Noordam Jan. 7 -- Jan. 28 Review

['The Bear']

This is a repeat of our 2012 cruise, the same ship, thus the same ports, so obviously we enjoyed last year’s cruise. As usual we found the Noordam to be clean and friendly. We have never had mediocre service on the Noordam, always friendly, first-class service. One suggested improvement would be the addition of the ‘day of the week’ floor mats to the elevators.

Dining

The only downside of the 2012 cruise involved late, fixed seating food service delays. To the uninformed it appeared that the galley couldn’t efficiently handle the sudden influx of passengers at one time. For that reason we booked open dining and hedged our bet with 8 Pinnacle Grill dinners. The Pinnacle Grill was always a treat, friendly competent service, great food and exquisitely presented and the open seating dining was an eye opener. Not only could we arrange for a table for two with the same wait team for the duration; but also the delivery of food was the quickest that I have ever experienced in all my previous HAL cruises. I hesitate to comment on food quality because it is so subjective, but I was certainly satisfied with my choices.

Entertainment

Entertainment in the Vista Lounge was spotty at best; it’s not a deal breaker for me because I seldom attend more than half of the performances. The pianist at the Piano Bar sounded good in passing, and he drew a good crowd, but I never attended due to the smoke carryover from the casino. Keeping me out of the casino though is a good thing for my pocketbook! The guitarist in the Crow’s Nest had a good and varied repertoire for the age of the crowd attending and we spent most of our evenings at that venue.

Half Moon Cay

I always loved this stop because it was pristine and untouched. We arrived the first time to inclement weather, which quickly changed to a downpour which lasted about an hour. Since we were sharing this stop with the Maasdam, it was probably going to be crowded, and we since we couldn’t get a clam-shell (failed to pre-book), and it was raining, we took Yogi Berra’s advice – “No one goes there anymore; it’s too crowded!” so we stayed on board.

I did notice the three new two storey cabanas, (with 2 others being constructed) wedged in adjacent to the faux shipwreck bar and comfortably removed from the private cabana/convention center for 25, and decided that this place had become quite ‘tacky’. I imagine though, that all this new construction will fit right in once they assemble the Ferris wheel and Rollercoaster! As an aside, thankfully the beach didn’t appear to be eroded by the hurricane last fall.

We enjoy the mix of ports visited, but the itinerary is normally not important as long as we are not sailing the western Caribbean

[cruz chic]

Thanks for the review! Could you be a little more prompt next time:D;)?

[Himself]

Thanks for the review

[mamaofami]

Thanks for the review. Your comments about anytime dining are interesting. We are wait listed for fix dining and may have to go to anytime. Nice to know you could get the same table and waiters.

[Minoushka]

We too just returned from the same cruise , i agree anytime dining was great because i chose my table and got to keep it every night . Ash our waiter was the best ...very attentive .An Irishgroup took all late diningthe first cruise and a Scottish group the second

i liked Hal but will not go back until they alter their smokingpolicy .We had a cigar smoker nearby and he chose to puff on his very smelly extensions every day forcing us inside or to escape ourbalcony cabin...not fair hs pleasure ruinedmine and my neighbours

We were told the policy is in process of changing .....I hope like other cruise lines they restrict smoking to specific higher deck outdoorvenues

The casino reeked and made me cough even just passingthrough

 

As usual staff wasvery nice and friendly .cabins were adequate beds comfy

Some parts of the ship were quite cool abd my penguin sweater came in handy .Loved adagio strings and many entertainers

Found production shows lacking pizzzazz and decor even though they had great singers

bBq from st lucia lovely ...sceniccruising is wonderful with commentary

 

Loved our ports Kudos to woodwind tours in Bonaire Wow that reef was marvellous

loved champagne reef and Oceans asventure ...jorge was the best

 

 

Loved our ports loved the sites we will return to Southern Caribbean It is wonderful

 

Michele

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying both reviews............:D

[portofrome]

Thanks for your reviews.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for sharing; when DW and I were on the Noordam we had a Suite so we ate a lot of our meals in the cabin or on the Verandah, and I must say we had the best room service of any cruise that we have taken.

