This was the second cruise with HAL, our previous recency cruises were with our grandchildren on the Oasis and the Allure which present themselves as destination high energy cruises. We enjoyed that experience. Our previous HAL experience was on the Zandaam and that was not enjoyable so we decided to give HAL a second chance in order to compare it with Princess,Cunard, Royal Caribbean and HAL
The Noordam is a wonderful ship with a great crew. We chose this cruise because I have a high energy job and I wanted to relax. Also we had never been to the southern Caribbean before
It is a traditional cruise line and we found that the fixed dining time gave us the best compromise between eating early and enjoying the evening entertainment. The food and service was excellent. The Culinary arts program was good and our view of the evening entertainment was mixed. The piano bar with Michael, the strings, the blues and the band were all excellent. The floor shows were not to our taste because they were disjointed. Lee Bayliss the comedian was excellent as a 'clean comic' We enjoyed his worshop the next day.
The cabin was a standard balcony cabin but it was slightly bigger than other ships.