Noordam July 24th review LOOOOOOONG

Here is my trip report for our recent 17 day cruise by me, my wife, and my 15 year old daughter aboard the Noordam. Our trip included a couple of extra days on the front end in Barcelona as well as a few extra days on the back end in Rome. Please feel free to ask any questions as we owe a debt to so many people on Cruise Critic that helped me in planning this wonderful trip.

Overall, this probably ranks as our best cruise ever (we have taken 8-10 cruises in total). There were many reasons for this, the length (21 days with 17 on the Noordam), the ports, the fact that the plans I had laid out came off so well, but the biggest reasons were the wonderful ship and crew on the Noordam as well as the people we met via our Cruise Critic meet and greet. Kudos to Donna (Treasure4two) for making the effort to bring almost 40 CC members together in two separate meet and greets over the two cruises (this was a back to back with a 7 day and than a 10 day cruise sold as a Collectors cruise by HAL). The meet and greets immediately gave us friends that we seemed to run into to everywhere!

Our plan on this cruise was to do every shore excursion on our own. The only exception to that was that I had arranged a tour of the Vatican Museum with Angel Tours. I felt that we would be overwhelmed with the museum on our own. As some on CC can tell you, I planned this trip way down in the weeds and had a ton of information on each port. Two tools I relied on while in port were my new iphone (Using the app Good Reader, I stored maps, schedules, site write-ups, etc. so I always had information available when I needed it. This did not require an internet connection.) and my handheld GPS which had all the locations of the sites, restaurants, bus stops etc. pre-loaded. These tools were very helpful, but the GPS did struggle at times with a signal in towns with tall buildings, and I would say it worked well 75% of the time.

The Ship

Before I get into the ports, let me make a few comments about the ship. The Noordam had just completed a three week dry dock prior to our embarkation, so the ship was in very good shape, clean, and ready to go. The Noordam is typical HAL, stoic elegance, with busts of kings and queens of the Netherlands, a solid silver model sailing ship, statues of Greek gods, etc. Our activities onboard were somewhat limited (by choice) as only three of the seventeen days were sea days. Our typical pattern was to get back to the ship in time for the Happy Hour in the Ocean Bar where Rene and Daye were always waiting to serve us our favorite beverage. The two-for-one works very well after a long day in port. I also used Happy Hour as a time to stock up on sodas as they were also two-for-one. HAL was introducing new beverage cards on the Noordam and Westerdam. You could get a $50 soda card for $25. This means you get the whole can of soda for $.98 plus tip. Of course, you have to drink a lot of sodas but that is not a problem for us. They also had two beverage cards, a $50 one for $45 and a $100 one for $90. These were good on ANY beverage on the ship: soda, tea, wine by the glass, bottles of wine, and mixed drinks. We bought several of these throughout the cruise and found them to work quite well.

We chose anytime dining, which worked very well. We only had to wait the first night for about 20 minutes but that was also the only time we arrived after seven. The food in the MDR was excellent. We enjoyed all the usual items, king crab (twice), Osso Bucco, beef short ribs, filets, pasta, fish and of course desserts! We found the soups to be especially good. One night we went to Pinnacle which had impeccable service, atmosphere and steaks. I do think Pinnacle could improve their side dishes and appetizers. In my mind I compare Pinnacle to Ruth Chris’s type restaurants and it is not at that same level in my opinion, it’s still very good but not a knock out. We also went to Canaletto twice which we found to be very good. It had nice service with good veal, lasagna, and penne with vodka sauce. I especially enjoyed the antipasto they serve. It was a good change of pace. We also opted to miss one of the four formal nights and the Master Chef’s dinner by eating in the Lido restaurant. It was typical Lido, good, quick and informal. Despite sitting in anytime dining, given the length of the cruise we did get to know many of the MDR staff and they were excellent.

Our cabin steward, Yatt and his assistant did a great job keeping our room in ship shape. We also used the laundry service via the $20/bag option. This worked fine. We hand washed more delicate items in the sink and sent our more durable items to the laundry. We had packed incredibly light on this trip with only 3 medium size suit cases and two backpacks.

I spent several nights in the casino where I meet some great folks, especially Ian and Beth from Australia. While I came out a small loser ($200) it was well spent entertainment. Barbara and Courtney did go see some of the shows but to be honest most nights we were so beat that we often ate and were in bed pretty early. I think all told we went to 4-5 shows which were all good. We’re not big into the Broadway type productions preferring comedians and magic type shows.

At the meet and greet we met the Cruise Director Matt and the Hotel Manager, Mark. I have to give real kudos to Mark, a fourteen year veteran of HAL, as I believe most of the crew people see around the ship report to him in some fashion and they were all fantastic. Always a good morning and a smile. We also went to the Capitan’s questions and answer session and Captain Mateboer was very interesting. He answered a host of questions. One discussion which was interesting was about the various skill levels of the pilots that board the Noordam at each port. We ran into him later on the ship and chatted for a few minutes. He is also an author of children’s books, and all in all the most personable Capitan I have seen on a cruise ship.

