Just back from the Dec 6 -16th Nordam

Just back from the last 10 day Noordam cruise. For the most part we loved it. I will cover some highlights. These are just my opinions. We did our own excursions and did not book anything through the ship. All ideas and directions came from tips and ideas on these boards.

Embarkment: Was a breeze,10 minutes at the most. We had a SA suite. There is priority embarkment for suite passengers and we got to the port at 12:45 and were having lunch by 1 pm. Our room was ready by 1:45pm.

Cabin: I will be forever spoiled after having this SA 7062 suite. I will post pictures of it later, but needless to say, it was huge with plenty of room, a sitting/dressing area with wall to wall mirrors, a huge 2 sink and whirlpool bathroom and a big balcony. I have pictures of every area I will post for those who are interested to see. It was across the hall from the Neptune Lounge that is strictly for SC,SB, and SA cabins. The bed was to die for as was the service. We wanted for nothing. HAL knows how to treat its passengers.

Ports:

Grand Turk. IMOA, I think this port is a waste of time, while some may like it there is basically very little to do.

Tortola: Interesting port. We went to a great little beach, Cane Garden Bay, and had a good time. The driving on the wrong side of the road going around those mountains was a bit terrifying but it was a fun day.

St. Marten: We did a private tour with Bernard, I can give you his email, and we had a great time with him. I highly recommend him. It was $25 pp and we were with him from 9 am -5:15pm and he took us everywhere we wanted to go. We covered both sides of the island went to Maho beach and saw a plane come in and one take off. We spent almost 3 hours at the Orient beach and had a great time( yes there was lots of nudity, and we were not even on that side, I stayed in my bathing suit). We will definately go back to St. Marten.

St.Thomas: We took a bus to Red Hook, Ferry across to St.Johns, a cab to Trunk Bay and spent the day there. We rented snorkeling equiptment and had a great time. I would do it again. We will visit there again also. It was so beautiful.

San Juan: We were not there long enough to do much so we took a cab the the Americas mall and finished Xmas shopping.

Food:This is where many may not agree with me but food is subjective. I thought the meals were hit or miss. Some nights the food was very good, others.....not so much. On 10 days is gets pretty repetitive. At the end it all started to taste the same to me. The presentation was always nice though, and the service great.

I did not eat dinner in the Pinnacle Grill so I can't comment. I did eat breakfast in there and that was good.

We met many good people. Our table mates were lots of fun and through the CC rollcall we met a great family from NYC who we spent lot of time with and will remain friends with. Also with the old adage that it is a small world, one couple at our table was from our region and works with my husbands sister and we will be getting together with them now also.

The crew was wonderful and staff very helpful and freindly to everyone, always with a smile. I think the entertainment was also hit/miss.

My dislikes were minor and certainly did not deter me from having a great cruise. As with everything you try, there will be things you don't like, but you don't let them get in the way of the whole experience.

To top it off we had pretty good seas. I don't think they were ever rough. Strong winds but pretty much smooth sailing.

If anyone has any questions I will be happy to answer them.

Thanks for the great information. I along with my parents will be in an SA suite on the 2/17/06 sailing. I look forward to any photos that you may have. What part of the suite experience did you enjoy the most??? Any info/photos that you can share will be great. Thanks in advance

Glad you enjoyed your Noordam cruise.

Wow- great review, nice and concise- I'm saving it now for the port tips. If you could post Bernard's email, that would be great.

Did you travel with children.Any info on club HAL? Thanks

Thanks dorothyl, appreicate the review. :)

[quote=dorothyl.

Cabin: I will be forever spoiled after having this SA 7062 suite. I will post pictures of it later, but needless to say, it was huge with plenty of room, a sitting/dressing area with wall to wall mirrors, a huge 2 sink and whirlpool bathroom and a big balcony. I have pictures of every area I will post for those who are interested to see. It was across the hall from the Neptune Lounge that is strictly for SC,SB, and SA cabins. The bed was to die for as was the service. We wanted for nothing. HAL knows how to treat its passengers.

Pictures Please! Happy Holidays:D

You will get no contradictions from us (except we thought the food was excellent). There is very little I can add. We also had a Deluxe Suite (Cat. SB) thanks to a last minute discounted upgrade offer from our booked SS. It was well worth the extra money. Besides a larger cabin, the extras that come with a Deluxe Suite include access to the Neptune Lounge and concierge service there, free DVD rentals, reception with the Captain and Hotel Manager in the Neptune, farewell buffet luncheon in the Pinnacle, express check-in, and priority disembarkation.

