My family chose to sail to the Carribean over spring break this year, and we were pleased that the Noordam fit our plans. I traveled with my mom, dad, aunt, and uncle (all in early 60's), my younger sister and her boyfriend (late 20's), and my eight-year-old niece. Sadly, my DH could not come since he was teaching that week. All of us except for said boyfriend and niece had previously sailed on the Noordam in 2007 (though not all at the same time)and we all had very fond memories of the ship. At that time she sailed from New York City, which we loved as we live in North Jersey, but this time we flew to Fort Lauderdale to set sail.

We went down to Florida the day before, and stayed at the Hyatt Regency. The hotel itself had an old feel even though it was probably renovated fairly recently. Unfortunately it was not within walking distance to any stores, and restaurant options were few. However, it was within walking distance to a Catholic Church which was good as we departed on Easter Sunday.

When some of us traveled out of FLL last year on the Eurodam,embarkation had been swift and easy. This trip we were leading from a different pier, and it took quite a bit longer to get on board. However it was still much better than when we left out of NYC. I'd say we were probably on board by 12pm. We headed to the Lido Deck for lunch, and we were allowed into our cabins not too much later. I was surprised when our luggage showed up in our cabin very quickly, and we were able to unpack completely before the muster drill. Read more