Noordam 10/14 : Great Cruise

[houscottio]

I am not going to be as entertaining as TomC,but here goes:

1. Embarkation- Difficult as to the inspections. We were told it could be up to 2 hours, but it turned out to be only 45min. until we were allowed to stand in line. The check in line said Internet Check in where my documents said Express check in, This confused some people as they did not know what the Internet was.

2.Cabin-Outside Obstructed 4094: Turns out we had tender boat 12 outside our window-the bow- and we had at least 1/2 of an ocean view through our floor to ceiling windows.Category G was well organized where all our luggage fit under the bed, and we had absolutely no complaints. The A/C was the best I have experienced to date as we are from Texas and if the A/C is not on something is wrong.The Toilet: Once. We pushed the high tech wide button and we heard no sound-we were in port and I advised to wait until we were underway again to call Maintenance- and then mysteriously while we were entranced with the Brazilian TV ads on CNN, we heard a sound from the bathroom which meant that our problem disappeared.

3. Dining- Wonderful. The flex time for dinner works for me. Maitre'd was very nice as our original table looked like it would be crowded, and we had originally requested a table for 2 so we requested on the first night to be changed. He accommodated us and gave us a 4 top for 2 people. I think this was possible as cruise was not sold out. He said they only had about

50 tables for two in the Vista on the lower level.

It turns out that as I was sitting alone at my 4 top table on one formal night I was adopted by some very nice Canadians and New Yorkers who wondered who that man was in the tux sitting alone at the big table and came over and invited me to table 128. We stayed together the rest of the cruise, and my original waiter Sunata worked both tables.

I though the food was excellent. The fresh-baked breads and the overall choices were good- I have a lamb addiction and I think they offered it 4 times on the dinner menus. Desserts were great fun as they offered a warm chocolate torte which was outstanding. Lunch was good also although it was open seating at lunch and we sat with an Argentinian couple who informed us that Fergie was of Argentine blood.( I did not want to Google this however.) The Lido was somewhat crowded at peak times, but I did not find it to be unacceptable. The Coffee machines were welcoming and abundant and I only had to press the cup icon once to ensure a full cup.

The ice cream was available almost always through the day, and I will say that it was one of the best qualities of the Lido.

4. Ship Public Areas- There is nothing as great as a new ship. The colors and the design-Mostly muted, and NO neon , gave me the feel that I had on the QE2, as the designers were looking for a classical feel.

There were plently of curved sofas and individual areas to read a book without crowding or listening to loud music from an adjacent area.

There were string musicians as you went to dinner which reinforced this feeling.When you have a new ship, the leather you sit on does not have the imprint of many others which makes you want to sit taller and take notice of other surroundings. The Explorations Library was outstanding with many individual chairs that were overstuffed and comfortable. There were many other design elements that I would give kudos to but this is not Architectural Digest.

5. Decks: Underused I guess to the number of Verandahs available. I spent a great deal of time on Decks 9 and 10 including the breathtaking sailaway from New York as the lights were coming on in the city-which we would not have seen except that the inspections delayed the sailaway. I did not see any chair hogging where I was but I was not in the pool areas.

6. Crows Nest: Spent a lot of time there and there were some big captains chairs that were always in demand. Great place to look at the ports before you went shoreside.

7. Entertainment: Spent alot of time in the piano bar with Randall Powell who was outstanding, especially on the night he did Broadway classics.

As I am a theatergoer , I went to one show where one guy tried to imitate Freddie Mercury from Queen, and that was the end of the shows for me.

8.Staff: More than helpful, I think 2 cabin stewards serviced our room as it seemed that one could not be that quick. Front Office was helpful and Shore Excursion staff were also good.

9. Complaints: Minor: Imagine a pool. Imagine the temperature outside being 83 degrees with high humidity. Imagine a chlorine smell from the pool.

Imagine a dessert extravaganza in the middle as the ice sculptures melt.

Please move to the Lido or Dining room in the Carribean.

10.I am sorry that the Noordam is not going to do the Vancouver/Alaska route rather than the Seattle one, as I would like to sail on her again-anytime.............................................

 

 

 

Scottio :D

[tomc]

Scottio --

 

For my money, a very good review. You picked up on a lot of things I either didn't mention, or missed entirely. The Noordam is quite the ship and my fears about her size were quite mistaken. Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

[AAAAmerican]

Hi,

 

Your number One Post here and its your fourth not a fifth... well I do know people shall adore.

 

Well done and said even though my name is not Ned. You do use your head.

 

The ship ms Noordam IV is quite nice as even better than sugar and spice.

 

Hope you left her in good order for the next groups too as we climb on aboard her again soon in November too.

 

Very nice commentary . Kudos~^~!^^^~WWwww^^^~^~:cool:

 

Two Thumbs Up!^!^

[hammybee]

Well crafted and carefully thought out review to zig where TomC zagged.

 

I too have noticed that no matter how full a ship is , it almost never seems crowded and am inclined to think this was because of balconies and people make use of tem instead of public areas, as they once did.

 

Glad to hear you got adopted as a tux makes a man irresitable :)

 

Thanks for making the time to share your experience with us.

[nykid]

Between the reviews from you, TomC, Rev. Neal and others, I feel that I am REALLY going to enjoy my Noordam Panama Canal cruise in April, 2007. All of you have answered a lot of my questions, and six months seems so far away. I'll probably get more excited as the date gets closer. Thanks for the great report.:)

[GMoney]

Thanks very much for your review

[Big Al B.]

I'm not sure if I am happy about these Noordam reviews. Now it's going to be even harder waiting almost a year :D.

[Namvet4]

Thank you Scottio... Excellent review and answered ,for me, some key questions. :)

[thomasale]

I agree with your asessment on the balconies. In looking at the sister ship the Westerdam in HMC a week ago I was amazed at the number of Balconies.

 

I would also like to say that I think HAL has the most beautiful ships afloat today. Their lines are classic and shape is not to be beaten. The view from HMC with the Westerdam and Volendam side by side was quite a site...

[turia]

Thanks for the post you and the Tomc and the other person that gave descriptions of your trip, they have been very enlightening. I do have a question about air conditioning as I like my temperature about 70 and the first cruise we went on I was cold most of the time. How cold is it on the ship.