Noordam 10/25/2006 10-day Caribbean

[MarylandBob]

My partner and I just booked. His son and girlfriend will be joining us. Itinerary is pretty good, 10 days to the Caribbean round trip from New York visiting Grand Turk, Tortola, San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. We've been on Ziuderdam and Westerdam, sister ships to the new Noordam. These new Vista-class ships are really nice. Come on and join us for a party!

 

Robert

[MarylandBob]

Give this one some serious consideration. Since we booked in February, the price has continued to go down. HAL treats "family" extremely well!

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Bob,

 

My partner and I will be joining you on this cruise. It will be our first cruise on HAL so we will be interested to see how it compares with the other cruise lines we have been on but it certainly seems to have a good reputation. Look forward to seeing you on board.

 

D&D

[MarylandBob]

Hi D&D,

 

Glad to hear you'll be joining us. I think you will like HAL. Jerry and I have sailed on Carnival, Princess, RCCL, Costa, and Celebrity but we really like the service, food and overall ambience of Holland America. Their ships do carry an older crowd although the last time we sailed with them in the Caribbean on the Zieuderdam, the crowd was more diverse with quite a few younger passengers. This is a new ship and will be sailing from New York so I suspect we'll have a good mix of folks.

 

We've been on the Westerdam twice and the Zieuderdam once, both sister ships to this one. These Vista-class ships are beautiful and the service just cannot be beat. The personnel are always friendly and helpful. They also treat "family" very well. On our Westerdam transatlantic last year, the cruise director scheduled at least 4 "FOD" gatherings which sometimes drew about 20 passengers. We always run into other family on this line. In fact, we met two guys from Australia on the Westerdam.

 

Looking forward to meeting you on board,

Best regards,

Robert and Jerry

[Kiwifruit]

Hey Robert & Jerry,

 

Good to meet you both (in the cyber sense ;-).We have heard good things about HAL so we are looking forward to trying them out, from what I can gather they will be similar to Celebrity which we enjoyed. We having been meaning to try HAL for a while and the price we got offered on this cruise was too good to turn down so it was a bit of an impulse decision.

 

A little about us, we are both in our late thirties. I'm a lawyer and my partner is in the airline industry. We have been on a few cruises and love the freedom of just packing and unpacking once and let the scenery outside change before you. We have also met many interesting and fun folk from around the world, some of whom we still remain in contact with so I guess we probably now fall into the category of "cruise addicts".

 

We are busy now trying to work out our pre- and post cruise activities. I think we will probably arrive in NYC on the Monday to allow us time to get over the jetlag (its a 20 hour flight MEL-NYC ;-() and I always love NYC, its such a vibrant city. After the cruise we are then planning to catch up with some friends in Richmond for a few days, which will be fun before heading home.

 

Look forward to catching up with you both.

 

Regards,

 

David & Dougal

 

PS: I see from your post that you are a fan of NFL. While I'm an avid rugby fan, I really don't understand the intricacies of NFL as it gets little coverage downunder so you'll have to explain to me sometime over a beer ;-)

[MarylandBob]

David and Dougal,

 

Don't know if you've already booked your hotel in NY but we try to stay at the Renaissance at Times Square. The Marriott Marquis is also a very good hotel. We usually stay in this area because we love theatre and these hotels are centrally located to most Broadway venues. You can also find very nice accommodations in the Financial District in lower Manhattan and I understand that some excellent boutique hotels have been opening all over the city.

 

You will definitely need a nice place to relax after that grueling flight. We've talked about cruising to destinations in Southeast Asia but when we consider the flight we decide it's just too long on a plane. Maybe some day we'll change our minds.

 

Jerry and I have you guys by a few years in age. I'll be 48 next month and Jerry is at least another decade older than me, he's getting funny about his age so I won't give away his secret. We've been together for 25 years, yeah I was "chicken" when we met. We both still work full time for the Federal Government. I guess you could say I'm an Adminstrator and Jerry is an Information Technology Executive.

 

Jerry's son Stephen and his girlfriend Stephanie will be sailing with us. This will be their first cruise and I think they will enjoy it a lot. Holland does a really nice job and I understand this new ship is quite nice. We are looking forward to this trip because it does give you the opportunity to truly relax. As you mentioned, just unpack, lay back and watch the scenery change around you. Wow, I wish were leaving next week!

 

Oh well, better not wish our summer away even though it was 102 degrees farenheit here today. Washington D.C. is melting.

 

Let's keep in touch in the run-up to the cruise,

 

Best regards,

Robert and Jerry

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Robert & Jerry,

 

Sorry for being so lax responding to your last post but things have been pretty hectic at this end and all of a sudden the cruise is almost upon us.

 

We will be arriving in New York on Friday, 20th October as I have some work matters to attend to there before the cruise and I'm never adverse to grabbing the opportunity to spend some time in the Big Apple. We found it difficult to get accomodation and have ended up at the Four Points Sheraton in Chelsea. I know its a little away from the Times Square etc but we quite like the area and getting around Manhattan never seems to be a problem. We are hoping to take in a show or two while we are there so please let us know if you have any recommendations.

 

I have already started to pack but am not sure exactly what I should be packing for NY as its hard to predict just how cold it will be over there so I think we will have to cater for all seasons. The weather here is already on the improve, and summer will be almost here when we get back.

 

We look forward to catching up with you when we get on board.

 

Cheers,

 

David & Dougal

 

PS Are you planning to go to the Cruise Critic gathering that they are organising on the roll call thread?

[MarylandBob]

Hi guys,

 

We will probably go to the meet and greet but I'm not sure what the details are. I saw the link in one of the messages on the other thread but never went to it and now I can't find it. Do you know where and when?

 

Regards,

Robert and Jerry

[Kiwifruit]

Hi guys,

 

We will probably go to the meet and greet but I'm not sure what the details are. I saw the link in one of the messages on the other thread but never went to it and now I can't find it. Do you know where and when?

 

Regards,

Robert and Jerry

 

 

Hey Guys,

 

Here is the copy of page that you were asking for. Not sure whether we will attend or not but look forward to seeing you on board.

 

Cheers,

 

David & Dougal

 

"Cruise Critic Get Together Scheduled!

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This just in!

 

HAL has graciously decided that the spectacle of Mark flying off the stern of the ship will be too much excitement for the first full day at sea. They did suggest it might be appropriate later in the cruise. In keeping with that pronouncement, they have scheduled a Cruise Critic Group Get Together.

 

The Get Together will be held on Thursday, October 26th (first full sea day) at 11am in the Crow's Nest. It is tentatively slated to last 1 hour (Mark, don't be late - have your towel buddies get you up on time!). The Cruise Director and some of the Hotel Staff are confirmed to be there to "meet the group and answer any questions about ship life."

 

No mention was made about the request for an open bar - I guess we'll have to see when we get there.

 

So, put it in your PDAs, mark it on your calanders, write it on the back of the pleather ticket wallet (when you get it, for those who haven't yet). I am looking forward to meeting the people I have had such a good time planning this little junket with!

 

Also, there will be door prizes (don't get excited, its nothing too fancy, although contributions and ideas are welcome)! So, show up so and get yours!

 

Keep Smiling!!!"

[MarylandBob]

Thanks guys, we look forward to meeting you as well.

 

Best regards,

Robert and Jerry