About the gym on Noordam

[Rahi]

Hi, I don't like to go to local gym here where I live, but I do exercise with bike at home 3 days a week. My question is -is the gym busy often? Is there a deck you can go around to walk fast? And if yes, is that only at certain times?

[foundobjex]

Noordam has a great gym with bikes and a great view from the top front of the ship. There is also plenty of room on deck 3 to walk entirely around the perimeter of the ship. It is very nice and very easy to do. Have fun.

[2hot4thehottub]

I visited the gym on the Noordam a couple of times during my cruise. I found that the best time to go was around 5 pm because it wasn't too busy then. (Probably because a lot of people were getting ready for the early seating for dinner.) I tried to go once around noon, but it was packed. But I never had a problem getting a machine between 4 and 5. Deck 3 is the Promenade Deck, which has a nice walking deck--3 times around equals a mile. You can't run on the deck, but you can walk fast. The deck is usually open at all times, unless there are high winds or really rough seas. I usually did a mile or so every morning. Definitely do On Deck for the Cure!!

Have a great trip!

PS: The gym closes at 9 pm. The sauna is open, though, if I remember correctly.

[sail7seas]

We were impressed with the gym on Noordam. Lots of machines; treadmills, recumbants, other bikes, steppers. Very early morning when they first open is a good time if you are an 'early up' person. If the gym is busy, they limit use of machines to thirty minutes if someone is waiting. I think you'll enjoy it.

Have a great cruise.

[Sunshine91]

If the gym is busy, they limit use of machines to thirty minutes if someone is waiting.

Sorry, Sail, gotta disagree with you. Or, at least John will. He went to the gym several times (at different times of the day) & found that the 20-30 minute time limit was not enforced. When he would be there for an hour or so, he reports that some gung-hu runners & steppers would be on the machines for the entire time he was there. :o

He also told me that some of the "not regular gym-goers" would get in his face as he worked on a machine, to urge him to work quickly, and then they would not follow proper gym etiquette - not re-setting the weights & equipment to where they found it. :rolleyes:

Me - When I'm unfamiliar with a gym, I'm happy to walk, which I did. Lots of laps around that beautiful teak promenade deck. We both did very well on the cruise. John actually lost a half-pound on the cruise & I lost a pound. :) We were just thrilled that neither gained any weight!

[jeffs55]

You get a lot of "tourists" in the gym on any cruise. My partner and I work out regularly at home, and we were satisfied with the gym on the Noordam.
There are quite a few machines, sometimes I couldn't get the aerobic machine I wanted but could get something. I'd like it if there were more weight machines, but we managed OK.

[luv2travel62]

Do you have to prebook your time on the machines?

[O2B@C]

Can't speak to Noordam, but I assume it's more or less the same as Westerdam gym-wise. No prebooking required, nor, as far as I could see, was there any way to do it even if you wanted to. My experience was similar to other posters - I went at 6pm, which gave me time to exercise, shower, and dress before 8pm dinner, and there was never a problem with overcrowding - usually only two or three other people there, max, and plenty of aerobic machines to go around.

[caviargal]

I was there each day when it opened. Great gym, nice selection of weight machines and cardio machines. There was rarely a crowd in the early morning and that is how I like it personally.

Bring your own headphones.

[O2B@C]

... Bring your own headphones.

Good advice. You may want to bring your own iPod or CD or DVD player too. At least on Westerdam, the machines didn't have TV screens. There were two or three TVs in the gym, but it was hard to see and hear them from some of the machines, and I, at least, didn't have the gumption to change the channel. So I was very glad I had brought an audiobook (my favorite solution to exercise boredom).

[RetiredMustang]

We are walkers/hikers and found we could get a decent workout on the Vista class ships (which includes Westerdam and Noordam, which we have sailed, as well as Oosterdam and Zuiderdam, which we have yet to sail). Like sail7seas, we were impressed with the number and variety of machines available, especially compared to the S-class ships, but we did notice what other posters have said -- sometimes it was very busy, and there is a wide variance of gym experience among the guests.

But, we walked mostly on the Promenade deck, and went to the gym mostly to use the free weights (not trying to paint an unrealistic picture here; I mean mostly 5-lb. dumbells for stretching and flexibility drills, not Olympic power-lifting :D ) because unless we went early, we couldn't usually guarantee we would get two treadmills. Plus, walking the deck gives you the air, the sun, the changing view, etc.

People are not supposed to jog/run on that deck, and I think there is a jogging track up top, but some people did jog on the Promenade deck. Again, there were times (mid-morning usually) when there were so many people on deck walking or strolling that it was difficult sometimes to keep up a steady pace. But, at those times I would try to think, "well, you can get the heart rate up some other time, just enjoy being on cruise, dude!" and plan to come earlier next time.

I think that if you are flexible and willing to adjust times and routines if necessary, you can easily get a nice workout on Noordam.

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Also, forgot to mention this. On port days, we usually took morning shore excursions and found that the gym was pretty much clear in the early afternoon after we got back, presumably because many others took afternoon excursions. I would think that it works the other way, too, on port days -- if you take afternoon excursions, you may find the gym more open in the morning, when folks like DW and I are ashore.

Dave