Don’t be afraid of a floating retirement home - Noordam

[BJDownUnder]

A few comments about a recent voyage on Holland America Noordam

There is an old adage that says “a team is only as fast as its slowest player”. This thought came to mind as we first stepped on board the beautiful Holland America Noordam in Fort Lauderdale for our 10 night Eastern Caribbean Cruise.

It was a little confronting as we entered the lido deck to grab some lunch, as we waited for our cabin to become ready. We found that we had to navigate a virtual sea of slow moving people with a mix of Zimmer frames and mobility scooters. My wife and I are in our Mid Thirties, we know all the usual commentary about cruise ships being floating nursing homes, but this cruise was the oldest demographic we have experienced thus far in our cruising journey

Before you Tar & Feather me. Let me qualify, that we found that this demographic mix would come to be one of the main reasons we enjoyed our cruise on the Noordam so much, but more about that later

The Noordam is a beautiful ship; it has majestic lines that give it proud, classic ocean liner look. Its interior is tasteful and light, and full of hidden places where you can spend a quite moment

Our cabin (a VA Balcony), was very pleasant, bed was comfy; the bathroom even had a small bath. We loved the balcony as its design protected it from the elements, allowing for a couple of great snoozes in the ocean breeze. Nothing like catching a few Zee’s as the world sails by.

The food was great, very high quality and on par with what we have experienced on Celebrity, the lido deck was always busy at lunch, but the food was always fresh and varied, the Asian station in particular was great

Now the age thing……..

Initially we were quite confronted by the general age difference, we’re in our mid thirties and the average age on board had to be 70 – 75 years, but as the cruise went on it became clear that this was quite the advantage, for a number of reasons

Because of the general age, the ship was incredibly quite, which made for a very relaxing cruise, no loud neighbours or hyped up kids running down the corridors late at night

Superstar status; Being amongst the youngest on board, gave us a kind of superstar status, everyone wanted to talk with you and kept calling us Kids all the time. Great for the ego, in general everyone was just plan polite and friendly.


Another plus of the general age group, was that that most facilities were under-used. The pool and sun deck was quite. In particular the gym was always quite, which made for a much easier work out. To give you an example; I’m of moderate fitness, I can pull off a singlet fairly well, nothing too buff, but their I am working out in the gym and I kept being mistaken for the personal trainer, simply because I was youngish. Great for the ego, not to mention my wife got a kick out of it

One downside to the age factor was the entertainment. It was tailored to the older demographic and most bars finished quite early. We hadn’t planned on having a party cruise, but our table mates who were in our age demographic (yes their were a few others) had other ideas. Luckily we found the piano bar. Our piano man, was a gent from the UK, Mark Waterman a very talented performer with a bitter and twisted sense of humour. Mark had only a few weeks left on his contract, so he enjoyed some lively banter with his patrons, particular around HAL’s treatment of entertainers. Very funny to listen too

The lesson for us regarding entertainment on HAL, is if your of a younger mind set, be prepared to make your own fun, we staged a small bath-robe party in the piano bar one night (the look on the other patrons faces was priceless, they weren’t quite sure of what to make of these silly young people dressed in bath robes) and we also managed to start a conga line involving about 50 of so people that made its way through the casino and a couple of bars. Although the majority of players in the casino looked up from the tables in disgust, at least we had some fun and their lack of smiles made it that much more fun

HAL isn’t know for its party antics, so they don’t employ the same security as say Carnival, so crazy antics seemed to go under the radar a while longer on HAL

As for the Caribbean, The islands were beautiful, but very commercial. Curacao was our favourite, a very pretty time warp of Dutch and Caribbean culture. We had expected a bit more Jack Sparrow, but no the less the islands were nice. In general I would go to the Caribbean for a relaxing break, rather view it as a must see destination

Overall the Noordam is a great ship, we found that the initial shock of being out of comfort zone regarding age became a real strength as we enjoyed the general quietness of cruise and depth of conversation with our fellow passengers that can only come from life experience

But if your looking to party just be prepared to make your own fun and remember to take it all as it comes

http://aussiecruisefanatic.wordpress.com/ (http://aussiecruisefanatic.wordpress.com/)

[Down-Unders]

A few comments about a recent voyage on Holland America Noordam

There is an old adage that says “a team is only as fast as its slowest player”. This thought came to mind as we first stepped on board the beautiful Holland America Noordam in Fort Lauderdale for our 10 night Eastern Caribbean Cruise.

