Noordam 10 day Southern?

[bshow]

I'm looking at this cruise for December for me (51) and my wife (46). Have cruised with Disney, RCCL, and Carnival, but never with HAL. I'm easy to please. Want to relax and enjoy the Caribbean. Would welcome any feedback on the ship or Itinerary. Price is attractive.

 

Thanks!

[sail7seas]

What is the itinerary?

We love Noordam and she is one of our two favorite ships. HAL really did it right with this beautiful ship. We sailed her last in April and had a wonderful time. We did the Aruba, Curacao itinerary... is that the one you are looking at?

 

Noordam's crew is outstanding and they do everything possible for all to have the best cruise possible.

Noordam has many fans here on CC. :)

[bshow]

It is Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Samana DR, Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba. We've never been to any of those :)

[blubionda]

We just finished that cruise yesterday - I'd be happy to fill you in on my opinions on the cruise and HAL.

 

I can tell you to start that the intinerary/stops were FABULOUS but at 40 and 48 we were almost the youngest people on the ship and the majority of folks were in their 70's + (I hope I can avoid getting flamed for this).

[MsB1254]

We did this 10 day cruise in January with two other couples and we all absolutely loved it. We ranged in age from 48 to 66. The median age on board the ship at that time was about 65 with very few kids onboard. This was a first cruise for us with Holland America and we thought the food beat out all of the other cruise lines but that is very subjective. I put together a shutterfly book and would be glad to share it if you want to e-mail me at Talulah40@aol.com. You will have a great time.

[patwell]

bshow.....We made our first HAL voyage in Dec on this itinerary. We absolutely loved both it and HAL, especially the lovely Noordam. All four of us felt this was the ideal Caribbean trip and we have made several on QM2 and one on Emerald Princess....none of those compared to the enjoyment and first class service we had on this trip.

 

We had such a great time we are booked to repeat it again in December when the ship is all dressed up for the holidays.....she looked elegant! We really can't wait to return to her. I doubt you'll be disappointed in the ship0 or the itinerary. Having a full day and evening ( until 11PM) in beautiful Curacao just topped it all off perfectly.

 

I wrote a review of that trip if you'd like to read it...it's in 2 parts. You can find it here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1544173

 

Cheers, Penny

 

Penny’s “Affair to Remember” QM2 Review Dec. 2006

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=471053

 

November 10,2007...QM2 to the Caribbean again

October 16,2008...QM2 transatlantic in tandem with the grand QE2 on her final transatlantic voyage.

December 9, 2008...QM2...back to the Caribbean

July 30, 2009....QM2....transatlantic again...

August 7, 2009....QM2... “home” to Norway

Feb. 7, 2010....Emerald Princess to the Caribbean

Aug 14, 2010...QM2... return to Norway, all the way to the top!

Aug 22, 2011...Diamond Princess....North to Alaska!!

Dec 2,2011...Noordam to the Caribbean...outstanding!

2012...Booked on the lovely Noordam again

[bloofer]

It is Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Samana DR, Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba. We've never been to any of those :)

 

Did that itinerary on the Noordam in 2010. It was wonderful, especially the ABC islands. So good that I am doing it again in 2013 as part of a 21-day Collectors cruise. :):)

[catl331]

Loved this cruise and loved the Noordam. Go for it!!:) We would like to return to Curacao.

[blubionda]

I agree with MsB - we were really impressed with the food quality and would even give HAL a slight edge over Celebrity in our food experience.

 

While food itself was great, the service was not quite as outstanding (but in my opinion, it never really is on any non-luxury line these days). We were on open seating (AYWD) and service in MDR was horribly slow when we sat at tables for 6 (2 1/2 - 3+ hours for dinner); however, when we requested a 2-top, service was quicker (approx. 1 1/2 hour for dinner). In sitting with others we heard a lot of complaints about little things related to service (not getting coffee/having to ask for it repeatedly, etc.,); I can't confirm this as we don't drink coffee :D but can say that in our 6 nights we ate in the MDR for dinner, only one wait staff team really shined from a service perspective - other nights, regardless of table size, it was pure chaos around us and a lot of waiting (wait to order, wait for dishes to be cleared, then wait some more for next course - I mean long waits, of course, since there is always a "wait" of some kind, obviously). Again, I don't see this as a complaint from us - we adjusted accordingly and also appropriately recognized the one team that really exceeded our expectations. Conversely, the Lido service team was superb; the food servers were extremely pleasant and the dining team members were always quick to clear dishes, offered to get folks water/tea if you didn't grab it yourself and were always helping to carry food plates for those that needed some help.

 

Although we've done many Carribbean cruises to include other Southern itineraries, this cruise was our favorite to date - we did shopping in Curacao (since we went snorkeling there last time) and found some great stuff, we took the bus to Boca in Aruba for some snorkeling - was good, but Bonaire was really amazing - we had the best snorkeling we've ever seen at Klein Bonaire; also our HAL Sea Lion excursion in Samana was the best! We totally relaxed this trip and enjoyed our sea days lounging at the aft pool (despite the ridiculously horrible lounge chairs that are often broken, don't lie flat, and pop up at you when you try to sit down). :(

 

I also have to commend HAL for how they handled our delayed embarkation due to the Code Red from the cruise before us; as disappointed as we were to be so late onto the ship and not have rooms ready until after 5pm, I must compliment them for all they did for us(especially since it's us passengers who create the problem, not the cruise line). HAL made arrangements for overflow seating at another terminal, provided boxed lunches and offered buses to take people to the malls to help pass the time until boarding began at 4pm. You can't imagine all the extra work the crew members have to do when this happens and yet they are still pleasant and friendly as ever when you board. Additionally, as others have noted, we had no self-serve for first 48-hours to ensure the bug was contained - while it made for long lines at the salad bar, all this effort was much appreciated as our sailing was gastro-illness incident free to my knowlege.

