Short review Noordam TA/Carib 19th October - 13th November

We had a great cruise.

We did the TA from Barcelona and stayed on board for the first 10 day Caribbean.

Service on board was great, no complaints there. Had only one minor toilet issue in almost a month, which was solved within almost minutes.

Food was good, although it seems that choices get more limited, but still plenty to choose from.

Weather was great in the Mediterranean, Barcelona, Valencia, Cartagena, Malaga were hot, Gibraltar cloudy but warm, Ponta Delgada nice and warm, Horta unfortunately cloudy and rainy.

TA itself was warm but not much sun, some Atlantic swell every now and then.

Shows of the Noordam singers and dancers were great, absolute highlight were “Droom” and “Classique”, but also the others were very entertaining.

In all the entertainment program on board was a bit more scares than our previous TA in 2010, but still ok.

Caribbean ports were nice, great weather, although we missed HMC due to the wind, Samana was great, Grand Turk ok, the ABC were very nice.

Crew as always very caring and always there with a smile, no complaints.

Still a great ship in great shape.

Only let down was an irritating cough going through the ship, visiting both crew and fellow cruisers, nothing you or HAL can do about. You can also get this at any other closed air system, like office or long airplane flight.

Something else noticeable, but not in any way influencing my cruise, was the almost invisible captain Jeroen van Donselaar. Clearly noticed by many, no interview hour, rare public appearances and only the bare necessity, leaving at the first possible moment.

In all, Noordam was and is well maintained and cared for, with a great crew.

In all a great cruise.

Thanks so much for sharing. So good to hear Noordam and her crew still provide a wonderful cruise experience. She's such a beautiful ship, to my eyes.

Thank you for sharing your cruise with us. Your description of Grand Turk is different than mine. The HOHO trolley was nice and I did enjoy the Lighthouse. The beach and water by the dock had many big rocks with lots of different types of tropical fish just off shore.

Thanks for taking the time to post. I'll be on her late next year. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

This is good to hear since I'll be on the Noordam in August!

Thanks for the review.

Great to hear you had a great cruise.

I was on the November 3-13 Caribbean part of this cruise and agree with everything you said about the ship and services.

Did not notice the cough you mentioned; passengers seem to travel in different circuits.

Also I thought the Captain gave excellent reports at the 12:45 hour while at sea and also was very forthcoming in the reasons why embarkation on the 3rd was delayed (due to Coast Guard inspection after being away from the US); the reasons for delayed sailing (fixing the hydraulic problem on one life boat found by the Coast Guard inspection); and the decision process on determining whether or not to go to Half Moon Cay. We may not have seen him much but we did hear from him when it was important.

I was on the November 3-13 Caribbean part of this cruise and agree with everything you said about the ship and services.

 

Did not notice the cough you mentioned; passengers seem to travel in different circuits.

 

Also I thought the Captain gave excellent reports at the 12:45 hour while at sea and also was very forthcoming in the reasons why embarkation on the 3rd was delayed (due to Coast Guard inspection after being away from the US); the reasons for delayed sailing (fixing the hydraulic problem on one life boat found by the Coast Guard inspection); and the decision process on determining whether or not to go to Half Moon Cay. We may not have seen him much but we did hear from him when it was important.

Totally agree with you on that, Captain is there for the safety of the vessel and all who sail on her and that he did (as far as I could judge) adequately.

It was just an observation.

Cough was also mentioned in a published member review of the same cruise, also the CD was affected and he got it from the 2nd in command (by his own statement).

Thanks for your review, glad you had a good time on the Noordam.

Thanks for sharing your review.

Glad you had a good cruise, too bad about the cough.

Thanks for your review. May the crew keep the Noordam high standards until we sail on her in May.

Thanks for sharing ..

Appreciate your review. Our first time on the Noordam is not until April for the Panama Canal and we are really looking forward to it.

I honestly wouldn't mind trying a TA at one point too. :eek: Scares me a bit but from most reviews it seems like a very positive experience and I don't mind sea days.

Thanks for your review!

We enjoyed the cruise. The BB King All-Star Band was excellent along with extremely talented Cruise Director Kieron Buffery. We are doing the 18 day cruise from December 4 to the 22nd.

I was on the November 3-13 Caribbean part of this cruise and agree with everything you said about the ship and services.

 

Did not notice the cough you mentioned; passengers seem to travel in different circuits.

 

Also I thought the Captain gave excellent reports at the 12:45 hour while at sea and also was very forthcoming in the reasons why embarkation on the 3rd was delayed (due to Coast Guard inspection after being away from the US); the reasons for delayed sailing (fixing the hydraulic problem on one life boat found by the Coast Guard inspection); and the decision process on determining whether or not to go to Half Moon Cay. We may not have seen him much but we did hear from him when it was important.

Hey, I was chaplain on this Caribbean Cruise and I thought everything was great. I did not notice any coughing on the ship. It was my first time on the Noordam and I thought she was great! Captain was very good and the CD was excellent as was Reggie the Events Manager.

Himself

Thank you for your review.

Will Captain van Donselaar be bringing Noordam "Down under" next year?

Thanks for your review. Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

We were on the Noordam from Nov 3 - Nov 24.

Yes -- we heard people coughing. In fact it got worse on the second part of our cruise. And I came home with Bronchitis.

