Noordam

[ispooks]

My 73 year old mother is sailing her first med cruise on the noordam this august - what should she know about the ship?:confused:
thanks in advance!:)

[mamaofami]

It's a fabulous ship with a wonderful crew. She's in for a great time. Wish I were going with her.

[Sea Island Lady]

The ship is fairly easy to get around.

Will your mother be in a Suite, a Verandah room or smaller Oceanview or Inside category? Not all have the same bathrooms. Some come with just a walk-in shower. Others have a tub/shower combo (which can be hard to climb over the tub lip, for some passengers). The suites have both a tub/shower combo AND a walk in shower.

Make sure she gets travel insurance!

[RustaRoo]

The Noordam is a big ship. Depending on where her cabin is located there could be a lot of walking down the hallways. I particularly found it tiresome when I was on the Noordam on crutches. The hallways seemed endless. I'm only mentioning this if she has any sort of mobility issues. I'm sure under other circumstances I wouldn't have minded the 'walk'.:)

[Sea Island Lady]

The Noordam is a big ship. Depending on where her cabin is located there could be a lot of walking down the hallways. I particularly found it tiresome when I was on the Noordam on crutches. The hallways seemed endless. I'm only mentioning this if she has any sort of mobility issues. I'm sure under other circumstances I wouldn't have minded the 'walk'.:)

Although I wouldn't call the Noordam a big ship by many means (especially with all the new builds) :D, you have a good point!

Exactly the reason I have made sure that my parents suite is near the forward elevators, and between the forward and mid elevators.

[RevNeal]

On the Vistas, in particular, minimizing the walking-factor is always a challenge. A cabin just fore-or-aft of the midships elevators probably offers the best balance. This means one has to walk a only a very short distance to get to the midship elevators and, then, from the elevators to the Ocean Bar/Pinnacle Bar, Atrium, and Lido Restaurant. One has to walk about a quarter of the length of the ship to get to the Sport Bar/Piano Bar/Casino/Northern Lights/Explorer's Lounge/Exploration Cafe. The furtherest one has to walk from one's cabin is half the length of the ship to get to the Main Dining Room, the Show Lounge, the Crows Nest, the spa, etc. Of course, nothing can help matters when one needs to go from the main dining room to the show lounge (or visa-versa). But, apart from that, the best location to minimize walking from the cabin is a cabin in close-proximity to the midships elevators.