Convince Me

[mariner]

We're considering several cruise options and we're tempted by NOORDAM out of NYC because it's only an hour from home.

That said, we have never liked a ``big ship.'' Hate crowds, waiting in line, don't think the service is the same on small vessels, like feeling motion of ocean etc.

While we know NOORDAM is not a big ship by today's standards, would we still get that HAL feeling that we get on S-dam ships?

[jhannah]

I believe you will have that "home" feeling. While we won't be on the Noordam until July, we have sailed the Zuiderdam. Although large ... and a fair hike from the dining room to the show lounge ... the passenger/space ratio is much like the other ships. We never felt crowded except for in the photo gallery.

The little touches that make HAL what it is are found on all their ships, so I'd say GO FOR IT!

[bruceh4]

For me the answer is NO the feeling is not the same. When you say the vista class ships are not big by today's standards, they are big. They are considered panamax ships which means they are the largest size which can fit in the Panama Canal. The big difference is HAL has not reduced the cabin sizes to accomodate more cabins. But that is changing as the last of the Vista class ships the Noordam has 39 more cabins as the Zuiderdam (the first of the class). The Noordam has about 700 more passengers than an S class ship. Give me an S class anyday. When you discharge 2000 passengers in a place like Rosseau, Dominica the island start to sink!!!! If you have a tender operation the lines will be longer.

[RuthC]

I disembarked the Noordam two weeks ago (is it that long already? ). I always felt that I was on a HAL ship while aboard.

Yes, it's significantly bigger than the S-class ships. Yes, it's a hike and a half from the dining room to the show lounge. Yes, there are bottlenecks where there is a crowd.
But there are also small areas within the context of the larger vessel. The lounges feel intimate. You can curl up on Promenade, look around, and know you are aboard a HAL ship.

Beyond that, you will still have the HAL atmosphere you are used to.

Try it. I did. I still prefer the S-class the best, and R-class next. But I'm not sorry I took the cruise.

[kryos]

I'm gonna be ornery and disagree with JHannah. No, I don't think the Vista ships are the same as HAL's other ships. Not saying they are bad ... just that they are not the same. Since the Vistas sail the popular, "family-style" destinations, you're gonna have bigger crowds and lots more children. You are also gonna have more lines for everything ... from the buffet to getting into the show lounge. The pools are gonna be more crowded and noisy, and service may be a bit slower because there are more passengers onboard that need to be taken care of. You're also gonna walk a lot farther to get from point A to point B on the ship.

On the plus side, though, you will have more variety on the bigger ship ... more clubs and lounges, more activities, etc. Since it is a bigger ship with more facilities, there are just things they can offer there that can't easily be offered on the smaller ships. If you are traveling with kids, I would bet the Club HAL program will be more extensive simply because they are serving a bigger population of kids and thus need more activities to occupy the diverse range they will have onboard.

So, there are pluses and minuses ... and, again, I'm not saying the experience on a larger ship will be a bad one ... just saying that it will be different.

Now, I must say, I've never been on the Noordam ... just on the Zuiderdam ... and while I enjoyed that Zuiderdam cruise, I found it to be entirely different from my cruises on the Rotterdam and the Amsterdam ... and for my money, I'd prefer to stick with the smaller ships. Of course, that could be as a result of my background ... I don't have kids so I don't need to worry about ammenities for them, but I do like a quiet lounge where I can sit with a good book or perhaps meet people and enjoy a nice conversation. On the smaller ships, I will get that. On the larger ones, it will be more of a challenge. But, your experience could well be different and after sailing the Noordam you may decide to book all of your future cruises on the Vistas.

Guess it's nice that there's so much variety in cruising today ... something for each and every one of us!

Blue skies ...

--rita

[RuthC]

Ah, but Rita the Zuiderdam is not the Noordam.

[Toad]

Just off the Noordam, 4/5, out of NYC. Did not like embarkation out of NYC> Long, unorganized, even for suite pax, etc. Did not like the larger ship have cruised seven other times on HAL but never on a vista. Would not do it again. Service was still great but IMHO just not the same feel. However hope others try NOORDAM and stick with the Vistas in order to keep space open for me on S and R class.