Another venue we enjoyed was the Culinary Art Center. We went to one of the cooking demonstrations where the Pinnacle Grill Head Chef Carosella prepared Thai Chicken Soup (a little spicy but very good) and Steak Dianne.

We also were shocked at how poorly we did in name that tune and team trivia. The team trivia was especially humiliating; our team name was the Eliminators which we were NOT.

Barbara and Courtney also went to two of the Indonesian High Teas which they enjoyed very much. OK now on to the actual cruise……

Barcelona

We arrived without incident in Barcelona around 9:00 am. We were feeling pretty good as we had all taken ½ of an Ambien on the flight and slept like a rock. We were staying one night before the cruise at the Hotel Inglaterra in Barcelona. After gathering our luggage we hopped on the AeroBus (5 euros/pp) and rode to Placa Univeristat, about a block from the hotel. I was surprised our room was ready but we checked-in, dropped off our luggage and started our day. We walked to the Barri Gòtic section, the old part of Barcelona using Rick Steve’s Barri Gòtic walk. Our first stop was the Barcelona Cathedral, where in the placa we had the pleasure of watching the locals (with probably a few tourist mixed in) performing the Sardana Dances. This consisted of them forming a circle, joining hands, and dancing. There was a band and lots of people having a great time! These dances are a celebration of Catalan unity (or just an occasion to have some fun), they are done every Sunday around noon. After enjoying the dancing, we popped into Bilbao Berria, a restaurant right on the square. This was a little tapas place where the waiter brings your drinks and than you go pick out which tapas you want from the folks behind the counter. Each tapa has a toothpick and at the end of the meal you are charged based on the number of toothpicks you have. The food was great.

After lunch we finished our Rick Steve’s walk and than headed over to the Picasso Museum.

For dinner we went to Cerveceria Catalana, which is a little bit of a walk from the hotel (maybe 15 minutes) but well worth it. I had used Trip Advisor to supplement the information I received from CC and this place had rave reviews. Turned out they were well deserved; we had an excellent meal of several tapas plates, reasonable also as the bill for three (including a few glasses of wine) was less than 50 euros.

On our second day in Barcelona we rode the metro (bought a T-10 card which can be shared and is good for 10 subway/bus rides) to Sagrada Familia. Wow! When you exit the subway, there it is the craziest church I have ever seen. We had decided beforehand not to go inside but spent a good hour walking around the outside marveling at the artwork. The best part was we were there well before it opened so it had very few people outside.

Next it was back on the subway to the Block of Discord, where there was more Gaudi work. We paid the stiff fee (16 euros/pp) for an inside visit of Casa Batllo which I am glad we did as it was truly amazing inside. By this time we were ready to head back to the hotel, rest a little, and head to the ship. We had the hotel call a cab which took a while to get there but it was only 14 euros to the port.

Embarkation

We arrived at the port around 12:30, late for us for most cruises and we paid a price for it. The line to check-in was wrapped around the inside of the building. Usually we are the early birds for check-in and had never waited more than 30 minutes (once the check-in started) but this turned into an 1 ½ hour wait, the worst part was you had to stand, no place to sit. I know HAL is restricted by the building they are given but this was the worst embarkation we had ever experienced. The good news was once we did get on the rooms were ready and believe it or not when we walked in out room our luggage was already there!

After the lifeboat drill, we went to the meet and greet where Donna had arranged with HAL to serve us mimosas and cookies. As reported earlier, Matt (Cruise Director) and Mark (Hotel Manager) met with us and thanked us for coming and talked about how important Cruise Critic is as it helps educate cruise travelers. Mark also revealed that we would be arriving at our first port one hour earlier than on the itinerary.

Cannes

Our first stop of the cruise was Cannes, home of the famous international film festival. As became the norm, we were in the first wave off the ship. Our plan for this port was to spend the morning exploring the town, then enjoy lunch, and then catch a ferry to the Isle Sainte-Margierite, a small island off of Cannes. Our first stop was the Museum de la Castre, which while interesting also had an old Roman watch tower you could climb that offered spectacular views of all of Cannes. Next we visited two churches, Notre-Dame D'Espérance and Chapelle de la Miséricorde, which were nothing spectacular but interesting. We than spent about an hour walking along the shops on Rue Félix Faure, the main shopping street of Cannes. This was more enjoyable for Barbara and Courtney than for me but I knew I had to pay my dues. By this time we had worked up an appetite so we began scouting the restaurants. Despite my careful planning, the restaurant I had picked before hand, L’Assiete Provencale was closed, so we had to wing it. It turned out that we did a pretty good job as we shared a yummy pizza and a sandwich at Brasserie Bar Tabac. It is amazing how good a sandwich can be on really good fresh bread. After that, we were off to the ferry for the Isle Sainte-Margierite. This island has a fort/prison, maritime museum, as well as a beautiful (but small) beach. It is where the “Man in the Iron Mask” (reputedly Louis XIV brother) was held prisoner in the 1600’s. The island also had some interesting nature walks. After a few hours of exploring we were back on the ferry and then back on the ship.

