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Report from the Noordam - Maiden Voyage

RevNeal

By RevNeal,
in Holland America Line

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sail7seas

sail7seas

Posted
Posted

Stephen....You sailed away without us!!!

 

It was such a joy being with you and Ruth on Noordam. Great dinner; great drinks; great company; gorgeous ship.....what more could anyone want??!!

 

Hope you enjoy every moment aboard Noordam. We look forward to loads of reports from all of you lucky cruisers.

 

Really fun meeting you Greg and Brian. Wished we had the chance to meet the rest of you. Have a wonderful cruise.

 

 

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dsawyer

dsawyer

Posted
Posted

Thanks for your daily update. I am so happy everything is going smoothly and you are all having a good time. :)

 

I, too, am a little disapointed that the new dining policy won't be implemented on this ship. I was looking forward to trying it. However, the last time I cruised on a Holland ship we had the traditional 2 seatings and our dinner was at 8:30 p.m. I am happy that my dinner will now be at 8:00 p.m. and on the upper level.

 

Keep those cards and letters coming. :D (Daily updates)

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LizB1

LizB1

Posted
Posted

Greg...thanks so much for your daily posts. We are enjoying every minute with you and so looking forward to our April 5th sailing on the ship.

 

Stephen, thanks also to you for checking in. The Noordam is a lovely ship although it will take some getting used to for us as this will be our first Vista ship sailing in April. I remember so well the days sailing on the Rotterdam V from NYC to Bermuda/Nassau when I first met you. You were sitting in the Lido with Debbie and her Mom right after her sister had passed away. Then again the pleasure of dancing with you at the Black & White Ball on one of our cruises. Didn't see you again until our 2001 WC when Ed Gassman invited you to the Ocean Bar for drinks...you sure don't change much.

 

Hope you both have a wonderful cruise -- and enjoy that nice warm weather. It is cold here in MA.

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dougnewmanatsea

dougnewmanatsea

Posted
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Greetings, Greg and Stephen!

 

It sounds as though you are all having a wonderful time... And that weather sounds absolutely wonderful. Low 70s, with a nice breeze, at sea on a HAL ship... You are enjoying this and I'm sitting here at home ;) ?

 

Stephen, you mention the Explorations Cafe... How does it compare with that on the S and R ships? It looks rather smaller on NOORDAM, as a direct replacement of the library.

 

I wasn't sure at first what I'd think of it, but I really loved the Explorations Cafe on ROTTERDAM and am curious if you think it is as nice on NOORDAM as on the older ships.

 

Please tell the rest of the CC crew that I say hello :) !

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sail7seas

sail7seas

Posted
Posted

Doug.....

 

We sailed on VODM in October before her SOE drydock. When we returned in January, the Explorations Cafe was completed and was wonderful. I think VODM's is smaller than Noordam's.

 

Noordam's is fabulous. The deep leather chairs are so comfy. They have the headphones for listening and the way they have arranged the seating, it's great for conversations and enjoying a cup of coffee with others.

 

We sat there for a while on Wednesday before the Dedication Ceremony and loved it. We could watch the 'traffic' going by and that is actually where I spotted Greg go by and could get up to say "Hi".

 

The computers are arranged wonderfully. The coffees we had were delicious.

I think they did a beautiful job on NODM's Explorations Cafe.

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calm_seas

calm_seas

Posted
Posted

There is not a lot to add to Greg’s informative accounts of the activities. The ship is truly beautiful. The interior colors are welcoming, soothing, and vibrant all at the same time. Traffic flow seems to be much improved on Promenade Deck and finding one’s way around the ship has proved easier for me than it was on the Oosterdam (although anyone familiar with the Vista ships will quickly adapt). There are about 20 staff and crew from the Veendam (11/26/05) who have transferred, including Cruise Director Jason Venner. With so many people onboard from all the other HAL ships, everyone agrees that it seems like “homecoming” on almost every corner!

 

The Dedication Luncheon and Naming Ceremonies were very exciting and inspiring. S7S and her husband did a beautiful job of representing the Mariners as Ambassadors. They are truly gracious people.

 

We had a superb attendance for the CC’er Get Together yesterday! We were given a warm welcome by Captain John Scott, Hotel Manager Stan Kuppens, and members of his staff. Cruise Director Jason Venner gave a special welcome, indicating how valued CC members are on HAL’s cruises. From our best guess, about 90 percent of those who posted showed up, AND we will even be adding a few new CC names to the boards once they can get to the Internet to sign on!! Attendance is always important since HAL makes a lot of extra preparations to insure that we have a good time. It was great to be able to finally meet the “names”. Special thanks also go to JimandStan for helping coordinate everything and for providing the name badges and the magnetic sleeves with which to post our door signs outside of the cabins. I am sure there are other CC’ers onboard. We would certainly welcome one and all.

 

We are planning a group photo, but that has to be set up for later in the cruise because of the size of our group. Also, there will be a “cabin crawl” so that everyone gets a chance to view many of the categories of staterooms.

