Noordam July 24th review LOOOOOOONG

[lanikeekee]

Thankyou I have been waiting for a review that was recent and relating to some of the ports we are going to...once again CC gives me what I desire...many thanks again:D

[KirkNC]

Florence

 

From KirkNC: "We were again one of the first passengers off the ship and I made a bee line to the taxis. We flashed our euros and got one of the drivers to take us to the train station without any problem. "

 

My earlier question about the taxi fare to the train was in reply to the above review (sorry for any confusion - but thanks for the reply anyway!) I thought I had replied to his review.

 

 

I had been told (prior to going) that the fare was 20 euros, we paid 25 which we agreed to up front. I had already made the decision that I really didn't care how much the fare was (with-in reason) because if we caught the early train I picked up so much time in Florence which to me was priceless. I think it helped our cause being first off the ship as I suspect our driver went straight back there and probably got another fare. There were not a lot of cabs, maybe 15 so being early was a big advantage.

 

Kirk

[KirkNC]

Thanks for all the detailed info. We will be on the Oct 8 10 day Noordam sailing, 2 adults and one child. We only just booked, and are doing research to figure out how to as much as possible. In Florence we would like to see Pisa, and the Accademia and Uffizi. I doubt that a private tour would be cost efficient for only 2 (perhaps the 3 of us), so will have to figure this out on our own. How much was the taxi from the port to catch the train, and was it a set fee or did you have to negotiate? Am also trying to find out the hours for Club HAL, as our son will not be interested in all of the ports, but no one from HAL has answered my email yet. Thanks!

 

I am not sure on the Club HAL question but will comment on the rest of your question.

 

You can take the train to Florence, see Accademia and Uffizi (I would get reservations for both). The walk to both is around 15-20 minutes. For us we spent a lot more time in Uffizi, it is rather large and has a lot to see. On the way back on the train you can stop in Pisa. We considered doing that but opted to concentrate on Florence, it has soooo much to see. Hope you have a great trip.

 

Kirk

[CJcruzer]

Kirk: how long did the taxi ride take to the Bardo? does it open at 9 or 9:30 a.m.?

[Cruizer Bill]

Thanks so much for the excellent review! I found the information so useful!

[wefamily3]

I am not sure on the Club HAL question but will comment on the rest of your question.

 

You can take the train to Florence, see Accademia and Uffizi (I would get reservations for both). The walk to both is around 15-20 minutes. For us we spent a lot more time in Uffizi, it is rather large and has a lot to see. On the way back on the train you can stop in Pisa. We considered doing that but opted to concentrate on Florence, it has soooo much to see. Hope you have a great trip.

 

Kirk

Thanks so much for your help and insight!

[KirkNC]

Kirk: how long did the taxi ride take to the Bardo? does it open at 9 or 9:30 a.m.?

 

It was something in the neighborhood of 15-20 minutes. Its hours are 9:30 to 4:30. I don't know if the cruise tours go there first thing but I would try to time my visit to avoid them, maybe at lunch time? We got there and there were many (probably a dozen) buses and sometimes you would go in a room and it would be full with a tour. We worked around it by just waiting but it would have been a little more pleasant if there had been less of a crowd. I think we arrived around 10:00 or so.

 

Kirk

[lanikeekee]

Thanks for your great review.I will be boarding the Noordam in 10 days.:D We have booked the Angel tour at the Vatican so was really excited to hear that you were pleased.did the guide go with you into St. Peters? Also were you able to wander around after your tour?

 

I'm in charge of our M&G and I was wondering how you got HAL to supply mimosas.We have 55 people attending and I would love for them to get this little treat.Once again thank you for posting this review.

Sara

 

I love the fact you are seaking Mimosas for us:D

[Coolcruise02]

Thanks for a great review with lots of helpful info!

[maureenk]

Great review! I just got off the Noordam Aug 19th to Aug 29th sailing and had a really wonderful time! It's interesting that someone indicated that only about 1/2 to 2/3 of the folks from the meet and greet show up. That was my experience exactly. We had 60 sign up and about 30 to 35 actually come. If I do it again, I will print up invitations at home and deliver them to each person's "mailbox" on the ship. I will say, however, that 30 to 35 was a good sized group. With that size, it was difficult to talk to everyone in the 1 hour time slot. We stayed about 1.5 hours. And....mimosas were provided (no special request on my part)!

