Short noordam review

[cruisen cracker]

We just got off the Noordam yesterday and I though I would make a few observations.

 

Boarding was smooth and the ship was clean and everyone was friendly. No real change from former cruises. I don't think the dining room was open for MS members as nothing was said about it. The LIDO was a madhouse as it usually is. The dining room thing would be great, just to relieve the congestion.

 

Our stateroom was nice and the room stewards were very good throughout the whole cruise. The Neptune Lounge is a great perk, if just for the coffee machine.

 

As far as I know there was no Norwalk virus on the entire cruise as I didn't see the extra cleaning that goes on when there is a problem on board.

 

The food on the cruise was OK. Much better than I am used to seeing on a day to day basis but just didn't seem as good as in the past. It seems there is a lot of emphasis on presentation and odd assortments of different things within a dish. Its almost as if the chef was given a list of food to put in different dishes and they were picked randomly. They tried lobster three different ways and only the old fashioned tail really hit the spot. The beef was good, the steaks as good as I have had on a cruise ship where mass preparation was the norm. The pasta dishes were probably the low spot. Our waiter was great and did a super job of communication with the four of us. There seemed to be a lot of vacant tables at our late seating, maybe due to the optional seating, I don't know. This really didn't speed up the dining time, I think there may be a few less stewards than there used to be. I went back today and looked through a few menus that we have brought back from past cruises. Although there is probably more variety now, I found more selections that I wanted to try. We actually had a few meals (2 or 3) that there just wasn't any choice that appealed. I am from the South and perhaps a little two regional. Maybe I need to learn that presentation is just as important as taste. The little Italian restaurant was a pleasant alternative for one night and I hope they continue it. This may be a test for another extra cost dining venue in the future. Remember the Pinnacle was free at first.

 

Room service was great and it seems that HAL really tries in that area.

 

Entertainment was good as far as the individual acts and shows. The singers and dancers were as good as I have seen since the old Norway and the props were impressive. As far as the evening music was concerned, it could have been better arraigned. The Crows Nest was dead after Midnight as pretty well was the whole ship. They mentioned that they may be going to move the late night (10:00) show to 6:30. I hope they don't as that is why I sign up for the late seating is that I gives me plenty of time to do things including late swimming right up to around 7:30. Also I have always wondered why they don't have a calypso band on a Caribbean cruise. I would certainly create the right mood. Also a band playing 50's and 60's music would go over great with us SC's who have a hard time remembering the words to songs since then.

 

I don't know whether they were full or not as no one ever says, but the ship certainly didn't seem crowded. A number of times I had the whole Promenade deck to myself for a couple of laps. I love the Promenade deck as well as the old fashioned cruise liner feel of the HAL ships. I hope they never change that.

 

Leaving the ship was also smooth and we were on our way home by 9:00 am. HAL provides a great value in vacation travel, probably the best in the world, in my opinion. We just can't wait until our next cruise.

 

Bob

[IRL_Joanie]

Bob,

 

Thank you for the review! It could have been better, but sounds like you still had a great time!

 

I appreciate your review, even about the food presentation vs appealing to the visual and taste. It took me years to get away from the plain meat and potatoes mentality that I was raised with. Though give me some good old Southern Fried Chicken, craw fish and shrimp and I gots me a good meal! I love Southern Cooking!!

 

Seriously though, I enjoyed reading your review!!

 

Joanie

[Gater Girl]

I am always impressed with the folks who take the time to write reviews of their cruises. I read them and appreciate them. When you said you were perhaps too regional in your food tastes..a light bulb went off in my head. Me Too. I am southern. I love anything fried. I don't love anything covered in sauces or gravy. I want to see what I am eating..then add a sauce or gravy. I like lots of vegetables. And after reading your wise words, I am going to order things I would not normally order. Here I will be surrounded by excellent chefs..and yes, I am even going to order one of their Indonesian dishes if they offer one. AND this time, I am going to that Royal Dutch High tea.

[bocamom61]

Thanks for the review! I am sailing in a few days and really appreciate the time you took to write the review. I can't wait!

[twinkletoes4445]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review. :)

 

We were on the Noordam earlier this year, and we're booked again in 2011. We're looking forward to trying the Italian restaurant. We tried the open-seating and loved it. We ended up eating in the Lido most of the time, but we found we loved the flexibility of eating when we wanted to eat. The early time is too early for us, and the late is too late. It's nice we have choices! :)

 

The Neptune Lounge is really nice. We were right across the hall on our last cruise. We had Dianne and Lovely and they really took good care of us!

 

Happy cruising!

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the nice review and glad you enjoyed your cruise....

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome home.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[Archie's Mom]

We are sailing on the Noordam in a month, our first cruise on this ship. I hoped for a review of one of its Caribbean cruises before we left and am so appreciative of this one. Thanks much. What about the ports? Any special highlights? Did you stop at Half Moon Cay? We are counting the days!!

[sevenseasnomad]

Welcome back & thanks for your review. Always enjoy reading them, as we have a goal to try every ship in the fleet at least once. We have a long way to go though.

[cle1]

We have cruised HAL lots, but last month was our first time on a Vista class ship. We had an SS cabin, and since it was a connecting cabin, where the door to the other cabin was located, we lost all that closet space. All we had was under where the safe is and one small (about 2ft. wide) closet for hanging dresses, etc. Won't make that mistake again. also, found the Lido VERY crowded, and disorganized. Other than the above, we had a wonderful cruise, and did enjoy the ship.