I have not had a chance to write a review on out Western Mediterranean cruise last April/May 06 on the Noordam.

First I will give you my general overview of HAL and the Noordam. My overall impression was just OK compared to the last cruise we took on Celebrity, which I feel excelled in overall service and quality. Embarkation in Civitavecchia was excellent and smooth! On Board Holland America was a little lacking in the service department. The first 2 days the staff seemed very cold, unhelpful and distant. With the exception of our Stateroom attendant Sonny. They seemed to loosen up after the 2nd day. Overall the food was just ok in both dining rooms and room service. Desserts were not very good anywhere on this ship! I do have to say the Pinnacle grill was the highlight of our dining experience. Cruise Value Center had given us complimentary passes to the Pinnacle along with 2 bottles of Wine in our Stateroom since we have booked with them several times.

Now for the good stuff! The ports of call! Of course we embarked in Civitavecchia. We arrived a day early so we could see the sites in Rome and just in case there was a luggage issue, which there was. We missed our connecting flight in Frankfurt by 6 min. So, they put us on the next flight 1 hour later. No problem. So when we got to Rome 2 bags got left for the 5 pm flight. The baggage handling company at the airport in Rome was helpful and they delivered our 2 missing bags to our hotel by midnight. The transfer company wanted us to catch the bus across the street from the Vatican at 10am! We did not have to be to Civitavecchia until 3pm. So we passed and took a limousine instead so we could go to the Colliseum and Forum for a few hours. Worked out great! We got back to our Hotel and our Limo was there to take us to Civitavecchia. Read more