Review of our Alaskan cruise on the Noordam

[jmk22574]

Hello everyone! My husband and I have just returned from our very first cruise ever, to Alaska, on the Noordam. I have to thank everyone on this message board for all the helpful hints, etc., that I received in the nearly year and a half timeframe between booking the cruise and actually stepping onboard the Noordam. I must give fair warning that I type A LOT in my job, so I tend to type a lot since I feel as though I type just as fast as I talk.

 

SEATTLE - We arrived a day early as we were flying from the Southeast and had a layover in Denver. The flights were both on time, and we arrived in Seattle late Saturday night. We had booked a room at the Sleep Inn SeaTac prior to our arrival. We easily found the courtesy phones to call for our hotel shuttle, and in less than five minutes were were on the shuttle and approaching our hotel. Being near the airport, this was a very nice hotel. The staff was extremely helpful and friendly, and although we had purchased HAL transfers to and from the ship, we decided to reserve a towncar from the hotel to the pier on Sunday morning. The towncar arrived right on time, and our driver (a gentleman from Russia) was extremely kind and full of information. We arrived at the pier around 11 a.m. and dropped off our luggage at the x-ray machines and were then led to the check-in line for Deluxe Verandah Suites guests. We were the second people in line and just as we were receiving our room cards, people were beginning to board the ship. We were given the option of snacks and beverages in the Neptune Lounge or lunch at the Lido Buffet. We opted for lunch. We found a table, enjoyed some very good food, and then proceeded to the Lido pool area where there was a band playing and more "goodies" to be found. We went on the tour of the Noordam led by Leslie, the party/events planner. She was great - I really enjoyed her sense of humor. Just after 1 p.m., the announcement came that cabins were ready, so of course we hurried down the stairs to the Rotterdam deck, found our room, and were like two kids on Christmas morning checking out every inch of our suite. For those of you who read my post the week before our cruise, we had received an upgrade to a deluxe verandah suite for $199 a person. This is where I feel compelled to say that we are truly spoiled for life, and I'm not sure we can book anything other than this same category in the future. My checking account may tell me otherwise, however. To end the evening, we went to the Vista Lounge for the Ballroom Blitz and comedian, Julie Barr. We both loved Julie Barr. The Noordam singers and dancers were quite unimpressive in my opinion (my husand felt the same way). We both agreed that we had seen more talent at the Red Garter Saloon at Cedar Point the past few summers.

 

AT SEA - Our first full day on the ship was spent at sea. Unfortunately, I discovered the waffles at the Lido buffet. I say unfortunately because I returned back there nearly every morning for one or two waffles (to my surprise, I only gained 1.8 pounds on this cruise - big deal!!). I could have, and should have, eaten more waffles - :). My husband and I teamed up with a very nice couple from Utah for the team trivia. They remained our loyal teammates throughout the week. We had planned on attending the captain's welcom toast and the show "If Walls Could Rock" in the Vista Lounge. Well, the walls really could rock because we had stormy weather and very rough seas. Being one of the formal nights, I think many people had already chosen to skip the dining room that night, but with the weather, it was eerily deserted in most of the public areas. I thought I was going to tough it out, but that lasted from our cabin door to about the area of the Explorations Cafe. I parked it on a chair, my husband went on to rent a DVD, and we stayed in our room, ordered room service, and luckily did not suffer anything beyond a slight headache and spinning feeling. Room service was running about 1 hour and 45 minutes due to all these factors. Being the highly intelligent person that I am, while waiting for room service to arrive, this is when I remembered the Bonine I had packed. My husband and I both took a Bonine and felt much better within an hour or so. Our room service dinner was excellent and the waters started calming down around midnight.

