HAL ... Need advice

[Raycruise2010]

My wife and I are considering a cruise on the Noordam. From everything I've seen it's a terrific ship and a very good value. But I also read the customers tend to skew older ... 60 plus ... And the activities are geared to an older crowd (lots of bingo and trivia about broadway shows). Have I been mislead? Are there plenty of actives for active 40 somethings? Thanks

[TraelorMex]

You have not been misled. The 'HAL' crowd tends to skew toward the more mature set. That being said, the Noordam is a big enough ship that there will be plenty for you to do besides bingo and trivia. In any event, if you are like us, you wont be spending alot of time on the ship.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[DFD1]

Yes, there will be plenty of interest for you youngsters!

 

Seriously, You have been mislead. Bright, intelligent, curious 40 somethings with good taste and a love of the finer things in life WILL LOVE THE NOORDAM!

 

Go! And have a blast!

[kazu]

If I may say, the first time I sailed on HAL I was just under 40 and now, yes, I will say it, 57 ...yup you will find older people on HAL - some very well travelled and interesting people on HAL - I love the cruise line and the people I have had the pleasure to meet - don't judge people by their age - but by their state of mind.

Seriously, if you are worried about the activities, what type do you like? We can quickly tell you if HAL is for you or not.

there are food cooking, cuisine shows and partakes of, trivia, lectures and other kinds of stuff. No belly flop contests, no ice skating, no rock climbing.

Let us know and we will honestly tell you. The ship you are 'entertaining' is a very nice one and we would gladly sail on her again. We love this line - but I think we have become adidicted - no one wants anyone unhappy - so just share and we will give you the honest facts. :)

[schoolinmy3]

I will be on the Noordam with my oldest son in May. He is 20 and I am 43. Not everyone on HAL is senior status. ;). My youngest loves HAL too, she is 11 and will be on the Veendam to Bermuda with us in June. So will my 18 yo and he is bringing his best friends - 22 yo twins.

Diane

[fann1sh]

My wife and I are considering a cruise on the Noordam. From everything I've seen it's a terrific ship and a very good value. But I also read the customers tend to skew older ... 60 plus ... And the activities are geared to an older crowd (lots of bingo and trivia about broadway shows). Have I been mislead? Are there plenty of actives for active 40 somethings? Thanks

 

Hmmm....I think it's more an issue of fewer scheduled activities than most lines.

 

Is the cruise deal which grabbed your interest a Noordam 10/11 day Caribbean (not the Med)? I can understand with 3 sea days, you're interested in how HAL does things.

 

You won't find cruise director's minions hosting games like Pictionary, Taboo. The line abandoned what they called small venue games a few years ago, and reassigned cruise director's staff to different roles, like:

 

Cruise Director

DJ

Travel Guide

Party Planner

Lifestylist

Techspert

 

IMO, the best of the activities are the free computer classes, sponsored by Microsoft. I thought these would either be so basic they'd be boring (teaching how to send an email) or so complicated I'd be lost. Instead, I found them very helpful. For example, I took several classes on how to use Windows Live Gallery to edit pictures. Stitching a panorama shot? Easy!

 

Others would disagree and say the free daily culinary demonstrations deserve to rated best. (There are also limited enrollment paid classes.)

 

There have been similar threads, and you might find these helpful:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1359220

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1323882

 

The search engine is impossible here. I only found these through searching my own past posts.

 

Also, here's an excellent recent post by funlovin'cruiser on free exercise classes and other activities:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=26441090&postcount=6

 

And from that post, I see Pictionary *has* snuck back into the activites!

 

As for your specific examples.....Bingo is played, but typically there is one announcement a day (CD, after the Captain's announcements at noon). I'm not a bingo fan either, and I'm even less of a fan of non-stop Bingo announcements.

 

Yes, daily team trivia is very popular. However, the questions are about everything. Current pop culture to geography to science to sports to "you've GOT to be kidding!" IMO, only teams with a wide variety of ages and interests are likely to win.

 

I agree with Kazu - let us know what you're looking for, and we'll tell you if HAL has it. But, due to the size of HAL ships, there will be no NCL type bowling alley, or RCCL ice rink and rock climbing wall...or even miniature golf.

[Raycruise2010]

Thanks for all the wonderful advice. I love to cook so the cooking class is a plus. And we both love interesting people, so that's a real plus. I'm interested in laid back activities. I do like trivia and other related games, and can do without the hairy legs contests and such. I like night activities that include shows and comedians, with so live music (jazz, dance) If i feel like dancing. I was last on the celebrity millenium and thought the mix of activities and shows were outstanding.

