Sailed on 20 March. First time with Holland America. Had high expectations, was let down. Ship felt dated. The ship did not appear to be maintained as a once beautiful ship built in Italy in 2006. Sound system around the pool cracked and spit many times making it hard to enjoy music. The overhead retractable ceiling on the Lido deck leaks all over the lounge chairs when it rains. Pool just ...
This was our first cruise on Holland America and our expectations were admittedly high. The Noordam was great, we loved it. Our cabin was nice and decently appointed, except that they don't have CNN. (Why not?)The public areas are comfortable, nicely and tastfully done and offer a cozy atmosphere. The buffets are well laid out in a manner that makes them accessible, yet uncrowded. The main dining ...
This was a fabulous ship with excellent dining options. We enjoyed all meals on board, even the buffet for breakfast and lunch. We enjoyed the entertainment and guest speakers at art auction. Our ports of call were great - Half Moon Cay (gorgeous), Grand Turk (lovely), Samana (the Best beach & snorkel), Bonaire (stunning), Curacao (great food). I must elaborate on Samana which tends to get a bad ...
November 15 – 25, 2013
This is my cruise review. All opinions are personal and subjective.
My wife and I are 3 star Mariners who have nearly 100 days on HAL. We have been sailing Hal since 1998. We are in our late 50’s and this trip we were joined by great friends.
Our vacation started with a flight to Ft. Lauderdale the evening before the cruise. We stayed locally and lingered at the hotel the ...
A one week HAL Alaska cruise was our introduction to cruising. It was great! Yes, inclement weather forced cancellation of several excursions, but we had a wonderful time. Much of the scenery reminded us of our PNW home, but we still had a wonderful time.
Several years later we booked a two week Panama Canal cruise on Celebrity. They offered a better rate and we were not disappointed by an ...
Pre and post cruise Hilton Marina, we just love Ft. Lauderdale and next time we will spend more than the two nights after our cruise.
Boarding was a dream and the Noordam looked good both inside and out, had lunch at the Lido and got to know our ship which was spotless in the true HAL tradition. We cruise to relax from the rigours of work and enjoyed our cabin so much we did not do one show, ...
We decided to take this cruise on HAL although my wife and myself have traveled extensively on just about all the cruise line this would be our first with Holland American Lines. We live in Florida so it was an easy trip to the Noorsdam which was at Birth 26 in ft Lauderdale. Everything went well and our stateroom which was just below the Lido deck on the 8 floor. Our bags arrived and the ...
This was our 3rd cruise with HAl and we were not as pleased as in the past.
Let me start by saying that they do have the embarking down to a science talk about smooth sailing! Of course we were in a suite so that of course helps but most of the personnel at the desks are wonderful.
Our suite was very nice however there were no lounge chairs on the deck which we had on other ships and the ...
My husband and I and another couple were on the Noordam last month for 10 days in the Caribbean. It was both couples second time on this ship. We have sailed 4 previous times on HAL and my husband and I sailed on the Noordam the summer of 2009 for 20 days in the Mediterranean and had a wonderful time. This experience was quite different.
When the 4 of us booked the cruise last fall the ...
My husband and I decided we wanted to try HAL for a change this year. We are Platinum members of Carnival and never had a disappointing cruise while on CCL. I have been on NCL, RCL, and Costa to name a few. We heard that HAL was a "class" up from CCL. We boarded on March 25th with six other family members excited about our ten day six port cruise. The cabin was lacking adequate storage for ...