Noordam - Rome to Venice and back September 2014

[hillsprint]

There have been a few mixed reviews on the Noordam this summer, so I thought I'd put up a review of our trip this September, sailing out of Rome via Sicily, Malta and the Adriatic to Venice and then back again calling into Croatia and Greece.

 

My wife and I have sailed on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean before, but this was our first HAL experience. Being an experienced Cruise Critic review reader, I knew that a pinch of salt has often to be taken when reading of others views and also that the Rose Tinted specs need to be discarded on occasion, so we went to the Noordam with open minds hoping it would be better than the worst comments but prepared to be realistic in our praises.

 

 

I'm glad to report that we were delighted with our 11 nights of pampering, Yes there was a culinary blip and maybe the shore excursions could be improved, but nothing of note to discourage us from returning to HAL in the future.

 

So let's get on with the review and the detail of it all.

 

First off, the ship itself. There have been plenty of photos of it posted elsewhere so I'll save my pic quota for the cruise itself. We found the ship to be in excellent order, no threadbare carpet, no ripped cushions or the like. Our previous ships, Solstice and Mariner of the Seas, were both larger, but we enjoyed the slightly smaller scale of the Noordam, the three on-board shops sell much the same type of produce as you get on other ships, all of which I can do without, but I loved all the little bars/lounges about decks 2 & 3, and the variety of music entertainment available, HAL Cats, BB King Band, the Piano Bar and the classical duo. Our favourite spot for a tipple was the Pinnacle Bar, a good spot for some people watching while nursing a martini :)

 

We had a VB veranda, and it was comparable to the RCCL one we had previous experience of, enough room for two people, it was in great order and well attended to by Tee & Dodik, who were usually to be found nearby working away and always smiling and giving you a greeting.

 

We thought that the dining was of an excellent standard. On the RCCL and X boards there are the same as on the HAL section, those who say the standard is dropping. I can't comment on previous experiences, but what I can say is that I thought the food in the MDR was well up to the modern mark. The portions were just the right size, there was a reasonable variety and the food arrived cooked to the correct level and hot. We had no delays in service (we usually ate around 7PM) and got a table for two when requested. In total I would say it was as good as any food I have had in a MDR with service to match.

 

We went to the Lido for breakfast and lunch. I thought the breakfast fare was great, OK the Eggs Benedict, were sometimes a bit firmer than I like, if I wanted it cooked to order then I probably should have slipped down to the MDR. We just ate light lunches and again I found sufficient variety to please my palate, especially the signature bread & butter pudding !! We didn't see any queues of more than 5 people and the hot dishes seemed to be replaced with reasonable regularity. The nice touch was that the senior catering staff were usually wandering around and happy to chat, especially Exec Chef Peter.

 

We ate in the Pinnacle three times, each time was exceedingly enjoyable, with the staff being attentive and the quality of the cooking excellent. There were a couple of the dishes my wife really enjoyed and the Maitre D was delighted to produce the recipes when requested, and wine steward Noel was of great help with the wine selections. All in all they were excellent evenings and well worth the $29 tab.

 

So my thanks go to Captain Robert and Cruise Director Kieran for what appeared to be one happy ship that served up what it promised.

 

So onto the cruise itself. We were flying in from Ireland and decided to use the afternoon flight from Dublin on the day before the cruise. We've done the morning flight to Rome before, which entails a 3AM wake up and then leaves you exhausted for the first day of the cruise, so going the day before is now our preferred option. We flew into Rome FCR and stayed the night at the Hilton Rome Airport hotel, which is connected to the terminal by a walkway. We landed in Terminal 3 and turned left out of the Arrivals (when you come out of Customs) went to the end of the Arrivals Hall and found the lift to Floor 2, as soon as you come out of the lift the walkway is on your left and a brisk 10 minute walk gets you to the hotel. The room was large and the bed extremely comfortable, the food both at dinner and the buffet breakfast was good and the staff all spoke English. It meant we woke up refreshed in the morning, had a lazy breakfast and strolled over to the Terminal for 10 AM, found the HAL reps and were on the bus on our way to the ship in 45 mins.

 

Check In was a breeze and we only had a 15 min wait for our Block Nr to be called and we were on the wonderful Noordam.

