Hi all well I'm back 5 days since my 11 day S Caribbean cruise on the Noordam out of NYC ! First time ever cruising from NYC in the winter time .2/16 to 2/27 .First off this was my 7 time on HAL and 70 over all cruise .We have been cruising since 1980 . I was booked on the Explorer of the seas doing a 12 day S Caribbean cruise out of Cap Liberty NJ on 2/24/008 .But i had a ship visit and lunch on the Noordam Nov. 06 .And having cruise with Royal Caribbean 3 times in 07 .I changed from the Explorer to the Noordam . With this cruse i was looking for a more laid back cruise ..And got it .The food and service on HAL is better then RCCI .But RCCI is a better overall cruise . There is no night life to speck of on the Noordam after 11:30 pm .The ship closes down ! Also this was my 2nd solo cruise .And best one . I go with my wife and 2 teen boy"s most times . But like last year nobody could get off this time of year !!

Getting to the ship we live on the other side of the Hudson river in NJ over looking the cruise ship piers in NYC .So for the first time i took the ferry to the pier back & fourth .It worked out just great . I got to the ship in an half hour same coming home !! And besides all that no flying in the wintertime from the NY NJ area !!There was 2 ships in port that day the Noordam on pier 88 and the NCL Gem on the new pier 92 . Being mid winter here in NY the weather was great the day we left .Very sunny with the bluest sky's and no wind to speck of in the low 30"s not bad for a wintertime cruise from NYC .The seas down and back from the Caribbean was very calm .On the fist seas day it was a little windy ! It was a great send off for a great 11 day cruise !!

The ship The Noodam is the last ship it the Vista class of HAL ships .We did the Zuiderdam when she was brand new and like the Noordam better .It always seem the last ship in any class is the best one . I Booked an Guar. inside cabin .And didn"t know where my cabin was until 2 days before the cruise .I got bumped up to an outside cabin on deck four .A very big cabin with floor to ceiling windows .And a bigger bathroom with a tub ! cabin # 4058 it was in a great spot on the ship one deck down from the main decks . The ships lounges are really nice .I use most of them .But like i said around midnight it was dead !! Really nice art work all over the ship .I love the pool areas on this ship .The Lido is a cover area pool witch opens up in good weather.And the pool on the stern of the ship is all opened up ..The great thing is that you can see the ocean and really feel like your on a cruise !! Read more