Just back from 11 day Noordam cruise

Hi everyone,

We enjoyed our cruise very much. Just wanted to let you know we'd be happy to answer any questions especially since we received such great info from these boards before our trip.

Also we did save alot of printed materials such as menus, daily porgrams etc if you would like to know about those.....

Hi, and thanks for the offer.

Could you tell me which was the first formal night - the first sea day or the second? I'd like to be able to plan which night to go to the Pinnacle.

Thanks.

The Noordam is a classy ship; I was on her for eleven days in October. Will be back for ten more days in April, right after Easter.

preemiemd: Are you a Preemie M.D.? I'm a preemie.

Hi,

Here is the order of night attire

NY - casual

Sea day 1 Informal (actually semiformal would be a better term)

Sea day 2 Formal

Tortola casual

St Thomas casual

Dominica Casual

Barbados Formal

St Martin casual

San Juan Informal

Sea day Formal

Sea day casual

Yes TomC I am a preemiemd aka neonatologist. By the way I enjoyed reading your posts last month

Thanks for the dress schedule. We're greatly looking forward to our upcoming 11 days on Noordam.

How was the dining room? Service good? Food to your taste?

Welcome back.

Sail7seas,

We had late seating on the lower level at a table for 2 (#104 good location). Our service was excellent with Sigit our waiter, Marko the asst waiter and Arthur the wine steward. The food in the dining room, Pinnacle and Lido was all good to excellent. In our conversations with other guests there are still some kinks with the flexible dining that need to be fixed. These are primarily related to a couple being inadvertently "stranded" at a large table for 6-8 that no one else ever sits at. Hope this helps

Yes, it does help. Thank you, preemiemd.

We've requested a table for two on the upper level for the 8:00 seating. I imagine they will still be doing the leisure dining program during our January cruise.

Good to hear you found the food in all the dining areas on the ship to be so good. Nice to look forward to.

We think Pinnacle to be nice on Noordam and hope to enjoy a few dinners there. Love the Pinnacle Lounge.

How were the seas the two days going south and then the return? Reasonably smooth?

Thanks again for your help.

Yes .... pray tell

Has anything changed in 12 days?

;)

preemiemd --

That was the last time I was early for anything. And thanks for the nice words about my thread; I do a "Live From" on each cruise.

Vic........

I read and enjoyed your thread and comments until it turned into a smoking/non-smoking discussion. I like reading comments from as many people as possible. Different perspective and all that.

I agree that TomC's thread was terrific.

Thank you all for sharing with us.

Also we did save alot of printed materials such as menus, daily porgrams etc if you would like to know about those.....

Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise. Did you by chance save the wine list from the dining room?

I found a wine list for gifts on the HAL website and am wondering if this is the same wine list that is in the dining room or is there a longer list? I did check with HAL customer service and they didn't know.

Thanks

Vic........

 

I read and enjoyed your thread and comments until it turned into a smoking/non-smoking discussion. I like reading comments from as many people as possible. Different perspective and all that.

 

 

I agree that it got out of hand, but it's not my fault. There are always a few who just have to throw gasoline on the fire. But I'll be rectifying that.

Hope this finds you well. See you in June

Also we did save alot of printed materials such as menus, daily porgrams etc if you would like to know about those.....

Oh - just the message I have been dying to read!:D

I'd appreciate very much if you would have any info on the following:

1. Which night was the Dutch night in the dining room (pea soup, nasi goreng etc.)?

2. Which night was the Dessert Extravaganza?

3. Which day was the Royal Dutch High Tea served?

Nice to hear you had a wonderful cruise! Can't wait until January for mine! :)

I don't remember having a Dutch Night on our Oct. 14 cruise. At least, we didn't get the Casey Stengel and Dutch Maid Cleanser hats.

I don't remember having a Dutch Night on our Oct. 14 cruise. At least, we didn't get the Casey Stengel and Dutch Maid Cleanser hats.

I remember those hats. They weren't supplied on my voyage, either.

But the menu had the typical Dutch and Indonesian specialties that we love.

(I noticed one lady on a long-ago cruise who wore her hat a la "The Flying Nun" .... it was a hoot) :D

A few questions:

1.) Was there lemonade again?

2.) What nights did you dine in the Pinnacle Grill. 2a.) Lunches?

3.) Speed average of ship?

4.) Communications as INet UpLinking, Telephone/FAX etc.

5.) Casino machines and lighting?

Thank in advance.

:cool:

Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise. Did you by chance save the wine list from the dining room?

 

I found a wine list for gifts on the HAL website and am wondering if this is the same wine list that is in the dining room or is there a longer list? I did check with HAL customer service and they didn't know.

 

Thanks

Scaaty, unfortunately the wine list is a "book" that cannot be taken as a souvenier. There is a list for the Vista with both regular and Captains Reserve selections and another list for the Pinnacle grill. All the lists are much more extensive than the gift list on the HAL website. We purchased a 5 bottle Navigator package via fax using the HAL wesite form and found the choices acceptable. In addition during the trip we also purchased 2 other bottles from the list - a ZD Pinot Noir ($50) and a Banfi Princepessa Gavi ($36) -both fine.

I'll try to answer some other questions once I unpack and find everything

I agree that it got out of hand, but it's not my fault. There are always a few who just have to throw gasoline on the fire. But I'll be rectifying that.