The first night in the MDR was one of confusion (and the only time we had to wait to be seated). Apparently many of the Europeans on board thought that the fixed seating times were really suggested times and showed up when ever they wanted. This caused overflow into the anytime dining room.

Santa Margherita

We split this port into two pieces, the first was a trip to Portofino, the second was lunch and the afternoon in Santa Margherita. Barbara’s Italian came in handy as we bought tickets (1E/pp) on the early bus (8:10) to Portofino. A short but interesting 15 minute ride later we were in a very empty Portofino. I think there were three or four natives and us. This change dramatically about two hours later as the cruise tours arrived so we were glad we could see the village at its uncrowded best. We walked to the Church of St. George (built in 1154, the doors have some great panels with various scenes) and Castle Brown (the original was built in the 2nd century), both very interesting. Castle Brown offers some fantastic views of Portofino. It is an interesting walk as it is uphill the whole way. Upon our return to the village it was beginning to get overrun with tourist. I have got to figure it drives the locals crazy (unless you are selling tourists something). We hopped on the ferry (5E/pp) and took a ride back to Santa Margherita. The views from the ferry were great.

Back in SM it was a great lunch at Da Michele followed by two churches, Oratory of Sant’ Erasmo and the Church of San Giacomo. Then it was back up another hill to the awesome gardens of Durazzo Park and the Villa Durazzo. All I kept think about there was what a great place it would be to have a wedding.

Rome

This was the first of a handful of ports that I was mildly stressing over. First off, we had to take the train (which we had never done in Italy), secondly, we had an 11:00 Vatican tour scheduled and want to see the Castel Sant’Angelo beforehand so I was anxious to get off early and catch the early train. I had all but given up on the early train (7:33) when we were not allowed off the ship until almost 7:10. (I must say I was surprised thorough out our trip how few people were trying to be in that first wave to get off the ship, there was a group of 15 or so regulars and that was about it). Luckily the shuttle bus did not wait but about five minutes to leave so we were dropped off at the fort very quickly. It is .3 miles (per my GPS) to the train station and we hoofed it at a good clip making it a little before 7:30. I still did not think we would make the early train (which would give us an extra 30 minutes in Rome prior to our Vatican tour) but we walked up to a completely empty ticket counter. They have a picture of the BIRG ticket taped to the window so I pointed at it and said, “Tre”, handed over 30 euros and got our tickets. I looked at the train board and saw it was 7:30 and our train was on binario #2. We literally ran the short way under track one and onto the train which left about 30 seconds after we got on. One other group from the ship made the train also but they had pre-purchased their tickets. The train ride was uneventful and we got seats immediately. One thing I found very inconsistent on the trains we used on this trip was the information you received on what the next stop would be. On this particular trip they really did not announce anything and the little electronic board did not either. On other trips they would announce the upcoming stop and the boards would also tell you. Anyway, I knew what stop was the one preceding San Pietro, so I took to just looking out the window to see the station name posted on the buildings. That worked fine as we got off at San Pietro and walked to the Castel San Angelo.

Castel San Angelo is located less than ½ mile from the Vatican and has a fascinating history. Built to be a tomb to Hadrian around 125 AD, it evolved into a castle used as a refugee for many Pope’s during times of trouble, particularly during the several times Rome was sacked. It is actually still connected to the Vatican via an elevated corridor. It got its name in 590 AD when the Archangel Michael appeared over the castle to Pope Gregory the Great signaling the end of a plague. As Rick Steve’s says, it is a stair-stepping workout to tour it but well worth it. The view from the top of the Vatican and city of Rome were awesome.

After the castle, we walked to the Vatican Museum to meet our Angel Tour group. Our guide, Simon, a Dutch student studying in Rome did a great job taking us through the most magnificent place we have ever stepped foot in. His passion was contagious. What can I say about the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica? Unbelievable, awesome, spectacular….when you leave you immediately start figuring out how to go back to see all the things you missed. You could easily spend a week here. I was glad I had elected to hire Angel Tours, as Simon took our 3 hours and focused the group on a dozen things instead of trying to see every room and everything. You could about get lost in the museum, so we felt it was money well spent.

We walked back to the train station (it is on walks like those to and from the train station that the GPS really was great, it knows where you are, you just tell it where you want to go), caught the 3:39 train back arriving in Civitavecchia with tons of time to spare.

Trapani

We had reserved a car with Avis for this port so once off the ship we headed to the Avis address, problem was, Avis was not there! A guy in a little store saw us and asked if we were looking for Avis, we said yes and he told us it was another 10 minute walk up the road. I guess he was used to tourists actually believing the address on the confirmation sheet. Once we found Avis we checked in but had to wait while the guy cleaned our car. We sat there and watched him polish every square inch of the car, I finally had Barbara (she speaks a little Italian) go tell the lady behind the counter that we did not need the car that clean!

