NOORDAM: ship condition, final sailings, Mediterranean

[DREUX]

Hi,

I am new to HAL with the exception of a sailing on ROTTERDAN V during the 70's with my parents(very fond memories and a beautiful ship if I remember correctly). I have recently booked the Noordam for the 10/14/04 sailing, one of her last. I like the itinerary and prefer the smaller ships. I have read varying reviews of the Noordam but none that were very recent. Could anyone that has sailed on her recently(within the last year, preferably) please give me some info on her current condition, service, food quality, etc? I hope that HAL has not let her condition deteriorate too much just becase they are getting rid of her, I realize that she is 20 years old though. Thanks for your help.

 

Doug

[ekerr19]

Doug-

 

We are booked on the final voyage, 11/3/04. I have sailed the Noordam several times, she is - in fact, one of my favorite ships.

 

She is old, no doubt. I believe she is still very well maintained. I had some emails from a few posters on this board (before the board change) who recently told me they absolutely loved sailing on her.

 

As it will be the end of a 20-year period for the Noordam, we will be concentrating on the fact that we will be on her last voayge under the HAL flag - hoping she will go out in the style & dignity she deserves.

 

The last time we were aboard was a holiday sailing - 16 days, we had a fantastic time. Everything was up to par - the service was unmatched - and we had a great time.

[lddam]

My wife, adult daughter and I sailed HAL for the first time on the Noordam in May on the 14-day Rome to London itinerary. Although she is an old ship, she looks quite good on the surface. However, if our experience is any indication of her true condition, then her health beneath the surface is in dire straits. Although not readily noticeable in the public areas, a definite odor of mold and mildew was to be found in the other passageways. Our cabin (#120) had persistent problems with the vacuum system in the bathroom, and some of the public restrooms were "out-of-order" with a frequency that I have not encountered on any other ship. Engineering, after repeated attempts, was unable to restore any measure of reliability to our system and we found ourselves crossing our fingers with each push of the button. (As an aside, When I first reported the problem to our cabin steward, his response to me was "Call engineering." I was a bit taken aback by his blaise attitude and lack of concern for our comfort as it fell far short of my expectations for HAL's legendary service.)

 

Speaking of "service," the level of service provided by our dining room steward and assistant steward (Table #59, seating for 7) was consistantly ourstanding. They were both competent, dedicated professionals who, although performing with a high level of efficiency, still found time to be personable and seemed genuinely dedicated to ensuring our dining pleasure. Unfortunately, the same can not be said about the Lido dining venues. The staff was slow to remove dirty dishes, and even if that was done in a timely manner, tables would remain soiled with crumbs and spillage for an extended time period. We frequently found it easier to simply grab an extra napkin and wipe down the table ourselves. This was our first cruise on HAL and thus I have no basis for comparison, but it gives much credence to the comments I've read on these boards regarding staff cutbacks and it's negative impact on service.

 

The above being said, it's also important to indicate that overall, we had a good time because the things that are really important to us were to be found on the cruise - an exciting itinerary, AC that worked, flavorful food (what I wouldn't give for some of HAL's bread pudding right now), friendly people with a sense of deportment, absolutely terrific tablemates, and the absence of 200 kids running roughshod over the ship.

 

What more can a person ask for?

 

Dave

[ekerr19]

Dave-

 

Sorry to hear of some of the problems you encountered on the Noordam. The last cabin we had was #124, really close to where you were. We did not have any problems in that particular cabin - I'm sorry the cabin steward was so callous about your problems with the plumbing - this has never been our experience and I'm sad to hear of it now. The cabin steward should have been the one to call engineering.

 

The ship is now 20 years old, but she still seems to me to be the same as she was in 1984 on her maiden voyage :)

 

I like the layout of the ship, very easy to navigate - also very intimate.

 

I hope you have another chance to sail on HAL in the future. The S-class ships (Veendam, Maasdam, Statendam, Ryndam) are also very nice, again easy to navigate with beautiful decor, without loosing the intimate feel.

[lddam]

I hope you have another chance to sail on HAL in the future. The S-class ships (Veendam, Maasdam, Statendam, Ryndam) are also very nice, again easy to navigate with beautiful decor, without loosing the intimate feel.

 

Ekerr19 -

 

Oh, I'm sure we'll give HAL another try. Marcia and I tend to select a region of the world we'd to visit and then find a product to match our selection. It's how we found the Noordam cruise in the first place. We're trying a Grand Circle river cruise in October, and looking to the Panama Canal (complete transit) during the winter/early spring of 2005. If a HAL itinerary to our liking pops up, then we'll give it serious consideration. After all, it doesn't make sense to judge a company based upon one experience, and any line with as loyal a following as HAL is obviously doing something right and deserves another try.

 

Thanks for your recommendations and happy sailings,

Dave

[ekerr19]

We did the complete transit of the Panama Canal on the Amsterdam - it was amazing!

 

My DH like the fact that there were informative lectures and a lecturer out on deck discussing much of the construction and history during parts of our transit.

 

This is the one cruise at the top of our list to do again someday. It was our kids very first cruise - we thought they'd have a bit more interest in the history - but the Lido pool held their undivided attention!