You are right -- rarely saw the captain around the ship.

I was on the November 3-13 Caribbean part of this cruise and agree with everything you said about the ship and services.

 

Did not notice the cough you mentioned; passengers seem to travel in different circuits.

 

Also I thought the Captain gave excellent reports at the 12:45 hour while at sea and also was very forthcoming in the reasons why embarkation on the 3rd was delayed (due to Coast Guard inspection after being away from the US); the reasons for delayed sailing (fixing the hydraulic problem on one life boat found by the Coast Guard inspection); and the decision process on determining whether or not to go to Half Moon Cay. We may not have seen him much but we did hear from him when it was important.

he didn't tell the whole truth :)

we were cabin 8080 on Port watching the delayed embarkation, and at the time he announced there was an issue with Coast Guard clearance (which i have NO doubt there was). .there was ALSO over 15 crates of luggage still to be loaded on board.

that was around 6pm. . so getting the Lifeboat clearance was not the only issue there. However (and remember, we were watching from balcony), around 6:40 all luggage was loaded, and we really thought we were about to leave. . and an ambulance and firetruck pulled up alongside the ship, the walkway opened, and they removed someone on a stretcher from the ship.

THAT is what held up embarkation until ~7pm.

we surmised that since the Captain had notified at 5:30ish that he thought we'd be underway by 7, that's why they never announced when the Hydrolics issue was resolved).

we too did not notice the cough that is mentioned, but we most certainly DID notice the lack of Captain. I don't think we saw him even once on a 10 day cruise. Most of the other officers we did bump into, and EVERYONE on staff (from the photographers, to casino hostess, to the cleaning crew at the poos) had a great attitude and was pleasant and willing to converse.

We also loved the lighthouse at Grand Turk (I got to pet a donkey!) :)

I filled out my HAL survey to note the food in MDR was very hit or miss, and they need to work on being consistent.

The good dishes -- Veal Chops, Curried Noodles, Lobster Tail -- were VERY good.

The bad ones?. . oh my. . we almost sent the duck back, but instead just didn't eat it and ordered something else. The Prime Rib was great one night and terrible the next.

and several of the chilled soups were disgusting (the Pina Colada one tasted like a bowl of melted egg-nog ice cream!).

But bravo to them for the good variety on the Vegetarian options, some of which ended up being quite good.

Thanks for the reviews. As the Noordam was our 1st HAL ship we enjoy hearing she is still in good shape.

Thanks for the reviews. As the Noordam was our 1st HAL ship we enjoy hearing she is still in good shape.

The ship is absolutely gorgeous -- in particular the "side rooms" in the Crow's Nest bar, and the reading nook near the Queen's lounge.

If any part of the ship looks dated at all? . . I would say it is the Northern Lights Disco/Bar. . very, VERY 80's.

but the rest of the ship? Just beautiful and classy.

We were on the TA and I am still coughing a bit. My doctor said it was a virus. Most annoying.

We really enjoyed the cruise. MDR food and service was inconsistent.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

he didn't tell the whole truth :)

 

we were cabin 8080 on Port watching the delayed embarkation, and at the time he announced there was an issue with Coast Guard clearance (which i have NO doubt there was). .there was ALSO over 15 crates of luggage still to be loaded on board.

 

that was around 6pm. . so getting the Lifeboat clearance was not the only issue there. However (and remember, we were watching from balcony), around 6:40 all luggage was loaded, and we really thought we were about to leave. . and an ambulance and firetruck pulled up alongside the ship, the walkway opened, and they removed someone on a stretcher from the ship.

 

THAT is what held up embarkation until ~7pm.

 

we surmised that since the Captain had notified at 5:30ish that he thought we'd be underway by 7, that's why they never announced when the Hydrolics issue was resolved).

 

we too did not notice the cough that is mentioned, but we most certainly DID notice the lack of Captain. I don't think we saw him even once on a 10 day cruise. Most of the other officers we did bump into, and EVERYONE on staff (from the photographers, to casino hostess, to the cleaning crew at the poos) had a great attitude and was pleasant and willing to converse.

 

We also loved the lighthouse at Grand Turk (I got to pet a donkey!) :)

 

I filled out my HAL survey to note the food in MDR was very hit or miss, and they need to work on being consistent.

 

The good dishes -- Veal Chops, Curried Noodles, Lobster Tail -- were VERY good.

 

The bad ones?. . oh my. . we almost sent the duck back, but instead just didn't eat it and ordered something else. The Prime Rib was great one night and terrible the next.

 

and several of the chilled soups were disgusting (the Pina Colada one tasted like a bowl of melted egg-nog ice cream!).

 

But bravo to them for the good variety on the Vegetarian options, some of which ended up being quite good.

I did not know about all the things you observed on the quay, I can imagine that the disembarkation on medical grounds is not always publically announced if it is not necessary.

I myself did hear the captain announce that the hydraulic problem was solved.

I myself think that the main delay was the immigration clearance of the entire ship when we docked, together with the scares amount of immigration officials, this took ages! The crew also had to pass this check, so naturally all work on board, suffered a delay!

Thanks for your review, Alphen. I'm sorry that I didn't get to meet you as we had to cancel at the last minute. Maybe next time!