Noordam Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We just returned from our 10-day cruise on the Noordam. We have mixed feelings about our experience. We are a 56 and 60 year old couple, and took the cruise as our belated 25th wedding anniversary gift to ourselves.
Boarding was slick and relatively efficient...even though they said the terminal would not be open for embarkation prior to 11:00 AM, it was clear that many people arrived before that time...nonetheless, boarding did start relatively soon after that time, and as passengers arrived, they were put in a holding area (with refreshments from Holland America, a nice touch).
Ports/Excursions: Grand Turk/Caicos - fabulous excursion on the Catamaran Sail and Snorkel - great boat and snorkeling for a long time. Then they took us to a beach (previously mentioned in excursion description) for a "beach party". We had a ball! One crew member was pouring rum shots directly into people's mouths, the crew was going back and forth to the boat for rum punch, etc. If you can imagine a bunch of 50+ year olds acting like kids (I know, some could think of that as gross or disgusting), but it was so funny that we splurged for the video of the snorkeling (done by scuba diver) and beach party. Was the most enjoyable of all the excursions.
Cabin Review
We were surprised by the small size of the room…and at first feared our three pieces of luggage (two large and one carry-on roller) would not fit anywhere. As it turned out, with creative hanging of items, putting some shelves up and others down in the closet, we fit the bags there…but it took some thinking first. After that, we were OK with the room as we did not plan to spend much time there. The beds were put together by our steward prior to arrival…they were excellent beds, plenty large (which did detract from the appearance of size of the room)…I have some lingering back issues after two surgeries a couple years ago, so I had some concerns…but they were unfounded. No alarm clock but wake up call service available...would be nice to have a clock there. Shower only, reasonable for average size person, tight for me (6'5"). To maneuver into and out of bathroom required closing or blocking closet doors, traffic jam when wife selecting clothes and me coming out of shower, or her using sink while shower being used.