My wife and I long ago started working on our travel list and have been around the world by air and land. We have had some great adventures and consider ourselves blessed. The idea of a cruise never appealed to my wife....(rumors of crowds, lines, disorganization, media reports of fights, hurricane cruises etc)
When Alaska came up we knew we had to do something different as it is best accessed ...
This was a last minute cruise for us - we wanted to get away for a few days so we were looking for something with a short flight to get there and then be able to relax. There were great prices on this 7 day Alaska cruise on the Noordam so we grabbed it. We usually cruise on HAL, so we knew pretty much what to expect - and we enjoy what Holland has. We did fly in to Vancouver the day before just ...
Embarkation:
Since we live in Hawaii, it was just a short drive to Aloha Tower. First of all, as far as Holland was concern, it was great and fast. Very friendly and they were so helpful. Now regarding security at Aloha Tower, that was a different story. They told us were to go and when we got there, they told us to go back to another place. Without getting into details, I thought TSA was ...
Firstly, disregard all the negative reviews of this ship. It is a meticulously maintained, modern ship with top quality food and staff. Many people reviewing relatively luxury cruise ships, like the ms Noordam, have silver spoons broken off inside them and tend to complain about ridiculous things, like slices of lemon.
Holland America Line is by no means a party ship, or even a 'family-fun' ...
Summary: We chose this cruise for the itinerary after first looking at a similar Oceania cruise; we saved substantially on HAL, and for this itinerary that was more important to us than the expected diminution of values relating to the cabin, passengers and food.
We were very pleasantly surprised at the high quality of service we received from the Maitre D, Waiter and Assistant Waiter; cabin ...
We are an early 40's married couple who travel permanently and have taken about 10 cruises in the last 18 months. We have sailed HAL, Celebrity, NCL, P/O Australia and Regent. Our previous experience on HAL has only been on the Koningsdam.
We chose this cruise to celebrate Xmas and NYE after loving a similar cruise last year and to see some of the south pacific we have not visited before.
We ...
Spent a few days in Auckland before boarding the Noordam. Embarkation takes awhile to get so many people onboard. Spent about an hour waiting in line. Once you get through the line, it is a quick process for getting your cruise card and going through security. The ship is remarkably clean, and well maintained. Not a large ship, so it does not take long to walk from one end of the ship to ...
If you are taking a cruise that takes over 20 hours to get to you should maximize your stay. We made sure we allowed for a couple of days in Auckland before the cruise and Sydney at the end of the cruise. Holland cruises are known for catering to an older crowd and this cruise was no different. Being in our sixties puts is in the mean demographic of most of our fellow passengers. It was a ...
We selected the transpacific repositioning cruise aboard the Noordam out of Honolulu which included not just south Pacific island stops, but Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart Tasmania but an additional 14 days around New Zealand. The showtime entertainment couldn't have been better in the Vista Lounge. We enjoyed so many very accomplished artists. The ship's regular entertainment was excellent, but ...
We only went as far as Honolulu -- 11 days. The ship continued on to Sydney for the majority of the passengers, with some going on to New Zealand.
The embarkation was a slow, tedious process involving a couple of hours slowly moving forward in a long line. It was a busy weekend at the Vancouver cruise port and the line ups were mostly about security clearance. Wish they could find a ...