Noordam 7/8/09 my review

[mydreamvacation]

I will start this with a little information about my family, my husband and I are each 47 and we were traveling with our 17 year old son. We are avid cruisers and have done so at least twice a year for the past 20 years. We have traveled on most of the major lines, always in suites and find that there is nothing as wonderful as enjoying a glass of fine wine on our veranda at sunset. In the past we have always avoided Holland America because we had the mistaken impression it was a line that catered more to senior citizens. We do not have anything against elderly people, I plan to be taking world cruises in my 90's myself, however after our trip on the Celebrity Summit in February where the median age was 70 we were looking for a bit more of a mix in population.

The Noordam fit the bill perfectly, yes there were several elderly people on board but they were as I hope to be, fun loving and active, there were families, (with the best behaved children I have ever seen on a ship- amazing manners!) singles, couples and even a bunch of political people (the national review was on board) I can't believe we waited so long to try HAL- we were cheating ourselves for years!

We are from Massachusetts and flew from Hartford Ct to Philly and then straight in to Rome. It is the same flight we took last year when we did the western med. and still was impossible to sleep even though we were in Envoy. I don't know if it is the excitement or what but on the way out I can never get comfortable. One interesting thing was we had to fill out forms while on the plane saying that we did not have swine flu or swine flu symptoms to get into Italy- on the way home to the US there were no forms. We landed in Rome at 8:30am the next morning and were met by our driver from Rome Cabs. (Romecabs@yahoo.com) I can't say enough about this company-this is our second year using them and we will be again next summer- if you would like details of our private tours email me for more information at ydreamvacation@gmail.com.

After our half day tour we checked into our hotel, the Visconti Palace. We have stayed there several times in the past and love it there. The rooms are very large by European standards and it is centrally located within walking distance to many attractions. After a nap (we learned last year that it doesn't really help if you stay up all day, take a nap if you are tired) we walked over to Piazza Navona and had dinner at our favorite restaurant Ponte E Parione (www.ponteeparione.com) the owner is such a funny guy and so friendly! I couldn't believe he remembered us from last year. The food is to die for and the price so reasonable you would not know you were in Rome. After we ate we looked at the artists for a while and headed back to the hotel, took baths and went to sleep for the big day tomorrow.

Stefano had arranged to have a driver pick us up at 11:00 (we used Rome cabs for all our tours and transfers) this was perfect timing we had a leisurely breakfast (free I might add) at the hotel and then headed to port. The Citivechhia port is set up somewhat strange compared to American Ports. You turn in your luggage as usual and go get in line but there is a huge counter and people hold up a sign when they are ready to see you. There was no distinction between suites or non suite passengers (no priority boarding) but it went very quickly and within minutes we were on the ship.

The Noordam is a beautiful vessel! I have never been a fan of huge mega ships and her size fit us just perfectly. Also I noticed that even though she is approximately the size of the Disney Magic it felt so much more spacious on her. I think part of that is because they don't waste space with things like a huge atrium etc. Don't get me wrong the atrium was lovely with the neatest light that rotated but it was understated and classy nothing like the "Vegas showroom" grand atriums you find on so many ships. I like it very much.