Once in the car we followed the trusty GPS to the village of Erice, high on a mountain (Mount Erice…duh) above Trapani. The road is a series of switchbacks and hairpin turns but the views of Trapani and the rest of Sicily were magnificent. What a beautiful medieval town! Erice is very old (they think as old as 200 BC) and is the epitome of the Middle Ages, beginning with the castles, walls and narrow cobblestone streets. It has many churches and spectacular views of Sicily. We wandered the streets and shops, visited the churches, and most importantly, ate a fabulous meal at Ristorante La Pentolaccia. While the entire meal was delicious, the prosciutto and melon was the best we had throughout the entire cruise. The melon was a kind we were not familiar with but it was served very cold and was perfect. Another great thing about Erice is given its elevation (about 2,500 feet) it was also reasonably cool even in August!

La Goulette

I really did not know what to expect on this stop. There was very little information available on the internet. The best advice I got was from fellow CCer Coral Reef, who not only outlined her DIY trip to Carthage (which help bolster our courage to do the same thing) but also recommended the Blue Guide to Tunisia which we found to also be helpful. The biggest challenge for us (and I believe most tourists) in Tunisia is their culture is very different from ours. They are aggressive hagglers and will actually pursue you to get you to buy their wares or services. Since we were doing a trip to Carthage on our own, we were prepared for the running of the taxis as Coral Reef warned about. They tried everything in their powers to get us to stop and engage in conversations but we just kept our heads down and kept on going past them into the town of La Goulette. We were looking for an ATM to get dinars, the local currency so we could ride the tram and also pay to visit Carthage. While many in Tunisia will take dollars or euros, the tram and museums/sites will not. It took four ATM’s (all in the same general area on the main street) before we could get dinars but we finally got them, we proceeded to the train station and rode to the Carthage Salambo tram stop. From there, we followed Coral Reef’s and the Blue Guide’s directions to our first stop, Salambo Tophet, the remnants of a Carthagian burial ground. From there we visited the Punic Harbors, the Palo Christian Museum and Antonine Baths. Of all those stops, by far the best were the baths which were the only extensive ruins left. By this time I was getting a revolt from my fellow travelers as we had done a good bit of walking and outside of the baths had not really seen a lot. In hindsight, I would recommend unless you are just a huge history buff, I would concentrate on Antonine Baths which are actually pretty interesting and also the National Museum of Carthage, as the rest of the Carthage sites seemed skipable to us. After visiting the baths and fighting down a mutiny, we got back on the tram and headed to Sidi Bou Said, a beautiful resort further up the coast.

Another hindsight item that came up after we got back on the ship was that unknown to us, the brand new port facility also includes a new tram station about 100 yards from the ship. As you look off the ship you will see a large parking lot (where the tour buses park). On the back side of that lot is a small white building with a blue picket fence. That is the new tram station. In addition, we discovered that inside the little tourist village you have to walk through to get to the taxis is a currency exchange counter. I have no idea what the exchange rate was, but if you want to take the tram into Tunis or to Carthage/Sidi Bou Said, you now can get dinars from the currency counter and catch the tram right beside the ship. I wish we had known that as it would have saved us quite a bit of walking, both coming and going.

Barcelona

As this was a B2B cruise, the return to Barcelona was the end of the first leg, the 7 day cruise. While most of the ship disembarked for good, for us it was just another port day. This was a pretty low key day for us. We actually slept in and were not in the first wave off the ship, much to my daughters delight. When we did get off we hailed a taxi and headed to Parc Guell (the taxi was 16 euros), a park and garden in northern Barcelona designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914. If you are familiar with Gaudi’s work (Sagrada Familia, Block of Discord) you can imagine what he would do in designing a park. It is a great family place with crazy Gaudi designed items through out. It also provides astounding views of Barcelona, particularly from the “Calvary”.

After the park we were off to La Ramblas to join the insane throngs of tourists, pickpockets, and performers. I was so conscious of pickpockets that I really had a hard time enjoying the sites. I would compare La Ramblas to a longer, cleaner, and more fun version of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. There were lots of street performers, restaurants and shops. We really enjoyed the market, La Boqueria. It is a working market with every food item under the sun. Some of the stuff we could not even figure out what it was!

Ajaccio

This was also a low key port. Our day consisted of visiting the Bonaparte House and museum and walking through several sections of the town. We also visited the Bandera Museum (a military history of Corsica museum) but unfortunately the Musee Fesch was closed. We had a great lunch at Da Mamma; I had a buffalo mozzarella salad that was top notch.

