We are a couple of bottom-feeding DINKS (dual income, no children) in our early 30's who work very hard (as a nanny and a realtor, respectively) in NYC who wanted a no-muss, no-fuss winter vacation to The Caribbean. As I, Boohbah, abhor flying and Holland America has ships that leave out of New York, a cruise to The Caribbean by way of The Noordam seemed ideal.

Embarkation: We took a cab from Brooklyn to the Manhattan piers. We got to the Holland America area, got a number, and waited about 15 minutes until it was called. From there we breezed through security, quickly got our ship information, and were on our way. The only hold-up was the long line for the Embarkation Photo, but compared to the 2+ hours we spent trying to herd onto The Carnival Legend on our last cruise, it was nothing.

First Impressions of the Ship:Once we were on board, we made our way to The Lido for an early lunch. We were pleasantly surprised by how lovely the room was and by the variation (if not the quality) of food that was offered. The Chefs, Food Servers and Lido Dining Room Stewards were charming, helpful and truly wonderful. After lunch we wandered around the ship. It was impeccably clean, beautifully decorated with fantastic artwork and fresh flowers everywhere and filled with smiling employees. Read more