 

We sailed away from Civitavecchia leaving the Niew Amsterdam echoing from our cheers !!

 

 

The next morning was sunny and we had a good approach past the volcanic isle of Stromboli to the Straits of Messina, where the pilots do a high speed load onto the passing ships. Do you fancy trying this at a gusty 15 knots :)

 

 

 

More to follow

 

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[hillsprint]

So our first stop was Sicily and the busy port of Messina. I love the Straits of Messina, it's only 1.7 mile wide at the narrowest point and with the toe of Italy's boot on one side and the mountains of Sicily on the other it is a visual feast. Mind you it's even better at night and we were lucky to do a 2AM sail thru on the Solstice, and if you get that chance I suggest setting your alarm clock. But I diverse, so back to the Sicily and our port Messina, where we arrived around lunchtime.

 

We opted for a ship's excursion and went for the guided tour of Taormina and it's Greek theatre. The guide was knowledgeable and easy to listen to and the 45 min trip to Taormina is spectacular as you head south along the coast. The town itself sits high on an hill and has an extremely twisty road up to it. Once there as you can imagine the view to the sea below is amazing and the town itself very pretty with a long main street with lots of decent shopping amidst the usual tourist tat.

 

 

The theatre is at the far end of the town and is worth seeing, unfortunately it was showery when we were there and the clouds obstructed the view of Mount Etna, but it is still an impressive sight.

 

 

We had about an hour of free time, it is a pity that this can't be doubled which would give you more time to enjoy the view and have a cappuccino as well as doing the required retail therapy :)

 

We returned to Messina, but there wasn't enough time to have a stroll round this bustling city, so was set sail for our first sea day, passing the iconic statue of Mary as we left the port.

 

 

 

So off we headed for craggy coast of Montenegro and Kotor

[nutensteve]

Off to a good start .... Looking forward to more. We were on the Noordam last September and found the ship to be in excellent shape also.

[Mtn2Sea]

You're doing a great job with your review! We were on the Noordam last March and thoroughly enjoyed our time aboard.

[hillsprint]

And so to my favourite new port of this cruise, Kotor in Montenegro. It's so good I'm going to do two posts on it :)

 

The early morning approach sees you got through to narrow passages as you get to the in-shore fjord that holds the delightful wall city of Kotor at its far end.

 

 

Due to the calm weather we were able to dock by the small pier instead of mooring in the middle of the fjord and hence there wasn't the hassle of having to use the tenders, the Noordam towered over the water front

 

 

 

The walled city is right by the pier, we had elected to do this port on our own, and that proved to be a good choice.

 

There was a local tour bus by the pier that took you to some local sights, but we chose to go into the town and see what it had to offer. It was absolutely delightful, with beautifully kept buildings, spotlessly clean and full of local craft shops and not a plethora of Far East produced poor quality gifts. The town is relatively level and easy to walk through, but the streets are cobbled. It was around 9.30 am so the town was just coming to life

 

 

 

It's walled on three side but the backdrop is the shear mountainside to the rear and when you are done looking round the many shops or having a glass of beer then if you like a bit of exercise that is the place to head

[R K TECT]

Thanks for your review. We like the Noordam very much. We also think that Noel is very good. He has become a friend. We seem to keep increasing our friends aboard. It makes it seem like coming home when one is greeted by friends. I like reading reviews of time spent on our favorite ships. The good reviews confirm our likes and the not so good ones seem to make us look toward our next cruise so we can prove the problem wrong. I say this not because I'm wearing rose colored glasses, but because I am real. Things happen. While I sit reading your review I enjoy my virtual time away. Thanks for welcoming me aboard with you.

[shrimp56]

Thank you for your assessment of our favorite HAL ship so far. We did Rome to Barcelona in June. Looking forward to the rest of your report.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for taking the time to post.

I'm enjoying reading your review and seeing the pictures.

Please post more.

[MOcruiserman]

Thanks so much for your review.

 

I was worried about the Noordam based on a few reviews I've read but they are completely contradicted by you.

 

I wonder - are the naysayers making things up? Are they exaggerating? I don't get it.

