21 Day Holland America

[GoodCruising]

We are going on a 21 day southern Caribbean cruise on February 3 aboard the Noordam. We are first time cruisers to Holland America. We have been on 8 Carnival Cruises and 1 Princess cruise. Can anyone tell me about the Noordam please?

[canadianbear]

We are going on a 21 day southern Caribbean cruise on February 3 aboard the Noordam. We are first time cruisers to Holland America. We have been on 8 Carnival Cruises and 1 Princess cruise. Can anyone tell me about the Noordam please?

 

That's a long cruise for being first time aboard HAL!! I can't really help you as we haven't been on the Noordam but from what I have read on here everyone loves the ship and the staff. One day we hope to try her in the Med....:)

[SwissMyst]

You picked a great ship to introduce yourself to Holland America cruising. Be sure to search this forum for the very recent thread called "What do you love about the Noordam" (or something like that -- just try searching the two words <love Noordam> and hope it comes up. It tells you why many of her passengers feel the same way.

 

Welcome to HAL ships. While we have not sailed her ourselves, the consistently good reports and overall ship layout is very appealing for us and we hope to experience the Noordam ourselves too. Bottomline for us with HAL ships are their itineraries, crew and overall value.

 

Specifics can vary from ship to ship and cruise line to cruise line, but when we step back from the competing detail and look at those three qualities as primary reason we enjoy our cruising experiences, HAL keeps winning the game for us.

 

And within HAL itself, our own preference is for the smaller R and S class ships, but if we were to sail one her larger Vista ships for sure it will be the Noordam as our first choice.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

The Noordam is a great ship!! Wonderful crew.

21 days -- have done that itinerary and it is great.

You are in for a treat.

[vbmom87]

I think this is the thread SwissMyst was referring to:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1507784&highlight=love+noordam

 

 

For future reference, since you were asking about the Noordam, it would have been best to use the name "Noordam" in your title.

[RuthC]

The Noordam is a lovely ship. She has an elegant style, accented with teak decks, brass rails, polished wood. Her artwork is stunning, and worth taking the time to tour.

There are comfortable loungers both inside and out, for reading or watching the sea. There's always a comfy spot where you can curl up.

Service is warm, yet efficient. Food is very good. Cabins are nice, some better than others; all have comfy beds.

There's little touches, like cloth towels in the public restrooms, and flowers everywhere.

Tea is served daily, with an Indonesian Tea generally held once every cruise.

Welcome to HAL. Have a great cruise.

[RetiredMustang]

GoodCruising,

 

Welcome to CC and welcome to HAL!

 

I've been busy lately and haven't been on for a while, but am catching up. I see that some have answered your question.

 

If it is factual info you are seeking about Noordam, the HAL site (www.hollandamerica.com) has info and photos. Also, there is a sticky on this board by IRL_Joanie that is very, very useful, called "Photos of HAL Ships" or something similar. If you click on that, the first post is by Joanie, and the signature block has a link to the web site she maintains that is tremendously helpful. Many of us send her our photos and thoughts and she organizes them well (thanks, Joanie!).

 

Now, if it is (somtimes biased) opinions you are searching for, oh my have you found the right place. vbmom87 gave you a link to a recent thread, but there have been many about Noordam on this board. If you do a search, you find many threads. On a lot of them, you will find me posting favorably; I am a fan of Noordam, her two captains, and her crew. She is probably our favorite of the current HAL fleet.

 

Also, FWIW, in winter 2010, DW and I did an itinerary very similar to the one you have booked -- the difference is that ours was 20 days and HAL has now made a 10 and an 11-day cruise into a 21-day Collectors Cruise that departs on the same day of the week; a great idea I think. The addition is a day in Dominica. I did a blog of our cruise; although it is dated, you may (or I admit may not) find it worth reading:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1143462

 

Again, welcome!

Dave

[Valley Girl of VA]

The Noordam was my first HAL ship last year. One thing that my husband and I enjoy is cooking and when we toured the ship when we got on, we found the Culinary Arts Center/Queens Row. Found out that they offered small group cooking lessons during some of the sea days. Immediately went to Guest Relations to sign up. If that is something you like, immediately sign up. You eat what you cook, they provide the wine. A great time and we found it by accident. Trivia is BIG on the cruise, up in the Crows Nest. We met lots of people during those games and there are usually drink specials just before, during or after the trivia games.

[Rickfrank]

We are going on a 21 day southern Caribbean cruise on February 3 aboard the Noordam. We are first time cruisers to Holland America. We have been on 8 Carnival Cruises and 1 Princess cruise. Can anyone tell me about the Noordam please?

Welcome to HAL. We are on your 2nd part. Never been on Noordam. (The old one in 1996 though) , and the Westerdam in '07. We have a roll call set up for the Feb. 13th, why not jump on it and meet some of your cruise mates? Rick & Edie

[Teresa Price]

Hi,

spent 20 nights on Noordam this summer - loved it.! This was in the Med but you will love that trip, enjoy.