Noordam / Nieuw Amsterdam AFT B2B Information

[cruisun]

For this cruise the ship was the destination and the plan was to relax and enjoy the pampering, good food and great weather.

I booked the 10 day 1/6/11 sailing, Southern Caribbean on the Noordam this past summer. I sail solo and with my partner. This was to be a solo sailing and I booked VA7139 AFT (with the help of Joanie and her pictures). I had previously sailed in the corner SB7135 AFT when Noordam was still sailing from New York and loved it. I again enjoyed being in an aft cabin. The cabin had about four extra feet in length as did the balcony. The balcony is about 2/3 covered.

As the cold weather started to creep into the Northeast I started thinking that the ten days would not be enough and decided to add a 7 day sailing on Nieuw Amsterdam 1/16/11. I was able to get VA 7138 AFT on Nieuw Amsterdam. This cabin had about eight extra feet in length with the balcony being only slightly longer than the side balconies in the VA category. This balcony was a little more than 3/4 covered. The advantage to the design of the NA is that the lido deck extends further aft and keeps all of the soot and various debris from littering your balcony. In addition, the angled balcony dividers and curve of the back of the ship make the experience very private as opposed to the Noordam where the afts are all very "open" to each other. I expected to be disappointed with the shorter aft balcony setup and wound up liking it better. One can hear the music from the Lido deck much more with this setup. It was actually nice and I got a few good laughs listening to the vocals from the HAL CATS.

The Noordam is in immaculate condition and apperared to me to have been completely repainted on the exterior since last February. My cabin was in excellent condition AND spotless upon arrival.

I stayed one night pre cruise at the Embassy Suites 17th Street as I had heard from many cc'ers that is was convenient to shopping etc. How true! I got Water, Soda, Wine, Suntan Lotion Etc...at Publix then walked over to the postal store and bought a box and packing tape. I then borrowed the cart, took all my goodies back to the hotel and packed the box and affixed my preprinted luggage tags.

Noordam Check in was painless and they don't even ask to see the boarding pass so I am not sure why I continue to print it each cruise.I was on the ship in about 45 minutes .The box was delivered to my cabin with my luggage. Very Nice!

Dinner in the Pinnacle the first night was superb. I hear many complain but I always enjoy the Pinnacle. Lava cake and a nice walk around the ship with a stop at explorations cafe and then I fell asleep in my cabin watching a movie dreaming of my first roomservice breakfast:D

[JWJs]

Great "B2B" review. Like the way you did your B2B. :)

[kazu]

Great "B2B" review. Like the way you did your B2B. :)

 

Sounds like a great B2B - you were smart - there's been a lot of bad weather. We love the Noordam too - thanks for sharing :):)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome home -- thanks for your review.

 

How was the transfer from one to the other?

[cruisun]

Room Service breakfast arrived on time and exactly as ordered. This was consistant throughout the ten days including when I ordered dinner from the main diningroom. I think tipping well is important!! These guys deserve it and let's just say that word gets around.

I found the service throughout the ship to be excellent, the music, the atmosphere. All of the reasons I continue to come back to Noordam. The breakfast and lunch selection and quality were great. Dinner however was not up to par. The quality of the food and the presentation were lacking compared to the other 50 days I had spent on this ship. Meats were tough, fish was tasteless and the menu descriptions were inaccurate. I often felt like it was a guessing game. Baked Brie for example, usually one of my favorites, was served in a small block with no wrapping or sauce and had the consistancy of Tofu. So many entrees were loaded with mushrooms I was wondering if they had bought several tons at a cheap price LOL. Even the rice served with the surf and turf was more mushrooms than rice and does not go with lobster at all IMHO. Desserts were the worst of all. Each chocolate dessert had a different description yet all were spongy or thick with almond paste and served with the bland raspberry sauce. The cheesecake had no body and tasted like it was one of those pudding mixes. Of course I did not go hungry but thought that the decline in the quality of dinner was extreme in all aspects. After realizing this situation was not improving I chose to eat often in the Pinnacle and eat a little more during breakfast and lunch if I was eating MDR dinner.

The ten days went very quickly and I packed up before the last nights dinner in Pinnacle leaving out clothes to wear for transferring the next morning and packing my dinner clothes into my hanging bag that evening.