It was a little confronting as we entered the lido deck to grab some lunch, as we waited for our cabin to become ready. We found that we had to navigate a virtual sea of slow moving people with a mix of Zimmer frames and mobility scooters. My wife and I are in our Mid Thirties, we know all the usual commentary about cruise ships being floating nursing homes, but this cruise was the oldest demographic we have experienced thus far in our cruising journey

Before you Tar & Feather me. Let me qualify, that we found that this demographic mix would come to be one of the main reasons we enjoyed our cruise on the Noordam so much, but more about that later

The Noordam is a beautiful ship; it has majestic lines that give it proud, classic ocean liner look. Its interior is tasteful and light, and full of hidden places where you can spend a quite moment

Our cabin (a VA Balcony), was very pleasant, bed was comfy; the bathroom even had a small bath. We loved the balcony as its design protected it from the elements, allowing for a couple of great snoozes in the ocean breeze. Nothing like catching a few Zee’s as the world sails by.

The food was great, very high quality and on par with what we have experienced on Celebrity, the lido deck was always busy at lunch, but the food was always fresh and varied, the Asian station in particular was great

Now the age thing……..

Initially we were quite confronted by the general age difference, we’re in our mid thirties and the average age on board had to be 70 – 75 years, but as the cruise went on it became clear that this was quite the advantage, for a number of reasons

Because of the general age, the ship was incredibly quite, which made for a very relaxing cruise, no loud neighbours or hyped up kids running down the corridors late at night

Superstar status; Being amongst the youngest on board, gave us a kind of superstar status, everyone wanted to talk with you and kept calling us Kids all the time. Great for the ego, in general everyone was just plan polite and friendly.


Another plus of the general age group, was that that most facilities were under-used. The pool and sun deck was quite. In particular the gym was always quite, which made for a much easier work out. To give you an example; I’m of moderate fitness, I can pull off a singlet fairly well, nothing too buff, but their I am working out in the gym and I kept being mistaken for the personal trainer, simply because I was youngish. Great for the ego, not to mention my wife got a kick out of it

One downside to the age factor was the entertainment. It was tailored to the older demographic and most bars finished quite early. We hadn’t planned on having a party cruise, but our table mates who were in our age demographic (yes their were a few others) had other ideas. Luckily we found the piano bar. Our piano man, was a gent from the UK, Mark Waterman a very talented performer with a bitter and twisted sense of humour. Mark had only a few weeks left on his contract, so he enjoyed some lively banter with his patrons, particular around HAL’s treatment of entertainers. Very funny to listen too

The lesson for us regarding entertainment on HAL, is if your of a younger mind set, be prepared to make your own fun, we staged a small bath-robe party in the piano bar one night (the look on the other patrons faces was priceless, they weren’t quite sure of what to make of these silly young people dressed in bath robes) and we also managed to start a conga line involving about 50 of so people that made its way through the casino and a couple of bars. Although the majority of players in the casino looked up from the tables in disgust, at least we had some fun and their lack of smiles made it that much more fun

HAL isn’t know for its party antics, so they don’t employ the same security as say Carnival, so crazy antics seemed to go under the radar a while longer on HAL

As for the Caribbean, The islands were beautiful, but very commercial. Curacao was our favourite, a very pretty time warp of Dutch and Caribbean culture. We had expected a bit more Jack Sparrow, but no the less the islands were nice. In general I would go to the Caribbean for a relaxing break, rather view it as a must see destination

Overall the Noordam is a great ship, we found that the initial shock of being out of comfort zone regarding age became a real strength as we enjoyed the general quietness of cruise and depth of conversation with our fellow passengers that can only come from life experience

But if your looking to party just be prepared to make your own fun and remember to take it all as it comes

http://aussiecruisefanatic.wordpress.com/ (http://aussiecruisefanatic.wordpress.com/)



What great comments! We always seem to end up befriending positive people like yourselves whilst cruising.


