Just back from aboard the Noordam

[schoolinmy3]

We just flew home arriving late last night after our cruise roundtrip Rome. I won't be posting a review but would be happy to answer any questions. I am leaving Sunday for the Veendam cruise to Bermuda so I don't have tons of time to go into a lot of detail. However, we had a great cruise after a rocky start (missed our flight connection due to mechanical problems and our luggage didn't make it until the 3rd day). But alls well that ends well.;)

Diane

[ironin]

No luggage until the 3rd day? :eek: Glad you had a good time despite the "rocky start" (which sounds like an understatement ;) ).

[hpf]

Golly, 3 days, all the more reason we prepare and pack the right things in our carry on. Glad you had a great time despite the "rocky start". I love the Noordam'

Have a great cruise to Bermuda. Helen

[schoolinmy3]

No luggage until the 3rd day? :eek: Glad you had a good time despite the "rocky start" (which sounds like an understatement ;) ).

 

Yes, we decided to fly in the day of the cruise (I know, not very smart). :rolleyes:We were flying Delta from Charlotte to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Rome arriving at 8:30 a.m. We arrived in CLT with plenty of time, the plane was at the gate, our luggage was on board, but no one was allowed onto the plane. That concerned me so I went to speak to the ticket agent. She told me there was a mechanical problem, the plane could not take off. Oh NO! Every other Delta flight that could possibly get me to Rome was over booked or would arrive too late. I called my travel agent from the airport and she got on her computer and after some tense moments when nothing seemed to work, got us a Luftansa flight to Munich with a connection to Rome. With boarding passes in hand we walked to the Luftansa gate only to be told that flight was full. However, the ticket agent called her supervisor and we were allowed to board. Then after landing in Munich we had to change our ticket again for an earlier connection. We had less than an hour and had to run from one terminal to another to get the ticket reissued by Delta and then run back to the first terminal. We had 15 minutes from the time it was issued to get back through security and run to the END of the terminal past 40 gates.:eek: We made it to the end of the line of passengers boarding the plane with not one minute to spare. HAL reps were waiting at the other end in Rome, booked us last minute transfers and helped me find where my luggage was (still in Atlanta). We were so happy to see the Noordam. I thought for sure we would never make it but we were onboard by 1 p.m. After that the cruise was a breeze.:D

Diane

[cruisinggranmama]

Did your cruise stop in Tunis? Wondering about that port if it did.

[schoolinmy3]

Did your cruise stop in Tunis? Wondering about that port if it did.

 

No, we were on the Roman Empires cruise which stopped in Dubrovnik, Corfu, Olympia, Santorini, Athens, Ephesus, Sicily. However the cruise after ours does stop there. Half of the cruisers were staying on for the next cruise. There was quite a group of Australians and New Zealanders aboard. Approximately 900, so they outnumbered us Americans :). They were a lot of fun.

Diane

[taxmantoo]

Quite the adventure, Diane. We hope your cruise to Bermuda is a bit more relaxing ;)

[schoolinmy3]

Quite the adventure, Diane. We hope your cruise to Bermuda is a bit more relaxing ;)

 

Yes! :D And I wanted to mention if you have any questions about the ports on the Roman Empire itinerary feel free to post. We did all ship's excursions (after the stress of getting to Rome I am glad we did!) but quite a few on our roll call organized their own tours. So any of us would be happy to help you out. I have to say that I was very happy with the tour guides we had. The best for us was the tour guide in Olympia. She shared a ton of information on the Greek mythology and how that impacted everything the ancient Greeks did. Even how it impacted the ceremonies at the Olympics. Also, it is definitely worth it to visit the new Acropolis museum in Athens. Once they started excavation for construction they realized there were many ruins on the site. They decided to build the museum on concrete pillars so they could over time excavate the site. Parts of the museum floor (inside and outside) are glass so that you can see through to the excavated parts. This was very cool! So far they have found real treasures underneath and are still working on it. The first floor of the museum holds the artifacts they have found so far. One of the most important finds are the vases which are decorated with scenes of daily life in Athens and from which they are able to learn quite a lot. Of course, much of Greece is built on top of ancient ruins and always poses a dilema. For instance when building the metro system they could not avoid disturbing ancient ruins and did try to preserve what they could.