The front desk told me that there were about ten of us that were going to transfer to Nieuw Amsterdam the next morning and we would be docked next to each other and could just walk over as a group. To my surprise when I woke up and walked out onto my balcony there was NA and we were docked AFT to AFT. So exciting. I sat and took pictures of the NA Aft while sitting on Noordam. I hope to post these pictures later! I disembarked at 9:45. I asked one of the shore people in the red jackets where to find the group transferring to the other ship. She spoke to someone on the radio and I was told there was a bus just outside. This was true, luggage was loaded under the bus and within ten minutes we were checking in for NA.

Again, painless check in procedure and I was on the ship before 11am. WOW!! The NA is absolutely beautiful. It is still looks and smells VERY new. I think the art deco theme is fantastic and carried out very well throughout the ship. Not overdone, just right. I also think that although I liked the Eurodam they refined the design and layout just slightly but the difference is huge. I can not say enough about it. Just perfect (besides the explorations cafe being at the crows nest). The Atrium chandelier and curtains surrounding the Pinnacle are gordeous. These curtains also gave the Pinnacle a more intimate feeling even though it is slightly larger.

I decided to go to lunch in the MDR and avoid the crowds at the lido. To my surprise lunch was absolutely delicious, over the top, had I boarded a ship from a different cruise line? Was this a sign of better food overall on this ship? YES!!!!! The dining on NA was leaps and bounds above that on Noordam. Even though I had enjoyed my breakfasts and lunches on Noordam the food on NA was in a league of its own. The menu was much more inspired, descriptions were accurate and presentation was over the top. I found this to be true in the lido as well as the MDR. I was and still am amazed at just how great everything was. Different ethnic varieties of food, very different tastes and again the freshness and presentation were flawless. I sailed Crystal in December and the food on NA was in close competition and exceeded all of my expectations. I also found the Tamirand food and service far above what it was last year on Eurodam. I thoroughly enjoyed all of my dining experiences on Nieuw Amsterdam and hope this trend continues. I Met Mike von Bokhoven at the mariner cocktail party and expressed my delight. He then sent me a thank you note and chocolate covered strawberries to my cabin. He then continued to recoginize me and gave a big hello every time I ran into him.

I will be on NA again for fourteen days starting 2/20/11 with my partner and hope that all is still the same because I have been raving to him since I got home and he thinks I am exaggerating. I am presently on a protein shake and salad diet so I can again fit comfortably into my cruise clothes before we board in February.

I would be happy to answer any questions or provide more details in any area that I can. I am so happy that NA is at the top of its game and hope my dining experience on Noordam was a fluke because I would still like to sail that ship again but for now I am only thinking of booking NA when sailing with HAL. Thanks for reading my review:D

[shandryl]

I loved your review! thank you for sharing! :D

[cruisun]

I forgot to mention the situation with the room stewards. These guys definately have a lot more work to do than they did just a few years ago. They were working from before 8am until well after 8pm when I was leaving for dinner. Sometimes just one steward was working and when I asked where the other one was I was told that they had to work on cleaning the crew cabins. I think HAL should spend a few bucks and give these VERY hard working employees a reasonable amount of work to do. They were trying so hard to look happy and smile but they were BEAT and often sweating and looked exhauseted.

One funny thing I noticed regarding this situation was that on the last day when I went to get my suitcase out from under the bed there was an array of towel animal bodies:) I suppose they try to save the pieces they can to save a little bit of time.

[Archie's Mom]

Wonderful review. I was on the Noordam last year for a 10-day Caribbean cruise. We had an aft corner suite on deck 7 and it was delightful in every way. I thought the food was a just a bit above par on that cruise. Then we did a transatlantic crossing on Oceania last November, and much to my surprise, the Noordam food beat the Oceania food hands down! I consider myself an addicted foodie and I was simply non-plussed by every meal on the Oceania Regatta, including the fare in the specialty restaurants.

 

Now we are planning the NA transatlantic in October in an aft cabin. The corner suites are already booked, so we took an aft cabin on 5. Did you like the aft cabins on the NA as well as you had the Noordam? Shade on verandah? I am most looking forward to your pictures of the NA taken from the Noordam. Thank you again for your well-written review.

[cruisun]

Wonderful review. I was on the Noordam last year for a 10-day Caribbean cruise. We had an aft corner suite on deck 7 and it was delightful in every way. I thought the food was a just a bit above par on that cruise. Then we did a transatlantic crossing on Oceania last November' date=' and much to my surprise, the Noordam food beat the Oceania food hands down! I consider myself an addicted foodie and I was simply non-plussed by every meal on the Oceania Regatta, including the fare in the specialty restaurants.

