We chose this cruise for the itinerary which was very satisfactory. Noordam looks as though she needs a sprucing up, carpeting in hallways has been replaced in some ares but not in others. Our cabin was comfortable, but there were marks on the wall paper and the carpet. The verandah door whistled, and the outside lock plate was corroded enough so that it wasn't in place.

We were disappointed in the Main dining room, the food was much less satisfactory than on our previous Noodam trip which of course had a different chef. Portion sizes were inconsistent, on roast beef nights (and why have these two days in a row?) portions were enormous, but other entries were tiny, such as the scallops. It was summer on our trip, why serve parsnips, cauliflower, which are winter vegetables? A lot of the sauces were far too salty. This was advertised as a 27 day cruise, and there was not enough variety in the food for that long a period.

This trip none of the entertainment appealed to us except for Adagio. Offerings of on board activities were much less interesting than we had previously had on other cruises. The worst was "How to tie a sarong" given by someone who had to borrow sarongs from the audience in order to give a presentation, it was very poor. Read more