[NancyIL]

Thank you for an excellent review. I love Rick Steves' books, and I am glad they were very useful to you.

 

I followed your link from the France board to read about Ajaccio, but your comments about Barcelona were also very helpful for our upcoming cruise TA cruise.

[sail7seas]

What a wonderful review. Thanks so much for all your efforts sharing with us. Noordam really is a gorgeous ship and you did an amazing itinerary on her.

 

Welcome back.......

 

[Candy]

We have had a very active roll call so I'm hoping more show up for the M&G. Did you order the mimosas with the HAL rep before the cruise or ask for this once on board.I have never even been to a M&G so want to do this right.:D Sara

No, this is a special service granted according to the department's budget, and you have to personally "request" them from the Beverage Manager. If you "order" them, you will get a bill.

[wefamily3]

I haven't been able to find any detailed postings on this port. We are on HAL Noordam, port day is Oct 16. Erice, Segesta and Agrigento Temples all look of interest, and of course can't do all. Any advice for do-it-yourself, private tours or ship excursion reviews would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[bobalink]

I haven't been able to find any detailed postings on this port. We are on HAL Noordam, port day is Oct 16. Erice, Segesta and Agrigento Temples all look of interest, and of course can't do all. Any advice for do-it-yourself, private tours or ship excursion reviews would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

We just returned from the W. Mediterranean on the Noordam. We really loved our stop in Trapani. I hope to return some day and spend more time in Sicily.

 

We are not "do it yourself" travelers, and we don't like cruise line tours, so we used Romeinlimo for our excursion. We met some wonderful folks on our Roll Call here on CC, so there were 7 of us in a nice, air-conditioned Mercedes mini-van. Our guide was terrific and made the most use of our time. We saw the salt mines, went to a winery and had a tour and wine tasting, and also visited Erice, a charming little village with wonderful pastries!

 

Hope you have a fabulous time!

[TV Dad]

Kirk --

 

We will be doing ten days on the Noordam next summer with my then-to-be 17 year old daughter. SOOO Naturally, my questions pertain to your 15 year old, Courtney. The ports we share in common are Barcelona, Tunis, Naples, Rome, Livorno. (We will also do Sicily, Palma, Monaco).

 

What things did your teenager like best in the ports we have in common? Was there anything you wouldn't do if you had it to do all over again? Were there a decent amount of teens on board the ship?

 

This will be my daughter's first trip to Europe. I would appreciate your insight.

 

Thanks,

 

TV Dad

[KirkNC]

Well teenagers can be quite different but I will try to answer as best I can. When I am planning a cruise I ask both my wife and daughter what interests them in each port so I get feedback in advance. We usually do what they want as in most ports the sites to visit are the highlights of the stop (like Rome - Vatican, Coliseum, Forum etc.). I have found in Courtney's case that she is very interested in churches, museums and palaces. She is not very interested in forts or anything related to military history. She also likes to try different foods including (big surprise) desserts. So here is what she liked in the ports you mentioned:

 

Barcelona - She liked Gaudi, the Casa Batllo, Parc Guell and the tapas

 

Tunis - Bardo museum and Sidi bu Said, she did not care about Carthage at all

 

Naples - She liked Pompeii ok, the pizza, she was very touched by the Veiled Christ in the Cappella Sansevero, the pizza, the pizza.....

 

Rome - the Vatican was the highlight of the whole cruise for her and us, again she liked the churches and museums here more than the Forum but she did like the Coliseum. She also liked the Castel Sant Angelo other than the fact it was a stair-step workout getting to the top.

 

Florence - the Duomo, Bargello, Uffizi (this was her favorite) and Accademia

 

Monaco - I was surprised how much she (and all of us) liked the Jardin Exotique, the views were fantastic (and the garden not bad either).

 

There were other teens on the ship but she was not all that interested in hanging out with them. They of course had the teen club but to be honest, the cruise was so port intensive that there was not a lot of time for that even if it interested her. By the time we got back from a days excursions, cleaned up and ate, we were all ready for bed. On sea days, she liked to sleep in.

 

She always likes going to shows on board as well as playing bingo.

 

Hope that helps some, I am sure your daughter will have a great time.