 

CRUISING GLACIER BAY - What can you say - beautiful. Not even the best photograph can do the scenery justice. You absolutely MUST cruise Alaska to experience all this beauty. The day started off with slight drizzle and fog, and it did clear a bit when entering Glacier Bay. We had a few peeks of sunshine at Johns Hopkins Glacier, but it was quite cloudy once again at the Margerie Glacier (which was our favorite). We spent an hour there, and it was very peaceful and quiet just sitting on our verandah taking it all in. There were many crackles and rumbles, but we only experienced one significant episode of calving. I really shouldn't say "only one", because that one time was breathtaking. The evening's entertainment was Joel Mason. I know that every review I've read on him has been excellent. My feelings are no different. He was as much a "showman" as a singer and piano player. We did purchase his DVD and spoke with him for a minute. He does play in Vegas about one month out of every year, so we are going to be watching his website closely in hopes that we can plan a trip to Vegas sometime that he's out there. His wife and two daughters were on this cruise with him.

 

JUNEAU - Good morning, Juneau! I woke up at 6 a.m. thinking we should be quite close to the dock. We were already there! As this was the first time I had ever experienced "being docked" on a cruise, I was just beside myself. My husband, however, only shared my excitement for about 30 seconds as he rolled out of bed, stumbled out onto the verandah, looked left, looked right, gave it a thumbs up and went back to bed. The man just does not do mornings. I went to the Neptune Lounge, got some coffee (which I never drink in "real" life but I sure did enjoy throughout the cruise) and sat outside just taking it all in. It remained overcast all day in Juneau. We took the Mt. Roberts Tramway Tour. We could ride up and down all day with our unlimited ride ticket. The view from there was unbelievable. I did not want to come back down to the ship (okay, I did but I didn't). We played win-a-cruise bingo that night (except we didn't win), watched the Marriage Game (pretty funny) and stayed for the Filipino Crew Show. This was EXCELLENT!. Our Neptune Lounge concierge, Janee, was the lead dancer. The most touching part of the show was actually the following day. As we came across the show's participants throughout the day and told them how much we enjoyed their show, they thanked us repeatedly for coming to see it. It wasn't like a lot of entertainers who thank you when you say you enjoyed their performance, they were whole-heartedly appreciative that we took time out of our cruise experience to sit down and watch the show they had prepared. I love the crew.

 

SITKA - Ummm.....would anyone get upset if I complained about the blinding sunshine as I opened the curtains this morning? We were told that sunshine in Sitka is a rarity, but we had a full day's worth of sun and a few beautiful clouds. My husband especially enjoyed the Russian history and military history of this town. We didn't participate in any shore excursions here, but we walked, and walked, and walked around this town. We just kept following arrows and markers to outlying areas of the town and felt quite satisfied being our own tour guides of sort. We took the tender back to the ship and had another wonderful meal (our dining room steward, Putu, was simply the best). The evening's entertainment was Olympic gymnast, Lance Ringnald. We really enjoyed his show - very difficult to do on a ship in fairly rough waters. He was quite a personable performer, very talented.

 

KETCHIKAN - Okay, who turned on the sunshine in Alaska? Dare I say another beautiful, sun-filled day? We did the Ketchikan Duck Tour and had a wonderful guide and driver. Since this was such a short day in port, we boarded the ship, enjoyed lunch at the Terrace Grill and attended a few laid back events on the ship. Once again, the waters started to get very rough, and after "Name That Tune," we headed back to our cabin for another night of "room service" dining and a DVD. According to the cruise log, we had gail force winds this evening. I believe it - I felt like a ping pong ball bouncing from the sink to the bathtub/shower just trying to get into the bathroom.

 

VICTORIA - Due to the bad weather, we were to arrive late in Victoria. Many shore excursions were canceled, including our Tour of Victoria. No problem though as we were given a full refund. My husband and I did disembark and walked around the pier a bit and down Oswego Street, but as it was quite late, we needed to pack, and were were both pretty tired, we headed back to the ship. Oh yes, earlier in the day we attended the Joel Mason and Friends show in the Vista Lounge. The funniest part of the show was when Joel and Julie Barr (the comedian) stripped down to Olympic gymnast outfits and tried to perform Lance Ringnald's "rings" routine. I wish I had video of that - hilarious!

 

SEATTLE - We're back! We decided to use our return shuttle vouchers to the airport, and as we had a fairly late flight (3:30 p.m.) we were one of the last groups to disembark. Everything went smoothly, the shuttle ride was uneventful, and sadly we were on our way home.

