Noordam transatlantic

[tayl]

We are considering a Rome to N.Y. trip in Oct./08, on the Noordam. There will be six stops and seven days at sea. They will also host the Guy Lombardo band (big band). We were going to book a balcony,but someone said it would probably be cold out,and we'd not get much use of it. Is this true?

Also with six days in a row at sea, would we be bored? What type of activities do they usually have for these crossings? We were told that the seas would probably be rough and it would be cold outside. I do have a tendency towards motion sickness. This is our first taste of Europe and a transatlantic crossing.
Is this a worthwhile trip? Or, should we just take a cruise in Europe only.
Is HAL a good line to go to Europe/transatlantic with?
We were on the Volendam in 2006 (ten day caribbean) and quite enjoyed it.
Can someone please advise us? :cool:

[jtl513]

We were going to book a balcony,but someone said it would probably be cold out,and we'd not get much use of it. Is this true?I agree this is probably true. Not only will the air temperature likely be down but there is also a constant 20 knot (or more) wind while you're under way. We had verandahs in the Baltic and Mediterranean, and enjoyed them most when arriving in or leaving ports.
Also with six days in a row at sea, would we be bored?I know I would be!! I'm a "port" person rather than a "ship" person and dislike sea days. I usually spend my sea days on my laptop "working" on the pictures I've taken in ports. :)
What type of activities do they usually have for these crossings?I've never been on a cruise with even 2 sea days in a row (and won't be, I hope), but I would imagine the activities are pretty much like what you had on your sea days on the Volendam.
Or, should we just take a cruise in Europe only.For a first-time in Europe I think you should take either a Western Med, Baltic, or Eastern Med cruise, in that order of my personal preference. :D Unless, of course, you really like sea days! :)

[barante]

The Noordam is our favorite ship. First time we tried HAL, when we took her in March. We are now booked for an 11-night Southern Caribbean cruise in March.
We have taken Celebrity's old Zenith twice, Galaxy twice and the Norwegian Dawn and the Noordam was the best ship we have been on. It is well laid out and seldom feels crowded. We love sea days. You will not be bored, there is always something to do.
We, too, will take a westbound trans-Atlantic in October, 2008. We'll start from Venice and 18 nights later will end up in Fort Lauderdale. Because of the more Southern route we'll likely enjoy warmer weather.
Because Venice was a must on our cruise, the Noordam was not an option. But the Emerald Princess starts from Venice (where you can board the ship on the day before departure), then proceeds to Naples, Rome, Florence, Cannes, Barcelona, Cadiz, Lisbon and the Azores. When we saw that itinerary we were sold, even though we have never been on Princes before.
Let me just mention two things about the Noordam. It has a fabulous library, the best I have seen on any ship. And since the library is in a cafe, the ambience is very nice. It's heavily patronized.
The second thing is that HAL has some excellent movie channels, including first-run releases and Turner Classic Movies. First-run movies are also shown in a lounge every day.
The Noordam is a wonderful experience. To enjoy it for a trans-Atlantic cruise is a privilege.

[fcorey]

If you're really concerned about being bored on the sea days how about taking a cruise that leaves from Europe instead of the crossing. I like the time aboard ship so I'd love the crossing part. However if its not important to you why not take a trip that leaves from Europe and tack on a day or two before and after?

[Bill S]

tayl: we did the same transatlantic cruise on the Noordam last October and it was great!

We had a verandah cabin and at least for our cruise, the weather was mild and we were able to enjoy the verandah every day. Also, many other guests who had done a number of transAtlantic crossings said that this was the smoothest crossing they had ever encountered. Having said that, as prospectuses say, past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. We were pleasantly surprised with the weather and calm seas.

As a lover of sea days, I was never bored. There are dozens of activities taking place all around the ship. The ship will have a decent selection of movie showings on your in-cabin tv and DVDs are available for check-out at the library/Explorations Lounge, not to mention books, as well. Also, movies are shown daily in the multi-purpose venue/room. The casino is open on sea days. There will be bingo, team trivia, scavenger hunts, model shipbuilding contests, dancing and we even had a Q&A session in the Crow's Nest with Lorna Luft! The dance band played a few sets during the day on sea days. At night they performed up in the Crow's Nest for several hours, where the floor had been cleared of tables and chairs to permit dancers to do their stuff.

I cannot tell you if your cruise will be worthwhile. I can say that we thouroughly enjoyed the total experience from beginning to end. We did a 3-day pre-cruise stay in Rome and that was well worth it, IMO. Florence and Pisa were magnificent. Another highlight for us was the nightime passage through the Strait of Gibraltar-we could see the Rock of Gibraltar illuminated on the starboard side and just a few miles to port were the lights of a city on the Morroccan coast. One of the best benefits of the west-bound transAltlantic is that on that long stretch of sea days we gained an extra hour each night and upon returning to NY, we did not have to recuperate from jet lag!

Hopefully, HAL will have Bill Miller on board as a lecturer. Mr. Miller is a expert/author on ocean liners and cruise ships. He gave 5 outstanding and higly entertaining presentations on-board -- don't miss him if he on your cruise! His last presentation was a narration from the Noordam's bridge as we crossed under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge entering NY harbor at 5:30 in the morning! It was well worth getting up early to hear it and see the Statue of Liberty all lit up as a welcome beacon back to America.

If you decide to take the Noordam cruis, take some bonine with you to keep your sea sickness in check and have great cruise!

[grannynurse]

We are about to take our first southern Atlantic crossing having done 4 northern TAs. The north Atlantic can be very rough and is almost always foggy. I am hoping the southern route will be hurricaine-free as we're sailing in Ocober.
We had 16 sea days on our 35 day rt crossing and were not ever bored. When we arrived in NY my DH didn't want to get off.

It depends on what you like. When we sailed east the crossing was broken up as we stopped in NewFoundland, Greenland and Iceland before heading to Norway.
The most sea days we've ever had in a row is 4, but 16 total on the roundtrip. Having 5 days in a row will not be a problem for us, and the extra hour per night on the westbound is much better than losing an hour a night going east. Did that twice and it was disorienting especially in NF where the time difference is 30 minutes from 1 time zone to the next.

The part that gets me is the port-intensive time while in Europe. Our first 6 days are all long port days. We then have 2 days at sea, 5 days across, HMC then Ft. Lauderdale. I'd really like to see it broken up more but that can only happen on a round trip from the US. One way TAs are port heavy on one end or the other.
I remember thinking "what are we going to do for 35 days?" Now 16 days is not long enough.
GN

[tayl]

Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate everyones helpful response. We actually quite enjoy sea days. I Just wasn't sure what there was to do. We've only been on caribbean cruises, in which we spent a lot of time by the pool in a lounge chair reading or soaking up the sun.