Florence

This was one of the most anticipated stops (outside of Rome) and boy did it deliver. Florence is unbelievable! We were again one of the first passengers off the ship and I made a bee line to the taxis. We flashed our euros and got one of the drivers to take us to the train station without any problem. We once again made the early train, off the ship just after 7:00 and we were on the 7:33 train and in Florence at 9:03! We spent the morning amazed by the Duomo, the Duomo museum, the Baptesty, and the Bargello. This gave us just enough time to find the Il Fratellini sandwiches shop recommended by Rick Steves. We grabbed the sandwiches and ate them in the Palazzo Vecchio people watching. We had 12:15 reservation for the Uffizi gallery, we got in line right around 12:00 and were inside by 12:20. This gallery is not only huge, but it is awesome. A heavy rainstorm gave us an excuse to stay until 2:00. On exiting the gallery we were inundated by umbrella and poncho salesmen who took our 12 euros and outfitted us for the continuing rain. We had to walk across town to make our 2:30 Accademia appointment which we made with no problem. We found the Accademia to not be all that exciting (outside of Michelangelo’s David which in not only huge but outstanding). On our way back to the train station, we stopped for a short visit to the Medici Chapel’s.

The train ride back was uneventful but there were lots of tourists onboard. By the time we got off the train in Livorno, all the cabs were taken. Luckily, yours truly had a back up plan and we hopped on a very packed bus #1 which took us to Piazza Grande. From there it was a short walk to the Noordam shuttle bus. Special thanks to Coral Reef for sharing the information in her trip review, that’s how I knew what to do upon our return.

La Goulette

Of course this was our second stop in Tunisia and this time we were going to the Bardo museum and into Tunis itself. We had decided to use a cab on this trip just to make it easier. We started off talking to the cab service in the tourist village but I balked when they said 50 euros. I just wanted a ride to the Bardo! We ended up walking out of the port gates where we knew there would be plenty of taxis and behold, there were. I negotiated a one way trip to Bardo for 15 euros, which was more like itJ! On the way the driver asks us if we want a return ride, I say that our plan was to go from Bardo to the Ave Habib Bourguiba, the main drag of Tunis that leads up to the Medina. Well one thing led to another and before I know it the driver is handing me his cell phone, saying his “boss” is on the line. Now, I must add that the driver has pulled over in what I would call an “interesting” part of town as I am talking to his “boss”. The boss can speak English much better than the driver and he explains that we have a wonderful driver who would like to take us to the Bardo, wait for us, than take us to the Medina, wait again, and then back to the ship. I listen, realizing that I am a captive audience to say the least. Well, at the end of the “bosses” conversation, I ask him how much it would cost. His answer, the original 50 euros. At this point I cave and say fine, I am looking out the window at a less than friendly environment, so it seems a small price to pay. It turned out our driver was very friendly, and at the Bardo he even offered to gives us dinars to get in. He was also very trusting, because when we were walking on Ave Habib Bourguiba, we could have easily jumped into another taxi or caught the tram, leaving him high and dry.

The Bardo was great in that it has easily the finest mosaics we have ever seen. It was a little crowded as multiple tour buses were there at the same time. Outside the museum was a swarm of vendors selling scarves and trinkets. It was at this time while watching the vendors chase tourists around I realized that while Tunisians are definitely more aggressive than I am used to, they are really harmless and fun-loving. We watched one vendor selling little drums and he was hilarious! He would try to guess where you where from and he would sing a song related to your guessed home.

After Bardo we went to the main drag of Tunis, Ave Habib Bourguiba. We had our driver drop us off at the Café de Paris as we were hungry. We went inside but then realized they only served drinks so we started up and down the street. Now this was a Saturday and there were dozens of little cafes packed with natives drinking little coffees and smoking (like most Europeans we were around on this cruise). While we could get all the coffee we wanted, we could not find anywhere to actually eat, until I finally spotted a little place with a sign that said pizza. We were ready for anything by now, so we went in and ordered a pizza. It turned out to actually be pretty good, I liked the price, 4 dinars (or $2.60), our cheapest meal of the whole trip!

We visited the Cathedrale of St Vincent and strolled down to the Medina. We poked our heads in but decided not to go inside. We had heard nothing good from anyone who went on our first stop; in fact, most said they would not go back. We then went back to our driver and back to the ship.

Valletta

I love history so I was really looking forward to Malta. I had read a lot on the siege of Malta by the Ottoman Turks so was excited by our visit. We disembarked early (what a shock!) and took the tunnel to the parking deck and rode the elevator up to the city. The tunnel to the parking deck is right behind where the donkey’s line up and it is a long walk but you will get there! For some reason, the elevators only work until 2:00 on Sunday (the first of many things closed on Sunday). Once in the city, we went to the bus circle and hopped on bus 11. For a mere 1 euro/pp we were taken to Paola Square where we walked to the Tarxien Temples, which are interesting ruins from 3600 BC that consist of four linked temples. After spending about 1 hour there we headed over to the Hypogeum where we had 10:00 reservation. The Hypogeum is really something. It is an underground necropolis (or ancient burial ground) made up of halls, passages, and chambers used as a giant tomb starting in 3600 BC. It is estimated that as many as 7,000 bodies may have been interned there. Due to the nature of the site, access is restricted to only 80 visitors a day or 10 each hour. This is due to the carbon dioxide people exhale. The first part of the visit is a short film clip (everyone is given an audio guide in your chosen language). Than a guide takes you on a tour where the audio guide gives a brief narrative on what you are looking at. It is very well done but really leaves you with more questions than answers. If you go, you need to get reservations ahead of time. I could not believe the number of people that showed up while we were waiting to go in that had no clue that they needed reservations.

