How is the Noordam

[floridababa]

Looking to book the Noordam   Need to know the condition of the interiors and also as far as nightly entertainment.  When we sailed her years ago the interiors were drab and there was no music at night. Once the main show the ship was dead

[SilvertoGold]

Interested in knowing about the Noordam, too.  The old Explorations Cafe is not in the Crows Nest on this Vista ship and I think it was redesigned a while ago with the Library.

[floridababa]

I know it was refurbished but still need to know the condition and entertainment

[Wings55]

I'm curious too as we booked an Aus./NZ cruise for early 2024.

[crystalspin]

Dry dock was in February 2022. Hard to find photos newer than that! However between June 2019 and October 2019, there was apparently a "refit" of decor in some areas. 

 

The Promenade deck is shown here, after and before:

https://halfacts.com/vista-class/noordam-promenade-deck/

[cruiser02]

If you search images yu can find photos of the refurbished ship.  The Neptune suites are really nice with new colors and flat screen wall TV  I will be borading on Sunday and can post pictures.  What are you really interested in seeing ?

 

[floridababa]

The ship decor was boring. Also the shop that they had a mannequin wearing an old ladies dress that looked like a housecoat. Pretty bad for a store.

We are looking at October 8 2023 San Diego to Sydney and not sure if  we will be happy. Just got off Island Princess and food, coffee and entertainment was horrible. Also when we were on  Noordam there was no-one out past 10 o'clock cause there was no music of any type

Thank you for your he!p

[SilvertoGold]

2 hours ago, cruiser02 said:

If you search images yu can find photos of the refurbished ship.  The Neptune suites are really nice with new colors and flat screen wall TV  I will be borading on Sunday and can post pictures.  What are you really interested in seeing ?

 

I'd appreciate seeing the Explorations Cafe area, and the Ocean Bar.

[ShipWalker]

Condition of the Noordam is good and the entertainment is the same as on the other HAL ships, in my most humble opinion.

 

Here's a few photos of the Noordam during the Panama Canal cruise right out of dry dock....

 

Remodel on deck 3 forward...

 

New Explorations Cafe on deck 3. The one in the Crows nest is still there, too.

 

Explorations Cafe facing the other direction. Craft table area in the background.

 

One layer of chairs surround the pool instead of two. But never was crowded.

 

 

This here is a secret room I found that is open to all who find it. To my knowledge it is only on the Noordam. I was the only one ever in there. If you find it, keep it to yourself!

 

If you ignore the bacon, you can see the Pinnacle Grill

 

 

Edited August 21, 2022 by ShipWalker

[Wings55]

@ShipWalker Thanks for the photos. Hopefully the cabins have been kept up as nicely as the public spaces. We don't sail HAL for the 'excitement' but rather the good food and excellent service. 🙂

Paul

[SilvertoGold]

3 hours ago, ShipWalker said:

Condition of the Noordam is good and the entertainment is the same as on the other HAL ships, in my most humble opinion.

 

Here's a few photos of the Noordam during the Panama Canal cruise right out of dry dock....

 

Remodel on deck 3 forward...

 

New Explorations Cafe on deck 3. The one in the Crows nest is still there, too.

 

Explorations Cafe facing the other direction. Craft table area in the background.

 

One layer of chairs surround the pool instead of two. But never was crowded.

 

 

This here is a secret room I found that is open to all who find it. To my knowledge it is only on the Noordam. I was the only one ever in there. If you find it, keep it to yourself!

 

If you ignore the bacon, you can see the Pinnacle Grill

 

 

Wow!  These are great photos.  Much appreciated.  I do know the secret room, very nice :)

[floridababa]

Thank you for the photos

Can you tell me if the bars and jazz club are lively till 11 or 12?

[Bristol5]

Looking at Alaska Cruises on the Noordam.  Only Ocean View and Inside cabins are available on Deck 1 (main).  I am concerned about booking because the available cabins are probably located below the Blues Club or Casino.  Does anyone have experience with these cabins on Main, can you hear or feel the music?

[crystalspin]

4 hours ago, Bristol5 said:

Looking at Alaska Cruises on the Noordam.  Only Ocean View and Inside cabins are available on Deck 1 (main).  I am concerned about booking because the available cabins are probably located below the Blues Club or Casino.  Does anyone have experience with these cabins on Main, can you hear or feel the music?