 

Kirk

[KirkNC]

I haven't been able to find any detailed postings on this port. We are on HAL Noordam, port day is Oct 16. Erice, Segesta and Agrigento Temples all look of interest, and of course can't do all. Any advice for do-it-yourself, private tours or ship excursion reviews would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

There is not a lot of real interesting stuff to do in Trapani itself (at least for us) so we opted for Erice. The problem with Erice was it is not all that easy to get to. Cabs are not really an option, there is a cable car but it is on the opposite side of town from where you tender plus it shuts down in the event of winds, there is a bus but I found the schedule to be a bit of problem. For us that left the ships excursion or renting a car. The car worked out good and gave us the most time there (versus the ship excursion). It was really not hard to find our way to and from Trapani, we had a GPS which helped. Erice is very interesting and kind of has a mystic about it, it is very medieval. The views from there of Sicily are fantastic.

 

Kirk

[CJcruzer]

Kirk: was wondering how long it was or at what time you were able to tender off -- I have been in contact with HAL and they advised that 8:30 a.m. is probably not feasible - they felt 9 a.m. or later ??? We have a private tour scheduled, so i was wondering what time you were able to get on shore--- we have been to this port before, however, we docked at 7am and met our driver at 8:30 a.m.

 

Should I change my meeting time from 8:30 a.m.?

 

Carol

[KirkNC]

Kirk: was wondering how long it was or at what time you were able to tender off -- I have been in contact with HAL and they advised that 8:30 a.m. is probably not feasible - they felt 9 a.m. or later ??? We have a private tour scheduled, so i was wondering what time you were able to get on shore--- we have been to this port before, however, we docked at 7am and met our driver at 8:30 a.m.

 

Should I change my meeting time from 8:30 a.m.?

 

Carol

 

Carol, not sure what time you are scheduled to drop anchor but for us it was pretty much right when they said it would be. We were in the first tender and made it via bus to the Exotic Gardens (about a fifteen minute bus ride plus about a ten minute walk and wait for the bus) by around 8:40. I am guessing we were off the tender around 8:15. The key to that is to be in the Queens Lounge around 7:50 (assuming an 8:00 scheduled time). Given all that and the fact that the private tour won't leave without you, I think 8:30 is fine, but as the private tour guys know, they need to be flexible.

 

Kirk

[CruiseBoyzGermany]

Hi Kirk

Thanks for your review. I was wondering which tram stop to use for Cathage Antonine Baths; same thing for the Bardo.

Thanks!

[CruiseBoyzGermany]

Hi Kirk

Thanks for your review. I was wondering which tram stop to use for Cathage Antonine Baths; same thing for the Bardo.

Thanks!

 

Ah... found it. Carthage Hannibal for those that want to know.

[TV Dad]

Kirk:

 

Great insight and suggestions. I had planned on skipping museums in Florence and concentrating on Pisa. . . BUT I may add Uffizi based on your daughter Corrtney's reaction!

 

Thanks,

 

Don

[KirkNC]

Hi Kirk

Thanks for your review. I was wondering which tram stop to use for Cathage Antonine Baths; same thing for the Bardo.

Thanks!

 

 

If I remember right the stop is called Bardo.

 

Kirk

[wefamily3]

I am not sure on the Club HAL question but will comment on the rest of your question.

 

You can take the train to Florence, see Accademia and Uffizi (I would get reservations for both). The walk to both is around 15-20 minutes. For us we spent a lot more time in Uffizi, it is rather large and has a lot to see. On the way back on the train you can stop in Pisa. We considered doing that but opted to concentrate on Florence, it has soooo much to see. Hope you have a great trip.

 

Kirk

Hi Kirk,

 

I hope you will be kind enough to answer another question (and anyone else with input is welcome to as well!).

 

The ship's kids' program is only open 8 to 4. Would it be reasonably possible or not for my husband and I to leave the ship just after 8, get a taxi and then the train to Florence, and be able to see David (Accademia) and spend some time at Uffizia, walk around Florence a bit, on the train again and stop at Pisa and get back to the ship before 4 pm? We don't need a restaurant lunch (can eat on the go). Not sure how much time to allow. (It may be he'll have to come with us - he's a great traveller, but the a long time in museums might not be very interesting for him. Just typing this I realize I am probably not allowing enough time . . .) Any suggestions much appreciated!