:):):):):)

[ore-ee-gun]

Glad to hear you had a great time. We were on the Noordam in January, and, even having cruised a few times with HAL before, we were rather startled at the distinctly elderly population on our sailing. The entertainment was definitely geared to the older demographic, and our 23 y/o DD was somewhat bored on sea days.... The ship was beautiful, the crew fantastic (the dining room stewards LOVED our DD), the food delicious, and the experience was very relaxing. No complaints!

[WhansaMi]

Hehehehe. I LOVED that you did the bathrobe night and the conga line. What fun!

[MalNZ]

Were there any families on board?

We are on the 10 day Southern Caribbean on the 24 April, we are in our 50's but we have full guardianship of two grand daughters aged 7 and 8. (This keeps us young :D)

In May last year we were on the Veendam in Alaska and there were only 5 children on board, but our girls loved it. I am starting to think that this cruise maybe similar.

What else have you planned for your USA trip? We are Kiwi's so when we go to America we usually stay a few weeks.

Mal NZ

[BJDownUnder]

The Bathrobe Party & Conga certainly were highlight of our cruise, what made it so fun was the reactions from the other guests, there was this subtle disdane, nothing overt. Just the odd glance of disgust.

Even better was the fact that my wife and i were the only Aussies on board, but automtically all our table mates were brands as the crazy Aussies....everwhere we went we heard the muted voices saying there goes those mental Aussies, the ones that did the Conga, the ones that started the Mexican Wave in the Theatre...........i think we were a bit of a shock for the rest of passengers, although a large group of dutch were more than happy to get there bathrobes out..........we have to start a trend there.

as for kids, yep we saw about 5 or so. very few arround

We got off the Noordam and got on a Carnival Ship the same day, as a kind of back to back, only a week later but about 1000 kids...i have to say i prefered the Noordam

lots of fun arround

[brucory]

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

Don't give away all the secrets...

We are mid 30's too and like HAL for all the same reasons.... ;)

:D:D:D

[sapper1]

Gotta love it. A Conga Line, no less, on a Holland America ship!!! I would have joined in in a heartbeat. Sounds like great fun.

And the bathrobe party---sounds like rebellion to me. After a drink or two it might seem like a fun idea.:D

I loved the OP's review and attitude. This is from someone who is not part of the nursing home set yet, but no spring chicken either.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for your report.

We enjoyed our 20 days last year on the Noordam and are looking forward to another wonderful 20 days on her in March.

[esther e]

HOLD ON RIGHT THERE!!!!!!!!!!! Are you not aware that 70-75 is the new 40??????????????????????? Middle age doesn't begin till 93. You gotta get a clue, young'uns.

[Love the beach]

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

Don't give away all the secrets...

We are mid 30's too and like HAL for all the same reasons.... ;)

:D:D:D
Too late---the secret is out! Just off Noordam on Feb 3rd and I was surprised to see a lot of the "younger crowd" (30-50yrs), even several families with young children & toddlers on this cruise!

[mrsltg]

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

Don't give away all the secrets...

We are mid 30's too and like HAL for all the same reasons.... ;)

:D:D:D

DH and I, too! I had the same experience as the OP when I boarded my first HAL cruise last March. I called my DH and told him there was no way we would ever sail HAL as a couple (I was on the cruise to celebrate my aunt's 60th b-day.) We spoke on the phone until sailaway and DH resigned himself to finding us another cruise for our upcoming anniversary. We didn't speak for the rest of the week. Imagine his surprise when I called first thing the following Sunday to tell him what an amazing time I had! I met the greatest people and had the time of my life!!! We sailed as a couple in November and the experience was one of the best vacations we have ever had. The ship was quiet and most of the other passengers were friendly and funny. HAL is now our cruise line of choice. I don't think we'll cruise anyone else again because they don't hold a candle to HAL.

[GOLDENBONNY]

A few comments about a recent voyage on Holland America Noordam

There is an old adage that says “a team is only as fast as its slowest player”. This thought came to mind as we first stepped on board the beautiful Holland America Noordam in Fort Lauderdale for our 10 night Eastern Caribbean Cruise.