 

If you're still reading this, I commend you. I'm sure I'll remember things later that I'll wish I had commented on, but here are the ones that come to mind for now:

 

:D

- Loved the complimentary laundry service with the deluxe verandah suite.

- Really appreciated the assistance of Janee and Cathy in the Neptune Lounge. They remembered our names after only one introduction.

- Our cabin steward, Ade, was amazing and very charming. Sadly, (for guests on the Noordam, not for Ade himself) he will be leaving the Noordam as he has a new baby at home and he said he can make money anywhere but his heart was aching to be away.

- Our dining steward, Putu, was lovely. He waved to us at the crew farewell and came off the stage to chat with us at the show's end. I would be thrilled to see him on another HAL cruise in the future.

- Room service was always prompt, and I never waited on hold for more than 30 seconds to place my order. Breakfast in the morning was typically delivered 10-15 minutes early.

 

:(

- The lido buffet seating areas were always very crowded, and the food lines were equally as crowded. This was true even at non-peak dining times. I'm not really sure what (if anything) could be done to avert this, but it got very hectic in this area.

- I do have to say that although this was my first cruise and I have nothing to compare anything with yet, I was often more annoyed by the cruise director, Trevor Millar, than anything. He was chronically late to events and after five days of multiple interactions with him at several events, he never could seem to remember any specific team name or members of a particular team. He just seemed to lack a certain level of professionalism/personality on a more intimate level. However, when he got on stage (obviously quite often throughout the cruise) he was, for lack of a better term, quite a "show hog." Something about him just rubbed me the wrong way. BUT, let me say that this in no way affected my thoughts in any other manner in regards to this cruise.

 

I do want to say that since food is such an objective topic, I'll just offer that we never went hungry, and we were very pleased with the selection and taste of everything we tried. Also, as there are many discussions regarding proper attire, we saw only a handful of people wearing jeans after dinnertime, and although the waters were rough, many, many people were dressed up (and I mean really dressed up) on the formal nights. This was a cruise full of people who understood and respected the "rules."

 

While I'm not sure that we've been bitten by the cruise bug per se, we have definitely been bitten by the "Alaskan bug." We booked a return cruise in May 2008 on the Oosterdam. I feel that since this was our first cruise, we tried to participate in too many events and it almost felt like we needed to be in two places at once. I'm hoping the next cruise will be much more relaxed since we won't be so worried that we're missing out on something.

 

Lastly, I do want to comment on the age demographic on HAL. My husband and I are 30 and 33, respectively. We felt that HAL was a perfect fit for us, loved the atmosphere, fellow cruisers, and pace of this cruise. There were actually quite a few other "younger" couples on our cruise. We found all age groups to be very respectful of those older and younger than themselves. Thanks for your time! :)

[earl_m]

Congrats on your cruise, glad everything went well, well written and very detail.

[hammybee]

Thank you for making the time to share your cruise with us. I am glad you enjoyed your vacation.

[CrystalWater]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and first cruise even! All cruises are great. Thanks for the nice report.

[D&Asailtoday]

:) Hello jmk2274, Thank you for the review.We sail 8/25/08 a 20 day med cruise.Sorry about the rough seas and my typing.This will be our third cruise but our first on hal.Glad to hear there are people of all ages.hope your seas are smooth next time Thanks again...

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome home!!

 

Glad you had a wonderful Alaskan cruise.

[1STTIMEINFLA]

Thank you for your review. We were on the Oosterdam in July on our first cruise and I am still reading these reviews trying to relive our trip! We were also in the Deluxe Veranda Suite and am also afraid I am spoiled for life:) Enjoy planning for your upcoming cruise. Jean

[kruskat]

jmk22574

Thank you for the great review.

I also noted the crowded situation in the Lido and pool area. My family and I definitely noticed a difference in crowding verses our trip on the Westerdam last year. We didn't think the added people that the Noordam would carry would make that much of a difference, but it did. As a result, my family and I have decided not to sail on the Eurodam, as it would be way too crowded with even more people in those areas. We will still travel on the vistas but with no more passengers than HAL currently carries on this size ship.

