in Sydney onto the Holland America ship The M.S. Amsterdam. \u00a0The cruise ship began a \u201cGrand Asia & Pacific Voyage\u201d from Los Angeles two months ago. \u00a0It circled the western Pacific Ocean with stops in Russia, Japan, China, Viet Nam, Singapore, Indonesia, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-australia","category-cruising"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14767"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14769,"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14767\/revisions\/14769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}