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 ...
This was the 3rd cruise on HAL, the second on the Noordam. In the time between Jan 2013 to Nov 2014 this ship has seen a Major overall decline.
The room, verandah, was so outdated and worn, the air conditioning never worked right, even with numerous calls and supposedly work by technicians, and the bathroom sink plugged. The pillows were hard and the decorative pillows that were placed on top of ...
We are new to Caribbean cruising, having only sailed on European river cruises before, and we were very pleasantly surprised by our cruise on the Noordam. Food was excellent, good variety in both the buffet and dining room, portions not too large so that you could have more than one appetizer or even dessert. People online complain about the cost of alcoholic beverages and pop, but there was ...
Hope this is of use to anyone looking to book the Noordam.
We are just home in the UK after a great vacation to Florida that included a 10 night Southern Caribbean cruise on the Noordam. I have sailed once previously with Holland America in 2010 and my wife twice, 2010 with me and 2013 on the Ryndam with her daughter (I was left behind to work to earn the money to pay for the cruises!).
We used ...
This was the 11th cruise for my husband and I, the 9th with Holland America; we are 3-star Mariners.
We had a good time, but there were things missing from this cruise that have been normal on previous HAL cruises. Our last cruise was a year and a half before this one, maybe all HAL cruises have changed in that 18-month period. If so, that is unfortunate.
1. There was no Chocolate ...
Everything started out great. The cabin was very clean and the staff was helpful. All the ports were quiet which was a change from other cruises we have taken, just walk through the cities and enjoy them. The city markets were fun to see. Those were the good things. The over all quality of Holland America has declined over the past 20 years. They have done away with alot of passenger envolvment. ...
we have cruised with P&O and Princess in excess of 25 occasions and have often seen Holland America ships alongside. We have admired the appearance of efficiency and cleanliness and decided on that basis to give them a try.
We took our 8year old granddaughter and 11 year old grandson with us as a special treat and initially were offered cabin 1036. This is under the nightclub and, as experienced ...
We wanted to see many of the main famous and historic Greece sights including Olympia, Corinth, Mycenae, Athens, Mykonos, Rhodes, and Santorini (Thira). We had almost perfect weather (the one day of rain was At-Sea). The food, services, and activities on the ship were excellent for us (60 years olds). And we went to the Amalfi Coast in Italy on the way back which was spectacular. The ...
We were in a VB veranda on Deck 5 and have previously sailed with RCCL and Celebrity. There have been mixed reviews of the Noordam of late, but we found little fault and the experience exceeded that of our RCCL cruise and came close to that of Celebrity.
The stateroom was in fine condition with no faults of note and it was well attended to by Tee and Dodik. The air con worked efficiently and the ...
We are a couple of 65 year olds, who have not sailed with HAL before, but this was our fourth cruise. The embarkation process at Civitavechia, Rome, was speedy and efficient. Our luggage arrived in our stateroom 6003, just as we did. Our cabin was specifically for a disabled traveller, as I have mobility problems and use a scooter. The stateroom was situated right at the prow of the ship on the ...