The Captain stated that HAL is evaluating passenger feedback and is looking at building not only larger ships but also smaller ships. He said since the smaller ships are on the table, it is important to let HAL know your preferences.

kat

[hammybee]

 

The Captain stated that HAL is evaluating passenger feedback and is looking at building not only larger ships but also smaller ships. He said since the smaller ships are on the table, it is important to let HAL know your preferences.

 

 

kat

 

Ha-Ha.

 

The captain of our ship said HAL was going to stick with the size of the Eurodam- nothing larger or smaller. I guess one of these guys missed the memo. :D

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thanks for the great review and letting me relive thru you review our September 9th Noordam cruise, your sounded very much like ours with the exception that Julie Barr was not there in September but was there in June when we were on board. We too had lot's of sunshine in September. But sorry you had the rough waters.

Yes, I agree once you have had those S Suites they are hard to step down from:)

[codyody]

Thank you for the review...sigh. O2B@C. The places you had sun, we did not and vice versa; guess we'll just have to try again!

[Solo Cruiser]

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to contribute it to the other incredible reviews on this board.

[LadyFurn]

Great review, former fellow Michigander! We also enjoyed the Noordam to Alaska this summer. It was nice to re-live our cruise through you. We also had lots of sunshine but none of the rough seas...Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Cindy from Michigan, home of the Great Lakes:)

[WholeWheat]

>>>The funniest part of the show was when Joel and Julie Barr (the comedian) stripped down to Olympic gymnast outfits and tried to perform Lance Ringnald's "rings" routine. I wish I had video of that - hilarious!<<<

I happen to have that on video...(imagine that). With their permission, I'll post it on YouTube and post a link here.

It's not the show you saw, it's the original one perfomed on the Zuiderdam - might even have been Dane Butcher's farewell party show.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

>>>The funniest part of the show was when Joel and Julie Barr (the comedian) stripped down to Olympic gymnast outfits and tried to perform Lance Ringnald's "rings" routine. I wish I had video of that - hilarious!<<<

 

I happen to have that on video...(imagine that). With their permission, I'll post it on YouTube and post a link here.

 

It's not the show you saw, it's the original one perfomed on the Zuiderdam - might even have been Dane Butcher's farewell party show.

 

I would definitely love to see that :)

[Comptech]

What is a Bonine?

 

My husband and I both took a Bonine and felt much better within an hour or so.

[RuthC]

What is a Bonine?

Bonine is an anti-sea sickness medication. It's taken in advance as a preventative. It's non-drowsy, and you can drink alcohol when you take it. In Canada it has a slightly different name (which escapes me at the moment). It's an over-the-counter drug.

[mitchrock]

Thanks for your review. Which date in May are you going in 2008 on the Oosterdam? We will be sailing on May 3rd.

[jmk22574]

I was just checking out some of the latests posts tonight and was surprised to see that my Noordam review from last month had made it back to page one! :) I will definitely be looking for that video on YouTube (if it's allowed). Mitch - we'll be on the Oosterdam May 10th-17th....we'll miss you by a week. We had originally planned on booking the May 3rd sailing, but the type of room we wanted was no longer available, so we had to pick a different cruise. Obviously we didn't have to change our plans too drastically. We were incredibly lucky with the weather in late September this year, I'm hoping we'll get lucky once again in early to mid-May. I hope you're enjoying the anticipation of your cruise!!

 

Jill

[Seago2]

Thanks for your great review!

[Odd Ball]

Welcome home. :) That was a great review.

[jtl513]

In Canada it has a slightly different name (which escapes me at the moment).

I think you're thinking of Bonamine there. It is also sold under the brand name Marzine there, and about 10 different brands in the US. The packets that HAL gives out are called Sea-Calm. (That's for Comptech, Ruth --- I know you know!)

[RuthC]

The packets that HAL gives out are called Sea-Calm. (That's for Comptech, Ruth --- I know you know!)

Actually, I didn't remember the name; I've only read it here. I haven't used Bonine (or anything else) since sometime in the late 70's. :)

It must be true---after a while you really do develop sea legs. I hardly ever feel the ship move anymore.

And you're right about the "Bonamine"; that was the name that escaped me. It's back now. ;)

[gphelps99]

Thank you for your wonderful review. We go to Alaska next May for the first time... can't wait.:)