Noordam Review

Noordam - Eastern Caribbean

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Noordam
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Kruzrazkal
First Time Cruiser • Age 20s

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Sail Date: Apr 2007
Cabin: Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom

Having sailed with Holland America 6 times before, I looked forward to this voyage with great anticipation. Overall, we had an excellent trip, with a few exceptions noted below. I traveled with 3 other adults, all experienced cruising enthusiasts. We booked side-by-side balcony staterooms and opened the partition between them, to give us a larger space. I have traveled with HAL 6 times before, and I've also cruised on RCCL, Princess, and the former Home Lines.

We booked our round trip air from the midwest independently, but we purchased the an overnight Hotel stay in NYC and transfers from HAL. Our flights went smoothly. Upon arrival at La Guardia, we had to search for a HAL representative and eventually found her outside near the baggage claim area. We settled in at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers. The Hotel was in an excellent location in Manhattan, close to the Ed Sullivan Theater ( we could have taken in the David Letterman Show) and Broadway. We enjoyed an excellent lunch at the Hotel. In general, the Hotel was average in terms of decor despite a recent remodeling. There was a sign in the Hotel Lobby instructing us to meet with a HAL representative at designated times that evening. We went to the specified location 4 times, but she never showed up until the next morning. Having found her, she then told us where to meet our transfer van to go to the Port. There were 10 of us for a 10-seated van. This would ordinarily have been suitable, but with all of our carry-ons crammed on our laps or between our legs, we had a most uncomfortable ride to port. We were grateful it was only 10 minutes long.

Once at port, the embarkation process went very well, although the lines were longer for those of us with "express" embarkation than for those without it. We boarded the ship by about 12:30 and were taken up to the Embarkation Luncheon. The luncheon was delicious, although we still had all our carry-ons with us, which created an inconvenience. I miss the days when we could not board until the rooms were ready. I always appreciated a welcome aboard escort to my stateroom from HAL. I'd freshen up, unload my carry-ons, then go to lunch. Perhaps those days are over. The rooms were available around 1:30.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom

Cabin VA
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