Friday night on the Noordam with pics

First I must thank Holland America for a most wonderful evening aboard the Noordam. It was very special and DH and I were very happy to be one of the many chosen to attend.

Secondly, I apologize to all of you who have been so patiently waiting for pictures. We went away Saturday morning and arrived home today and we were not able to get online. I do have some pictures and hope I can post them here, not great and not a lot, but some pictures...

After reading many of the posts regarding Friday nite and Saturday in Boston, I agree with all comments. Meal was wonderful, decor is pleasing and warm.

I had to work Friday and so immediately following work we headed into Boston from Cape Cod. That is an hour ride anyway but the traffic was very bad and we were late upon arrival. We literally had to be the last two aboard. We were told we may not get served dinner. Better yet though, as we stepped aboard we were guided about 30 feet around the corner into the Pinnacle Grill. Very nice! We had the same dinner as all those in the Dining Room but just in a more intimate surroundings.

We were joined by two Holland America sales representatives (sorry, I don't remember the new job titles) Gus from New York and Mary Goldsmith from Canada. We had a lovely time during dinner and Gus and Mary were very gracious.

After dinner, Mary took us under her wing since we had not made it in time for the tours. Mary was great and showed us all the public rooms and although the cabins were locked, she found someone to open up the penthouse suite and other suites that had been open during the tour period.

Immediately following dinner there was a show. Well, since dinner was late, we missed the beginning of the show and there were no seats available when we got there. I was impressed with the singing and costumes for the few moments we stood to watch but we decided to get a tour from Mary instead of peeking over people's heads to see the show.

The things that stand out in my mind were the kids club rooms. The 3-8 yr room had a small stage with curtain where I assume they can put on little shows. The 9-12 year old room had spaces set up for about 6-8 Playstations. The Teen room was cool with huge balls that turned out to be like bean bag chairs. Very comfy.

Also the Spa was huge!!!! There is a hydropool which is like a huge hot tub with jets of water all over. Also, there are these tiled chaiselounge that are heated and felt pretty wonderful. I understand for $15 a day or $80 a week you have access to these chairs and the pool and of course the huge gym.

It was very enticing.

The Lido restaurant looked like any lido but is subdued in decor and very nice. The gourmet area for the cooking classes is also big. It has a stage and seating area. There was a second show there on Friday night. (Which we also missed.)

Overall, the ship is lovely. Our experiences have been on the Rotterdam and the Zaandam so of course the ship is bigger. But in every room from Explorers Cafe to the kids clubs, it is bigger and better.

Once again thanks and Well Done! to Holland America for putting on a great party. We not only arrived late but we left late. There were some coats still on the racks when we picked up ours, but not many. When we had arrived and were rushing through security, we saw these Holland America folders all lined up and when we reached for them we were told they were going to be given out as you left the ship. Well, that was for those who left the ship on time...we missed out on the souvenir take home but no complaints. We had a wonderful time, we met a lovely lady in Mary and another family who joined Mary's tour and had some fun. The best to all of you who are heading out tomorrow from NYC. God bless and have a blast!!

I am hoping this website will bring you to my pictures. If not I will try again.

http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=99211140573800041/l=83000960/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Hi Boynsea :

Mary is just a wonderful person and I'm so glad that you had the opportunity to dine with her. I'd love to chat more about her with you. Feel free to drop me a line via my Internet site contact page : www.shipcafe.net

Thanks for the photos as well! :)

Thank you for posting the photos of the new Noordam. I am glad you had a wonderful time on your tour. She really is a beautiful ship and I am so excited to be cruising on her on 3/25/06.

Thanks, again.

Steve:

Just went to your web page and looked at your pictures of the Statendam and the Amsterdam. Very good pictures of both ships!!

Great pics! Thanks for sharing. :)

BOYNSEA, thanks so very much for posting your pictures. :) It looks like you had a wonderful time last Firday.