[Big Dawg CC]

I'm 48 and my wife is 47. Our girls are now 12 and 13. We have taken 9 cruises together with HAL since 2006, with 4 more booked thorugh July 2012. We love it! When on land, we typically enjoy more active activities, such as hiking, snorkeling, ziplining, etc. When on the ship, however, we really enjoy our "quiet time," especially the on-board movies, both in the screening room and in our cabin via the free DVD rentals. We never go out to the movies at home, so we enjoy catching up with more recent releases on the ship. We also enjoy team trivia, board games, and my wife and daughters enjoy the evening shows. More recently, we have been enoying the adult Wii contests and dancing in the Northern Lights. The girls also enjoy Club Hal. We have found plenty to do on the ship and we enjoy meeting more eperienced cruisers at team trivia and when dining.

[kazu]

Thanks for all the wonderful advice. I love to cook so the cooking class is a plus. And we both love interesting people, so that's a real plus. I'm interested in laid back activities. I do like trivia and other related games, and can do without the hairy legs contests and such. I like night activities that include shows and comedians, with so live music (jazz, dance) If i feel like dancing. I was last on the celebrity millenium and thought the mix of activities and shows were outstanding.

 

It sounds like HAL should suit you in most of your priorities. Depending upon your musical taste, the Adagio strings also perform each night. we always enjoy them before or after dinner:)

[Choozin Croozin]

I don't want to hijack this thread but I too am interested in trying the Noordam next March for the 10 day Caribbean. The itinerary is awesome!!!! We are 55 & dh 62, but very "young" for our age. We have a 23 yo son that keeps us that way. Our last 5 cruises have been on RCCL, but I really am ready to try something different if the itinerary suits me and this one does to the T. We love to snorkel and might even get diving certification for this one.

 

I don't necessarily have to have activities like the belly flop (though it was fun to watch my son do this last week ;) ) but we do like to have a few beverages around the pool and listen to some up tempo or steel drum music during cruising days and have people out and about in the evenings. We did a Panama Canal cruise in Feb a few years ago and there wasn't a sole out and about the ship past 9p. We thought is was a ghost ship. Plus we were always getting run over by motor scooters. This is NOT the experience I want. If my son & his gf come they do like a more festive occasion, but do not like the kids or rowdy college crowd. I am more worried about them than us.

 

Would we do ok and can someone compare to RCCL?? I appreciate any input.

[fann1sh]

Choosin' Cruisin', the more port intensive the itinerary, and the longer the cruise, the more likely "no night life".

 

If a rockin' evening which goes on well past midnight is VERY important to you, I'm going to reluctantly say, "Don't pick HAL." It's a line where you can't depend on anything *at all* going on after the second show.

[DFD1]

Choozin' Cruizin'....If you and your family are very "up tempo" in your taste in music and late-night festivities, I'd think twice about 10 days on HAL.

 

The longer the itinerary, the more sedate the cruise...usually anyway.

 

However, if you're happy with a more moderate pace while still having enough to keep you occupied, the Noordam is a very fine experience.

 

My opinion only.

[Choozin Croozin]

Thank you both for your input. It's just so hard to explain. We are not party animals....as an example this past cruise we only did a couple of shows, some nights dh would go to the cigar bar (don't know if there is one on the Noordam) and the rest of us would go to the piano bar (usually a sing a long kind of thing which we really enjoy). Usually we leave about 11-12 depending on when we had to get up in the morning. Sometimes we'd get a little bite to eat before going to bed. On our one sea day we just hung by the pool all day and had some beverages and enjoyed visiting (8 of us)........ As I read this back, it sounds like we are actually kind of boring. I just hated the feeling of being the ONLY people up and about on the ship. Does this make any sense? I think if ds & gf decide not to do a cruise next year we are going to go for this one and take our chances. There couldn't be a better itinerary!!! Thanks for you advice and help, it is most appreciated!!!

[mabert]

Itinerary seems to matter to you. The rest will be fine. I think you'll be so tired from the ports you'll be sleeping next to the pool on the sea days to catch up.

 

While I am almost exclusively a HAL cruiser, I do look at other lines if there is another set of ports they offer that are not available with HAL.

[Choozin Croozin]

Itinerary seems to matter to you. The rest will be fine. I think you'll be so tired from the ports you'll be sleeping next to the pool on the sea days to catch up.

 

While I am almost exclusively a HAL cruiser, I do look at other lines if there is another set of ports they offer that are not available with HAL.

 

Yes, I think you are right. I would probably stay w/ RCCL, but I really have been there done that....ready to branch out. Thank you all for your help. Sorry to the OP, didn't mean to monopolize the thread.:D