Live from Noordam Feb. 13 - March 5, 2010

[innlady1]

Thanks for posting that, John! Mark Pells is such a nice guy....what a fabulous personality!

 

On the two cruises we were just on, I arranged the Meet and Greets and he came to both and was very very engaging. I ran into him around the ship often and he always had time to chat. I never saw him without a huge smile!

 

At the Mariners Brunch, he and the Capt. were greeting people as they walked in and the photographer was there. I don't usually "do" those hokey photos but, hey, anything to be standing beside him! LOL! When I walked up, he smiled and laughed and stepped down...told me the camera just ran out of film! We all got a huge laugh out of that....he's quite a guy!

 

That's Mark in the tank top on the far left in the photo. This happened to be on our cruise...we watched them loading up from our verandah, and he told DH about it later that day.

[innlady1]

John,

 

I think the article on Mark deserves it's own thread! But I don't know how to move it to one!

 

Harwich, wear he lives, is the closest point of land on Cape Cod to Nantucket where we have our inn.

[Natasha708]

At the Mariners Brunch,

 

Where & when do they have the Mariners brunch? I've never been to one. But, I think I qualify now. Can you tell me more? Thanks so much!!!

[innlady1]

Where & when do they have the Mariners brunch? I've never been to one. But, I think I qualify now. Can you tell me more? Thanks so much!!!

 

On the Noordam, at least, it's usually on the last sea day in the Vista Dining Room. You qualify if you have taken at least one previous HAL cruise and an invitation will be delivered to your stateroom the day before.

[Natasha708]

On the Noordam, at least, it's usually on the last sea day in the Vista Dining Room. You qualify if you have taken at least one previous HAL cruise and an invitation will be delivered to your stateroom the day before.

 

I like that they do a brunch. Is it well done? Good food? :) Thx again!

[RetiredMustang]

All,

 

I'm checking in from a high-speed hotel connection on the road back to D.C. After nearly 3 weeks with sometimes maddening connections, this is luxury. I think MTN may be a victim of their own success, and they have so many people using their service that they may be overtaxing their resources, especially in the Caribbean in Jan-March. If so, I hope they invest in upgrades.

 

A few things:

 

Sheila -- sorry, I did not run across Brenda and Bob again before leaving, so was not able to pass on your greetings.

 

But, for Brenda: I took the inherent challenge in your comments about the steaks at the Pinnacle, and ordered the porterhouse and was able to finish it, by going light on lunch and passing on the hors d'oeuvres and peanuts in the Ocean Bar at happy hour. The steaks are huge, so anyone thinking of dining at the Pinnacle -- arrive hungry!

 

Ted: Sorry, I did not run across anyone who had taken that excursion in Samana. Maybe it's discussed on the port threads?

 

Natasha: The Mariners' Brunch is well-done, and is an improvement over the reception they used to hold for us. The menu is good, but limited, with the main courses being salmon, strip steak, or a quiche. Free wine is provided (as well as tea or coffee if you prefer that). By all means, if you have never gone to one, I highly recommend you go! We declined, because after about four or five of them, we found the menu repetitive. Those who attended were given their tiles; ours were delivered to our stateroom inbox a day or two later.

 

Mark Pells was a joy, I have to agree. We had a new CD on the second cruise, and when I called Mark "HotMan" in the reception line for the Collectors Cruisers, the CD ragged a bit, but I think Mark liked the name.

 

There is not much more to discuss about the cruise except getting off. We opted for expedited departure, meaning we had registered a credit card for payment and dragged all our own bags. We got off a minute or so before the advertised 7:30 a.m. start. We breezed through customs and passport control and on out of the terminal. We docked at pier 29, but there were courtesy vans to take us to the mid-pier parking garage to our car. We were on I-595 before 8 a.m.

 

Maasdam was berthed at pier 26 when we arrived. We heard from other Noordam passengers that they had heard the Maasdam had a breakout of noro, and had returned a bit early to get a head start on the top-to-bottom scrub. I haven't seen any other report, so am not sure if that was accurate, but Maasdam was indeed already moored when we entered the channel shortly before 6.

 

Thanks to Sheila and Donna and all the other CC'ers we met on board -- it was a pleasure! And, thanks to all of you who "came along" on the ride as I blogged. It was great fun!

 

I will close the narrative with this post, but if you have any other questions that may occur to you that I can try to answer, feel free to ask.

 

Cheers, and thanks,

Dave

[ccstdm]

No Dave, all the thanks go to you! It's been great fun "traveling" with you during your cruise. Safe travels home. I hope the snow has all melted for your return trip. We're in Chicago and it's supposed to be about 50 tomorrow. Thanks again!

 

Deb

[innlady1]

It was a pleasure meeting you and Cathy on board...nice folks like you are one of the reasons we love HAL so!

 

As for Mark Pells, I'd say he's a HOT MAN....LOL! And that's coming from and grandmother of five! The name suits him extremely well! ;)

 

How was the new CD? I know that Chris disembarked when we did on the 23rd and is going to the Rotterdam after vacation.

 

Safe travels home!

