Noordam - Western Med - any reviews?

[gwilli]

Hi,

 

Those that have sailed on the Noordam Western Med itinerary in the last few weeks - do you have anything you want to tell us? We'll be on the June 10 sailing, and just wondering what you thought about your trip!

 

Happy sailing....................

[rockinjo]

Can't report about recent sailings, but I can tell you we will be on the June 10th sailing with you. It's getting close and we are getting excited!

We are four. . .how big is your party? And how do CC's know each other on board if we don't use our real names on these threads?

 

Have you booked any excursions? We booked the things that looked interesting but will go on our own at several ports. . .Florence, Barcelona in particular. Disappointed that so many museums will be closed in Florence because it is a Monday, but hired our own guide for 3 hours so that we could see as much as possible that is available and not just wander. The Medici Tombs are open and also the Duomo Museum.

 

Been to Barcelona many times on business so I am the appointed "guide" for that city. If you're into going to the beach, there is a really great looking one outside of Palermo that our kids plan to go to. Found it on Google.

 

Joan Spector

[gwilli]

Hi Joan,

 

I've been watching your posts! Can't wait to go! There will be two of us - celebrating our 30th anniversary on this cruise! User99 is off on the first leg of their back-2-back. He & his wife are with a large group. I met him on the cc boards - and will meet them on the ship. I'm pretty sure that we will try to meet on Sunday at 10:00 AM in the Crow's Nest. Please try to join us there!

 

We've booked excursions at all ports except Naples, where we had a friend put together a private tour for us. We're not doing a lot of the typical tours - we chose the ones that take you into the countryside to see and sample tastes of the region.

 

I was hoping that someone from one of the first Med cruises would have posted so we could get some idea of how things are going on this new itinerary. I guess we'll have to see for ourselves!

 

It's only a few days now.......

 

Happy sailing,

Gail

[unclerich]

Hi,

 

Those that have sailed on the Noordam Western Med itinerary in the last few weeks - do you have anything you want to tell us? We'll be on the June 10 sailing, and just wondering what you thought about your trip!

 

Happy sailing....................

 

Quick report - just got home from the Noordam 5/21 - 5/31 Western Med. Overall cruise experience was wonderful. Ports of call terrific. Weather perfect - mostly 70's, sunshine - no more than a spot of rain in Florence for a half hour! We did private tours in Livorno (Florence/Pisa) and Monte Carlo (mostly the beautiful French Riviera - make sure you try to get to Eze, St Paul de Vence). HAL tours in Barcelona, Palermo, Tunisia. Did Capri on our own - very, very easy and beautiful. Did Palma on our own - only mildly disorganized shore experience (cabs/bus spotty service). We stayed in Rome for a couple of days pre-cruise and explored on our own without problem. Hotel was in the Trevi Fountain area.

 

Food and service were fine. A/C could've been a little better. Internet service was awful; frequent outages, very slow connections.

 

Lots of walking and steps in most cities/tours. Definitely wear comfortable shoes if you plan on moving about.

 

ATMs all over, but service charges will add about $3 + 3.5% fee each time - essentially a 10-15 dollar charge.

 

Have a great time - we did!

 

Richard

[rockinjo]

Gail. . .Will definitely make it to the Crow's Nest on Sunday at 10am. We are taking a tour of Nice and Eze at 1:45 so that should work out perfectly. I'll try to bring my daughter Andrea with me. . we are traveling with her son Adam and his fiance (as of tomorrow night, she doesn't know it yet but she's getting her ring then! We are very excited because we really love Amy, she's a doll.)

 

We plan to eat dinner in Monte Carlo that evening. . .any suggestions for a restaurant? I've been there before but can't remember where we ate and since we are in a celebration mood, Adam graduated from law school last week. and this trip is my treat, I want it to be someplace nice.

 

See you soon. Happy sailing and have a good flight over.

 

Joan

[frbob]

The W. Med agenda is excellent. You'll have a great time. My favorite ports were Livorno (Florence), Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona. My least favorite was Tunisia. That said, all were very good. You can do most of the ports safely on your own (except Tunisia). Don't have too many preconceived notions about the ports. Let the nice surprises just happen. Have a great time!!!

[tgio]

We are on the June 10 cruise of Western Med-- we were planning on doing most ports on our own (except palermo where we have a driver)

Is it better to take the ship excursion in Tunisia? I read somewhere that cabs are plentiful--- now I am reconsidering- please advise!

 

Also read on another thread that HAL doesn't provide great infor how to get local transport-- any advice how to get into town in Monaco and Barcleona?

 

THANKS SO MUCH!

[rockinjo]

It's coming fast! Just 4 more days and we are on our way. We booked Tunisia tour because I read that you are better not doing this port on your own. . we're doing Sidi Bou Said & Carthage. It looks like they are already wait-listed on the Tunisia tours so be sure to look into booking as soon as you get on board. You won't have any trouble on your own in Barcelona or Monte Carlo.