[hillsprint]

Thanks for the comments folks :)

 

So let's continue with Kotor.

 

As I said it's a walled city, well walled in three sides that is, with one very steep and large mountain to the rear. The people of Kotor we obviously thinkers, and realised that some day a bunch of brigands might break through the city walls, so they planned a surprised...they'd head to the hills !!

 

So they cut a steep path up the mountainside, with fortifications on the way up, leading to a fortress at the top. Today you can climb up there for a better view

 

 

 

The path has two entrances, one at each side of the town and we chose the path on the fjord side close to the river and side gate, it cost 3 euros each to gain entrance. The path is roughly paved and in places this has broken up, so you need to be reasonably agile to make it up. As we climbed an old friend came into view over the rooftops

 

 

 

Fortunately there is a small church halfway up where you can rest and do some retail therapy, but the higher you climb the more spectacular the view

 

 

 

 

Finally it was time to make our way back down to the town and its square where we found the locals in a restive mood

 

 

 

The cats are the symbol of Kotor and seem to have been given the Freedom of the City, certainly they reckon they have first call on the park bench !! BTW there are 3 cats in the photo, the tail in the foreground belongs to the one sleeping under the other two :)

 

It was a bit overcast as we left, the sail out was very spectacular but now we were heading to that jewel of the Adriatic, Venice and hoping for a bit of sun

Edited October 3, 2014 by hillsprint

[POA1]

Wonderful review! Thank you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Loving your review and pictures.

[aliaschief]

Great review. Thank you for taking the time to share your MS Noordam cruise experience.

[hillsprint]

So on to Venice. On this itenary we got an afternoon and full day which was fabulous. This was our second sail-in to Venice, it has to be one of the Must Do items on any Cruise Bucket List, and I just hope that ships are permitted to continue using the main canal, certainly the smaller local boats seems to cause more water turbulence, but I'll say no more.

 

So as I mentioned this was our 2nd trip to Venice, the last time we did the short walk from St Marks Square to the Rialto and back and on the second morning we did a trip to the outer islands. So this time we determined to see other parts of the city and the first afternoon was a walk from Piazza del Roma via the Academia to St Marks and then all the way back to Piazzale Roma by the Rialto and the side streets. On the second full day we got the vaporetto from Piazzale Roma down the Grand Canal to St marks and then walked along the water front to the gardens at the far end back via Via Garibaldi and then tried a different route back from the Academia to Piazzale Roma. All I can say is that each corner in Venice produces a different view and getting away from the main tourist routes pays real dividends in seeing Venetian life as it is.

 

So here are some shots I took, I hope you enjoy them :)

 

On the way to the Academia

 

 

Some quiet streets

 

 

This is a Sunday antiques market in one of the squares between Academia and St Marks, lots of good stuff to view, but there wasn't much haggling on the prices I'm afraid

 

 

 

Looking down the Grand Canal

 

 

 

The main areas were very busy, and look out for cover charges in the main restaurants but eating and drinking away from St Marks can be inexpensive. We found a café at the Academia end of the Campo Santo Stefano which served great pizza, with a large beer and white wine for 18 euros, it was always busy, which is a good sign.

 

More to come

 

Cheers

 

Michael

Edited October 4, 2014 by hillsprint

[Mtn2Sea]

Beautiful photos of Venice. Excidedly looking forward to your next post!

[Alphen]

Great review, love your pictures. Good to hear another unbiased review of the Noordam. We will be boarding her in a fortnight, can’t wait, especially after seeing all the pictures and reading you view.

Edited October 4, 2014 by Alphen

[hillsprint]

As I mentioned on the 2nd day we travelled on the vaporetto to St Marks, the location of the Noordam berth in Venice is a tad inconvenient, and a bit awkward for anyone who has difficulty walking 400 yds or more. The berth is in the outer section, the other half of which is the main vaporetto and ferry station for the Lagoon. However you cannot get directly to these ferries easily, as you have to walk to the main vehicle entrance to the Cruise Port and then take the People Mover either to the Ferry Terminal or to Piazzale Roma. The People Mover costs just under 2 euro each way per person, the ticket machines are very good and have an English button, you select your one way ticket, how many you want and put the money in the slot. You get a ticket printed out which you take to the automatic barrier and put the ticket into the reader slot on the side of the machine, that validates the ticket and you are good to go.

