Review -- Noordam 5/21 W. Med.

[celmed]

This is going to be a long review because I feel like I owe it after getting so much useful info from others on this board! And I know many are going on this cruise this summer and are first-time cruisers, so I hope I can offer some helpful advice to make your cruise even more spectacular. It won’t take much -- the itinerary is the star of this cruise. The brand-new Noordam was just the sideshow.

 

About us: I am 39 and my husband, Rich, is 44. I’ve been on one cruise and I’ve been to Europe several times (although never to any of these ports). Rich was new to both cruising and Europe. We tend to like higher-end travel such as Ritz-Carlton hotels and finer restaurants, but we are as apt to be munching a cheeseburger and gulping a beer as the next guy (or gal).

 

First I will give you my impressions of the ports and what we did at each one. After that I’ll give you my thoughts on the cruise itself.

 

General info: Everyone talks about safety issues in Europe but we never once felt threatened. I recommend women carry a small knapsack that fits across your body instead of a purse. Men should leave their wallets on the ship and just carry cash in their front pockets. Put your hands in your pockets when you are in crowds, and hold your bag to your chest. Also, try not to take full-day tours every day or you will be exhausted. We enjoyed afternoons on the ship at Mallorca, Tunisia and Palermo. And remember that most stores are closed in these ports from 1-4 every day -- use that time for lunch and visiting sites.

 

The Ports

Monte Carlo: Unless something changes, ships tender at this port. From the dock you can then walk into town or take a taxi. Monte Carlo and Monaco are built on rocks, so the walking can be treacherous and taxing, even with the elevators. When we were there, they were setting up for the Grand Prix, so the streets were even more chaotic than usual. We pre-booked a four-hour tour with Dream Tours. Guy was there to pick us up, and he swept us off to St Paul de Vence, a village about 45 minutes from the port. This village has historical significance but it has been turned in to a rather Disney-ish type of place. Still, the views are wonderful and the shops are fun. From there we drove back to Monte Carlo, where he drove by the highlights. Then he drove us up to Monaco so we could go in the cathedral where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace are buried, see the palace where Prince Albert lives and get some magnificent pictures of Monte Carlo and the anchored Noordam. We were back in time for dinner! I didn’t hear much from people who took the HAL tours at this port. I think many people were still jet-lagging.

 

Livorno: There is not much to do here unless you book an excursion. This is a huge commercial port, so walking around is not desirable. We again booked a private tour, this time with Claudio from Limo in Rome. He picked us up at 8 and we were off first to Pisa (just 15 miles). Not many people were there yet so we got to walk around without crowds. The cathedral wasn’t open yet, but the tower was. From there we continued on about 45 minutes to Florence. He took us to all the major sites, including the Accademia to see David. If you want to visit the Accademia or the Uffizi Gallery (we didn’t get to the Uffizi due to time), be sure to pre-book a reservation because the lines can be hours long. Claudio did this for us. After our day in Florence, it was about 70 miles back to the ship. Be forewarned that the ship’s tours to Florence are on buses that have to park about a mile outside town, so you will need to walk a good distance before you even start touring. Don’t expect them to have pre-booked tickets for you to anything. I heard good things about the Lucca excursion, if you’ve been to Florence and want to do something different.

 

Sea Day 1: This first day at sea is significant because it involves scenic cruising around the Calenques on Corsica. View times are around 6 am and 11 am. The cliffs are pink and orange in color. The cruise director narrates for some time. Unfortunately the Med was uncharacteristically choppy that day with waves of 7-12 feet.