 

Other minor details - I give Celebrity the edge on Cabin design (referring to Solstice class) with one exception - clothes storage which goes to HAL/RCCL because there is lots of closet space which is MUCH better than those dang over bed cabinets you can't reach! I also love that HAL doesn't play the "lock your mini-bar the night before" card, so that I can keep my last Diet Dew cold for our disembarkation morning (not coffee drinkers, remember?:D). Finally, as non-smokers, have to give that edge to Celebrity. It wasn't terrible, but we did have to move lounge chairs from time to time after having a smoker settle in next to us and any trip to the Sea View Pool bar included a walk into smoke . . .

 

Hope this helps in your decision and I'm sure many others will have other opinions as well!

[dpump]

Did this itinerary in January and had a great time. Ship was beautiful, staff was stellar, food was good as was service. Islands were great. Yes, the folks were older, but no an issue for us. Would highly recommend both the Noordam and the itinerary.

[bshow]

Wow, thank you all for the detailed feedback. I'm getting excited!

[flamingogal]

This is a great itinerary, not too rushed, great ports, tons to do, awesome ship. You'll have a fabulous time. Don't hesitate. :)

 

Jeanne

[innlady1]

It is Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Samana DR, Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba. We've never been to any of those :)

 

Have done that itinerary twice on the 20 day Collector's Cruise...wonderful ship...wonderful itinerary!

[RetiredMustang]

I did that itinerary as part of a 20-day Collector's Cruise in 2010 (with innlady - hi Sheila), and had a great time. I did a live blog at the time, that includes descriptions of many of the ports and of the ship itself.

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

 

I also just read a great review by schauki, who was on this itinerary in February. He includes some photos, including a great one of a whale off Samana, DR. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1588337

Love the itinerary, and Noordam is our favorite HAL ship. Enjoy!

 

Dave

[Lady Chew]

We just got off the Noordam on Monday ... it was a wonderful cruise. The ship is beautiful, the crew is excellent. Service in the MDR was extremely slow, however ... we had breakfast, lunch & a few dinners in the Lido which was much better. This was probably the most well-run buffet we've experienced on our cruises.

The ports were pretty good, too, but we didn't get around as much as we would've liked due to my sprained ankle. I spent a lot of time at the aft pool, which has horrible lounge chairs, but it was hard getting a chair at the main pool. Not too many chair hogs, actually, just a lot of people outside. We had superb weather the entire time!! A few rain showers here & there ...

We were very pleased with the entertainment as well.

We wish we could've stayed on for the 11-day itinerary ...

 

I do have to add that disembarkation was a mess, a real fiasco. The "silent" disembarkation only works when everything runs like clockwork, which of course it never does. Ended up with masses of people piled up in the hallways near the gangplank, no guidance from crew (no crew around, actually), and no one with any idea what was going on. Not a good way to end a cruise!

[Krazy Kruizers]

We did this itinerary Nov 2011 -- it is a great one.

[Laurie S.]

I'm doing it next week! :)

[teil4]

I'm doing it next week! :)

We are also sailing on the Noordam on March 16. We are from Michigan.

[cruiseapril]

We did the other Caribbean itinerary on the Noordam last year and want to do this one, as we just had the best cruise on this beautiful ship. Outstanding in so many ways.

 

Have fun planning your cruise.

[Old Salty Dog]

We're also on her next week for 19 days. This is our third time on the Noordam and, although we've been on a number of the other -dams and loved them all, the Noordam indeed belongs at the top of the list.

 

Old Salty Dog

[Old Salty Dog]

teil4: Welcome to Cruise Critic. You are going to love the Noordam.

[patrick65]

I have done this cruise as well as the Western and Eastern Caribbean. Of the three I would do the Southern Caribbean. Please do not go to Bonaire without doing the snorkeling or scuba diving. The water was warm and the fish were wonderful as well as the coral.

[JMA]

My husband and I just got off the ship on March 5th and it was our first cruise on HAL. We loved the ship, and the food, but the service was a little slow in the dining room. We appreciated the fresh flowers on every table. And the weather and itinerary were perfect. We also loved tha lack of intrusive announcements and the captain and cruise director were great!

 

But we are around 60 and felt like the youngest passengers there. We could not find a band that we enjoyed dancing to. And the smoke was bad in the casino, which we had to walk through.

 

Would we cruise HAL again? probably

[djhsolara]

We are considering this itinerary as well. We've been on Westerdam and Eurodam (a few times each) and think that they are both wonderful and beautiful vessels. Everyone keeps saying that Noordam is so beautiful. What makes her so special over the others?

 

Thanks!!

 

 

Douglas...Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dclizcox]

We were on this cruise in January. The port intensive itinerary is nice. Lot's of things to do and see. The ship is in very good shape. The staff is warm, friendly and helpful. My mother felt our Room Stewards, Sigit and Sahril, were two of the best Room Stewards she had ever had and she's been on 50+ cruises from luxury to regular ol' Carnival. I'd been on far fewer cruises but would have to agree with her. Sigit and Sahril were just incredible.

 

We had similar issues as others in the MDR with very slow service. We thought the food was just ok in the MDR. There was also an issue of food coming out cold. I'm not talking luke warm. I'm talking absolutely cold. It was frustrating.

 

There are plenty of options during the day in the Lido and if you pick and choose some options were downright tasty! Definitely book the Pinnacle a night or two for dinner. Superb service and outstanding food.

 

We were fortunate to book a suite. The amenities were wonderful. The Neptune Lounge and the Concierges (Arvee and Fritz) were awesome and took care of us very well.