Sailed on 20 March. First time with Holland America. Had high expectations, was let down. Ship felt dated. The ship did not appear to be maintained as a once beautiful ship built in Italy in 2006. Sound system around the pool cracked and spit many times making it hard to enjoy music. The overhead retractable ceiling on the Lido deck leaks all over the lounge chairs when it rains. Pool just ...
This was our first cruise on Holland America and our expectations were admittedly high. The Noordam was great, we loved it. Our cabin was nice and decently appointed, except that they don't have CNN. (Why not?)The public areas are comfortable, nicely and tastfully done and offer a cozy atmosphere. The buffets are well laid out in a manner that makes them accessible, yet uncrowded. The main dining ...
We have cruised HAL many times. After this cruise we both noted that service and shipboard life have slipped.
Embarkation was good....lines moved, on board and into our balcony cabin in no time. We had been on the Noordam once before and she is in good shape. Learned that she is going into drydock in February for an update...wish i checked on that prior to booking. But the ship was clean. Things ...
Taxi from Riverside hotel was about 10-15 minutes ($20). The Riverside Hotel is in Los Olsos and was a fun place to stay for a couple of days prior to departure. There is many restaurants close by. The room we had was 12th floor new building on the corner with a large wrap around balcony and huge bathroom with jacuzzi tub. On traveling to port the dropping off luggage with porters was ...
This was a fabulous ship with excellent dining options. We enjoyed all meals on board, even the buffet for breakfast and lunch. We enjoyed the entertainment and guest speakers at art auction. Our ports of call were great - Half Moon Cay (gorgeous), Grand Turk (lovely), Samana (the Best beach & snorkel), Bonaire (stunning), Curacao (great food). I must elaborate on Samana which tends to get a bad ...
Embarking was a breeze - good start. Cabin 4010 - very nice, balcony cabin- clean and spacious. Room attendants greeted us and provided a card with their names and contact details.
I was very disappointed that the ship had no "wow" factor, compared to 2 Royal Carribbean Ships I have sailed on - it was very boring,no fabulous staircase or art work to look at.
The meals in the a la carte ...
November 15 – 25, 2013
This is my cruise review. All opinions are personal and subjective.
My wife and I are 3 star Mariners who have nearly 100 days on HAL. We have been sailing Hal since 1998. We are in our late 50’s and this trip we were joined by great friends.
Our vacation started with a flight to Ft. Lauderdale the evening before the cruise. We stayed locally and lingered at the hotel the ...
A one week HAL Alaska cruise was our introduction to cruising. It was great! Yes, inclement weather forced cancellation of several excursions, but we had a wonderful time. Much of the scenery reminded us of our PNW home, but we still had a wonderful time.
Several years later we booked a two week Panama Canal cruise on Celebrity. They offered a better rate and we were not disappointed by an ...
Pre and post cruise Hilton Marina, we just love Ft. Lauderdale and next time we will spend more than the two nights after our cruise.
Boarding was a dream and the Noordam looked good both inside and out, had lunch at the Lido and got to know our ship which was spotless in the true HAL tradition. We cruise to relax from the rigours of work and enjoyed our cabin so much we did not do one show, ...
We decided to take this cruise on HAL although my wife and myself have traveled extensively on just about all the cruise line this would be our first with Holland American Lines. We live in Florida so it was an easy trip to the Noorsdam which was at Birth 26 in ft Lauderdale. Everything went well and our stateroom which was just below the Lido deck on the 8 floor. Our bags arrived and the ...