 

Barcelona: We met a friend here who flew down from Amsterdam, so we did this city on our own. The port time is long so you have plenty of time to wander. We grabbed a taxi just outside the very nice Barcelona terminal and took it to the Drassnes Metro station. There you can buy a card (click on the machine’s British flag to get English) for the whole day. I think it was about 7 Euro for the full-day ticket. We took the Metro to the Sagrada Familia station. We spent about two hours exploring this amazing church, which has been under construction for 100 years. This is a must see! There is an elevator up the tower, and you can climb farther on stairs. After the church we took the Metro to the station nearest Gaudi’s apartment building. We had lunch at an outdoor café and then walked over to look at the apartment building. There was a Starbucks across the street – the only one I saw during this trip and it seemed to be a trendy place for the locals. After that we started at the top of La Rambla and walked down, stopping to poke around some shops. About halfway down, we took a left and walked through the Gothic district. Then we popped back out to La Rambla and continued down to the Columbus statue. From there we bid good-bye to our friend and hopped a taxi (amazingly, the same driver we had earlier from the ship!) back to the ship. I heard good things about the HAL tours. The tapas tour involves several bottles of wine, much to the pleasure (and, later, demise!) of those on that tour. I don’t think you can go wrong in Barcelona -- it is a fun, warm city with lots to see and do.

 

Palma de Mallorca: This is a beautiful place but don’t expect much to do. The port is a walk-off with plenty of taxis available, or you can walk into town in about 30 minutes. We took a taxi up the Castell de Bellver and looked around there. Amazing views from the top level! Then we took a taxi back to town (consider negotiating for the taxi to wait on you while you are at the Castell because there aren’t a lot of taxis up there). We visited the cathedral and walked around town a bit, then taxied back to the ship. It was nice to see Mallorca but it is one of those places that you can cross off your list once you’ve been there (unlike Florence or Barcelona!).

 

Sea Day 2: Even though our cruise still had three more ports and four more days, this was the day of the disembarkation talk and the farewell dinner, which was awkward and felt odd. All four couples at our dinner table ate at the Pinnacle in our formalwear, which was fun.

 

Tunisia: This port is the most challenging. It appears that Tunisia is new to cruise ships, so the infrastructure isn’t yet in place to handle tours well. I heard many, many complaints about the tours: guides who did not speak clear English, uncomfortable transportation, scary food, etc. So be prepared for a day of new experiences. We chose the transfer, which actually turned in to a tour because the guide on the bus offered to lead us through the souk. We decided to head out on our own and explore the souk ourselves. They accept Euros and American Dollars. You should haggle at a starting price of about 30 percent of what the merchant originally tells you, then end up somewhere in the middle. Lots of fun stuff to buy such as jewelry, perfume, shoes, leathers, T-shirts and so on. I recommend this transfer if you just want to shop. I heard horror stories about the taxis so avoid those. If you know French, this port will be easier for you as most Tunisians speak French and/or Arabic. I speak French and found that I got a different level of respect when I used it with the merchants.

 

Palermo: This port was a disappointment to me. We did not book a tour and I thought I had done enough research to get us around. Perhaps we were just too tired by this point. Also, it was a hot day. The ship ports right in the city so you can walk off and start wandering. We walked around the old town and saw the cathedral and did some shopping, then walked over to the Teatro Massimo. This is where they shot the final seen of Godfather 3. It was closed, which I knew beforehand, but we took a picture anyway. Then we wandered back to the ship. I’d advise a tour at this port, probably one that goes away from Palermo because it is a crowded and loud city like Rome. I heard pretty good things about the ship’s tour, but I heard that the Panoramic Palermo tour did not allow any stops except at the beach, which some said was a waste of time. Consider a tour that goes into the smaller villages of Sicily where there is more charm.

 

Naples: We booked another private tour here with Claudio, who contracted with Mariano to take us to the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. He picked us up at 8 and said we’d be leaving Pompeii for last (most people go first) so we would be closer to the port at the end of the day and not have to worry about traffic (smart!). Mariano is from near Sorrento so he knew many people along the Amalfi Coast. For example, he pulled over at a small market, hopped out and came back with a sample of fresh mozzarella for each of us. We did the entire Amalfi Coast, including Sorrento, Positano and Ravello. I think the ship’s tours only get to Sorrento due to time. We went through towns and along roads that buses wouldn’t have been able to navigate. Then he drove us to the gate at Pompeii and dropped us for two hours. We had the choice of a live guide, an audio guide or a free written guide and map at the Info desk (you have to ask, but it’s free!). I heard later that live guides were really helpful. We only saw about one-fourth of the whole place on our own. Note: Pompeii is definitely not suitable for disabled people. It can be challenging even for able-bodied folks!

