It seems to be the consensus of most fellow cruisers I talked with that Holland America didn't measure up to expectations this time. EMBARKATION. Our embarkation was virtually painless as we parked our car at the terminal and started the registration process. We moved quickly and had just had my husband's picture taken when the power went out. (We joked that he had broken the camera.) The crisis ...
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 ...
Noordam - March 8 - 19 review
Embarkation: Everything went very smooth. We arrived at the pier earlier than we expected (about 10 a.m.) and dropped the luggage at the front of the terminal. The others went to get our "spot" while I parked the van. After the canine inspection I was into the lot. I took the escalator down to the terminal level and the others were waiting with a "Number 3" in hand. ...
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 ...
Background- My husband and I are in our late 50's -early 60's, both professionals from South NJ. Most recently we have been on 8 Princess cruises. Since we have cruised with Princess the most and most recently, they will be my basis for comparison. Recently, we also traveled on 2 river cruises in Germany and France, which were a wonderful but very different cruise experience. Several years ago, we ...
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, ...
We are a family of 4 from Ontario, with 2 boys ages 4 and 10. In tow we picked up my Inlaws from Quebec in our minivan and drove down I-87 the day before. Stayed in Nanuet-Hampton Inn-about 40 minutes from NY pier. Hotel is brand new, but a little tricky to get in from the busy road. Had 2 snorkel vest delivered there and was waiting for me on arrival.
Left for the pier at 10am- crossed the GW ...
Our last 4 cruises have been on RCCL Voyager, Caribbean Princess, Carnival Conquest, and now HAL Noordam. Before every cruise I read every review understanding that there will be some cruisers that never complain and unfortunately some that are never happy. Anyone that has ever read my posts know I have often said we have never met a cruise we did not enjoy and we never let a negative ruin our ...
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 ...