 

The People Mover is an overhead mono rail and its Cruise Terminal station can be seen in the upper centre of the photo below, which was taken from the upper deck of the Noordam.

 

 

The vaporetto trip was one of the highlights of the Venice visit. We just got a One Way ticket from the ticket booth (7 Euro), but we panicked a bit and didn't read the Destination charts properly and ended up on a vaporetto that just went to St Marks Square (San Marco) as opposed to our intended destination of the Public Gardens at Giardini. However it was a great ride along the Grand Canal, it certainly was busy

 

 

 

On our way to the Gardens, past the Bridge of Sighs and along the water front, there were various exotic yachts tied up, but we were greeted to the spectacle of the Silhouette making her way along the Giudecca Canal, what an impressive sight

 

 

 

The gardens were nice and quiet and a good spot to stop in the shade for a quick snack and then we made our way back using the Via Garibaldi, which is close to the ship yards of Venice

 

 

 

We did some shopping and had our lunch in Campo Santo Stefano before getting further involved in the maze of streets in the Santa Croce district. We did spot the local taxi rank, but chose to stay on foot

 

 

The weather was sunny and warm and the trip back to the People Mover at Pizzale Roma was made all the more enjoyable by vies like this

 

 

 

Venice is not a large city and certainly the two main islands can be easily explored on foot, or by vaporetto. There are plenty of sights and though it seems like a maze, even if you get lost if you keep walking you'll soon come to a recognisable place and get your bearings again. For me it's a place that you'll never get tired of visiting

 

Next up will be other ships and our rather dramatic sail-out

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[hillsprint]

So for the last bit of our Venice stop-over. We hadd seen the Silhouette come into to Venice and by the time we got back to the cruise port it was rather bunged with ships.

 

Below are the four ships beside us, Regal Princess, One of the Regent Seven Seas ships in the distance, Celebrity Silhouette, and Costa Facinosa, while out of view berthed behind the Noordam is the MSC Orchestra, so I reckon somewhere between 14 -15,000 cruise passengers were on the streets (and canals) !!

 

 

So to our sail-out, which was timed for 5.30pm, but due to other ship movements we didn't get away from the birth until nearly 6pm, the frontal decks and promenades were opened up for the best views as they hade been on the Sail-In and people took advantage despite the colder evening temperatures.

 

 

So this meant we had the setting sun to our rear as we sailed slowly along the Giudecca Canal with the backdrop getting more dramatic by the minute as a huge lightning storm rolled in from the Dolomites to the north.

 

 

By the time we were reaching the our lagoon the skies were very threatening and the lightning flashes we becoming more frequent

 

 

 

When we got out into the Adriatic the storm broke, and lasted for several hours, the wind speeds got up into the 70 mph region, but luckily the wave heights stayed reasonably low and while there was some movement, the Noordam coped with it very well as we made our way towards Split

 

This was the storm that gave George Clooney's hotel some problems as it wiped out their gardens just before his wedding, but I believe they got it all sorted for the day itself !!

[hillsprint]

So after our lightning storm out of Venice we awoke to a sunny morn and the city of Split in Croatia was on the horizon. Split is the 2nd biggest city in Croatia and one of its main ports, we hadn't book a HAL excursion for here, and maybe in retrospect that was a mistake, as the centre of the town was quite small and didn't take too much time to explore. But we were still tired after our two days in Venice, so maybe I'm not being fair to Split

 

 

You need Croatian Kuna to spend, as this is not a Euro port. Again we docked in what was meant to be a tender port, so it was an easy walk off the ship into the ferry port. We went to the ferry terminal and exchanged Euro (at a rate of 7 Kuna to 1 Euro, which was the going rate). I didn't worry too much about the exchange rate, as I only needed a small amount of cash, as any big purchases would be on our old Plastic Friend, but got enough for today and then for Dubrovnik the following day.