 

OK, RevNeal….. Sorry for “hijacking” your thread. From here on, I promise to do my best to refrain from interfering with your postings, and to let “Greg & Co.” take care of the superb running commentary of the activities.

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celmed

celmed

Posted
Posted
I have reread my post from last night (my very 1st here) and understand how Christy could be angered by it. As someone who has been touched by tragedy on a massive scale I feel that at times I can speak in "broad strokes". I appologize to her and all of you for any misinterpertation of my concerns.

 

Apology gladly accepted! No hard feelings!

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

Posted
Posted
Greetings everyone!

 

Explorations Cafe.... 10.25 am

 

 

Just a quick hello and to say all is well. The ship is B E A U T I F U L!!!!

 

Rev Neal is sitting about five feet away from me typing on his laptop!!!!

 

Best,

 

Stephen

 

Good Morning and Greetings Stephen and Ruth, glad you could also report in. Sounds like everyone is really enjoying themselves. What we have seen of the ship it is very beautiful and some Thanks to you as well for your wonderful paintings. You are truly what helps to make the ships beuatiful and I for one just want to Thank You. :)

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LizB1

LizB1

Posted
Posted

Greg and Stephen, et al...will be very anxious to hear your report on Grand Turk. I believe you are there today. Have they already opened the pier or did you have to tender in??

 

Look forward to all your reports as will be there in a few weeks.

 

Liz

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calm_seas

calm_seas

Posted
Posted

OTE=LizB1]Greg and Stephen, et al...will be very anxious to hear your report on Grand Turk. I believe you are there today. Have they already opened the pier or did you have to tender in??

 

Look forward to all your reports as will be there in a few weeks.

 

Liz

 

The pier is open. Capt. Scott carefully positioned the ship to allow disembarkation through the forward gangway (instead of mid-ship), thus helping the pax to traverse less of the long pier. The water is such a beautiful azure that it brings tears to your eyes just to see it! It quickly reminds one of HMC. Clam shells and beach lounge chairs fill the upper part of the white sand beach. All appears ready for the new visitors, although one pax just passed through the lounge saying that "there wasn't any shopping"...... Hopefully, "tourism" won't spoil the pristine view.

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RevNeal

RevNeal

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Greetings!

What PERFECT weather we are having. Mid-70s, bright sun shine, cool breezes! Grand Turk is GREAT ... not yet built up, but one can see that there are going to be a LOT of resort hotels along it's eastern coastline within just a couple of years. Construction is already underway on some of them. There is a nice beach right next to the ship pier ... quite nice. We're about to set sail in just a few minutes and make our way to Tortola.

 

Dress Code Friday Night was Informal. MOST men dressed accordingly, though many (myself included <gasp!>) took our jackets off in the dining room where it was just too hot last night to tolerate.

 

Everything is going well. Vic finally turned up and is fitting right in. I think he's feeling ok, though he didn't make our first Formal Night. Last night Calm_Seas was a bit under the weather and stayed in. Those CCers eating together at the 8:30 dinner time had a blast, however, and ended up in the Norther Lights after the show for dancing. Some of us can really cut a rug! It would appear that I'll have to drag my lazy rear out onto the floor, eventually, but I avoided it last night.

 

I want to echo what others have said, thus far, about the modifications to the Vista class here on the Noordam. WOW. These improvements are amazing, and they REALLY add to the ship. The Explorations Cafe is just fantastic ... it's a VERY popular room, and because of that the coffee bar is being used FAR MORE than it ever was as the Winstar Cafe. The redesign of the Ocean Bar is VERY nice, with many intimate places to sit and chat. The band stand is that cubby hole, and the dance floor out in the middle is large enough for a fairly small group of, perhaps, a dozen dancers. It's nice. I hope the Line incorporates these upgrades on the other Vistas.

 

Friends, sailing as a Cruise Critics group is great fun. It's wonderful to see friends, and even though we've only chatted on line we, nevertheless, feel as though we've been good friends for years. I feel I've solidified friendships that will last for years to come. I only wish Christopher could be here for this.

 

Oooooh ... the ship is starting to vibrate as we prepare to cast off our moorings. At 3 pm today Captain Card (Prinsendam) will be giving a Q & A and book signing for his brand new book that we have here on the Noordam! That's going to be great.

 

As for pictures ... I'm going to try and make a few selections to upload soon. I've been delayed in posting pictures, friends, because we've been SO busy having FUN aboard. :)

 

My best to all of you. I'll try to report back either later tonight or, more likely, sometime tomorrow. I plan on going ashore at Tortola to get some good shots of the ship.

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

Posted
Posted
Thanks for the update RevNeal (and for the update on Vic) Have a great time and cut a rug!:)

 

John basically said it all for me:) Thanks for the update and tell Vic "Hi" from Tom and Lisa. Of course "Hi" to you and everyone else :o I want pictures of your dancing :D

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