[the2ofus]

Have sailed on Westerdam and on several of the S and R class ships. All have the distinctive HAL ambiance, friendly crew, etc. I would sail on any of them again.

We did not ever feel overwhelmed by crowds on the Vista class. We tendered at St. Maarten and HMC and did not think there was any real problem with long tender lines. We had very good food, served at the appropriate temps on all our recent cruises.

Choose your itinerary, choose your best dates, get the best price for the cabin category you want. Then, decide to enjoy your cruise, no matter what happens. You will have a great time!

[mariner]

Your responses are most helpful. Keep them coming.

We just remember sailing on the ``old'' Regal/Crown Princess and never really feeling like we were at sea.

Embarkation/Disembarkation in NYC doesn't surprise us. It was always a mess and always will be. The Port Authority only built the piers when cruising was headed south for Florida.

We never do Lido, so that wouldn't bother us. And we're in our 40s, so stretching our legs isn't a problem.

We just love interacting with the crew. We've talked to an officer who is sailing on one of the Vista ships and he told us the interaction just isn't the same. Can't be. So many passengers.

We'd love to hear more of what you've experienced.

[Sale Away]

Can't speak to the Noordam but we just got off the Oosterdam, another Vista class ship. As far as crew interaction goes, we've sailed on 3 other lines, 5 different ships and by far, this ship had the most accessible management team. We saw the cruise director, hotel manager and Captain around the ship more than on any other cruise we've been on. All were extremely personable and happy to talk to us. When the mariachis were visiting on the Lido deck, there was Mr. Deering. Walking by the Windstar Cafe one morning, we said hello and chatted with Captain Mercer. I think it really depends on the staffing of the individual ships but we'd sail with this crew again at a drop of a hat. We probably had short conversations with Mr. Deering and Captain Mercer 4-5 of the 7 days on board. Any more and they'd have thought we were stalking them! :p

Is it too large? It is a little bit of a hike to the Vista Lounge since it's all the way foreward and the Vista dining room is all the way aft. But it's not unbearable. It was only very crowded at the Penguin pool the past 2 days when we had high winds and no one wanted to go out to the aft (adult) pool.

[Vic The Parrot]

I agree with Ruth


It's a 'Vista' but still feels like a HAL ship.
Very classy with warm woods and neutral colouring. Feels like an 'old liner'

You won't be disappointed

[Vic The Parrot]

Just off the Noordam, 4/5, out of NYC. Did not like embarkation out of NYC> Long, unorganized, even for suite pax, etc. Did not like the larger ship have cruised seven other times on HAL but never on a vista. Would not do it again. Service was still great but IMHO just not the same feel. However hope others try NOORDAM and stick with the Vistas in order to keep space open for me on S and R class.


Were we on the same Noordam??


I, too, was on the 3/25 sailing like you were (I think you were) and the embarkation went smooth. Not like on the maiden voyage which was chaos.
This time around, it went pretty fast,even tho I didn't have documentation.
(Booking last minute, only had my passport, and filling out the immigration/registration form took 5 minutes tops ... and I wasn't a suite pax)


Guess I was one of the lucky ones..

:cool:

[the2ofus]

We just remember sailing on the ``old'' Regal/Crown Princess and never really feeling like we were at sea.

Wow, Mariner, that could not have been the same Regal Princess we sailed on to the Southern Carib. & Panama Canal in 1998! On that cruise she rolled, pitched and generally let us know we were at sea and then some! There had been a hurricane in the region the week before our cruise.

She was a beautiful ship, but I'd never choose to cruise on her again. (And, the food in Dining Room and Lido left much to be desired.)

[BruceMuzz]

bruceh4 said "The big difference is HAL has not reduced the cabin sizes to accomodate more cabins. But that is changing as the last of the Vista class ships the Noordam has 39 more cabins as the Zuiderdam (the first of the class)."

Uhhh Bruce - not quite right. On Noordam they extended the aft decks to accommodate extra cabins where previously there had been none. They did however reduce the size of about 10 balconies that were actually larger than the cabins they were attached to.

[Toad]

Vic! Yes Ibelieve we were on the same cruise and our embarkation time took forever! Do you suppose this depends on what time you arrived at the pier? Suite check in was VERY slow. Never experienced this in Tampa or FLL.