Noordam Dec 16th: A different type of review

Ok, Let me pretense this review with some information. This review comes from a pair or eyes of a 27 year old who has over 120 on HAL. I can tell you that the other people's post and reviews of the Noordam have been completely dead on. It is the best ship at this point in the HAL company. However, my review will not be on how good the trip is but it will pretain to what people have had problems with on HAL. I bet you that other people might post replies about this cruise but I don't want to ruin it by making so much more of a great outstanding cruise. So lets start.

Aft Pool: I know that I said that I think that the children should have the use of both pools and I still believe that but, on a cruise with alot of children on it Club HAL did a great job getting the information out that the aft pool was off limits to children. With this being a X-mas cruise I thought there might be a problem with this rule but I was completely wrong. I would say about 95% of the time the AFT pool was adults only. If there was a a time when there was a child in the pool it was during a sea day and the Lido pool was so crowded that you could not even move in it. I think that because of safety it was a good move for the parent to move their child to the AFT pool.

Chair Hogs: I agree that this is a problem on any cruise ship, and the Noordam is no exception. I could not believe what I saw. There is an actually sign on the Noordam that says if your chair is not occupied for 30 minutes that the article would be able to be removed. If you don't believe me about the sign it is located next to the grill on the left bulkhead not really that big but it was there.

One problem I did notice is that some of the kids were not well behaved. And that is not the childs fault but there parents because the allowed their children to behave that way.

Now my last pretense, if you want any questions answered about the Noordam please feel free to post it in here and will be happy to answer them for you. Until I post again happy belated holidays.

Geoffrey,

PS: new signature to follow to include the following cruises:

March 31, 2007 - 11 day Caribbean Cruise on Ms Noordam

December 22, 2007 - 14 day Caribbean Holiday on Ms Noordam

Thanks for the review! My sailing is completely booked and I read with dread your comment about the pool being so overcrowded. It sounds like a very positive cruise overall and that is great to hear. Anything else you can post would be most welcome.

Sorry about that, the pool is usually only crowed on sea days at certain times. If you are looking for a lounge chair on the lido during this time don't even thing about it. However I did see that there were plenty of Lounge chiars on the Aft deck and also one deck above the Lido which is the Obsvervation deck.

The crew is wonderful but most of them are coming to the end of there contracts and will be leaving the ship at the end of January. Some of the crew said that the Noordam will be going into Wet dock in New Jersey for about 2 to 3 days for warentee checks, however I have looked at there schedule and don't see any way that they can fit those days in. Maybe the crew member new more than me or maybe he was just incorrect. You know people make mistakes. Thats why they put erasers on Pencils.

Some bad news that I didn't want to mention is that there was a rumor I can not comfirm it or not that on our last day at sea the stablizer went down again. It really didn't help when we had 25 foot sees and a gale 9 force winds on Tuesday. I heard the from a lady who claimed she heard it from an officer. But I could not get anyone else to comfirm it with me. Just wanted to point this out. I like to speak the truth, which some people don't like. It did get rough when she said this and then later in the night got smooth again so I do not know what to think about this statement.

Geoffrey

If you remember, who is the cruise director presently and what are the names of the assistant cruise staff?

Also, who were some of the entertainers on board?

Thanks for any info.

I also heard that the Noordam will be going to wet dock jan 27th. I was going to post a seperate thread to see if anyone else had heard the same. I think the reason for the wet dock is the stabilizer problem.

Happy to hear that you liked the Noordam as much as I did. Funny thing is that we are both much younger than the average HAL crowd.

Cruise Director: Drew Murdouch

Asst Head Cruise Director: Travis

Cruise Staff: Dwright, Joelle, Barbara

Magician onboard for the cruise: Paul Dubeck

However at the schedule wet dock most of the crew will be changing.

I know that most of the people in this chat room are not our age but older, however I felt that HAL is getting younger. It was extremely youn during this cruise because of the time of year but still have a feeling that HAL is changing.

Geoffrey

 

Aft Pool: I know that I said that I think that the children should have the use of both pools and I still believe that but, on a cruise with alot of children on it Club HAL did a great job getting the information out that the aft pool was off limits to children. With this being a X-mas cruise I thought there might be a problem with this rule but I was completely wrong. I would say about 95% of the time the AFT pool was adults only. If there was a a time when there was a child in the pool it was during a sea day and the Lido pool was so crowded that you could not even move in it. I think that because of safety it was a good move for the parent to move their child to the AFT pool.

 

Chair Hogs: I agree that this is a problem on any cruise ship, and the Noordam is no exception. I could not believe what I saw. There is an actually sign on the Noordam that says if your chair is not occupied for 30 minutes that the article would be able to be removed. If you don't believe me about the sign it is located next to the grill on the left bulkhead not really that big but it was there.

 

One problem I did notice is that some of the kids were not well behaved. And that is not the childs fault but there parents because the allowed their children to behave that way.

 

I am only 38 years old but my parents brought me up with some morals and thought for other people. The total disregard of the rules in this manner is unexceptable. The pool says ADULTS ONLY. Who are we to break that rule just because our child wants to swim. This shows a lack of parenting in my opinion. It shows the child its ok to break the rules that were set for a reason. What arrogance these people must have. What happened to people taking children who are acting out of the situation as to not ruin that experience of others around them?

Go ahead flame me but if you break the rules similar to the above then expect more than a few complaints to come from me.

I agree with you a hundred percent but there is no signage at the AFT pool that says it is off limits for kids. I have heard that during the oriantation that Club HAL gives they state that the AFT pool is off limits to children. I don't know if this is completely true but will find out when I go with my cousins who are 5 and 8 in March. However if there is a safety problem with to much passengers in one pool then I think it would be ok for that time if a child or another passenger go to another pool. If I had kids and went to Club HAL and they stated that the AFT pool was off limits I would follow the rules. That is the only way to teach a kid right from wrong.