The reason "Only Ocean View and Inside cabins" are available on the Deck 1 is because those are the only cabins on that deck. Compare your choices of cabins and stay well away from the "Queens Lounge and Culinary Arts Center" (between forward and midships elevators) -- in the evening this venue becomes the BBKing Blues Club and yes the bass vibrates down. 

 

This is my own experience on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

Aft of the midships elevators I would avoid port (even-numbered) cabins because all but the aft-most are under the main galley and they run carts to-and-fro all night long. This was our experience on the Zaandam and Volendam.

 

I do not think the casino is as objectionable as the Blues Club or Galley.

[pghflyer]

Thanks for the pictures! Just curious if there is any way to see if your bed will be placed near the Window on Holland America? I looked at my Noordam deck plans and couldn't see anything. It seems not many lines provide that level of detail for some reason.

[richwmn]

9 minutes ago, pghflyer said:

Thanks for the pictures! Just curious if there is any way to see if your bed will be placed near the Window on Holland America? I looked at my Noordam deck plans and couldn't see anything. It seems not many lines provide that level of detail for some reason.

halfacts.com has pictures of many cabins. Look under Vista Class and see if your cabin or a similar one is available. Your cabin on any Vista ship should be the same.

Edited August 23, 2022 by richwmn

[floridababa]

Since she is a small ship, how does it do in rough waters?

[SilvertoGold]

Ooops

Edited August 25, 2022 by SilvertoGold

[SilvertoGold]

Just now, SilvertoGold said:

Transpacific Australia to Vancouver and through the Tasman Sea was fine, very nice ride. These Vista ships take the waves and swells elegantly. This was April and the South Pacific was not calm all the time.

 

[CNSJ]

Just off Noordsam.  She is in great shape.  Carpets and furniture all new.  Very nice chairs in Pinnacle and MDR.

 

Entertainment is standard HAL.....

[SilvertoGold]

36 minutes ago, CNSJ said:

Just off Noordsam.  She is in great shape.  Carpets and furniture all new.  Very nice chairs in Pinnacle and MDR.

 

Entertainment is standard HAL.....

Are the staterooms upgraded at all, especially those peach bathrooms with the shower curtains?!

[crystalspin]

6 hours ago, floridababa said:

Since she is a small ship, how does it do in rough waters?

We did a transatlantic FLL to CPH on the forward Deck 10 (Observation Deck, the highest with cabins) on the Zuiderdam, a sister ship. Very stable, almost no detectable motion. We also spent most of our free time in the Crows Nest even farther forward... and my DH does have a history of motion sickness but not a twinge!

Edited August 25, 2022 by crystalspin

[rj59]

I've been on the Noordam twice since refurbishment, pre and post Covid. The first was Vancouver-Hawaii, where I was in the worst storm I've been in, with waves crashing over my balcony and having to crawl to the bathroom, the ship rising and falling all night like a carnival ride. The second was this April on a coastal. As far as entertainment, there are the music walk venues, but they replaced BB King's blues with Rolling Stone rock. They no longer do production shows, so you get two dance shows which are the same on every ship. Every show and every setlist in every venue is now standardized on every ship, input into ipads by corporate masters. No more piano guy doing requests, no more Adagio classical duos. The crew was 90% male Indonesians and Filipinos, and I went to every bar and saw only one female crew member, which to me is sad and boring. 

 

On the good side, it's one of the few ships remaining with a full promenade, which makes a nice escape when everyone is crowding around the Lido pool. They had a Microsoft computer studio with laptops pre-Covid, but it was empty post-Covid. The coffee bar next to it actually has a small library. I also like that the Crow's Nest hadn't been fitted out with touch screens to sell excursions, so it was fairly quiet and peaceful. 

[CNSJ]

6 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

Are the staterooms upgraded at all, especially those peach bathrooms with the shower curtains?!

The staterooms had new carpet, furniture, TVs and bathroom vanities. All very nice.

[SilvertoGold]

1 hour ago, CNSJ said:

The staterooms had new carpet, furniture, TVs and bathroom vanities. All very nice.

This sounds positive! Thanks for your info.