Once we finished it was back on the bus to Valletta. Once there we began a lengthy walking tour around the entire city. I really wished HAL had changed the schedule around some as a lot of restaurants and sites (particularly St John’s Cathedral) were closed since it was Sunday. It would have made more sense to me to do Gozo (about 15 miles away) on Sunday and Valletta on Monday. Anyway, we toured what was open and had what turned out to be our only poor meal of the cruise at Ristorante San Paola. After that, we went to some more shops and returned to the ship.

Mgarr

The sail away was well done as they allowed passengers access to the bow where they served drinks and snacks and also provided a narrator who talked about the island and its history.

We dropped anchor off of Mgarr earlier than we had been scheduled so we tendered in and caught a little ferry (8 euros/pp) over to Curino, of Blue Lagoon fame. We only stayed there about one hour as the place was a zoo. It has a thin strip of beach, maybe 50 yards long that was packed, you could not fit another human on it! Upon our return to Mgarr we caught a taxi to visit Victoria, the capital city. While there we had a great little lunch at Café Jubilee.

The sail away from Mgarr was great as we went right by the island of Stromboli with its smoldering volcano.

Naples

We were docked by 7:00 in Naples and once again we were in the first wave of disembarking passengers. I knew there were several options to go to our destination, Pompeii. Initially I had planed on taking the train but later learned that the bus was another option. At this point I made a tactical error and elected to walk to the train station. It was by no means fatal but it is a bit of a hike, about 20-30 minutes. It would have been better to wait for tram #1 and ride that to the foot of Garibaldi Street and then walk the short distance to the station. Anyway, we caught the 8:11 train and were in Pompeii by 8:45. We made a game day decision and decided to just use the Rick Steve’s walking tour on my iphone, in lieu of a guide. I think it worked pretty well. Pompeii is very large, so it is somewhat easy to get a little lost but enjoyed our tour which lasted around two hours. I had read a book prior to the cruise, The Fires of Vesuvius, which gave me a great understanding of the city and life before the volcano, I highly recommend it.

After the Pompeii visit we were back on the train and back to Porta Nolna Corso Garibaldi train station. I had a particular restaurant in mind for lunch, Da Donato which is just around the corner from the train station, but it was closed. Since we were in Naples, we wanted pizza and my research also said that another great pizza place was Di Matteo. The bad news was it was almost a mile away. After a brief conversation we decided to go ahead and walk there so we began a very interesting walk through the heart of Naples. It was interesting because we saw all Naples has to offer, the good, the bad and the ugly. I would say Naples is a seedy town, lots of trash and graffiti but we never felt unsecure. We were walking down alleys with clothes hanging everywhere, by open windows where families lived. It was a real look at Naples from the inside. Given the higher buildings, my GPS was coming and going but we soon saw a small crowd at a little pizza place. It was our destination. Initially I thought we had to get pizza to go but we soon figured out we could go upstairs and sit in A/C and order. We each got our own pizzas and I can tell you it was by far the best pizza any of us had ever eaten. They were simple, crust, sauce, cheese and in my case, also prosciutto but they were awesome. The place was packed, so it was no secret.

We had originally planned to go the National Museum but I also knew about ½ of it was currently closed, so after lunch we headed to the Cappella Sansevero. If you only go to one place in Naples proper, it should be here. This is where famous Veiled Christ by Sanmartino is located. This work of art is on par with any highlights we saw on the entire trip. It is simply unbelievable.

After that we stopped at several additional churches, San Domenico Maggiore and Gesu Nuvo as we walked back to the ship.

Rome

This was our final disembarkation port. We were sad after spending seventeen days with the wonderful crew on the Noordam. The night before I went around and distributed some extra tips to crew who had gone above and beyond the call of duty.

The morning came early and we prepared to do the self-disembarkation. I am always amazed at how few people do this. It allows you to get off the ship way before the majority of the passengers. Originally I had planned on taking the train to Rome but Barbara was not feeling all that great (a cold from the rain in Florence) so I elected to pay the high cost of a taxi to Rome. Another learning lesson, after this long, walking this much, by the time you are at the last port on a long cruise, you might be better off pre-arranging a convenient and restful form of transport to Rome. Anyway, we got a cab (180 euros, yikes!) and were in Rome by 8:00 and our hotel by 8:15. We had selected Hotel Paba, a seven room hotel near the Colosseum. It was great. The owner, Alberta, was terrific! She helped confirm our final departure transportation, let us print our boarding passes, and made reservations for dinner.

