Changes in Daily Activities on msNOORDAM

[Love Cruises]

We just returned from the 3/10/07 Caribbean cruise on the msNOORDAM. We got off the ship by 7:45 am (express disembarkation) and were home at exactly 10:00 am. All the clothes are washed and put away. Wish we were still on the beautiful msNOORDAM with the beautiful warm and relaxing days in the Caribbean.

 

The entertainers were all very good but the person who really stood out was Antonio Salci - a fantastic piano player. He did an added performance the last afternoon to a full house. What a showman!

 

The only complaint we had with the msNOORDAM were what seems to be HALS "new policy" at least on this ship of not having any cruise activities staff organizing any games like Scattergories, Taboo, Outburst, etc. for prizes. In addition to this exclusion was the fact that there were usually only 2 events a day that were for "dam dollars" - 1 sporting event and Trivia. On all our other HAL cruises there were always about 4 or 5 sporting events and many games. Then, if you were able to accumulate any of these dam dollars, the Noordam staff upped the prices on all the items for redemption!!!! $50 for a mag lite!, $40 for a sweatshirt which have always been $30, $25 for t-shirts that were always $20, etc. - all increases either $5, $10 or $20 more. Not fair - after all it is free advertising for HAL and we do earn the dollars!

 

Only the cruise director and dj were doing the events (they, of course, work mainly in the evenings and probably didn't want to do any events in the morning). Then the other cruise activities staff were now designated librarians (3 of them taking turns each day), another the craft person, etc. Many of us HAL "old-timers" were VERY DISAPPOINTED in the lack of activities that we were always used to. There was always the Cruise Director and 4 or 5 assistant cruise staff that hosted many of the daily events going on almost every hour in the morning and afternoons. - no shuffleboard, basketball throws, volleyball, and board games as mentioned earlier. I guess this is no more going to be done on HAL making many a cruisers time on board not as much fun as they have always been used to. Many of us were not very happy with this new policy.

 

Also, there were additional charges for all craft activities which were always free in other HAL cruises. One day in particular there were 10 events to go to - craft, culinary, computer, etc that all had fees of $8 or more. In fact, at one craft event all the ladies refused to pay and walked off.

 

Hopefully, more will complain and this new HAL policy will be dismissed as quickly as it was started. It is not fair to us loyal HAL passengers who have 100s of days on board their fleet who were used to the old way HAL ran their activities during the day.

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[RuthC]

I'm sorry to read of this change in daily activities, and hope this is another little "experiment" that goes away.

I also hope you made your displeasure known on your comment card. If we don't mention what we do and don't like---and mention it strongly!---then HAL is sure to do what it wants.

-dam dollars for trivia. :rolleyes: Sheesh.

[jrzebird]

I'm sorry to read this, too. Our 1/6/07 Noordam sailing was so filled with activities, you couldn't do them all! And, the CD (Drew Murdoch) and his assistants were ever present, from early morning until late at night. And, the added charges are totally unacceptable! I also hope this is just an experiment that will be quickly abandoned.

[jwitt2]

Last month on the 30 day Ryndam cruise I paid $50D for a sweatshirt and $25D for a hat. I thought that was the same price they had been on the Noordam in Nov., but maybe not. We had lots of activities on both cruises, thank goodness. I didn't have time to read my books. Sorry to hear activities have dropped off since I was on in Nov.

[tomc]

Are people talking about two different things here?

 

(1) Dam Dollars

(2) Shop Prices

 

I may be wrong, and I'm sure people will let me know if I am :p but is the reference to "dam dollars" what you get for winning, redeemable in the shops?

 

Therefore, not to be confused with being a price to participate in something (other than the crafts and cooking things), or the price for an item in the shops (which you want to buy, aside from redeeming "dam dollars").

[RuthC]

tom, no, I don't think we're talking about different things. I know you don't usually get involved in all the games and things so you might not know what the changes seem to be.

Until recently there were lots of games and activites during the day, and we played for nice little prizes. Now it seems that instead of playing for prizes we're playing for "Dam Dollars". No, they are not used like cash in the shops. And they can't be used toward a bar bill, either. :mad: They have no value other than to make purchases of selected items at a redemption at the end of the cruise.

Plus, as if that weren't bad enough, it seems that if people have a lot of "Dam Dollars" the prices of given items are increased. The net effect is to decrease what you get for redemption.

It's possible to win some games, but not have enough to get a prize.

On top of that you can't carry them over to another cruise. :rolleyes:

The whole thing sounds cheap.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

The whole thing sounds cheap.

 

 

 

Yep, sure does.

[Janet524]

We were also on the 3/10 Noordam sailing and I have to agree with OP that the activities were much fewer and less varied than on previous HAL cruises. One thing that there were plenty of were "seminars" many dealing with those dreaded "toxins" in our bodies that could be cured by making an appointment at the spa for an expensive treatment. I was also disappointed to see that fees were attached to many of the useful "classes" like the digital photography/computer type classes that were offered.

 

Overall the entertainment was good, however we wished they would turn the volume down in the Vista Lounge for the shows. At times it was so loud that the singers voices were distorted and you couldn't understand a word they sang - plus it hurt your ears! That being said, our overall experience was very good. We thought the food and food service were good, the ship beautiful and our room (category SS) fantastic.

 

Check in and disembarkation went smoothly. We found all our luggage almost immediately and were on our way home in no time.