Batemans Bay will welcome their second cruise ship on Tuesday 16 March when Holland America Line ‘Volendam’ anchors off Batemans Bay for a day-visit. ‘The World’s visit to Batemans Bay in late December was a great success and Eurobodalla Tourism received positive feedback from both crew and passengers on board. The few hundred residents on board who came ashore took pre-organised tours to Mogo Zoo, Tilba and Foxglove Spire Gardens, Pebbly Beach, whilst others shopped and dined in town, walked to nearby beaches, played golf, rode bikes, went kayaking and hired cars for their own touring.'
'Volendam's anchorage in March will be a vastly different scenario', says Catherine Reilly of Eurobodalla Tourism. 'Volendam is a much bigger ship and we expect between 1000 to 1200 passengers and crew to come ashore for the day. More than half will have already pre-booked day coach tours to Montague Island, Tilba, Mogo, and Canberra and we expect the rest to stay close to the Bay, shopping and eating or taking advantage of a hop on-hop off coach or local taxis and hire cars to get to nearby beaches and attractions. The average spend per cruiseship passenger is estimated at around $200 per day'. Eurobodalla Tourism will produce another Welcome to Batemans Bay brochure for passengers and local volunteers will meet and greet passengers at the wharf alongside Eurobodalla Tourism staff.
Volendam is part of the Holland America Line and will be on a circumnavigation of Australia tour. The ship’s vital statistics are a passenger capacity of 1432, crew capacity of 588, Gross Tonnage of 61,396 grt, length of 780 feet, beam of 105.8 feet and a maximum speed of 23 knots. Holland America Line describes Volendam as “having a beautiful garden theme reflected in an artful floral motif throughout the ship's spacious public rooms and elegant staterooms. In addition to fresh flowers throughout the ship, Holland America Line has drawn on its collection of incredible artwork to enhance the interior of the ship's public spaces. Everything from pre-Columbian fetishes and sculptures to Renaissance-era fountains imported from Italy are included in its hallway galleries. At the heart of the ship an elegant sculpture by Luciano Vistosi, inspired by the myriad of moods and colours of a kaleidoscope, greets visitors in a soaring three-storey atrium.“
The ship will most likely anchor about 2 kilometres off shore, west of the Tollgate Islands, and passengers will come ashore via tenders. Volendam is expected around 7 am with passengers coming ashore from 8 am and the last tender for passengers is likely to leave Batemans Bay by 5 pm. “It will be a busy 9 hours”, says Reilly. “Volendam is also scheduled to visit Batemans Bay on 4 November and 16 December and with Batemans Bay now on the international radar, we expect to hear about more cruiseship visits after the Annual International Cruise Industry Expo and Conference in Miami in March."