[Natasha708]

Natasha: The Mariners' Brunch is well-done, and is an improvement over the reception they used to hold for us. The menu is good, but limited, with the main courses being salmon, strip steak, or a quiche. Free wine is provided (as well as tea or coffee if you prefer that). By all means, if you have never gone to one, I highly recommend you go! We declined, because after about four or five of them, we found the menu repetitive. Those who attended were given their tiles; ours were delivered to our stateroom inbox a day or two later.

 

Cheers, and thanks,

Dave

 

Thanks Dave!! I will be sure to make as I never have gone to one yet!

[English_in_Spain]

What is the name of the new CD who replaced Mark? We board on the 24th April and we were hoping to get Mark as CD, Looks like we will be unlucky.

Did you have to attend the boat drill on your second cruise?

[hpf]

Thanks Candy; All three of us will be there to meet you. We are all looking forward to our cruise. See you all on the Noordam. HPF

[luckycruzer]

especially the Noordam. I'm an old cruzer, but my 1st will be TA, May, with a Mariner for my roomie. I'm the researcher/planner. Many cruzes, many trips abroad. This gives the tips of what look for on HAL everyday. I've done just about all the islands thru the years, and am anxious for the crossing and ports, most of which I've not visited by land. I'll celebrate my 50th cruze on Costa after this one, but careful not to compare..just a diff product and expierence, as it fit our time slot. So we thank you for your time and efforts. Fairwinds, and following seas to everyone

[GmaPajama]

What is the name of the new CD who replaced Mark? We board on the 24th April and we were hoping to get Mark as CD, Looks like we will be unlucky.

Did you have to attend the boat drill on your second cruise?

Mark Pells is the Hotel Manager (hotman), and I believe he's still aboard the Noordam. It's Eric Dowis, the Cruise Director (CD), who has moved to the Rotterdam. All these handsome men ... how are we ever to keep track. :)

[English_in_Spain]

Mark Pells is the Hotel Manager (hotman), and I believe he's still aboard the Noordam. It's Eric Dowis, the Cruise Director (CD), who has moved to the Rotterdam. All these handsome men ... how are we ever to keep track. :)

 

Sorry about that - I am having a senior moment. Thanks for clearing it up.

[beckntom]

Mark Pells is the Hotel Manager (hotman), and I believe he's still aboard the Noordam. It's Eric Dowis, the Cruise Director (CD), who has moved to the Rotterdam. All these handsome men ... how are we ever to keep track. :)

 

 

Eric Dowis was the CD on a Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas cruise we did in January 2009. I'd never understood people putting so much importance into "who's the CD on my sailing" until this trip. Eric Dowis *made* that cruise. He is a fantastic CD, very warm and personable, not to mention downright funny. We'll be on the Noordam in September and can only hope he will be onboard then.

[Natasha708]

Eric Dowis was the CD on a Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas cruise we did in January 2009. I'd never understood people putting so much importance into "who's the CD on my sailing" until this trip. Eric Dowis *made* that cruise. He is a fantastic CD, very warm and personable, not to mention downright funny. We'll be on the Noordam in September and can only hope he will be onboard then.

 

I was with you on the Voyager Jan 09. Eric was great. Are you saying he is on the Noordam now?

[jtl513]

Are you saying he is on the Noordam now?

See post 138. :)

[Natasha708]

See post 138. :)

 

Ah! Ok Thx got it!

[RetiredMustang]

All,

 

 

Back home and back online. To address a couple of points you've brought up,

 

 

The CD on the second cruise was named Mike, but I forget his last name. Copper 10-8: do you know his full name, John? He was pretty good, I thought.

 

Carol: I forgot to mention the boat drill on the second leg. We were told verbally and in writing that we did not have to attend, so we took up a spot in the Ocean Bar where we could wave at everyone who had to be out there. ;)

 

But, there was a hotel staff officer who came around and took down the stateroom numbers of all the folks who claimed to be exempt, and we heard that they were going room to room to root out slackers, which may be how they do the roll call (not sure if they looked in the closets, like was mentioned in that one thread months ago :D). We never had to do pushups or scrub decks or anything, so we gather that we were good to go with skipping the second one.

 

Dave

[GmaPajama]

Hey, Dave! It's good to hear you and Cathy made it home safe and sound. I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed meeting you on the Noordam ... and how much I enjoyed following your "live from" after I had to leave. I hope we all get to sail together again one day.

[waiting2retire]

CD Mike's last name is Connachan, and his wife, Leah, is the Future Cruise Consultant onboard the Noordam. They are both great people and make a lovely couple.

 

Thanks again Dave, for setting up the informal M&G for us on the last cruise. It was great fun, as usual, to meet some of the CC folks. I saw BBCats again several times during the cruise, but never you and Cathy.

 

It proved to be another great, relaxing cruise with lots of reading, eating, sunning, eating, sleeping, eating and shopping. Once again, HAL came through and fully met my expectations for a mid-winter getaway :D

 

Looking forward to many, many more...

 

Bonnie

[yancycruiser]

Dave, I echo everyone's appreciation to you for taking time to post an Excellent review of your cruise. We are long-time cruisers and it is our first time on HAL. We will be on the Noordam on May 4.

 

I stumbled on to your thread several hours ago and read the entire thread. You really did an outstanding job and gave us all a taste of what we will be experiencing soon.

 

Thank you!

 

Don

[Candy]

Great job, Dave... we're boarding her on 4/4 and your daily reports have really motivated me!