[erewhon]

Thank you both for your reviews of the Noordam cruise.

[sapper1]

Nice to see you posting again. I am glad to see you had a great cruise and best of all, you missed out on the deep freeze we have been "enjoying" here at home.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Krazy Kruizers]

We too just returned from the same cruise , i agree anytime dining was great because i chose my table and got to keep it every night . Ash our waiter was the best ...very attentive .An Irishgroup took all late diningthe first cruise and a Scottish group the second

i liked Hal but will not go back until they alter their smokingpolicy .We had a cigar smoker nearby and he chose to puff on his very smelly extensions every day forcing us inside or to escape ourbalcony cabin...not fair hs pleasure ruinedmine and my neighbours

We were told the policy is in process of changing .....I hope like other cruise lines they restrict smoking to specific higher deck outdoorvenues

The casino reeked and made me cough even just passingthrough

 

As usual staff wasvery nice and friendly .cabins were adequate beds comfy

Some parts of the ship were quite cool abd my penguin sweater came in handy .Loved adagio strings and many entertainers

Found production shows lacking pizzzazz and decor even though they had great singers

bBq from st lucia lovely ...sceniccruising is wonderful with commentary

 

Loved our ports Kudos to woodwind tours in Bonaire Wow that reef was marvellous

loved champagne reef and Oceans asventure ...jorge was the best

 

 

Loved our ports loved the sites we will return to Southern Caribbean It is wonderful

 

Michele

 

Glad you loved your ports and sights.

Sorry that the smoking bothered you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We too just returned from the same cruise , i agree anytime dining was great because i chose my table and got to keep it every night . Ash our waiter was the best ...very attentive .An Irishgroup took all late diningthe first cruise and a Scottish group the second

i liked Hal but will not go back until they alter their smokingpolicy .We had a cigar smoker nearby and he chose to puff on his very smelly extensions every day forcing us inside or to escape ourbalcony cabin...not fair hs pleasure ruinedmine and my neighbours

We were told the policy is in process of changing .....I hope like other cruise lines they restrict smoking to specific higher deck outdoorvenues

The casino reeked and made me cough even just passingthrough

 

As usual staff wasvery nice and friendly .cabins were adequate beds comfy

Some parts of the ship were quite cool abd my penguin sweater came in handy .Loved adagio strings and many entertainers

Found production shows lacking pizzzazz and decor even though they had great singers

bBq from st lucia lovely ...sceniccruising is wonderful with commentary

 

Loved our ports Kudos to woodwind tours in Bonaire Wow that reef was marvellous

loved champagne reef and Oceans asventure ...jorge was the best

 

 

Loved our ports loved the sites we will return to Southern Caribbean It is wonderful

 

Michele

 

Glad you loved your ports and sights.

 

Sorry that the smoking bothered you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

This is a repeat of our 2012 cruise' date=' the same ship, thus the same ports, so obviously we enjoyed last year’s cruise. As usual we found the Noordam to be clean and friendly. We have never had mediocre service on the Noordam, always friendly, first-class service. One suggested improvement would be the addition of the ‘day of the week’ floor mats to the elevators.

Dining

The only downside of the 2012 cruise involved late, fixed seating food service delays. To the uninformed it appeared that the galley couldn’t efficiently handle the sudden influx of passengers at one time. For that reason we booked open dining and hedged our bet with 8 Pinnacle Grill dinners. The Pinnacle Grill was always a treat, friendly competent service, great food and exquisitely presented and the open seating dining was an eye opener. Not only could we arrange for a table for two with the same wait team for the duration; but also the delivery of food was the quickest that I have ever experienced in all my previous HAL cruises. I hesitate to comment on food quality because it is so subjective, but I was certainly satisfied with my choices.

Entertainment

Entertainment in the Vista Lounge was spotty at best; it’s not a deal breaker for me because I seldom attend more than half of the performances. The pianist at the Piano Bar sounded good in passing, and he drew a good crowd, but I never attended due to the smoke carryover from the casino. Keeping me out of the casino though is a good thing for my pocketbook! The guitarist in the Crow’s Nest had a good and varied repertoire for the age of the crowd attending and we spent most of our evenings at that venue.