 

We walked straight out of the ferry port and in about 400yds you were on the very splendid waterfront, with its palm tree, cafes and chic shops

 

 

Once again there was a local Ho-Ho bus that you could have taken round the city, but we stayed on foot and headed to town. We walked along the front and found a street map sign outside the Tourist Office, Basically the city centre is laid out in a square based on the old palace/citadel that used to occupy that spot. Some of these buildings still stand, particularly the church and the catacombs of the old palace where you go down steps into the underground basement, which has so excavations of the past along with craft shops selling the usual tourist faire, a bit of a strange mix I thought

 

 

Outside the buildings are beautiful and the sort of retail opportunities you would expect in any large city

 

 

It was a pleasant walk through the sunshine, catching the sights and people watching

 

 

Finally after circumnavigating the city centre, the local market and the cafes, we headed back to the harbour

 

 

 

We got back to the Noordam and had a good lunch in the Lido and then spent the afternoon between the sun loungers and the Culinary Arts Centre where we enjoyed one of several talks and demonstrations we attended throughout the cruise.

 

We were now entering the final quarter of the cruise and next up was our second previously visited port, Dubrovnik, which was a gentle sail away.

[sammygoose]

Fantastic review!

[hillsprint]

I woke up early on the Wednesday morning looking forward to the sail-in to Dubrovnik, only to find we were already docked. There had been a medical situation during the night and the Noordam had made best speed to Dubrovnik so that the unfortunate passenger could be taken to a hospital. I have no other information, and I hope it had a good outcome for all concerned.

 

We had been to Dubrovnik on our Celebrity cruise, so we had already explored the old town and walked the walls, which is a Must Do if you haven't done it, the views are stunning and a top photo op. So this time we had booked a HAL excursion to Cavtat and a local restaurant to sample some delicacies.

 

The tour was slightly disappointing in that we could have been given additional time in Cavtat, which turned out to be a delightful small resort and the 45 mins we had there was just about sufficient to walk from the bus park, into the town, look at one shop and then return to the bus. as we were in Dubrovnik all day there is sufficient time to allow this particular trip to be even one hour longer.

 

Having said that, I now know that you can get a boat trip to Cavtat just down the pier from where the cruise ships dock, or you can get a taxi into the Old Town (10Euro each way for the cab, up to 4 people) and there are plenty of local excursions from the Old Harbour at the far end of the town. HAL has a shuttle bus from the cruise port (Port Guze) to the Pile Gate of the Old Town for $14 each return.

 

So back to our excursion. The bus made its way round Dubrovnik to head south towards Cavtat and we stopped for an elevated photo opt of the city.

The Old Town is the denoted by the red roofs while the suburbs spread over the hill to Port Guze and the Noordam beyond

 

 

Cavtat is about 10 miles away and consists of two bays with a spit of land in between, where the town of Cavtat is built, you can walk right round the headland if you wish

 

 

There are numerous cafes and shops along the promenade and a delightful church

 

 

we could have spent an hour or two here soaking up the atmosphere, but it was back to the bus and the short trip to a local restaurant in the nearby valley for what turned out to be a superb selection of smoked meats, local cheese, pickles and fresh bread, all washed down with a glass of good wine. The rep said this was the best restaurant in the Dubrovnik region and I have no cause to doubt her

 

 

It was set beside a river which was a delight to see on this warm day, and we ate outside beside the river

 

 

It was a nice building with excellent facilities for the weary traveller !!

 

 

So it was back on the bus and we returned to Dubrovnik and its Old Town. At this point you could take a walking tour of the town with the guide, but we chose to go alone, having been there before and we entered the walled city by the Pile (pronounced Pee-Lay) Gate.

[hillsprint]

Dubrovnik Old Town is a beautiful place, with wide street and then narrow alleyways that reach out to the walls and have many steps. You enter via the Pile Gate and to your front is the main street that reaches to the far walls and the Old Port beyond. When you get inside the wall the ticket office for the walls is on your right and then you access the walls via a long set of steep steps on the left side of the Gate. you can either pay by Kuna or credit card, but when we were there before they didn't accept Euro. As we had walked the walls before we didn't do it this time and instead walked along the main street to the Old Port

 

 

The Old Port has the excursions to the local islands and towns (including Cavtat) and has some very nice cafes and restaurants surrounding it

 

 

 