We did eat in the Pinnacle thanks to a freebe we received with the booking. The food and service were very good, but I don't know that I would spend the $30 pp to go there again. I don't think it was as good as the Normandy on Summit or Chops on RCCL ships.

Seven of us from the CC roll call linked our dinner seating and we had a ball!

Most of our cruises have been on RCCL and Celebrity. This one ties our Summit cruise as the best ever. Two things we have never encountered before were that they have full room service the morning of departure and they let you stay in your cabin until your color is called.

We are now HAL converts. The conistant level of service on this ship was unbelievable.

Concur with Steve, my full review will be posted soon, here are some pics to water your mouths: http://good-times.webshots.com/slideshow/556347804MAVDGV?mediaPosition=1&track_pagetag=/page/photo/goodtimes/friendsfun/&track_action=/Shortcuts/Slideshow

Will be on the NOR 3-10-07. Any evening pool party while in the Carribean ??? TNX !!!!

Great pictures. Thanks so much for posting them.

Yes Thank you:D

Concur with Steve, my full review will be posted soon, here are some pics to water your mouths: http://good-times.webshots.com/slideshow/556347804MAVDGV?mediaPosition=1&track_pagetag=/page/photo/goodtimes/friendsfun/&track_action=/Shortcuts/Slideshow

Thanks for posting the pics Navy Chief - they bring back many fond memories of our stay on the Noordam in August!

One thing we've noticed though is that the bar in pic 30 of Joseph in what looks to be the Crow's Nest is quite different to how it was when we were aboard - different facade, same barstools but different colour lower level seating, and bottles in shelves rather than the turntable thingee.... any idea why? Just intrigued as maybe it's actually a different bar we haven't discovered yet and can frequent during our next trip on the Noordam in April! :o

Hi,

We are booked on the Noordam on January 6th and would be interested in knowing more about Bernard. Was there a minimum number that he would consider or other restrictions? How can we contact him?

Sounds like you had a great trip. My wife and I are looking forward to some sunny weather.

Thanks,

Jim

Thanks for posting the pics Navy Chief - they bring back many fond memories of our stay on the Noordam in August!

 

One thing we've noticed though is that the bar in pic 30 of Joseph in what looks to be the Crow's Nest is quite different to how it was when we were aboard - different facade, same barstools but different colour lower level seating, and bottles in shelves rather than the turntable thingee.... any idea why? Just intrigued as maybe it's actually a different bar we haven't discovered yet and can frequent during our next trip on the Noordam in April! :o

Yes, Joe was in fact, tending the Ocean Bar. That's why it looks different. :D Most of the days at sea, the Crow's Nest was closed due to the Park West Art Dealers (booo hisss!:mad: )

Yes, Joe was in fact, tending the Ocean Bar. That's why it looks different. :D Most of the days at sea, the Crow's Nest was closed due to the Park West Art Dealers (booo hisss!:mad: )

Ahhhh that would explain it then... thanks for clearing that up! Even better, it gives us another drinking and socialising haunt to try out!! :D I only hope the Crows Nest is open though as that's our favourite! :p

Does the Noordam depart from the Brooklyn cruise terminal? Have to make plan for hotels! Thanks for all the great reviews!

Does the Noordam depart from the Brooklyn cruise terminal? Have to make plan for hotels! Thanks for all the great reviews!

No, it departs from the New York City cruise terminal.

If anyone is interested my review is posted on Cruise Critic at:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=23813

Sorry for the delay in responding. I posted that on the 17th and today is the first time I could find it.

Bernards email is info@sxmtours.com if you have any problem or that is wrong go on the ports board under St. Marten and you will find info on Bernard. To reiterate, we had a great time with him, he was very informative, we always felt safe and he was very accomodating. If you book with him tell him Carolynn and Carmine from Niagara Falls said hi! Well worth the $25 pp.

I will attempt to post pictures. For anyone with a SA,SC,SB suuite you also have use of the Neptune Room and there is always food set out and available. Breakfast is also available in the Pinnacle Room for these suite guests. That was quite nice.

Sad to say but..... nobody has come to my room to do my laundry or deliver me room service or make my bed since I got home. What's up with that?

Hi: Really interested in your pictures. Where can we find them? Thanks.