Noordam Caribbean Questions

[Joanandjoe]

We're back from our Celebrity Zenith cruise to Bermuda. The smaller than HAL room size, and lack of bathtubs in all cabins other than suites, convinced us that HAL is our mainstream cruise line of choice.

Now we're starting to think about our Noordam 11 night Caribbean cruise on 11/25/06. It's too early for us to be on the port of call boards, but there are still some things we'd like to know.

Dining - We know that this can change, but we get the impression that there were four set dining times, rather than the semi-open dining on one of the other Vista ships (Oosterdam?). Is that correct?

Formal nights - Do they really have formal nights, when you have to wear a tie and jacket in the heat? If so, when are they?

Tortola - The ship doesn't arrive until 3 p.m., and leaves at midnight. Is there enough time to do anything, particularly for people on the early dinner shift? Are there things worth doing onshore in the evening?

St. Maartin/Martin. Does the ship dock on the Dutch side or the French side? We assume Dutch: only the smaller ships tend to dock on the French side.

Dominica - Does the ship make one stop, at Roseau, or does it first make a stop at the north end of the island, so that people can take an excursion from the north to the south. Is Dominica the only tender port on the itinerary?

Customs and immigration - When does it take place: San Juan, NYC, or elsewhere?

San Juan - The ship is supposed to be in port from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on a Sunday. We'd like to meet friends, then walk around Old San Juan (or do the walk first). Where does the ship dock? Is there time to do much in such a limited time frame, particularly on a Sunday morning?

Ship time vs. shore time - We assume that most of the cruise is in the Atlantic time zone. Is ship time the same as shore time?

Beaches - We need shade, especially on a beach. Can anyone recommend beaches that have natural shade, or where umbrella (or, even better, cabana) rental is cheap and easy? We tried a beach in Bermuda with no shade (but gorgeous!), and neither of us could take it.

We'll probably think of lots more questions; meanwhile, your help on these would be appreciated. Hopefully, thinking about the questions will bring back pleasant memories of the first cruises on this new ship.

[RuthC]

Dining - We get the impression that there were four set dining times, Is that correct?
Yes. 5:45, 6:15, 8:00, 8:30.

Formal nights - Do they really have formal nights, when you have to wear a tie and jacket in the heat?
Yes. The ship is air conditioned.

St. Maartin/Martin. Does the ship dock on the Dutch side or the French side?
Dutch side. In March there was a great deal of construction going on, making the walk to town more difficult. There is a shuttle boat.

Customs and immigration - When does it take place: San Juan, NYC, or elsewhere?
You will need to go through Immigration every time you re-enter US territory after being outside US territory. On the 10-day itinerary that was St. Thomas. I don't know what it is on the 11-day.
You complete customs when returning to NYC.

Ship time vs. shore time -Is ship time the same as shore time?
Yes.

[GMoney]

Hi - I did this cruise in March and loved it. Here are some answers to your remaining questions:

Tortola - The ship doesn't arrive until 3 p.m., and leaves at midnight. Is there enough time to do anything, particularly for people on the early dinner shift? Are there things worth doing onshore in the evening?

We went to the Cane Garden beach. Not bad but nothing special. Many people do the Virgin Gorda excursion. Be sure to stop by Pussers and have a Painkiller #8!

Dominica - Does the ship make one stop, at Roseau, or does it first make a stop at the north end of the island, so that people can take an excursion from the north to the south. Is Dominica the only tender port on the itinerary?

The ship makes 1 stop at Roseau. We actually docked here too (as opposed to tendering). HAL seems to use 2 ports in the same general area. The island is not developed, but that's why I liked it. Be sure to hike Trafalgar Falls!

Customs and immigration - When does it take place: San Juan, NYC, or elsewhere?

NYC, St. Thomas and San Juan.

San Juan - The ship is supposed to be in port from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on a Sunday. We'd like to meet friends, then walk around Old San Juan (or do the walk first). Where does the ship dock? Is there time to do much in such a limited time frame, particularly on a Sunday morning?

We docked in Old San Juan with a Carnival ship that was actually ending its cruise there. Terminal was a circus. Not a big fan of SJ, and I've been there often, so I just took a walk and stayed onboard. Not much was open until 9 or 10.

Beaches - We need shade, especially on a beach. Can anyone recommend beaches that have natural shade, or where umbrella (or, even better, cabana) rental is cheap and easy?

At most places on Orient Beach in St M you can easily rent umbrellas for $3.

[Sunshine91]

We were on Noordam's inaugural in Feb/March. Loved it. My guesss is the weather in Nov will be comparable. We did the 10-day itinerary, so you will be visiting a few different islands.

Formal night - We had 3. The ship is air-conditioned & formal attire is expected.

Dining time - RuthC has them correct. They are for early upper, early lower, main upper & main lower.

Tortola - You can walk into the town (name escapes me right now). We ate lunch at a marina. Take a taxi ($6/pp) to Cane Garden Bay (up & over the mountain, like Mr. Toad's wild ride, be sure to hold on). There you can rent lounge chairs with an umbrella ($5 ea). Plenty of shade at that beach. Beers pretty cheap too ($2.50). Pretty beach, boats in the bay, gentle waves, families, euro-types, all kinds. Gorgeous sunset. Plenty of beach shacks to get a bite to eat.

St. Maarten - Ship docks on Dutch side. Water taxi is $3 one-way or $5 unlimited. Nice downtown beach/boardwalk. Plenty of places to eat, rent chairs & umbrellas. Front Street (?) parallels beach & has shopping!! Watch out for hucksters as soon as you arrive downtown. I "won" a prize but had to take a free taxi to some resort & sit thru a timeshare presentation to claim it. She took 15 min of our time before we realized what was going on. Very nice lady, but there were lots like her. St. Maarten was the worst island for that sort of thing. Never made it to the French side. Small museum gift shop has nice artwork for sale & well-priced hand-made jewelry (thanks Scotty!)

Ship time - The ship is always on local time. If you cross time zones, the ship will change time. It will be noted on the daily program.

Check the message boards for the specific islands you will be visiting. I also found a lot of info about Tortola by googling that island & "bvi tourism" or something like that. It is the bareboating capital of the Caribbean.

I'm working the husband really hard to book Noordam's Jan 6 sailing, which does the 11-day itinerary. Have a blast!!

[gizmo]

Tortola
There is not much in town. There is a shopping area, Pusser's and that is about it. Check out Hal's excursions. You may want to consider eating a late lunch and taking an excursion. You can order something from room service later that night or make reservations for the Pinnacle at a late hour.
Another poster recommended Cane Bay. You do not have enough time to to go there and enjoy the beach since you have early seating. If you forget about going to early seating, you could spend a little time on the beach.

Dominica
This is a rain forest type island and does not have many beaches. There may be one or 2 but I dont think they are going to be great. The ship usually docks, but it is always possible you may tender if there are other ships there on the same day

You may want to consider St. Martin for beaches.