Noordam Review
Rating by category
Additional details
While the Noordam feels behind in her maintenance and refurbishment, the same level of outstanding cabin and Vista service remains. Issues upon embarkation regarding luggage delivery were resolved after several attempts (including personal visit to Front Office where misleading information was claimed as the reason for the delay, followed by phone call to Corporate HQ in Seattle which brought immediate results), and the rest of the voyage went smoothly.
We were dismayed by certain aspects of our verandah (VE) cabin 5074, as you can see in the Cabin Review section elsewhere.
The experience (our second) on Half Moon Cay was lackluster unless you went to rather high expense (for what you get) to enhance your day -- we returned to the ship much earlier than we had on our first visit, and have decided that future visits to that particular port will find us remaining on board and taking advantage of the specials offered there. We could have used more time in both San Juan and Charlotte Amalie, perhaps skipping Half Moon Cay completely. Our second visit to Turks & Caicos was also ho-hum, although we did enjoy having a cheeseburger-cum-Cuba-Libra while Cheeseburger in Paradise was playing at Margaritaville. Recent beach replenishment also made enjoyment of the excellent swimming opportunity hazardous for one of our group who had recent knee surgery -- feet sink several inches into the bottom, and you can easily torque a sensitive joint just trying to extract them. Maybe it's "just us," but shopping opportunities throughout are less than exciting -- an unexpected turn of events. Much of the same merchandise follows you everywhere you go -- except on Half Moon Cay, where the shops were nearly empty.
Cabin Review
In our humble (fourth HAL cruise) opinion, this cabin should not be sold at the same rate or in the same category as others on the Verandah Deck. It is substandard when compared with the other three cabins we have enjoyed on past sailings. The lifeboat mechanics/workings/hoists and lights extend above the verandah railing and interfere with the view. The main service entrance is directly across the hall (a stainless-steel door constantly in use resulting in lots of noise). The cabin itself reflects a lesser level of attention with scratches in the light-reducing film on the verandah door, shower curtain torn and wrong size, etc. Service remained very high, with cabin cleanliness on a high standard and courtesies performed happily. A shame that HAL's allowing this type of obtrusive interference with the upgrade to verandah combined with lax maintenance to interfere with heretofore loyal passengers who are now, for the first time, considering other lines for future sailings.