Report from the Noordam - Maiden Voyage

[infopaul]

Revneal, It appears you have out done yourself. My wife was so excited she ran upstairs to see if she can make arrangements for something sooner then I anticipated. Thanks again for sharing...Paul:)

[RevNeal]

Revneal, It appears you have out done yourself. My wife was so excited she ran upstairs to see if she can make arrangements for something sooner then I anticipated. Thanks again for sharing...Paul:)

 

hehehehehe ... HAL should really pay me a commission!

[Funny Cide]

RevNeal

 

We head for New York tomorrow morning and sail on Wednesday. Your pictures have kept us wound right up. My wife and I are like the two kids in the Disney ad. We are tooooo excited to sleep!!!!! Thanks for sharing your experiences. Hope I get some great shots for sharing soon.

 

Tim

[seabourndt]

well done revneal, really lookking forward to seeing 6the ship on aqpril 15th now, she looks lovely. i have to reiterate about stephen cars paintings onm board. i tooo have cunarder and am gewttuing hal but i'd love to see them here.

dave

[dougnewmanatsea]

will pick up The Spotless Fleet on the Rotterdam in June if they have it

Why on earth are you waiting all the way until June ;) ???

 

OK, I'll admit it, I've not ordered mine yet... But at least I've seen it!

 

You are denying yourself a major treat if you wait all the way until June to see this book. It is just as gorgeous as "Cunarder" but it has the added bonus of having all our favorite HAL ships in it!

[Joanandjoe]

Rev. Greg, we love your Noordam pictures: they give us a taste of a future cruise (11/25/06). Thank you.

 

The three pictures, taken in St. Thomas, of the Wind Surf, on which we took a lovely B2B in November, 2004, remind us of our best cruise yet: two wonderful weeks sailing from Nice to Lisbon, often with the sails up and the ship moving under wind power. Your caption says: some day I'll sail on this. We hope you do get to sail on her some day--the experience is magnificent! Sailing with 300 people, with open dining, is very different from sailing with 1,900.

 

Your port notes indicate that you have a lot of "been there, done that" ports in the Caribbean. Maybe it's time to try some small ship sailing. Small ships visit ports, such as the Grenadines, that are inaccessible to large ships.

[RevNeal]

Your port notes indicate that you have a lot of "been there, done that" ports in the Caribbean. Maybe it's time to try some small ship sailing. Small ships visit ports, such as the Grenadines, that are inaccessible to large ships.

 

Excellent advice. I've been looking at, and lusting after, cruises in the Med on Windstar ships, but haven't much looked at the Caribbean. Perhaps I will look into that as an alternative.

 

Thanks for your kind words.

[RevNeal]

For anyone who might be interested, I've posted a slightly updated version of my review, complete with photo illustrations, on my website. It can be found here:

 

 

Just click the image above ... or here:

 

http://www.revneal.org/noordamreview.html

[Joanandjoe]

Excellent advice. I've been looking at, and lusting after, cruises in the Med on Windstar ships, but haven't much looked at the Caribbean. Perhaps I will look into that as an alternative.

 

Thanks for your kind words.

 

You're welcome.

 

You might also consider other small ship lines, including Sea Dream, Windjammer Barefoot, Clipper, Cruise West, and American Caribbean. Sea Dream may be beyond your price range, but some of the others are quite reasonable if you are willing to have a small room. One or two have singles. Don't forget to ask about a clergyman's discount: some lines would be happy to have a Padre on board. Who knows, you might even get a regular gig as ship's pastor!

[MumsTheWord*]

Prior to our 3/15 cruise on Noordam, I lived for RevNeal's posts on this thread.

 

I was thinking about how helpful this thread had been to me

and wanted to bring it back to it's well deserved spot "at the top of the charts!":cool:

 

With over 36,000 views, there may not be anyone left to read it, but I found it so entertaining that it's worth a second read from start to finish!

 

by the way, Rev- you threw me with your new avatar!

After having viewed this thread 'religiously',

I've become quite used to seeing you in your collar...(It was a perfect compliment to your screen name!) Should we start a new poll "Should the Rev. go back to his old avatar?"

 







 

I hope you know the entertainment your group provided for the rest of us!

In many cases, it was better than a "reality TV show.":p

Thanks again!

 

 

 

 

P.S. Rev and Brian-

When I sat in the Captain Kirk chairs in the Crow's Nest, I pointed out to my husband, the flecks of paint that Brian had begun to chip off of the ceiling. I felt like we were following in the footsteps of a few celebrities!:cool: (kind of like placing our hands in the sidewalk handprints of Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable!) although this time, it was placing our "booties" in the seats where you sat!:eek:

 

ekerr19-

As you can see, I have now become brave enough to post...Thank you for holding my hand 'behind the scenes' and for the advice and information you so cheerfully gave! ;)

[RevNeal]

MumsTheWord*,

 

You are SO kind. Thank you!

So ... you don't like me in my Tux, eh?

In addition to my old one, and the one that's up there now, here are some of my other Avatars. I can change them at any time.

 

 

My Mom's favorite is the one of my consecrating the Eucharist.