It was a little confronting as we entered the lido deck to grab some lunch, as we waited for our cabin to become ready. We found that we had to navigate a virtual sea of slow moving people with a mix of Zimmer frames and mobility scooters. My wife and I are in our Mid Thirties, we know all the usual commentary about cruise ships being floating nursing homes, but this cruise was the oldest demographic we have experienced thus far in our cruising journey

Before you Tar & Feather me. Let me qualify, that we found that this demographic mix would come to be one of the main reasons we enjoyed our cruise on the Noordam so much, but more about that later

The Noordam is a beautiful ship; it has majestic lines that give it proud, classic ocean liner look. Its interior is tasteful and light, and full of hidden places where you can spend a quite moment

Our cabin (a VA Balcony), was very pleasant, bed was comfy; the bathroom even had a small bath. We loved the balcony as its design protected it from the elements, allowing for a couple of great snoozes in the ocean breeze. Nothing like catching a few Zee’s as the world sails by.

The food was great, very high quality and on par with what we have experienced on Celebrity, the lido deck was always busy at lunch, but the food was always fresh and varied, the Asian station in particular was great

Now the age thing……..

Initially we were quite confronted by the general age difference, we’re in our mid thirties and the average age on board had to be 70 – 75 years, but as the cruise went on it became clear that this was quite the advantage, for a number of reasons

Because of the general age, the ship was incredibly quite, which made for a very relaxing cruise, no loud neighbours or hyped up kids running down the corridors late at night

Superstar status; Being amongst the youngest on board, gave us a kind of superstar status, everyone wanted to talk with you and kept calling us Kids all the time. Great for the ego, in general everyone was just plan polite and friendly.


Another plus of the general age group, was that that most facilities were under-used. The pool and sun deck was quite. In particular the gym was always quite, which made for a much easier work out. To give you an example; I’m of moderate fitness, I can pull off a singlet fairly well, nothing too buff, but their I am working out in the gym and I kept being mistaken for the personal trainer, simply because I was youngish. Great for the ego, not to mention my wife got a kick out of it

One downside to the age factor was the entertainment. It was tailored to the older demographic and most bars finished quite early. We hadn’t planned on having a party cruise, but our table mates who were in our age demographic (yes their were a few others) had other ideas. Luckily we found the piano bar. Our piano man, was a gent from the UK, Mark Waterman a very talented performer with a bitter and twisted sense of humour. Mark had only a few weeks left on his contract, so he enjoyed some lively banter with his patrons, particular around HAL’s treatment of entertainers. Very funny to listen too

The lesson for us regarding entertainment on HAL, is if your of a younger mind set, be prepared to make your own fun, we staged a small bath-robe party in the piano bar one night (the look on the other patrons faces was priceless, they weren’t quite sure of what to make of these silly young people dressed in bath robes) and we also managed to start a conga line involving about 50 of so people that made its way through the casino and a couple of bars. Although the majority of players in the casino looked up from the tables in disgust, at least we had some fun and their lack of smiles made it that much more fun

HAL isn’t know for its party antics, so they don’t employ the same security as say Carnival, so crazy antics seemed to go under the radar a while longer on HAL

As for the Caribbean, The islands were beautiful, but very commercial. Curacao was our favourite, a very pretty time warp of Dutch and Caribbean culture. We had expected a bit more Jack Sparrow, but no the less the islands were nice. In general I would go to the Caribbean for a relaxing break, rather view it as a must see destination

Overall the Noordam is a great ship, we found that the initial shock of being out of comfort zone regarding age became a real strength as we enjoyed the general quietness of cruise and depth of conversation with our fellow passengers that can only come from life experience

But if your looking to party just be prepared to make your own fun and remember to take it all as it comes

http://aussiecruisefanatic.wordpress.com/ (http://aussiecruisefanatic.wordpress.com/)

LOL thats why we love HAL!!! Empty pools and quite ship!! I recomend it to all my friends with small kids:p(you can kill me know:p)no drunk people no unruled teens and 100's of grannys to our DD:D

[madelinerose]

The Bathrobe Party & Conga certainly were highlight of our cruise, what made it so fun was the reactions from the other guests, there was this subtle disdane, nothing overt. Just the odd glance of disgust.


