Notes from the Noordam - May 2022

[IPB4IGO]

We left Vancouver yesterday, and there a few things that surprised me.

First, unlike our January cruise on the Zuiderdam, my Android phone can successfully make calls and send/receive texts using the shipboard Wi-Fi. Our phone supports "Wi-Fi Calling", but that didn't work on the Zuiderdam.

Second, we were disappointed to find that masks are still required while indoors except when eating and drinking.

Third, the ship seems even less full than our January cruise, which was at less than 50% capacity.

 

One thing that didn't surprise me was that the vast majority of people in line at the Customer Service desk were there to get help with the Navigator app.

 

We decided to skip "Dressy" night in the MDR tonight, but the Filet Mignon Oscar in the Lido was excellent! At 7:00 PM the Lido was probably at 10% capacity.

[oakridger]

Good to know about the WiFi calling and the dressy night!  The Filet Mignon Oscar is probably what I would order.  

 

Thanks for keeping us posted during your cruise.

~Nancy

[cruising Katie]

Thanks for letting us know how the Noordam is doing.  I have been unable to find any recent photo's of her since the referbish.  If you could take some photo's around the ship would be wonderful.  I have the 69 day trip on her starting Oct. 8th.  Also of a signature suite too if possible.  Enjoy your cruise.

 

Thanks Kate 

[MountainsAndRivers]

How was boarding in Vancouver?  I will be boarding the next departure out of Vancouver and am interested 🙂  

 

Any other observations?  Appreciate the effort to keep us informed!!!

[quack2]

Deleted.

Edited May 17, 2022 by quack2

[oceanbill457]

Don't know if this will apply when you return to Vancouver. We debarked the Noordam Sunday and needed a covid test before our flight back to San Diego on Monday. We went to the testing site inside Canada Place and got a free test. Walked in and tested immediately. Waited 15 minutes and got results printed out.

[IPB4IGO]

23 hours ago, MountainsAndRivers said:

How was boarding in Vancouver?  I will be boarding the next departure out of Vancouver and am interested 🙂  

 

Any other observations?  Appreciate the effort to keep us informed!!!

Boarding in Vancouver was easy for us because we spent the big bucks and spent the night at the Pan Pacific. The bellman picked up our bags in our room and the next time we saw them was on the bed in our cabin a couple hours later.

 

Also, I used the Verifly app before boarding. An agent at the terminal asked if we had used it, and I showed her the screen on my phone. She directed us around the longest line, so we bypassed a lot of waiting.

 

When we got to the actual boarding area, there was no separation of passengers by group, boarding time, priority status, etc. Everybody was directed to fill in rows of folding chairs as they came in, then they started boarding one row at a time from the front. I don't know if this was typical for Vancouver since we haven't sailed out of there in quite a few years.

 

The ship is very well maintained. Everything works, and nothing looks worn. The staff are their usual delightful selves.

 

The ship is clearly not full. Our steward told me that he has the usual 30 cabins in his section, but only half of them are occupied. The Lido and Main Dining Room appear busier than they were on the cruise we took in January, but the lines in the Lido are almost nonexistent and there was no waiting for a table for two in the MDR last night.

 

Yesterday in Ketchikan is was 45 degrees, windy, and raining. We stayed aboard. We were sorry to miss it because we enjoy the town, but we'll catch it on the southbound cruise home.  We will dock in Juneau in about 90 minutes. It's sunny and 48 degrees. We look forward to walking around town.

[fsdj1097]

We're sailing Koningsdam next month R/T Vancouver....ready to head back to the Great Land.  Just curious, another poster mentioned on the early sailings that there was no Alaska Amber Ale onboard.    Have you noticed if is any of the Alaska Brewery beers on board?  Thanks!

[Moonlight Beach]

We are sailing on May 29. Are the staterooms updated? Wall mount tv's? Specifically, verandas and Signature suites.

[jakers]

6 hours ago, fsdj1097 said:

We're sailing Koningsdam next month R/T Vancouver....ready to head back to the Great Land.  Just curious, another poster mentioned on the early sailings that there was no Alaska Amber Ale onboard.    Have you noticed if is any of the Alaska Brewery beers on board?  Thanks!

Alaska brewery beers are stocked in Juneau. At the start of the season, if there are no Alaska Beers onboard they will wait until Juneau to stock them. Prior to Covid we were on the first 21 day Alaska cruise out of San Francisco. No Alaska brewing beer onboard. When we were in Juneau the ship was forced to tender. No Alaska beer was brought onboard unless you count the twelve bottles that we purchased in Juneau and refused to surrender. We didn't get Alaska beer until near the end of the cruise when we stopped in Vancouver.

[IPB4IGO]

An indication of how far the ship is below passenger capacity: The dining room on Deck 3 has been closed for the entire cruise. Early seating, late seating, anytime dining are all on Deck 2. 

 

We have showed up at the dining room any time between 5:30 and 7:00 and never had to wait for a table for two.

[terrydtx]

On 5/18/2022 at 10:14 PM, jakers said:

Alaska brewery beers are stocked in Juneau. At the start of the season, if there are no Alaska Beers onboard they will wait until Juneau to stock them. Prior to Covid we were on the first 21 day Alaska cruise out of San Francisco. No Alaska brewing beer onboard. When we were in Juneau the ship was forced to tender. No Alaska beer was brought onboard unless you count the twelve bottles that we purchased in Juneau and refused to surrender. We didn't get Alaska beer until near the end of the cruise when we stopped in Vancouver.

In 2019 on the Noordam in July we had several bars that had Alaska Brewing company on tap. We also had Alaska Root Beer in bottles, which our grandson fell in love with.

[LynnTTT]

WE'll be on the Noordam in July for the 12 day Triple Denali, departing Vancouver.

Can anyone confirm the "dressy Captains dinner night"??  I know it won't be vert formal but the food id better.  We want to book a  speciality restaurant for a sea day.