 

Happy sailing!

[celmed]

I'll be posting a review of the Noordam Western Med cruise (5/21-31) with port info and pix some time this week.

[unclerich]

We did the Sidi Bou Said/Carthage tour in Tunisia and it was fine. Tunisia will be your hottest day. Make sure to bring sunscreen, water,hat. 'Nobody' recommends doing Tunisia on your own, though there was absolutely no sense of danger on the tour. Use your best bargaining skills here!

 

Barcelona is exceptionally easy to get around. Besides the oft touted tour buses, cabs are plentiful and convenient. We did Monte Carlo and the French Riviera sharing a private tour, can't provide much info about local transport, though lots written about nearby trains.

 

Hope this helps. Have a great time.

[tgio]

Thanks everyone- CELMED- can't wait for your trip report

[rockinjo]

Stop by the Crow's Nest on Sunday at 10am and say hello! My name is Joan. What's yours?

[springiv]

We just returned from doing both the Western Med and the Eastern Med (May1st-May22). Both trips were wonderful. The weather was spectacular. We flew to Venice for 5 days at the end of our cruise and had 4 more glorious days, and it rained on our last day. Twenty six straight days of sun and high 70's low 80's with great breezes everyday. By all means wear walking shoes!!!! You will be on very irregular surfaces, lots of steps, and varied grades. These ports are NOT for the walking challenged.

 

We had no problem with the internet service, only once in all the time we were there did we loose a connection. Remember you are at sea, not in your office. Of all the ships we have sailed on, I think the Noordam was the smoothest sailing ship we have ever been on. There were times we did not know if we were even moving.

 

Regards the ports: Monte Carlo: There was another ship in the dock when we arrived and they tenderd the tour people and gave others the opportunity to disembark before we docked. We were supposed to be docked so that we could go ashore around 1:30. As it happened we did not get off until nearly 3 PM. If you have a private tour and this happens again, get off as fast as you can. They were setting up for the Formula 1 Race, and getting around Monte Carlo was a challenge. They will probably still be taking down bleachers on your arrival. We have vacationed on the Riviera several times, do go to Eze or St.Paul de Vence or even Cannes. Cannes is lovely, Nice less so. At Lavorno, there is an option for an all-day do it yourself Florence tour. I highly reccomend it. The bus ride is pleasant(1 1/2 hours in each direction) and you have a guide to take you from the bus to Sante Croche (meeting point for the return since the bus will not be in the same palce as you got off). Call or email ahead for tickets to the Accademia to see David, or for the Efuzi (lines are 3hr wait). Barcelona was a mad house as there were 5 ships in port. Remember the stores are closed from 1-4Pm everyday in most of the ports. If you want to shop do it early, or plan on doing it late and getting a cab to the ship. Watch for pick poclets everywhere!!! Particularly in Barcelona,Mallorca and Naples. We absolutely loved Tunis, and would like to go back. Do a tour, but we did not enjoy the Sid baie Saied. The museum in Tunisia will be open for the ship in the morning. Carthage was terrific, but not for those who have trouble walking. We had a spectacular lunch along the beach in the afternoon with a friend who lives in Tunisia and he took us to the Sook, which is absolutely not to be missed. If you have never been to Pompei then that is the best thing to do in Naples. Get a private tour there, because any of the organized tours are terrible. You have no time to see anything other than what they take you to, and the lines are horrendous. We made that mistake once, and will never do it again. If you have been to Pompei then the trip to Sorrento is lovely. Tom in the Library is a wealth of information, use his expertise, and have a great time! Deb

[rockinjo]

Great review. Thanks for all the info. In Tunis, how do we get to the Sook? Can we go on our own after we return from our morning tour?

We are going to Sidi Said. . .sounds like I better wear my Nike's for that one, no sandals. . . but I do love a good market place. Can you give me some info on how we do it on our own?

[springiv]

What I did not like about the Sidi Said excursion was that after paying for the excursion, you get charged 2 or 3 euros to go thru a "typical" Tunisian house. A rip off. They have post cards for sale here and they are twice as expensive as the shops outside. The people in the shops are VERY aggressive, even chasing people down the street trying to finalize a sale. Some of the ceramics in these shops are nice, and I did not see any like them in the Souk. We spent about an hour and a half here, and 30 minutes would have been more than plenty. Since we were rushed thru the ancient Carthage, the time would have been better spent there. To get to the souk you can take a cab. I saw on one revew that someone had trouble with cabs. There was a large cab line, and the people we spoke with while waiting for our friend to pick us up, spoke very good English. Amine (our friend) told us that almost everyone speaks Arabic, French and English. We certainly found that to be true. Our guide that morning also spoke Italian and Russian. Allow for an hour to get back to the ship because traffic in the afternoon is heavy. This will also be the hottest place on the cruise, but remember you are in an Arabic country, women should not wear shorts and skimpy tops. You will not see many women (Ithink I saw 4 or 5) totally covered, but they dress conservatively.