Geoffrey

I am all most positive that it mentions this in the daily program.

I am all most positive that it mentions this in the daily program.

You are ,in fact, correct. If there are kids in the aft pool then HAL seems to be ignoring the fact. This is one of those topics like the dress code and people ignoring that too.

I am only 38 years old but my parents brought me up with some morals and thought for other people. The total disregard of the rules in this manner is unexceptable. The pool says ADULTS ONLY. Who are we to break that rule just because our child wants to swim.

Yes, there are rules ... and for the most part, they should be followed. However, there are also exceptions to the rules ... and in certain circumstances they are totally acceptable.

True, maybe the aft pool is off-limits to kids on most cruises. That is because the adults want a haven to themselves (I won't get into my feelings on this ... I have posted them plenty of times before) ... and since there is plenty of capacity onboard the ship for the kids to have their area at the front of the ship, and the adults to still get their haven at the back ... this rule is fine. However, when you are on a holiday sailing, where the boat is absolutely crawling with children, these hard and fast rules go out the window, in my opinion. I am not a parent, but I would be "dammed" if I would have my child ... who perhaps may be young or smallish ... being squeezed into a pool teeming with other children ... many perhaps bigger or older than he is ... and subjecting him to possible safety risks. You can bet your bippy I wouldn't care what that sign read. If it was even up, I'd probably take it down ... and I'd have my child swimming in the aft pool where he can swim safely. And, if anyone doesn't like it, they could take it up with me. Believe me, I doubt they'd get any support for their side from the HAL personnel onboard either.

True, you could say that if the main pool is too crowded and you think it would be a safety risk for your child to swim there, then don't let him swim at all that day. But then, why should I deny him if he wants to get into the water? I paid a fare for him. He is certainly entitled to use all age appropriate facilities onboard the ship ... same as you and me.

Yes, true we have to have rules in this society. They are a good thing and for the most part we should follow them and teach our children to do the same. But when a rule inflicts safety risks or has no logical purpose, then that rule needs to be tossed ... and if the rule impacts a child, then it's their parents who need to advocate for that change on their behalf. In a crowded situation, like a holiday sailing, there is no reason to make one pool off-limits to children ... especially when it is primarily children who will be using the pools. To expect a hundred children to all share one pool, when there's another one at the back of the ship pretty much going empty, that's absolutely stupid ... and I'm sure HAL realizes that. If an adult would rather not share their "space" with children, then the solution is real simple. Don't book a holiday cruise when you know children will be out in force aboard the ship. Now that makes good sense, right?

Blue skies ...

--rita

Thanks for your report.

Yes, there are rules ... and for the most part, they should be followed. However, there are also exceptions to the rules ... and in certain circumstances they are totally acceptable.

 

True, maybe the aft pool is off-limits to kids on most cruises. That is because the adults want a haven to themselves (I won't get into my feelings on this ... I have posted them plenty of times before) ... and since there is plenty of capacity onboard the ship for the kids to have their area at the front of the ship, and the adults to still get their haven at the back ... this rule is fine. However, when you are on a holiday sailing, where the boat is absolutely crawling with children, these hard and fast rules go out the window, in my opinion. I am not a parent, but I would be "dammed" if I would have my child ... who perhaps may be young or smallish ... being squeezed into a pool teeming with other children ... many perhaps bigger or older than he is ... and subjecting him to possible safety risks. You can bet your bippy I wouldn't care what that sign read. If it was even up, I'd probably take it down ... and I'd have my child swimming in the aft pool where he can swim safely. And, if anyone doesn't like it, they could take it up with me. Believe me, I doubt they'd get any support for their side from the HAL personnel onboard either.

 

True, you could say that if the main pool is too crowded and you think it would be a safety risk for your child to swim there, then don't let him swim at all that day. But then, why should I deny him if he wants to get into the water? I paid a fare for him. He is certainly entitled to use all age appropriate facilities onboard the ship ... same as you and me.

 

Yes, true we have to have rules in this society. They are a good thing and for the most part we should follow them and teach our children to do the same. But when a rule inflicts safety risks or has no logical purpose, then that rule needs to be tossed ... and if the rule impacts a child, then it's their parents who need to advocate for that change on their behalf. In a crowded situation, like a holiday sailing, there is no reason to make one pool off-limits to children ... especially when it is primarily children who will be using the pools. To expect a hundred children to all share one pool, when there's another one at the back of the ship pretty much going empty, that's absolutely stupid ... and I'm sure HAL realizes that. If an adult would rather not share their "space" with children, then the solution is real simple. Don't book a holiday cruise when you know children will be out in force aboard the ship. Now that makes good sense, right?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

Sure glad you don't have any children or we would have a bunch of people who feel they are entitled to do anything they want at any time just because they can justity it for themselves.

Enjoy the new year.

I am only 38 years old but my parents brought me up with some morals and thought for other people. The total disregard of the rules in this manner is unexceptable. The pool says ADULTS ONLY. Who are we to break that rule just because our child wants to swim. This shows a lack of parenting in my opinion. It shows the child its ok to break the rules that were set for a reason. What arrogance these people must have. What happened to people taking children who are acting out of the situation as to not ruin that experience of others around them?

 

Go ahead flame me but if you break the rules similar to the above then expect more than a few complaints to come from me.

Do you always drive the exact speed limit?

Do you always drive the exact speed limit?

Just curious here. What caused you respond to a thread/post 8+ months old? This happens from time to time, and I wonder why, that's all.

Just curious here. What caused you respond to a thread/post 8+ months old? This happens from time to time, and I wonder why, that's all.

Just researching and found it

sometimes people are still monitoring them.....