 

The Cruise

This is a fantastic ship. We felt that we got good overall value from our VF category cabin. But I heard differently from someone in an SA category and from the couple in the penthouse (which I visited -- the balcony and walk-in closet are fantastic!). Then again, they paid a lot more than we did for the same of everything (food, entertainment, etc.) except a larger cabin! If I were doing more than a 10-day cruise, I’d want to upgrade to a suite just for space, I think. However, our cabin, 5053, had great storage. We had four suitcases and I was able to fit everything in the closets and bins and store the suitcases under the bed with room to spare for purchases.

 

By the way, do get a balcony cabin. The balcony was such a wonderful spot for sailaways and for Sea Day 1 when we sailed the Calenques. You will enjoy it.

 

The food was fine. It seemed to deteriorate in the last few days of the cruise, or maybe that was just because I was tired of eating! The only bad meal I had was lunch in the dining room on a sea day -- it was inedible. Our two visits to the Pinnacle were great (try the tasting menu with the wines for $49!). The Lido was good for a step up from cafeteria-style food. We only had breakfast and lunch there so I don’t know how the dinners are. People were raving about the pasta with meat sauce. I also heard really good things about the hamburger at lunch in the Pinnacle ($10). But to be honest, we weren’t here for the food so we were happy to just get a meal after a day of touring.

 

There was an interesting mix of people on this cruise (I don’t think it was near capacity). There were many seniors, of course, but just a handful of little kids. I saw glimpses of twentysomething types but I’d say the majority of us were 35 and older. We were blessed with a wonderful table of 8 -- four couples -- who were all around our age. We had such a great time together that we had our picture made (we all bought one!) and we met together for dinner two more nights in Rome after the cruise. I think we just got lucky. We were the last ones to leave the dining room every night, and that was after meeting for cocktails before dinner, and before we all hit the casino or showroom.

 

I only saw two shows. The one I saw seemed to have canned music. Some of the dancers were lip-synching and some weren’t. The singing was mediocre at best. The dancing was not always in sync. But many people seemed to be entertained, so that’s fine. Again, I wasn’t there for the entertainment. Another night I saw the Filipino staff show, which was a delight. They shared their cultural dances and songs, and I think they were better than the “professionals” in the show crew. Certainly more emotional and moving!

 

Other than the shows and the casino, nightlife is lacking on the Noordam. Perhaps the bars are rocking more on Caribbean cruises where people are less concerned about being up early and fresh for intensive ports? Or maybe it was the lack of younger people on the ship? All I know is we had a hard time finding a drink past 12:30. Our best bet was the Oak Room (the cigar room), which has its own cocktail server. By the way, the officers and the Pinnacle chef gather here late, too. There is an air system in the room that diffuses the smoke.

 

We used the ship’s laundry service twice at $19 a bag. I noticed when I got home that I have someone else’s white socks! It’s just one pair, but if anyone is reading this who is missing a pair of socks...

 

I recommend pre-purchasing some liquor and champagne/wine for your cabin, saving the 15 percent. Then buy wine/soda/water in ports so you can try other wines and save money. You have a fridge in your cabin. Also, every day in the schedule you can see what the special drinks of the day are. They are discounted, and it’s fun to try drinks you might not order normally. Another great every-day special is the bucket of beer at the Lido pool bar for $10. Overall, though, we found the drink prices to be very reasonable.

 

I do have a couple of complaints and they all relate to the end of the cruise. First off, as I said earlier, they did the disembarkation talk on the second sea day, which I understand is more conducive to that talk, but there were still four more days in our cruise. They also distributed the review forms that day and asked that they be returned that evening to win prizes. Of course, many people did that, but some of those wished they hadn’t because their bad tours in Tunisia and Palermo -- and other things that happened the next four days -- were not reflected in the reviews. From that point on, it felt like they were not-so-subtly kicking us off. They ran out of limes in the bars. Our fruit basket disappeared. Our fridge was locked and the contents (including milk in a friend’s cabin) were deposited on the counter. The amenity holder in the bathroom was removed and the bottles set on the bathroom counter. Is all of this really necessary two days before the end of the cruise? And the kicker: Rich and I went to get something to eat from the Lido at 8:30 on disembarkation day and everything was closed up. I expected they would leave out some rolls or something, but everything including beverages was closed up. So we didn’t get anything to eat until we got to Rome at noon. After a great cruise, these ending moments caused a bad taste in my mouth.

