EMBARKATION: Smooth, my son was on deck to see me off. He later left when it was time to leave.
PUBLIC ROOMS: Rooms were clean albeit small, but preferred it this way to have wider hallways.
CABIN: Our cabin was clean when I arrived and was freshened up to 4 times a day as we left to see the ship. I loved the pillows.
RATES: I paid higher than other competitive cruises, and expected more ...
Embarkation: The Noordam arrived late due to a storm at sea the day before. Therefore, we did not get to board as early as we would have liked. We were sent to Pier 88 and given a number and told to wait for our # to be called before we could go to Pier 92 to board. Here is my gripe - when we were finally called, after about an 1:20 of waiting, we found out that people that had been arriving hours ...
This was our first Holland America cruise. We have sailed Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. It was our tenth cruise. I am 54 and my husband is 56.
We arrived at the pier at 10:25. The Noordam had just arrived in New York at 10 AM because of slowing down due to a storm on Tuesday night. We were told we would not be able to board until 3:00. My husband and I and I both received a ...
MS Noordam 10 Day Caribbean March 19-29, 2008
Summary: We had a great time on this cruise and being part of a Cruise Critics group made it even better. We last cruised on the Noordam in October 2006 and the service was even better this time around.
Background: Mary and I (Bob) are a late 50s couple; white collar professional types with no kids. This is our 26th cruise; mostly Holland America, ...
This was my 11th cruise and my first on HAL. I started cruising 20 years ago and have seen a world of change. Some good, some not so good. Back in the days of small ships and small passenger lists we were amazed at the smallest amenities. These days it's a different story. Most of my experience is on Celebrity dating back to when it was Chandris/Fantasy Lines. "We've come a long way baby" as the ...
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 ...
Started out looking for an Alaskan trip & saw this 10-dayer out of NYC & booked an outside guarantee as I traveled alone. Signed up for rollcall & volunteered to orchestrate our Meet & Greet of 60 pax. A fellow cruiser developed a tremendous website just for our cruise.
Embarkation: Train to NYC, cab to port, w/on-line pre-registration, lines went smoothly and up to Lido by 12'ish for lunch. ...
DW and I are in our 50's and this was our second cruise. Our last cruise was on the Ryndam in the mid 90's. This was our first cruise on the new Vista class ships and I was looking forward to being on this particular cruise because of my previous excellent experience with HAL. We wanted the extra sea days to enjoy the ship and the ports or call. I wasn't disappointed as this trip was fantastic. ...
This was the ninth cruise my wife and I have taken but our first on Holland America. We left from New Haven, CT on the bus transfer that the cruise line provided to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. We found this to be convenient and and more enjoyable than driving the 1-1/2 hours into New York. The bus brought us directly to the cruise terminal where we encountered what had to be the most orderly ...
Background: The three of us have about 18 months of cruising experience total on a variety of ships. Although we have sailed on Holland America (HAL) before, this was our first cruise on the Noordam, the latest in its Vista class. We booked a veranda on the Holiday cruise to the Caribbean out of New York City. The Noordam's passenger mix on this cruise was less the traditional HAL crowd and more ...