Rebels with a cause. ;):D

[twinkletoes4445]

HOLD ON RIGHT THERE!!!!!!!!!!! Are you not aware that 70-75 is the new 40??????????????????????? Middle age doesn't begin till 93. You gotta get a clue, young'uns.

LOL! Now this is exactly why we choose HAL! You sound like a lot of fun. :)

[twinkletoes4445]

Before you Tar & Feather me. Let me qualify, that we found that this demographic mix would come to be one of the main reasons we enjoyed our cruise on the Noordam so much, but more about that later.

Initially we were quite confronted by the general age difference, we’re in our mid thirties and the average age on board had to be 70 – 75 years, but as the cruise went on it became clear that this was quite the advantage, for a number of reasons.

Because of the general age, the ship was incredibly quite, which made for a very relaxing cruise, no loud neighbours or hyped up kids running down the corridors late at night

In general everyone was just plan polite and friendly.

Another plus of the general age group, was that that most facilities were under-used. The pool and sun deck was quite.

One downside to the age factor was the entertainment. It was tailored to the older demographic and most bars finished quite early.

The lesson for us regarding entertainment on HAL, is if your of a younger mind set, be prepared to make your own fun, we staged a small bath-robe party in the piano bar one night (the look on the other patrons faces was priceless, they weren’t quite sure of what to make of these silly young people dressed in bath robes) and we also managed to start a conga line involving about 50 of so people that made its way through the casino and a couple of bars. Although the majority of players in the casino looked up from the tables in disgust, at least we had some fun and their lack of smiles made it that much more fun.


This is exactly why we choose HAL. It's quiet and very civilized, but there is fun to be had. There was a conga line going at sailaway. The night of the BBQ the Lido was full of people dancing the Electric Slide. The other cruisers were friendly and polite. The food was awesome. The beds are awesome. But what will keep us coming back to HAL is the crew. They are wonderful!

We cruise to relax and we are so relaxed by the time our cruise is over! We have met some very wonderful people on our cruises, many that we've stayed in touch with through the years. We're getting ready to cruise with a lovely couple that we met on our last cruise.

There weren't a lot of 30-40 year olds on our cruises, but the ones we met said they were having a ball.

The conga line sounds like a lot of fun!!! :)

[DRCANDON]

Funny the different views, we were on the Noordam a year and a bit ago when she sailed out of NYC, and yes, we did go at a time when the kids could be sort of taken out of school (around Easter). The demographics were more skewed towards a younger crowd 30 - 50 and quite a few families.

The younger crowd was all well behaved (unlike Carnival - sorry Carnival folks) and no overt rowdiness. And believe or not the disco actually went beyond midnight.

Still, I think the overall "view" of what people think of the ship and line means a lot - and HAL is in a word stately - not stodgy. Take the same "younger crowd" and stuff them on another cruise line and I would not be surprised if they acted different.

Either way we really like the HAL line and all it nuances

[themerle]

Loved the title of your thread! I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise. I'll bet you know how to make your own fun wherever you go! ;)

[bonsat]

we are in our early 60s and on our recent hal cruise we definitely thought of the cruise as a floating retirement home. too old and dull!

[mtnmommy]

What a great review! But, oh, rats, the secret is out in our younger demographic! Although we've now hit 40, my husband and I started cruising HAL in our early 30s. We've met many fascinating--and fun--world travelers who are decades older than us. My children (ages 6 and 10) love it because they enjoy the personal attention in Club HAL and getting to know a few nice kids. I tell my children that it is their responsibility to represent their own age group well, and older folks on HAL have been extremely kind to them.

I like Disney World and Las Vegas, but that's not what I'm looking for in a ship. I love the classical--and classy--experience of sailing on HAL. (Even though I was a child during the "Love Boat" years, I got my ideas about cruising from old movies like "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." The glamour!)

[BJDownUnder]

Bonsat, sorry you felt the cruise was dull.

I must admit a number of people in their 60-70 did mention that the cruise would be there last cruise with HAL because of nursing home feel……………I toned down my post, but their were a number off really sick people on board, a number with oxygen. I even heard that one chap checked him self out of hospital to have one last hurrah

Its easy being in our situation where retirement is a long way off

[funcrusier]

We just completed on second Holland cruise on the Noordam on Feb 3. Had a great relaxing time. There appeared to be as many families on Holland as we are used to on Princess. The difference is on Holland the kids are in there 50's and the parents in their ???. Again we had a great time however it is definitely a much older group. Very little going on after the 10:00 show.