 

And one other thing. While we were cruising, the earthquake hit Indonesia. I asked a few different Indonesian staff members if they had word on their families. To a person, they said almost the same thing, and with a pasted-on smile -- but I could see differently in their eyes. They clearly were instructed on what to say, and not to discuss their personal feelings with passengers. This really bothered me and made me wonder what the staff must think of us passengers when they are instructed not to tell us how they feel. I think they should be allowed to share their feelings if they are asked directly.

 

Do I love cruising? Not really. But what I do love is the ability to get to so many fascinating ports while I am sleeping. If I cruise again, it will be because of the ports and not the actual cruise. Overall, though, I think HAL does a good job for the money. If you are looking for great food and an upscale experience, try Crystal or Seabourn. If you want nighttime excitement, try Carnival or RCCL. But if you just want a comfortable, classy environment at a reasonable price, HAL is a great choice.

 

Please let me know if you have questions and I will do my best to help!

[like2cruise]

We are booked with Mariano and looking forward to our day with him. Did he take you to his home? Any other specifics on your day with him would be appreciated including his personality! Thanks!

[laughoutloud]

Christy,

 

Your review was wonderful! Interesting, balanced, some great tips, personal comments & so well-written.

 

Kudos.

[lvs2crooz]

Thanks for taking the time to write the review. I've been waiting to hear from someone about this itinerary. We're sailing 9/18 and can't believe we're only 3 mos. from sail date. It seems like yesterday that we were 6 mos. away. I pre-booked tours about a month ago. None are private and all thru HAL. I need to check the list of tours I booked in the next couple of days and see if you heard positive things about them. Good idea about ordering spirits for the room. I'll do that and thanks for the info about wines in port. Did you have any particular favorite wines that you purchased? Glad you had a great time for the majority of the cruise. Mary

[rockinjo]

Great review. . .I'm printing it out and taking it with us tomorrow. Every experience is different, but you gave us some good points to look out for. A quick question. . .we still haven't decided how we will get into Florence from the port in Livorno. I have a private tour booked in Florence but was considering the ship's bus to town. . .would we be better off looking for a taxi at the port??????

[gwilli]

Thanks for the review. You gave us lots of helpful info! We'll be on the Noordam THIS SATURDAY!!!!!! Can't wait! I'm packing today. I didn't realize the seas would be so rough. I guess we will need Bonnie!

 

See you rockinjo on Sunday in the Crow's Nest @ 10:00 am. Anyother CCers are welcome to join us!

 

Happy sailing.......

 

Gail

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for posting a wonderful review of both your ship experience and the ports.

[celmed]

We are booked with Mariano and looking forward to our day with him. Did he take you to his home? Any other specifics on your day with him would be appreciated including his personality! Thanks!

 

He didn't take us to his home but I wish he had after the description of his wife's and mom's cooking! :)

For a beautiful bathroom break, ask him to stop at the San Pietro hotel. He knows the owner. It's on a cliff and it has beautiful views.

Also remind him to stop at the pottery place -- I can't remember the place but he'll know. Best values I found in Italy, and they bargain with you.

The place he takes you for lunch in Ravello is a bit pricey but the views are worth it.

He will stop anywhere you want for pictures along the way.

You won't believe how much he knocks himself out during the tour -- we tipped him well! :)

[celmed]

Did you have any particular favorite wines that you purchased? Mary

 

All! Tee-hee!

We actually challenged ourselves to buy some cheap wines, trying to find something bad. We couldn't find a bad one. In fact, there is a supermarket across the street from the Monte Carlo pier (Carrefour) and you will see locals in there buying bottle after bottle of the 4- and 5-Euro wines. The same is true in Spain and Italy. How I wish it were true in the U.S.!

[fb0075]

What time was the First disembarkcation notification?

Also, would you give links to your guides!!

