Noordam 11/10 - 11/21/07 Southern Caribbean Background: We've taken 11 cruises in the last 6 years, 3 Celebrity, 3 Princess, 3 RCI, and 2 HAL (both Noordam). Above mentioned were all wonderful voyages. This 11 day Noordam cruise was wonderful as well. EMBARKATION: Sat.,11/10, 6:30am. Daughter drove us from N.H. to South Station in Boston where we hopped on the Academy Line bus that HAL arranged for transportation to the NY terminal. This is a great way to get to NY! You bring you luggage to the bus terminal gate and the driver puts it on the bus and that's the last time you touch your luggage until you get to your room! Sweet! The bus arrived in N.Y. a bit too early so our nice bus driver gave us a tour of downtown Manhattan. Nice tour too! We then went to the pier and took an elevator to the embarkation area, we were given a number and sat down until we heard our number called. (about ¾ of an hour) We then proceeded to the check in area and were on board 10 minutes later. LIDO LUNCH: We were told that lunch was being served in the Lido area, and it was very crowded at 12:30pm...every seat was taken. So, we just took a tour of the ship and at 1pm were able to go to our room. Once we dropped off a few things in our room we went back up to the Lido where seats were now available. This area does have a problem with the flow of people traffic. The buffet has something for everyone, and if you can't find something to satisfy your pallet, you probably didn't go through every station.

CABIN: This was the 2nd time aboard the Noordam, last March we had a balcony (prices were very good then) We booked in May, and the prices were just too high for our wallets, so we booked a guarantee ocean view in hopes prices for balconies came down. (they never did) We booked at Cat H and were pleasantly surprised to get a Cat C room 1072 on the main deck. Nice room and in a great location, just a few steps to the Atrium. The first night we heard awakening sounds from above our room. (no cabins above us, just storage to the nightclub. It sounded like a cart kept rolling back and forth, then it would stop and roll back again. I told someone at the front desk and they came to our cabin and listened for the noise too. They made a few calls and the problem was fixed. ?

ENTERTAINMENT: Very good! We were pleasantly surprised that 90% of the shows were very entertaining. We loved the talent show too. (done American Idol style, and the judges were hysterical!) The Vista showroom was packed on the last night of the talent show. Well done! Read more