[CBJ]

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

Don't give away all the secrets...

We are mid 30's too and like HAL for all the same reasons.... ;)

:D:D:D

Us too! We are always known to the bar servers by name(and what we drink), within a few days. Not that we drink that much, but when there are so few people in the bars we get special service and lots of attention :D

[BJDownUnder]

Us too! We are always known to the bar servers by name(and what we drink), within a few days. Not that we drink that much, but when there are so few people in the bars we get special service and lots of attention :D

I have to agree with your sentiments regarding the bar services. The bar staff in the Piano bar really enjoyed having a more lively crowd than normal. The fun we were having must have been a bit infectious, because the crowd got large each night of the cruise. The bar staff even made special origami keep sakes for us to take home….sometimes it doesn’t hurt been out of your demographic

[CaliforniaAC]

Hi! We were on the cruise with you too- cute couple!

We thought we were more of the average age of the other passengers (late 40's/50's). Truthfully... I think the people who cruise with HAL are younger every time we go.

I'm glad you guys had fun!

AC

[luckycruzer]

between dogs years, leap year b'day, and having them out of the USA(they dont count then)so I guess I'm only 10 yrs old???

[suse]

Rebels with a cause. ;):D
Kind of like Woodstock, you know?

[BBsailor]

We were on the Noordam from Feb 3-23 on BB and there was a definite difference in the cruise experience between the two segments. The first 10 day cruise was definitely an older group and the ship was dead at night. The casino tables saw hardly any action. The second 10 days were like being on another ship with a more balanced guest list out to enjoy the ship to the max. Just walking through the casino was proof enough.

[PaulMCO]

Both myself and DW are in 50's -- being on HAL makes us feel young. :D
You want an older set try Oceania.

[MalNZ]

We were on the Noordam from Feb 3-23 on BB and there was a definite difference in the cruise experience between the two segments. The first 10 day cruise was definitely an older group and the ship was dead at night. The casino tables saw hardly any action. The second 10 days were like being on another ship with a more balanced guest list out to enjoy the ship to the max. Just walking through the casino was proof enough.

Oh Dear:( We are on the first itinerary (I think). We leave on the 24th April, doing the St Maarten, St Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, St Thomas and Nassau - was this the first part of your cruise?

We are in our 50's but have two Grand daughters aged 7 and 8 (have guardianship of), so even though we are getting 'old', we are quite young at heart. Were there any children on board?

What did you do at our ports of call?

Thanks
MalNZ

[joe122]

I have to admit, the first time I traveled on HAL I was amazed at the predominance of elders. My travel agent actually tried to talk me out of going, stating that I would be bored out of my mind. However, he didn’t know me as well as he thought he did. Working for a public utility, I was desperate to relax with peace and quiet for my frazzled nerves. I was pleasantly surprised and didn’t miss rock climbing walls, wave pools and hordes of overactive children.

[Lurker1]

Too late---the secret is out! Just off Noordam on Feb 3rd and I was surprised to see a lot of the "younger crowd" (30-50yrs), even several families with young children & toddlers on this cruise!

HAL demographics change during school vacation times, especially Alaskan Cruises during the summer. However, we took a repo cruise through the Panama Canal a couple of years back, and we were both just over 60, and probably among the youngest 10% of the Pax.

[Lurker1]

The difference is on Holland the kids are in there 50's and the parents in their ???.

Now that's funny! :D

[robporod]

My wife and I are also on the 4/24 Noordam - I am 40 and she is 38.
The demographic on the Noordam (Rome//May 08) was on the more seasoned citizen side (60+). It was a great cruise - a cruise is what you make of it - become the life of the party ;)

[Route6A]

It's nice to feel "young" when in one's early sixties as I am. Sailing on the Noordam will indeed produce that feeling, especially on Transatlantic voyages. Wonderful crew. Very relaxing atmosphere. Pleasant passengers. Beware, however, of the dreaded Norovirus...Have had that on 3 Noordam cruises. Have not caught it yet, thankfully.....Glad you had such a great cruise, OP.