Onward and upward to our room- we selected 6166 which is an SC suite specifically for the balcony and it did not disappoint! I have often stated that you could park a car on the balcony of some of our suites well on this corner wrap balcony not only could you park a car but you could easily park seven of those "smart cars" you see all over Rome. The furniture on the balcony was very nice, a resin rattan with cushions. There was a dining table with four chairs, two recliners, and two wing chairs with ottoman's and another small table. You could easily entertain 20 people out there without anyone bumping elbows. The aft portion of the veranda is partially covered and the side portion is fully covered. This was perfect for the Mediterranean in July as it was very hot!
The cabin itself was a good size, there was a king size bed (true king not like the smaller ones on some other ships) that was made up of two beds pushed together, I could feel the ditch where they met but it was not terribly distracting. The bed itself was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on outside of my home, including five star hotels. Very nice linens and our room steward was very accommodating bringing us lots of extra pillows both feather and non. There is an easy chair and coffee table as well as a couch. The couch turns into a single bed. This was a bit of an issue for my son as he is six feet tall and the bed was uncomfortably small for him. He certainly survived but we are booking an SA next time as then have the pull out bed instead of a flip over one. Storage was great in the cabin; we had more than enough for three people. A great idea is to use the vanity seat in the dressing room as a hamper as the top lifts off. We loved the complementary laundry and took full advantage of it. I was a bit disappointed that there were no discounts for suite passengers for internet like on other lines, seems to me if you are paying over a thousand dollars a day for a cabin they could throw you a bone with that but I more than got my monies worth with the laundry. Compared to what Princess offers their suite passengers perk wise Holland America lags behind (ie-Princess gives you leather key card holders, NICE tote bag, silver pen, internet, champagne, flowers, free mini bar set up etc.) but it is a trade off- HAL has that great Neptune Lounge.
The Neptune Lounge is a great place to relax, they also have a laptop in there you can use if you did not bring your own. (You still need to sign up and pay for the plan) I was really surprised as to how attentive the concierges were. We did not make too much use of them as I am used to handling out own spa appointments etc but I heard people ask them for so many things and it was always "yes we can do that". If you need to change money you can do it in there, want a printout of your bill they will get it etc. All day long there are snacks in there starting with a continental breakfast, there is a cappuccino machine, juice water and ice tea are also available. For us because we were all the way aft a deck below (the lounge is midship on deck seven) we did not utilize it as often as others but it was nice to have. Twice during out cruise (ten day trip) there was an event, one was a lunch I think (we didn't go) and the other was a cocktail party which we went to, the officers attended both events. Another perk of being in a suite is you can have breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill. This was nice as there was no need to get up and down to get your food, it is very quiet in there and great views. The breakfast appeared to be the same as what is at the buffet which was fine with me.
This brings me on to food- of course it is subjective, everyone is different but I have to say that the food on the Noordam was the best I have had on any ship. Juice was fresh squeezed at breakfast, the ice-cream was free (big points with my husband and he resents having to pay for ice-cream on other ships) the variety amazing and things changed daily. I loved the Panini station for lunch, they also had a pasta station, Asian, regular buffet, hamburgers and bratwurst grill, pizza, even a taco type bar. Dinner in the main dining room was very good as well; we always were able to find something we liked on the menu. We ate in the Pinnacle grill twice for dinner and I thought it was well worth the money. The French onion soup up there is to die for! When I told the chef how much we liked it he said for me to send up my waiter the next night from the main dining room and we could have a bowl in the regular restaurant. (They do have FO soup in the regular restaurant but it is nothing like the wonderful brew in the Pinnacle) I know some people resent having to pay but I did not mind at all- however the food in the main DR was good enough you certainly could eat there every night and not miss a thing. There is also a restaurant called Canaletto- we ate there one night and I was very disappointed. The service was wonderful but I just did not like the food. Your opinion could be much different; as I am Sicilian it is pretty hard to please me with Italian food unless it tastes truly authentic.
Everything on the ship was in beautiful condition, we went to the art auction and purchased two items which I am anxiously awaiting to arrive here, there always seemed to be elevators available, the staff was always very polite and friendly I can't think of anything negative to say at all. Oh I even had to visit the doctor and he was very nice as well. The only thing I could possibly say is lacking would be entertainment wise. However we had done on another cruise line a 12 day western Mediterranean last year and found the same thing, after thinking about it my husband I agree that the lack of quality/variety of entertainment would be due to two things. First unlike a Caribbean cruise where you can fly in entertainers to the various ports it is not easy to pick up a new act say in Turkey. People don't just hop on a plane and fly all the way there for a few nights gig. Second being such a port intensive cruise with long days I think the cruise line knew most people were not all that interested in entertainment. We went to two shows, one was a comedian and the other an illusionist and I did not enjoy either one of them. Another night the "entertainment" was bingo but like I said it really did not effect my trip as we were tired from our day and enjoying our beautiful veranda, plus we needed to be up early for excursions each morning so in a sense I was glad that there was not something that I would have wanted to stay up late for- it is hard to climb the Acropolis if you are tired

My husband and son really liked the gym, they had state of the art equipment and they never had to wait to use something. I spent a lot of time in the spa which was very nice, you do have to pay if you want to use the thermal suite (another thing that is free for suite guests on other lines) but the prices were in line with other cruise ship spas. (Expect to pay more than when you are on land) There were a lot of specials during the week and if you book on the first day three treatments you get ten percent off your first treatment, twenty percent off your second and thirty percent off your third so book the most expensive one for last. If you don't want to be annoyed listening to a sales pitch during your massage do what I do and write it directly on your consultation form. I write “I have all the products that I need, I am here for quiet and relaxation, please respect this or it will affect your tip" works like a charm!

There were several cooking classes I would have liked to partake in as well as wine tasting but with such a port intensive cruise I just did not have time (had to fit the spa in somewhere) so I will be sure to check them out in the future. There are only two pools on board (excluding the indoor spa pool) but they didn't seem overcrowded. They have a huge chess set on deck that is fun to play as well as ping pong tables, I never made it up to the sports deck so I can't tell you what they have up there but I am pretty certain there is no mini golf on the ship.