Diane

[Jackiealu]

Thank you for the information on this cruise. We are looking at taking the same cruise next year on the Noordam, May 2012. Any information you have would be great. How was the weather in the ports at this time of year. Was it still cool?

Thank you,

Jackie

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome home -- glad you had a great cruise in spite of the rocky start with the luggage.

 

Hope your Veendam cruise doesn't start off the same way.

[schoolinmy3]

Thank you for the information on this cruise. We are looking at taking the same cruise next year on the Noordam, May 2012. Any information you have would be great. How was the weather in the ports at this time of year. Was it still cool?

Thank you,

Jackie

 

The weather was very nice. I would not want to go too much later in the summer as it gets very hot. Most of the time it was in the high 70's and sunny. We arrived in Rome to sunshine and pleasant temps but it did rain the next day (our first sea day). In Santorini the weather was not perfect as it was threatening rain and it did storm as we left out to sea. But other than that it was beautiful. Sicily had the most beautiful flowers especially in Taormina as the locals had gardens and even lemon trees on their balconies and there were lovely poppies and other wild flowers everywhere else. By the end of May winter rains are just ending and so everything is still green. Later in the summer it gets pretty hot, especially as you do a ton of walking on this cruise. In Santorini and Athens (the Acropolis) there is no avoiding the hilly terrain as the tour buses, or even taxis, cannot access the areas you will want to visit. A couple people were not prepared for the strenuous walking and I felt really bad for them. Some could not climb up to the Acropolis and getting back to the port in Santorini from Oia involves either walking into Fira from where the bus drops you off and taking the cable car down or walking down the steep hillside trail. (Or you can take donkeys, that may be an experience all by itself, and depending on the donkey you get, either good or bad) Bring hats, water and sunscreen. Also be aware there are no toilet facilities in some of the areas. When we were in Turkey (Ephesus) I regretted drinking two cups of coffee before leaving for the tour :rolleyes:.

Diane

[schoolinmy3]

Welcome home -- glad you had a great cruise in spite of the rocky start with the luggage.

 

Hope your Veendam cruise doesn't start off the same way.

 

Yes, although I think I appreciated the cruise more because I thought I wasn't going to make it. However, I agree it was not the best way to begin a trip. Lesson learned - always pack extra underwear in your carryon :rolleyes:. You can find t-shirts and shorts on board, but no underwear!

diane

[Windsailer]

We'll be taking this cruise this fall - and were wondering which nights were the formal nights? Thanks!

[kazu]

Wow! I have to say - what a great attitude you have - no luggage for three days!! What a contrast from earlier today. One person cries on a world cruise they have no Tai Chi (or however you spell it) instructor they love and here you are with no luggage and with such a great attitude:D

[schoolinmy3]

We'll be taking this cruise this fall - and were wondering which nights were the formal nights? Thanks!

 

The two sea days and one of the shorter port stays. So the first formal is the day after you board (Monday, which is a sea day), the second formal is the day you are at Katakalon, Greece (Olympia - a Wednesday, all aboard is 2:30), and the third formal is the second sea day which is before Sicily, the last port (Sunday, which is also On Deck for the Cure)

Diane

[schoolinmy3]

Wow! I have to say - what a great attitude you have - no luggage for three days!! What a contrast from earlier today. One person cries on a world cruise they have no Tai Chi (or however you spell it) instructor they love and here you are with no luggage and with such a great attitude:D

 

I certainly wasn't going to mope about being on a cruise I had looked forward to for so long! My one complaint was the onboard shops should really carry a swimsuit line. Hint, Hint to HAL corporate ;) I could've used a good long soak in one of the hot tubs after all the stress of making it onboard!:D Instead I had a mojito with a double shot!

Diane

[Windsailer]

Thanks - now I know when not to make a reservation in the Pinnacle!

[schoolinmy3]

Thanks - now I know when not to make a reservation in the Pinnacle!

 

You are welcome. I did bring back the Daily Explorers so if anyone has questions on activities planned for this cruise I can answer them as well.

Diane