Noordam Review
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Additional details
This was a 21-day cruise that started in Civitavecchia, Italy and ended in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It combined two HAL cruises: a 7-day cruise with stops in Livorno (Florence, Pisa), Monaco, Barcelona, Caligari (Sardinia), Sicily (Palermo), and then back to Civitavecchia followed by a 14-day cruise that stopped at Alicante, Malaga, Cadiz, and Madeira before heading on a 7-day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.
What attracted us were (1) the cost savings -- HAL gives you a discount when you combine two cruises together like that; in addition, the 2nd part of it was a repositioning cruise, which also saves money; (2) the itinerary; and (3) the mix of interesting ports with lots of at sea days.
We flew out early so that we could spend three nights in Rome before our cruise. We booked our airline and hotel (Visconti Palace in Rome) through HAL. This worked out extremely well. I don't think that we could have gotten a better deal on airfare, and the Visconti Palace turned out to be an excellent choice: great location (you can walk from there to the Vatican or to the Spanish Steps or the Pantheon, etc.) and a surprisingly fine buffet breakfast each morning. There was a HAL rep onsite at the hotel. The transfers from airport to hotel and from hotel to the Noordam went very smoothly. It made schlepping luggage much less of a problem than it would have been if we had made our own arrangements.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Verandah Suite
We stayed in stateroom 7060. It's a Deluxe Veranda Suite in a great location across from the Neptune Lounge. It has tons of closet, drawer, and storage space. Three suitcases (two of them large) fit easily under the bed. The closets have fold-down shelves that give you the option of keeping them as closets or using them for additional shelf space. The bathroom has double sinks, two medicine cabinets, and a separate shower staff and bathtub with jets. In short, a very comfortable, spacious, and well-located suite. My only complaint is that, even after 21 days, I was still thoroughly baffled as to which light switches controlled which lights....