I Chad have been in sales all of my life & Deb is a teaching aide for K-5th grades. This was my 2nd cruise with Holland America line as well as Deb's. We sailed Ms. Zaandam on the 15 night circle Hawaii Dec 23rd 2009 - Jan 6th 2010. Deb has only been on two cruises & this was my 6th cruise to the Caribbean.

November 13th 2010 Embarkation day: We were forced to leave our home much earlier than expected due to a zero visibility warning because of fog. We arrived safely at Detroit Metro with time to spare & eagerly anticipating the boarding of our flight & thankful our baggage weighed in at 49.6 lbs & 49 lbs. We need to book direct flights unfortunately not being able to fly in a day early due to Deb's vacation day allowance & maximizing cruise ship time. Flight on time & successful! Arrived 10:37 am Ft. Lauderdale Florida. We took a cab from the airport to the cruise terminal, which is so close that you can see the cruise ships while taking off & landing at the airport. 2 or 3 miles I believe. The cab rates are $9.95 each way per person. Excitedly we arrived at the cruise terminal for Ms. Noordam. I must mention that this is a large cruise terminal with many ships & that Royal's Oasis of the Seas is outrageously HUGE! HAL has embarkation & disembarkation down to a science & we were also told that now when you board their ships, YOUR ROOM WILL BE READY! Upon boarding we went to the dining room for our welcome back Mariner society lunch provided to past cruisers of HAL. We then went to our room & unpacked our already there luggage. The Ms. Noordam is absolutely gorgeous! Our room was smaller than on Ms. Zaandam & had only one chair & a VERY SMALL table, however we were pleasantly surprised to have a refrigerator that we did not have on Ms. Zaandam. The inside room we had, 7131 was not conducive to entertaining guests. The room however is very pleasantly decorated & proved to be very comfy & had a great working thermostat performing perfectly on both sides of the spectrum. Our cabin stewards Bah & Mahammud are OUTSTANDING & very accommodating & friendly as well! Deb & I are very outgoing people & always seem to have the opportunity of meeting many officers & personal on the ships we have cruised. We enjoyed hanging out with & befriending many that are just exceptional people! We would like to take this time to mention them in hopes that you will make an attempt to meet them & tell them hello for us if you are going to cruise the Ms. Noordam. Leanna Delavin, Front desk supervisor whom we were so pleasantly blessed with again from our cruise on Ms. Zaandam. Leanna is a super sweet young lady that goes to all ends of the spectrum to please you. Leanna, WE LOVE YOU! Thank You for everything! Ben Pablo Head Cellar Master. Ben is a very kind & helpful man that went way out of his way to make sure that we were well cared for. Thank you Mr. Ben Pablo for everything! Glenn Cohen our cruise director. Not only does Glenn have a great announcing voice, he was always asking single ladies of all ages to dance or chatting with guests to find out if he could do anything to make your cruising experience better. Glenn always was smiling & knew your name. DJ Dave Shay our ship DJ & trivia master. Dave provides a lot of fun for all ages with trivia on everything & anything....except 80's Hair Band trivia...LOL! Like to see that soon Dave. :) Mr. James Deering our Hotel Manager. We feel that Mr. Deering is the epitome of Class & professionalism. Not only did he make sure that we had THE BEST CRUISE CRITIC M & G POSSIBLE, he always wanted to know the negatives as well as the positives, & he sincerely values ALL opinions of ALL cruisers in order to improve the sailing experience of ALL cruisers! Mr. Deering, we now know why you are so famous & well known in the cruising industry, Thank You! Richard our events coordinating manager whom helped with the set up of our cruise critic M & G. Richard, & Events Coordinator's now on all of HAL's ships, have been appointed to handle Cruise Critic M & G 's as special functions, as they are learning just how important we members are to the cruising community. We were assured by Mr. Deering & Richard that they read & pay attention to ALL of our reviews! We were Richard's first M & G upon which he did a marvelous job! Every officer that was invited showed up for our M & G!!! Nine total including Captain Scott & cruise director Glenn Cohen. Captain Scott our Captain. Not only did Capt. Scott get us in & out of all of our ports safely & provide us with an enjoyable cruise, but also did a wonderful humanitarian gesture in St. Lucia two weeks before we boarded Ms. Noordam that we would like to mention. Captain Scott & the engineering team uniquely figured out how to pump fresh water OFF of the ship to provide the residents of St. Lucia with drinkable water after the hurricane & heavy rain disasters. Captain Scott also invited the homeless & children of St. Lucia on board to eat & to play in the children's center & pool providing everything down to ice cream & desert! You are the man Captain Scott & God Bless you! Sudiarty our assistant dining room manager. Sudiarty is a VERY kind loving man that will greet each & everyone of you to cruise with him. From his Good Morning Chad & Deb, did you sleep well, to his always smiling face, waves across the dining room & hugs or hand shakes, Sudi is just plain awesome & inspiring! Kris (Steel), Josh, & the HAL Cats. If you are fortunate enough to catch this version of the band by January, you are in for a real treat of talent that surpasses most all cruise bands. Spectacular job guys!! Standing room only!!

Bars: Being partiers we figure that some will appreciate this info. Cocktails $6.75 + 15% gratuity. Wine...not sure. Draft beer 2 for $4.50 + 15% gratuity daily. Bloody Mary's w/ huge shrimp garnish Daily special 10 am - 2 pm 2 FOR 1!!! YAYYYY!! Unlimited Beer $9.95 + 15% gratuity during "tailgate party" & special sporting events. Happy Hours Daily: 2 FOR 1....normally 1 hour a day in the Crow's Nest around 6pm & then in the Northern Lights Dance Club at 10:30pm. Pinnacle Bar had a special on Martinni's daily. Read more