 

Now we are planning the NA transatlantic in October in an aft cabin. The corner suites are already booked, so we took an aft cabin on 5. Did you like the aft cabins on the NA as well as you had the Noordam? Shade on verandah? I am most looking forward to your pictures of the NA taken from the Noordam. Thank you again for your well-written review.[/quote']

 

I actually liked the aft cabin and veranda on the NA more than on Noordam. The cabin is several feet longer and the balcony is a few feet shorter BUT the balconies on NA are more private. The balcony was about 1/4 uncovered but of course there were times when the balcony was in full sun depending on direction we were sailing, time of day, etc. The aft is less staggered on NA and the sound of the wake much louder on deck seven. On five I imagine the sound of the wake is all you will hear. Its definately a piece of heaven!

Interesting that your dining experiences on Oceania were not good. I sailed on the Oceania Nautica in 06 and enjoyed the food very much. Friend of mine were on the Insignia a few months ago and thier opinioin was the same as yours...food not good at all. I guess it really can change from ship to ship and even one sailing to another even when on the same cruise line.

One thing I did not understand on Eurodam and NA is why they eliminated the heavy fabric curtains that provide full room darkening and cooling. The new curtains are a thin sheer material with a lining that does NOT block out light and heat. I would think since they are obviously trying to save energy with the new card inserts that this is a major oversight. The day we docked in Costa Maya the aft was in the sun all day and the cabin got extremely warm even with the curtains closed. The heavy fabric curtains block all light and heat. In addition, while sailing, the light sheer curtains tend to blow out the door and it was difficult not to close them in the door.

[IRL_Joanie]

Great review!!! Glad the photos helped you choose a stateroom (or 2) that was perfect for you:)

 

Welcome home!!

 

Joanie

[cruisun]

Great review!!! Glad the photos helped you choose a stateroom (or 2) that was perfect for you:)

 

Welcome home!!

 

Joanie

 

I am working on posting cabin, balcony and aft pictures for you

[Krazy Kruizers]

I forgot to mention the situation with the room stewards. These guys definately have a lot more work to do than they did just a few years ago. They were working from before 8am until well after 8pm when I was leaving for dinner. Sometimes just one steward was working and when I asked where the other one was I was told that they had to work on cleaning the crew cabins. I think HAL should spend a few bucks and give these VERY hard working employees a reasonable amount of work to do. They were trying so hard to look happy and smile but they were BEAT and often sweating and looked exhauseted.

One funny thing I noticed regarding this situation was that on the last day when I went to get my suitcase out from under the bed there was an array of towel animal bodies:) I suppose they try to save the pieces they can to save a little bit of time.

 

Yes -- they are overworked. On both our Ryndam and Nieuw Amsterdam cruises one of our room stewards had to start working at 6 AM polishing and dusting certain parts of the hallways and stairwells before he reported to the cabins at 8 AM. The other steward started at 7:30 -- working alone on the cabins. Neither finished until after 9 PM. Theey had 30 - 34 cabins.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thabnk you for talking about the transfer from one ship to the other ship. You were fortunate that there were 10 of you and HAL provided a bus to transfer all of you.

[cruisun]

I just wish the communication was better. The front desk insisted that we would be walking so the bus was a pleasant surprise! Even though it was just the next dock over it was actually a long distance and there were many builidings, fuel tanks etc between the two.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I know -- this is why I asked.

A few years ago we met a woman on the ship who had to lug her own luggage from one terminal to the other one as she was the only one taking this type of a back-to-back cruise. The porters wouldn't help as they are assigned to a certain terminal.

We could never do it as we always have 4 large suitcases, 2 carryons, a pirse and a backpack.

[cruisun]

I know -- this is why I asked.

 

A few years ago we met a woman on the ship who had to lug her own luggage from one terminal to the other one as she was the only one taking this type of a back-to-back cruise. The porters wouldn't help as they are assigned to a certain terminal.

 

We could never do it as we always have 4 large suitcases, 2 carryons, a pirse and a backpack.

 

Although I only had one LARGE suitcase and a heavy carry on bag I had planned to grab a taxi if the walk looked too long or difficult. Consider taking a taxi if you do this type of B2B in the future. Many taxi were available. The front desk had suggested I tag my luggage for NA and they would transfer it for me but I felt safer keeping the luggage in my possesion due to the conflicting answers they kept giving me and I am happy that I did.

[Cruizer Bill]

Thanks so much for your thoughtful review! After reading it I am now looking up future intineraries for the Nieuw Amsterdam!

[cruisun]

Thanks so much for your thoughtful review! After reading it I am now looking up future intineraries for the Nieuw Amsterdam!

 

I hope you love Nieuw Amsterdam as much as I did/do!!!