 

Hope this finds you well. See you in June

Vic .... :) Very much looking forward to seeing you on the beautiful and elegant ms Maasdam in June. :) She's a great ship with an amazing crew. I wonder if our group has grown at all?

It's fun sometimes sailing on a Vista and then on an "S" Class. Love them both but in different ways.

Meanwhile, we can't wait to sail Noordam and that is why I'm eager to hear from as many as we can about their experience aboard. We loved the brief time we spent on her and a full 11 days aboard is eagerly anticipated.

preemiemd.....Did you think the leisure dining concept worked okay? Did most people appear at their tables at about the same time?

Sail7seas,

Leisure dining is especially wonderful at a table for 2 since it doesn't matter when you arrive - hope you get one. Our table was 104 situated against the wall to the right when you enter the lower dining room. Having had a lunch far aft in the lower Vista while at sea and noticing a lot of vibration we were glad to be closer to the front (no vibration at all). We also liked our table location because it truly was a table for two rather than a table just slightly separated from a table for 4 which seemed to work more like a table for 6. We were sort of in an alcove near one of the pillars which made it more private and we were not near the waiters station.

There do seem to be some gliches with leisure dining for larger tables. In fact it seemed one couple we talked to was seated at a table for 8 for 2 nights and no one else ever showed up. Eventually the maitr'd moved them to a nice table for 6 which they enjoyed. There was a table for 6 beside us which seemed to work very well though.

We also had great weather on the trip with smooth sailing both ways - we didn't even have to think about taking a bonine!

A few questions:

 

1.) Was there lemonade again? I didn't notice any but we were not in the Lido much

 

2.) What nights did you dine in the Pinnacle Grill. 1st night of trip; great experience 2a.) Lunches? we did not have lunch in the Pinnacle but I think it was open for lunch most sea days

 

3.) Speed average of ship? around 20-22 knots I think

 

4.) Communications as INet UpLinking, Telephone/FAX etc. we avoided all computers for the trip since my husband is a software engineer - sorry

 

5.) Casino machines and lighting? we don't gamble but there seemed to be plenty of slots and table games; lighting was fine

 

Thank in advance.

 

:cool:

Hope this helps

Do you remember, by chance, which night they had the Master Chef's Dinner?

1. Which night was the Dutch night in the dining room (pea soup, nasi goreng etc.)? on our trip it was night 4 in Tortola

2. Which night was the Dessert Extravaganza? night 9 (San Juan)

3. Which day was the Royal Dutch High Tea served? 1st sea day 3:15-4pm

Master Chef's dinner was in St Martin (night 8)

1. Which night was the Dutch night in the dining room (pea soup, nasi goreng etc.)? on our trip it was night 4 in Tortola

 

2. Which night was the Dessert Extravaganza? night 9 (San Juan)

 

3. Which day was the Royal Dutch High Tea served? 1st sea day 3:15-4pm

 

Master Chef's dinner was in St Martin (night 8)

And thank you again! :) :) :)

Well - I have finally registered as an official 'user' on this board, although I have been lurking and reading for quite some time! My hubby and I also returned from the 11/4 sailing on the Noordam yesterday! Boo-hoo - I MISS the 'boat' already! I must say that we have traveled on RCCL, NCL, Celebrity and Princess in the past, (nine cruises total) and this was BY FAR our very favorite cruise! The food was outstanding, the ship was beautiful and the service was absolutely tremendous. We could not have been more pleased. First - the food. We felt it to be a notch above Celebrity. We dined one night in the Pinnacle Grill, and it was excellent - but we were seated at a corner booth, and the captain and friends were at a table in the center of the room. They were not speaking any English - were quite rowdy and somewhat disruptive to an otherwise pleasant evening. However - it was the captain - so, what can you say. Our meals in the Vista were terrific! If you sail soon and get a chance to sit in Presti's section (Head Waiter), please do so - he was amazing. Our waiter was Rudi, assistant was Wimbo and Sommelier was Myelene. All did a tremendous job and made our anniversary celebration very special on the last formal night. The food was great and we enjoyed a bottle of wine each night. Our favorite is the Piesporter Riesling. We had a verandah cabin, which we found to be well-appointed and plenty spacious for as much time as we spend in the cabin. My DH is rather tall, and we were most appreciative of the 'full tub / shower' as opposed to other cruise lines. The Elemis bath products are a nice touch, and the upgraded linens and the flat screen TV are also very nice. The spa was fantastic, and I would recommend getting one of the forty passes for the 'Hydrotherapy pool' and the heated tile chairs It was well worth the $120 pass for the cruise if you are looking to really relax. Around the second port day - they offer massage specials for $79 - full 55 minute massage - wait until then to book and save money! I found day one at sea to be a little rocky - but we enjoy that and do not get sick. Other than that it was very smooth sailing. Embarkation and debarkation were the smoothest we have ever had on a cruise - it is so nice that Holland lets you wait in your stateroom to disembark and you don't have to congregate like a cattle heard waiting for your color to be called. Leaving New York - make sure to be on deck for the sailaway as you can get some lovely photos of the NY skyline and the Statue of Liberty - blankets to wrap in are provided on deck as it is quite chilly. Don't even think of skipping the muster drill as they take roll. I am sure I will think of other little things to share - but for now I should probably try to find my desk and get back to work!! 12 days out of the office was bliss - but it is back to reality! Happy sailing! :p