This trip was a 10-day cruise aboard the Holland America Noordam, Nov 1 - 11, 2009...it was my 2nd time on this ship, 4th time with Holland America, and 25th cruise overall. This cruise was sailing the southern Caribbean, which is my favorite area due to the volcanic origins of the islands, and the dense rainforest and colonial history. Our ship called at St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles, St. Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, and Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas.

I have many photos of the ship and ports of call in my photo gallery; the link to the full gallery is at the end of the review.

Nov 1 - We started with embarkation day, which was a wee bit unorthodox. Living close to the port, I have the advantage of being able to reschedule on short notice - due to Norovirus on the previous cruise, we were told we wouldn't be boarding until 2pm. So I planned to arrive at approximately 2:15pm. I was pleasantly surprised upon arrival to find I wasn't greeted by a line out the door, as they managed to start boarding a little before 2pm afterall. The walk into the terminal was a cinch, and over to the 4-star Mariner checkin desk (thanks to my cabinmate), which had no line at all, was perfect. We were onboard within 15 minutes of arrival. Unfortunately, on boarding we discovered we couldn't yet go to the rooms...so we spent some time hanging out in a lounge with our carryon baggage for an hour or two. I'm pretty easygoing though, so that doesn't really bother me much. Read more