THANKS FRANK

[celmed]

A quick question. . .we still haven't decided how we will get into Florence from the port in Livorno. I have a private tour booked in Florence but was considering the ship's bus to town. . .would we be better off looking for a taxi at the port??????

I didn't hear from anyone who took a taxi to Livorno because it is 70 miles each way. There is train service from Livorno to Florence and I did hear some say they did that successfully (but be forewarned -- Italian trains can be late and not show up at all!). I'm not sure about the HAL transfer -- if I were you, I'd call HAL and find out what the hours are for that transfer. You might not have as much time as you'd like if use the HAL transfer.

[celmed]

I didn't realize the seas would be so rough.

 

They shouldn't be. We experienced an unusual day on the Med. All other days were more like bathwater.

[mushroom]

Great review! Thanks. I'm curious about why the passengers in the SA did not love their suite? Can you expand on what caused them to feel this way?

[celmed]

What time was the First disembarkcation notification?

Also, would you give links to your guides!!

THANKS FRANK

First off was 6:30 a.m., I believe, and that was for people catching flights. We were last at 9 a.m, and we had our own transport to Rome.

Claudio and Mariano are with LimoinRome.com.

Guy is with Dream-Tours.com.

[tgio]

THANKS so much-- I wish i knew some of this weeks ago- we are on the cruise on Saturday-- I am on the cruise with two teens- any tips for making on and off the ship not so time consuming?

[rockinjo]

Thanks for all your help, Christy. . .we are out of here in a few hours! Happy sailing everyone on the June 10th Noordam. . .

 

Joan

[jhannah]

What great info. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

[celmed]

Great review! Thanks. I'm curious about why the passengers in the SA did not love their suite? Can you expand on what caused them to feel this way?

I should clarify that they DID love their SA cabin and the Penthouse couple said their cabin made the whole trip for them. They just didn't feel that they got overall value when they looked at the cost against other factors (food, entertainment, etc.). But that's where a person has to decide if the larger cabin is important enough on its own to pay the higher fee, because everything else about the cruise is the same. (Well, they do get some extra perks as well, such as the Neptune Lounge, early tendering, and all of that as well.)

[l83142]

Thank you for your thorough, informative and thoughtful posting. My wife and I are booked on the Noordam Med cruise on August 9. Do you recall the tour cost charged by LimoinRome and by Dream-Tours?

 

Also, you mentioned purchasing wine at the ports. I recall that HAL prohibits bringing wine and other spirits on board. Am I incorrect, or does HAL "look the other way"?

 

Thank you.

[fb0075]

We ,also, are booked on the Aug 9 Noordam and curious about the price ----

THANKS FRANK

[l83142]

Frank, I subsequently visited the Web sites that Christy mentioned: www.limoinrome.com and www.dream-tours.com . The prices vary by tour and number of persons per vehicle. Clearly, the more passengers, the lower the price per person. If we had a total of 3 or 4 couples, the economies of scale significantly reduce the per person or per couple costs. Would you and your travel companion be interested? I am new to cruisecritic.com, but we might find other couples by posting on the Roll Call board for our cruise. Please let me know. If I don't respond immediately, it is because my wife and I will be out of town for a week starting tomorrow, but if I have internet access, I will reply.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

[tjcox9]

Just recently off the Noordam and HAL does not prohibit wine, but doesn't allow other alcohol such as gin, vodka, etc.

 

We brought on wine at several ports and sometime a couple of bottles.

[l83142]

Thank you. HAL used to allow on board consumption of spirits purchased in their ship's duty free shops (last sailed with HAL in 2003--Alaska Inside Passage). Now, I am told they will not deliver purchased the spirits to you until disembarkation at the end of the voyage. I assume they changed the policy, because they thought they were losing bar business.

 

I have an unrelated question if you were on a 10 day cruise. Do you recall the number of formal nights?

 

Thank you.

 

Steve

[tjcox9]

We actually did back to back 10 day cruises. Documents said 3 formal nights each 10 days, but it actually turned out to be 2 formal, 1 formal/informal optional on each.

 

Hope that helps and enjoy!

[l83142]

Thank you.