We walked around for a while and then got the shuttle bus back, because we were on a ships tour, we got a free trip back to the ship, if you chose not to get your tour bus back. If you got the shuttle, as mentioned above it was $14 each. It's about a 10 minute trip back to Port Guze, as we were getting ready to Sail-Away, these local touring ships came in, they are heading to where you get all the local boats

 

 

 

 

As it was the last time Noordam would be in Croatia this season the Captain gave three loud blasts on the ships horn as were pulled away, the noise reverberating round the local hills and we had this great view of the new bridge that spans the inlet at the end of the harbour, that's the Thompson Majesty on the right of the shot

 

 

 

So we set out for the last time into the Adriatic leave the dramatic Dalmatian coast behind

 

 

 

And so onto the Ionian Sea and the last stop on our 11 Night cruise, Corfu

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[Rotterdam]

Thank you so much for your efforts in composing this very thoughtful & beautiful travelogue of your cruise on the NOORDAM!

 

Full moon & smooth seas to you & yours.

 

Best, Rotterdam in NYC.

[canadianbear]

I have really enjoyed reading your review and seeing the photos. I doubt I will ever get over there so it was like you took me along! Thank you for that.

 

We have never been on the Noordam but I have always wanted to cruise on her so we have booked her for the Panama Canal cruise. Can hardly wait. Reading reviews about the Noordam just makes it more exciting for me.:)

[hillsprint]

So our last port of call was the isle of Corfu, the most northerly of the Greek islands and only 7 miles off the coast of Albania. It was a bit of a grey overcast day and once again we had booked a HAL tour, our third of the trip.

 

The trip was to the Achillion Palace, then a view of the famous Mouse Island and then finally a walking tour of Corfu town, chosen as we felt it gave potentially the best mix of the island. The tour pick us up on the quayside by the ship. The port is a bit of a walk from Corfu town and HAL had another shuttle going, this time it was $12 a head, but it only picked you up at the port gate and left you back there. The port itself has a free shuttle from the ship to the port gates/duty free shop.

 

So our guide Elena was very good and imparted a lot of knowledge in an easy to understand way. The Achillion Palace was built in the 1800s by the Empress of Germany as a retreat from the German royal court and her mother-in-law !! It sits in a hilltop location overlook Corfu town and the sea beyond

 

 

It served as a hospital in both world wars and was then used as a casino and even a set for a James Bond movie, as such a lot of the furniture and artefacts from the Empress' time have disappeared, but the building itself is in fine shape.

 

 

However the ground floor is equipped with displays of some personal items of the Empress and her son the Kaiser, which are quite interesting. Here's the statue of the lady herself

 

 

 

 

It was named after the Greek god Achilles and statues and paintings of him adorn the gardens and walls. It was a popular spot and Elena had to usher other tour groups out of the various rooms so we could see them.

 

Next we drove round the headland to a café that overlooked Mouse Island which is one of Corfu's iconic photo ops, with the little square island with the white church on it usually set in a vivid blue Ionian sea, unfortunately it wasn't as vibrant on this particular day

 

 

However, I have to point out the truth of its location. I always assumed it was set at some idyllic point on the coast miles from the rushing crowd. Well I'm sorry to say that 50 yards to the right of the picture is the start of the reed swamp and a further 50yards is the end of the runway of Corfu International airport !! So next time you see a tight shot of some pretty landmark, ask yourself what's the wider shot like.

 

So then we returned to Corfu town, through a rather ragtag island, as the very bust Greek struggles to keep up appearances. The town, known as Kerkira one of the ancient name for Corfu, is well kept, with lovely boulevards lined with cafes

 

 

 

and a bustling shopping centre, though the shops seemed to be either very exclusive or very tourist tatty, if you get my drift, but it was pleasant to walk through

 

 

 

We walked round the town after the guided walk had finished, bought some final momentoes and then got the shuttle back courtesy of our Shore Excursion badges. The bus left us at the port entrance and duty free shop, if anyone wanted some final cheap booze or Greek good luck symbols. As there was a security check in the port office, there was none as we entered the ship.

 

We sailed off later in the afternoon, getting ready for the final formal night, which we had booked into the Pinnacle for. It was a great night and we had a lazy start to the final sea day of the cruise the next morning