A neat thing we really appreciated was each morning we would get a newspaper, I don't mean the ship's daily paper that tells you about events but a mini copy of the New York Times, apparently they have papers for all different countries as you would see the Canadian Times in some mail slots, London Times, etc. Also my son would get his own teen events bulletin daily. He did not go to the club so I can't comment on how that was, he tired of kids clubs years ago. We never made it to the casino, it didn't seem like many people did when we walked by.

The ports were great; we had private guides for each one that I can recommend. I am proud to say we made it home from Turkey without buying a rug The venders there are very aggressive; especially outside of Ephesus after politely saying no thank you a few times I found it more effective to just ignore them. I didn't like to be rude but I am not someone you can push into buying things. (By the way name your own price and stick with it, they will come down even if they seem insulted at first)
After the cruise we did another tour with Stefano and spent two more nights at the Visconti Palace then flew back to the US. Before leaving the ship we did purchase future cruise credits which are a great deal and we will be back in Europe next summer on the Noordam again!

[knitlady037]

Welcome home. Glad you enjoyed your trip on ther Noordam. We were in 6166 on our last cruise. Loved the room. Even though it is a little smaller than the other suites, the balcony does make up for that. Last time we booked that specific room. For our next trip we have an SC guarantee. I'm glad the service and ship is still getting good reviews. Makes it all the harder to wait for our next cruise. Thanks for the review.

[mydreamvacation]

I do hope you get it although I have found out the ones on deck five have even larger balconies. One word of caution I asked our room steward to let us have a peek in the cabin next door which is also an SC but a handicap cabin and I would not have been happy with that at all. The balcony is very small and there is no bathtub. I hope you don't end up with that one! Even the couch is different it is more like a love seat. I will cross my fingers for you that you get 6166. If my son was not so tall I would grab it again but he really needs the bigger bed (or I do so I don't have to hear about it for ten days lol) Yes the service was definately top knotch, best I have ever had- even put SilverSea to shame!

[Susie51]

Thank you for your detailed review and comparisons to other cruise lines. Welcome to HAL.

[Route6A]

How wonderful that you enjoyed your first cruise on the Noordam, which my family also loves. Our son sails with us, too, and he finds the sofa bed in the SA suites fairly comfortable. Your review was so detailed and will be helpful to those considering the Noordam. Such a lovely ship.

Since you enjoyed the mini New York Times, you might like to know that HAL allows passengers to read the online NY Times gratis. If you take a laptop and buy an Internet package, it's a wonderful way to keep in touch with the news.

We also enjoy the Pinnacle Grill and often book it for the first nignt, when the dining room can be a bit chaotic. Again, so glad you had such a lovely sailing.

[mydreamvacation]

We are booked in SA 7063 for the August 2, 2010 sailing on the Noordam- going to be a long year! I didn't know about the online New York Times that is good to know, when we were in the Neptune Lounge they had USA today's and the Wall Street Journal for people to read on most port days, a few days they didn't have it. Not sure if that is a normal thing or because the national review people were on board and requested it.
I just can't get over how much I love the Noordam and Holland America in general we had such the wrong idea about the line I am delighted that the itinerary sucked us in so to speak as we are now converts for life!

[lvs]

Hi Mydreamvacation,

Do you have some recommendations for which companies or inidividuals you planned excursions for your Noordam cruise? We are on the ship in a little less than 2 weeks.

Linda

[mydreamvacation]

Originally Posted by lvs

Hi Mydreamvacation,

Do you have some recommendations for which companies or inidividuals you planned excursions for your Noordam cruise? We are on the ship in a little less than 2 weeks.

Linda

yikes only two weeks that is cutting it close!
For pre and post (and anytime we are in Italy) we use Stefano-email romecabs@yahoo.com www.romecabs.com
in Messina we used Alessandro at Sicily life http://www.sicilylife.com/
For Olympia we used Geroge Letsois he was great got us there before anyone else arrived even showed us his own home! www.taxikatakolon.gr or georgetaxitours@gmail.com in Athen's we used Tassos who works for Jordan jordantaxi52@hotmail.com www.athens-tours.gr
I have to see if I can find the person we used in Turkey she was good too but didn't knock my socks off like these other people did- they were fantastic! In Corfu and Croatia we did things on our own.

[mydreamvacation]

I forgot to put the email in for Sicily Life-infor@sicilylife.com

[mamaofami]

So nice that you enjoyed your cruise on the Noordam. Glad to hear she's in such great shape since she's my favorite ship. Thanks for taking the time to write the review.

[lvs]

Thanks for all of your suggestions Mydreamvacation. We've been to the Mediterranean a number of times so I know we can do most anything on our own! We're using Stefano to return to the airport at the end of the cruise. We're set in Messina. I'll check on the others!

Linda