First time cruisers opinion on Noordam 3/31

[MrSynystr]

My Noordam Review and Tips

the following is my opinion please keep that in mind

 

Room- had a verandah room 4003 in front of the ship a little rocky but didnt get sea sick at all. Room steward Yoyo was AWESOME very attentive. Got me a bigger robe and always kept room clean in fact one night I left $50 in Blackjack winnings in fruitbowl and forgot about till after breakfast came back Room was cleaned fruitbowl was gone but money was there. Got laundry service Sooooo worth it... thought they did loose a bathing suit.. I also heard that there wasnt a lot of storage so I bought the over the door organizer, what a waste tons of storage in bathroom and room

 

Vista Dining room - Again service AMAZING very attentive, food was ok some things were great Prime Rib was amazing, and try the cold soups.. dont be afraid to ask for soup and salad or two deserts they will do it, portions are kinda small but thats good prevents you from overeating. My brother had three lobsters tails on surf and turf night. also there were three formal nights and people did wear jeans on casual nights I saw no real major offenders.. If you want to have something that is being served that night in the vista as room service.. they will. I also had late seating so I swung by early and looked at entrees that were the same in vista at lido helped me prevent some mistakes

 

Lido Food - Was ok breakfast time is insane. but say hi to peter on the starboard side of lido he has alot of personality. try the sandwiches I had brie with grilled veggies on croissant it is awesome

Ice cream station is great here is a tip they always serve juice and milk here you have ask for it also they have butterscotch and chocolate syrup behind counter again you have to ask for it. The asian station was ok food was a little greasy and sushi was cheesy ( lots of veggie sushi and turkey sushi) Salad bar is great lots of fixings. Also unsweetened ice tea is free flowing just bring a travel mug because they have only small glasses

 

Deck 10 above Crows nest - Great place to go if you want to get away from the kids and the Lounge chair savers. There was always a chair up there and no loud music like in the lido. My favorite place on the ship to just hang out

 

Spaif your cruise was overcrowded like 3/31 I strongly recomend getting the hydropool and thermosuite cruise package. I only went on the last sea day but it was much quieter and you dont have to wait for room in the jacuzzi.

 

Explorers lounge and Coffee bar played trivial pursuit one day , started to play monopoly but was missing pieces.. they had lots of books and books on cd but no cd players to rent ... though you could buy one at gift shop for 29.99 .. coffee bar had only once . I wasnt impressed the psuedo carmal machiato was not so good But this is best place to go for a mug if you forgot one, I think they had one for 7 bucks

 

Piano Bar Stop in one night and just see Kory play Tons of personality and lots of laughs

 

Bingo they had win a cruise bingo and 25k bingo pretty neat Jazzy was fun but made some mistakes and insists that he didnt ( he did this at Bingo and Trivia)

 

Cruise director team trivia Incredible hard but fun a good way to meet others

 

Shows We had the juggling comedian saw him both times and enjoyed it Scavenger hunt game Bring stuff from room.. toilet paper napkins they asked for bras and pants also...

 

Casinotried blackjack last two nights did well stick with peter or marion, did well with them. stay away from the machine with quarters that you push them forward they kept moving 100 singles piled on it back every day.

 

PORTS of call

 

Dominica Booked an outside tour with company to tito gorge and traffalger falls it was amazing tito gorge is a swim through cave to a watefall at the end.. and traffalger falls we climbed up to the falls. this is very dangerous VERY DANGEROUS you actually pass a sign that says enter at your own risk. rocks are slippery and wet covered in algae but worth it when you get up there.. probably wouldnt have done it if i knew how dangerous it was before I went on it but was glad that I did.

 

Barbados booked a tour with thriller ocean tours,, did snorkeling with sea turtles got to touch them went to two shipwrecks guy was great that ran it all the beer and rum punch you could drink... was like 4 hours for 50 bucks a person

 

St Thomas and St Martin Just walked around looking at jewelry stores that is all there is there at st thomas went to paradise overllook point on a tram ride has a great view..

 

San Juan such a short time there went to one of the forts, but they have the coolest place ever there it is called the butterfly people and they have amazing works of art made out of butterflys definitely go see.

If you want to see pictures you can go to my brothers web site www.briandiele.com and look under noordam

 

Best things on boat

Purell hand sanitzer stations all over ship dont bother bringing any

Jackpot party slot machine penny one

 

Worst things

waiting on line for an omelette

walking by smoking area in lido ( what a dumb place)

sports bar is poorly ventilated also

And the loud eastern europeans.

 

Must brings.

Travel mug or sports bottle

Krazy glue

 

 

But all and all a good time I was with my family so it was fun , I think id like to try a different line with more activities on sea days any suggestions?

[Sale Away]

Ok... gotta ask. What did you need Krazy Glue for? Or is that a better left to the imagination item? ;)

[FlyingScotSailors]

Ok... gotta ask. What did you need Krazy Glue for? Or is that a better left to the imagination item? ;)

 

We got stuck on that one too!:eek:

 

Nice review. :)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I agree, very nice review. I like hearing from first time cruisers but I too got to ask. What did you need the Super Glue for? Looking at your handle name I doubt you needed it to glue back on a nail:D

[SakeDad]

Someone said theyhad stopped Lido deck smoking....I guess that's not true....comments? I'm a non-smoker who wished everywhere was non-smoking!:rolleyes:

Glad you enjoyed her...we will be on her any May for the 1st time. Would love to hear anymore "can't miss/must miss" areas of the Noordam.

THANKS:)

[Seago2]

Here we go with the loud Eastern Europeans againm- they were on my 1/17 cruise, too. A lady accused me of stealing her seat and bag (suffice to say: I didn't) and screamed and yelled for security. The rest of the trip I got dirty looks and raised voices from the four women. They also pushed in line and looked unhappy/angry the whole time.

 

Must be a certain TA.

 

The smoking is in the bar on the port side right as you enter the Lido Buffet. It's a cloud of smoke. Not too bad, but as I looked away from them I couldn't help noticing the wierd chairs at the bar. Like fins, I guess, but difinitely wierd looking when someone's tush is in one.

[sab490]

The smoking is in the bar on the port side right as you enter the Lido Buffet. It's a cloud of smoke. Not too bad, but as I looked away from them I couldn't help noticing the wierd chairs at the bar. Like fins, I guess, but difinitely wierd looking when someone's tush is in one.

 

If you think they look wierd, try sitting in one for any length of time! :eek: They are more uncomfortable than they look! I guess they were more concerned with form than function. In this case, they missed the boat on both.

 

- Steve

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for posting your review.

 

I, too, am curious as to why you need Krazy Glue???

[MrSynystr]

Ok now the crazy glue answer:

 

I brought flip flops with me that had no tread on the soles so every time I walked passed the lido pool I was taking my life into my own hands slipping. So on my first stop at St thomas I saw the travel guide Chris ( super helpfull ) with a bag from Kmart. Went there no flip flips in my size but there was a foot locker in same shopping mall.. Bought a no name pair for 25 bucks, soles had tread but the kept peeling back in the front so now I was tripping, I didnt think I would need krazy glue so I ignored the suggestions had to wait till st martin till I found a store with Krazy glue for three dollars.