[RevNeal]

P.S. Rev and Brian-

When I sat in the Captain Kirk chairs in the Crow's Nest, I pointed out to my husband, the flecks of paint that Brian had begun to chip off of the ceiling. I felt like we were following in the footsteps of a few celebrities!:cool: (kind of like placing our hands in the sidewalk handprints of Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable!) although this time, it was placing our "booties" in the seats where you sat!:eek:

 

FOFLMHO ... Well ... I'll be Clark Gable. ;)

[bepsf]

...well, I guess that makes me Marilyn!

;)

 

Chatting w/ Johnny I on Prinsendam - his reaction was the same as Rev Greg's...

 

"OMG!!! You BROKE the Ship!!!"

:eek:

 

It wasn't my fault (totally) - I just touched this enourmous crack and it fell off in my hand...

:o

 

BTW Greg, Nice new Avatars. I like you in pants better tho ;)

[RevNeal]

And ... here are some more Avatars ... Mom insisted (and one doesn't say no to Mom).

 

 

I like the last one.

Mom likes the first one ... I was laughing when it was taken (one of my normal poses!) and I'm dressed in a purple clergy ... which Mom says gives her hope that I'll one day be made a Bishop (sorry ... Mom ... ain't gonna happen).

[RevNeal]

And ... finally ... a few more ...

 

 

If I'm going to make any more I'll have to take some more cruises.

Hey ... that's a GOOD idea!

[RevNeal]

...well, I guess that makes me Marilyn!

;)

 

Chatting w/ Johnny I on Prinsendam - his reaction was the same as Rev Greg's...

 

"OMG!!! You BROKE the Ship!!!"

:eek:

 

It wasn't my fault (totally) - I just touched this enourmous crack and it fell off in my hand...

:o

 

BTW Greg, Nice new Avatars. I like you in pants better tho ;)

 

I'll take part of the responsibility, Brian ... after all, It was I who pointed out the crack to you.

 

You like me better in pants than in Avatars? I'm touched. ;)

[jhannah]

Love your avatars, Greg. Quite a selection. The one with the blue background is especially nice, IMO. Some of them look like they were taken in front of Zaandam's organ. Am I right?

[RevNeal]

Love your avatars, Greg. Quite a selection. The one with the blue background is especially nice, IMO. Some of them look like they were taken in front of Zaandam's organ. Am I right?

 

You have a good eye, Jim. Yes ... 3 of them were taken in front of the Zaandam's Atrium centerpiece (I'll not grace it by calling it an "organ"). :)

 

The one with the blue background is nice ... so is the one with the plain grey background. I've used the one with the grey background a lot on a Theological debate board where I have, in the past, posted regularly. Ditto for the one of me consecrating the Communion elements.

 

For postings on CruiseCritic, however, I would like to start using photos taken of me on cruises. It makes for a nice tie-in to have some recognizable HAL thing in the background (like that Zaandam's "organ" or a faux Titanic Staircase or somesuch ... like the tiny little HAL emblem on the stack in the photo behind me in my current avatar). However, I'm not adverse to using more generalized photographs -- like the one I had been using for almost 2 years on this board:

 

 

That's a really good one of me ... and I'm still using it on several boards. But, I'm trying for more variety.

[jhannah]

:D I think that's probably the reason why I noticed them ... knowing you're ... um ... not overly fond of the keyboard and pipes centerpiece!

[MumsTheWord*]

Okay, now STOP IT! :p LOL!

My favorite is your old one, but if we must be current, I like the one taken in front on the 18th century mirror on Noordam. Cruise feature with a collar.

 

Brian,

Your new avatar is swell as well, but one with you standing on a sidewalk grate with the wind blowing up your white um, tuxedo, would be nice too!:eek:

 

Just My Honest Opinion.;)

[RevNeal]

Okay, now STOP IT! :p LOL!

My favorite is your old one, but if we must be current, I like the one taken in front on the 18th century mirror on Noordam. Cruise feature with a collar.

 

I need to re-do that one ... pull back and crop it a bit larger but with more of the mirror and of me showing. Thanks for the input.

 

And, about Brian's avatar ... I'm not touching your suggestion with a 10-foot pole. :eek:

He can pretend he's Marilyn all he likes, just so long as he doesn't start singing "Happy Birthday Mr. Pweesedint"! ;)

[RevNeal]

There, Mum ... how's that!?

 

 

It's not quite as clear a view of my face, but at least one can tell WHERE it's taken a bit better from that clip. That is ... of course ... if you've been aboard the Noordam. :)

[MumsTheWord*]

RevNeal,

Oh, I forgot to ask-

Will you be selling any of these in an 8x10 glossy form with an autograph? Surely, a few of the 36,ooo viewers out there would qualify as members of your fan club!!!

 

I believe as Honorary President, I deserve a complimentary copy!

 

Now, let's see....at $5 a piece x 36,000 ....

I believe you can go ahead a book a world cruise! or two!

[RevNeal]

RevNeal,

Oh, I forgot to ask-

Will you be selling any of these in an 8x10 glossy form with an autograph? Surely, a few of the 36,ooo viewers out there would qualify as members of your fan club!!!

 

I believe as Honorary President, I deserve a complimentary copy!

 

Now, let's see....at $5 a piece x 36,000 ....

I believe you can go ahead a book a world cruise! or two!

 

Hardy har har! :D

And ... not likely.

You're going to have to cruise on a group cruise with us!

 

Join us on the Zaandam for Hawaii, this October 7. :) 6 months from today!

:D

[MumsTheWord*]

I'm so not worthy....;)