We dropped off our bags and headed back out to the National Museum, the Baths of Diocletian and the Santa Maria Maggiore. We then headed over to the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill. By that time, Barbara’s cold was sapping her endurance so we headed back to the hotel to relax and rest. We ate dinner (recommended by Alberta) at the Wanted restaurant. Strange name, but the food was quite good.

The next day began bright and early with a subway ride followed by a bus ride to the Borghese Gallery. What a beautiful place! We got there early and wandered the gardens. Our 9:00 reservations worked great and we spent almost two hours enjoying the art work. The Bernini works are numerous and awesome. Combine that with the Caravaggio’s and Raphael works and it is a must see.

After that we headed back on the bus to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and several neighborhood churches. At this point it started to rain so we headed back to the hotel to rest up for dinner. Dinner was fabulous! I had asked Alberta if the La Taverna Dei Fori Imperiali was good and she assured us it was and had called the day before and set us up with reservations. Not only was the food outstanding but so was the service. It was a fitting end to our three week trip to the western Mediterranean.

Kirk

Fantastic Review! Be sure to post alot of your port info over on the port boards; many will find it very helpful. The things you did in Barcelona are exactly what many recommend for a short visit; your research really paid off on the entire trip.

Thanks for sharing.

Outstanding review.. enjoyed it very much:) Your vacation sounded wonderful. What lovely family memories..a fabulous experience for your daughter

Welcome Home!!

Thank you are such a wonderful review.

Thanks for your great review.I will be boarding the Noordam in 10 days.:D We have booked the Angel tour at the Vatican so was really excited to hear that you were pleased.did the guide go with you into St. Peters? Also were you able to wander around after your tour?

I'm in charge of our M&G and I was wondering how you got HAL to supply mimosas.We have 55 people attending and I would love for them to get this little treat.Once again thank you for posting this review.

Sara

Thank you for the detailed review!:)

Our guide first took us into a courtyard in the museum where they have some boards setup that the guides use to help you understand things like the layout of the Sistine Chapel ceiling etc. After that they take you through the museum explaining things as they go. After the museum we took a short break and grabbed a snack. The Sistine Chapel was kind of on your own and you meet the guide in the corner after you are done. The reason is you are not supposed to talk in the chapel (even though a lot of folks do). Than he explains St Peters which you do on your own (seems like maybe he offered to go in, I can't remember). Once you do St. Peters, you are free to wander around as you would like. You could go to the Treasury or the Grottos if you wanted.

On the M&G, contact HAL directly. You might try to contact Treasure4two as she set ours up. It was nice and also good to meet the cruise director and hotel manager as you will see them all over the ship. You will love the Noordam. If you make the Ocean Bar, give our best to the staff there, they were great!

Kirk

Thank you for the review.

...snip...

I'm in charge of our M&G and I was wondering how you got HAL to supply mimosas.We have 55 people attending and I would love for them to get this little treat.Once again thank you for posting this review.

Sara

As soon as you board, you'll find a note from the Beverage Manager, and you need to see him/her asap. HAL generally provides only coffee/tea & sweets, so you have to ask for Mimosas or Bloody Marys. He will need a head count for the service, and it has been my experience that only about 1/2 to 2/3 of the RollCall shows up.

Don't forget to tip your servers... arrive at the Captain's Corner (or wherever) 30 minutes early and get the names of your bartender and servers, so if you miss them, you can leave tips in an envelope with their names on them at the Front Desk. This is important, as they disappear while you're still visiting.

Have a great cruise!

Great review. Thanks for sharing the details.

Was it worth it to go to the Bardo museum - we have been to Tunisia before, and that was the only place we did not cover (closed for feast of Ramadan) - but there have been numberous reports that only 1/5 of the museum is accessible/viewable - and that many of the displays are not easily viewable (scaffolding/tarps/dust) - please advise if you think it was worth seeing at the stage the museum is in right now.

Our guide first took us into a courtyard in the museum where they have some boards setup that the guides use to help you understand things like the layout of the Sistine Chapel ceiling etc. After that they take you through the museum explaining things as they go. After the museum we took a short break and grabbed a snack. The Sistine Chapel was kind of on your own and you meet the guide in the corner after you are done. The reason is you are not supposed to talk in the chapel (even though a lot of folks do). Than he explains St Peters which you do on your own (seems like maybe he offered to go in, I can't remember). Once you do St. Peters, you are free to wander around as you would like. You could go to the Treasury or the Grottos if you wanted.

 

On the M&G, contact HAL directly. You might try to contact Treasure4two as she set ours up. It was nice and also good to meet the cruise director and hotel manager as you will see them all over the ship. You will love the Noordam. If you make the Ocean Bar, give our best to the staff there, they were great!

 

Kirk

Thanks for the info on both the Vatican and the M&G.I am hoping that the guide takes us in St Peters as we would like to hear some of their knowledge.

