Is Sydney Big Enough for Two Dam Ships? We Put It to the Test
Days 62-63, 2026 Grand World Voyage
Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, 2026; Sydney, Australia.
My first priority when choosing a cruise has become sailing with people I know and love. Unfortunately, I can’t get them all to sign up for every cruise I take. And with Holland America’s current practice of scheduling a grand cruise at the same time as the world cruise, inevitably some of my favorite travel buddies are on the other ship.
On Saturday, I had a brief opportunity to see many friends on the Zaandam, sailing a 93-day Grand Australia and New Zealand cruise. It’s a sister ship to our Volendam, and both ships were in Sydney for the day.
We spent about three hours on the Zaandam Saturday, having a pre-arranged tea with some friends and fortuitously running into others as we stretched our visit past the “all ashore who are going ashore” deadline. Ed and Laurie hosted us for the tea, and Alan and Sharon joined us later at our table.
It was billed as a Grand Chocolate Tea, with the chocolate treats created by Chef Jacques Torres, a Holland America culinary ambassador and “Mr. Chocolate” according to his chef’s coat.
Even before we boarded, we saw customer service director Daphnae in the terminal. Steve and Wendy, our travel agency hosts on the Zaandam – and goods friends — greeted us as we stepped aboard.
Greg and Heo aren’t on either ship at the moment (they will join us in a couple of weeks), but as Sydney residents they came to visit Martha and other friends on both ships. I ate with them nightly last summer on the Nieuw Statendam.
Still delaying our exit, we sat in the Explorers Lounge to chat with Nancy and Aileen, two other cruising sisters, and Rich and Suzie in the Ocean Bar. All we forgot was to take photos.
Deb Arts, who is teaching watercolor this year on the Zaandam, and Paula, who became a good friend on the Nieuw Statendam last fall, were in the terminal as we left. I hope I didn’t miss anyone – there were lots of people we waved at across the room.
The lucky Zaandam got to dock at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay, right between the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Our ship was dispatched to White Bay, which isn’t accessible to anything except by taxi or shuttle bus. Usually, Holland America’s smaller ships all go to White Bay because they can fit under the Harbour Bridge to get there, unlike large cruise ships.
Before heading to the Zaandam, Elaine and I wandered through the iconic QVB (Queen Victoria Building). We window-shopped as we walked the mile to Circular Quay for the early afternoon tea.
Near the Zaandam, I couldn’t help but notice a new large brass sculpture on the front lawn of the Contemporary Museum of Art. “Ancient Feelings” is designed by British artist Thomas J. Price to contrast with typical “bronze hero-on-plinth” statues. Perhaps also to offer a spot of shade to a young lad who might have been hiding from his parents.
As we were staying overnight, we ended the afternoon walking through the Saturday craft market in the Rocks neighborhood, up and down stairs and eventually settled for wine and a light dinner. We just made it to a tram back to our shuttle before a light rain started.
Sunday’s forecast was for rain, so we planned accordingly. Fortunately, the rain held off for most of the day.
We started with a breakfast of fluffy Japanese pancakes at Gram, a repeat experience for me from last year. It might become an annual treat.
We split – Elaine to visit the nearby maritime museum and me to shop in the Pitt Street market. I was seeking a new pair of walking shorts, but the southern hemisphere is heading into fall and most clothes are designed for cold weather.
The threat of rain sent our sail-away to the enclosed Lido pool deck, but the skies cleared as we sailed under the bridge and past the opera house. One of the tug boats accompanying us “burnt some donuts,” as our captain says, as it dropped back, and later I painted the scene I had captured on camera.
Sydney was the end of our second segment; 200 passengers left as another 400 joined us. Before arriving in Sydney, we attended a Mariner’s ceremony where departing passengers who achieved benchmarks of 100, 300, 500 and 700 sailing days received medallions, followed by a special lunch.
We also had another wonderful Chef Tiffany dinner in the Pinnacle Grill – this time celebrating her home country of South Africa. Her courses always are imaginative and delicious, so we always sign up for her dinners.
During the next two days, we’ll have receptions and meet-and-greet events to kick off our new segment, as we sail north toward Australia’s Queensland coast and hot and humid weather.