Half Moon Cay

I always loved this stop because it was pristine and untouched. We arrived the first time to inclement weather, which quickly changed to a downpour which lasted about an hour. Since we were sharing this stop with the Maasdam, it was probably going to be crowded, and we since we couldn’t get a clam-shell (failed to pre-book), and it was raining, we took Yogi Berra’s advice – “No one goes there anymore; it’s too crowded!” so we stayed on board.

I did notice the three new two storey cabanas, (with 2 others being constructed) wedged in adjacent to the faux shipwreck bar and comfortably removed from the private cabana/convention center for 25, and decided that this place had become quite ‘tacky’. I imagine though, that all this new construction will fit right in once they assemble the Ferris wheel and Rollercoaster! As an aside, thankfully the beach didn’t appear to be eroded by the hurricane last fall.

We enjoy the mix of ports visited, but the itinerary is normally not important as long as we are not sailing the western Caribbean[/quote']

 

Thank you for your review.

 

Loved your sense of humor.

['The Bear']

Sapper -- Yes, it always makes the winter trip more enjoyable when it's miserably cold at home! Hope it wasn't quite as cold in the 'port' city as it was up north.

 

Our cruise was extremely smooth and enjoyable; and as resistant to change as I am, I was extremely impressed with open seating dining.

 

I'm resting at Melbourne as long as possible before driving home and confronting the cold !!

[cruz chic]

I'm glad the open dining was working well. I'm on convert to open dining too. My last cruise on the N.A. had issues in the open.

[CruiserTarheel]

We too just returned from the same cruise , i agree anytime dining was great because i chose my table and got to keep it every night . Ash our waiter was the best ...very attentive .An Irishgroup took all late diningthe first cruise and a Scottish group the second

i liked Hal but will not go back until they alter their smokingpolicy .We had a cigar smoker nearby and he chose to puff on his very smelly extensions every day forcing us inside or to escape ourbalcony cabin...not fair hs pleasure ruinedmine and my neighbours

We were told the policy is in process of changing .....I hope like other cruise lines they restrict smoking to specific higher deck outdoorvenues

The casino reeked and made me cough even just passingthrough

 

As usual staff wasvery nice and friendly .cabins were adequate beds comfy

Some parts of the ship were quite cool abd my penguin sweater came in handy .Loved adagio strings and many entertainers

Found production shows lacking pizzzazz and decor even though they had great singers

bBq from st lucia lovely ...sceniccruising is wonderful with commentary

 

Loved our ports Kudos to woodwind tours in Bonaire Wow that reef was marvellous

loved champagne reef and Oceans asventure ...jorge was the best

 

 

Loved our ports loved the sites we will return to Southern Caribbean It is wonderful

 

Michele

 

One correction to your post:

 

The Scottish group only took up approximately 10% of the tables for the late seating on the 1/18 - 1/28 cruise. The rest of us at that seating were treated to their entrance with kilts and bagpipes on all three formal nights. They were an enjoyable group (as were the dulcimer, fiddle enthusiasts who jammed every evening in the Hudson Room).

[Minoushka]

One correction to your post:

 

The Scottish group only took up approximately 10% of the tables for the late seating on the 1/18 - 1/28 cruise. The rest of us at that seating were treated to their entrance with kilts and bagpipes on all three formal nights. They were an enjoyable group (as were the dulcimer, fiddle enthusiasts who jammed every evening in the Hudson Room).

 

We were told no room so we stayed with anytime which worked out very well .i actually enjoyed meeting different people every night ...very enjoyable

I liked hearing the bagpipes and went to the shows the musician pax put on ...loved the Celtic instruments ...what a big happy group ...Lovely!!

[horseymike]

Thanks for your review. We were on Noordam Dec 17th -27th. Enjoyed it.

 

We found the staff very professional and friendly. If something was not quite

 

right they did their best to rectify it. Our fellow passengers were also quite

 

pleasant for the most part. Captain John Scott was also very visible and

 

personable.:)