As soon as you board, you'll find a note from the Beverage Manager, and you need to see him/her asap. HAL generally provides only coffee/tea & sweets, so you have to ask for Mimosas or Bloody Marys. He will need a head count for the service, and it has been my experience that only about 1/2 to 2/3 of the RollCall shows up.

 

Don't forget to tip your servers... arrive at the Captain's Corner (or wherever) 30 minutes early and get the names of your bartender and servers, so if you miss them, you can leave tips in an envelope with their names on them at the Front Desk. This is important, as they disappear while you're still visiting.

 

Have a great cruise!

We have had a very active roll call so I'm hoping more show up for the M&G. Did you order the mimosas with the HAL rep before the cruise or ask for this once on board.I have never even been to a M&G so want to do this right.:D Sara

What a wonderful and informative review. You really did your homework for your "do it on your own" tours.

We boarded the ship on the 12th, the day you got off. We were only on for the 7 day segment. Not long enough!

Thanks for taking the time to share your vacation with us. Great job!

Thank you for your wonderful review! We are cruising the 7 night next summer and your port info was very helpful. We also do ports on our own. This is my first time on HAL and there haven't been any recent reviews of the Noordom. I've been trying to get a feel for LaGoulette and Tunisia. From reading multiple reviews of this port it seems like the nicest thing to do is take the train to Sidi Boud Said. I don't think I would like the Medina and the ruins of Carthage seem more "ruined" than Ephesus or Pompeii which I have already seen. Did you happen to see the beach below Sidi Boud Said? Is it easily assessable from the town? Was there anything to do in LaGoulette? Was there a decent beach there? Thanks.

Was it worth it to go to the Bardo museum - we have been to Tunisia before, and that was the only place we did not cover (closed for feast of Ramadan) - but there have been numberous reports that only 1/5 of the museum is accessible/viewable - and that many of the displays are not easily viewable (scaffolding/tarps/dust) - please advise if you think it was worth seeing at the stage the museum is in right now.

We thought it was worth it. I have read reports on the closures but I was only aware of a couple rooms. We probably went through more than 15 rooms so unless it is a bigger building than I think it is, it appeared like most of it was open. I did see at least on large room closed off as I looked in to see what they were doing. I would try to get there before or after the tour buses if you can. The mosaics where the best we have ever seen. There were no tarps/scaffolds in the rooms we were in.

Kirk

Thank you for your wonderful review! We are cruising the 7 night next summer and your port info was very helpful. We also do ports on our own. This is my first time on HAL and there haven't been any recent reviews of the Noordom. I've been trying to get a feel for LaGoulette and Tunisia. From reading multiple reviews of this port it seems like the nicest thing to do is take the train to Sidi Boud Said. I don't think I would like the Medina and the ruins of Carthage seem more "ruined" than Ephesus or Pompeii which I have already seen. Did you happen to see the beach below Sidi Boud Said? Is it easily assessable from the town? Was there anything to do in LaGoulette? Was there a decent beach there? Thanks.

Other than the Baths, the rest of Carthage is pretty "ruined", nothing like either Ephesus which we saw last year or Pompeii which we saw this year. Sidi Bou Said is very pretty but by the time we got there (lunch time) it was crawling with tourists. We did not see the beach so I am not sure on that part. The only thing I am aware of to do in La Goulette is to visit the fort or eat at one of the restaurants. We did not explore it much other than to get some dinars from the ATM.

Kirk

Thanks for the review. Your cruise sounds amazing.

Very interesting and informative review. Enjoyed it!

KirkNC,

Could you tell me what your ship arrived in Civitavecchia and how long before you were allowed to disembark.

KirkNC,

Could you tell me what your ship arrived in Civitavecchia and how long before you were allowed to disembark.

The ship was scheduled for a 7:00 disembarkation. We actually arrived and were tied up about 6:30 but it took until just a little past 7:00 until we were allowed to get off. We used the self-disembarkation so we were the first ones off.

Kirk

Terrific review, thanks so much. Lots of valuable information

Thanks for all the detailed info. We will be on the Oct 8 10 day Noordam sailing, 2 adults and one child. We only just booked, and are doing research to figure out how to as much as possible. In Florence we would like to see Pisa, and the Accademia and Uffizi. I doubt that a private tour would be cost efficient for only 2 (perhaps the 3 of us), so will have to figure this out on our own. How much was the taxi from the port to catch the train, and was it a set fee or did you have to negotiate? Am also trying to find out the hours for Club HAL, as our son will not be interested in all of the ports, but no one from HAL has answered my email yet. Thanks!

We actually had the taxi for the whole day - I think it was tuscanytaxi --- we did not use the train......

Florence

From KirkNC: "We were again one of the first passengers off the ship and I made a bee line to the taxis. We flashed our euros and got one of the drivers to take us to the train station without any problem. "

My earlier question about the taxi fare to the train was in reply to the above review (sorry for any confusion - but thanks for the reply anyway!) I thought I had replied to his review.