The Noordam is a much larger ship (2,000+/- passengers v. 1,200-1,500)than I'm used to but is certainly not of the mega variety which I avoid like the plague. At times, it did seem a little too big but it did not detract from the legendary, friendly and efficient service.Nothing ever seems crowded except one day when it seemed the entire boat was taking one of the land tours in Tunisia and there was a long line to disembark. I myself even took a ship excursion that day because I believed I could not navigate the city efficiently.

We had been staying in Rome pre-cruise so we got to the port before noon. The embarkation was seamless and our luggage was delivered to the room within 1 1/2 hours.

The ports on this cruise were absolutely the best and included Cannes, Palermo, Barcelona, Tunisia, Athens, Santorini, Turkey, Dubrovnik and a few other smaller ports. Read more