Live from the Noordam - Transatlantic - NY to Rome

[Sea Island Lady]

IIRC it was an appetizer.

Yum!!! Now, I could problem stomach it as an appetizer. :D

[waiting2retire]

Zippercat,

 

Captain Mateboer's book is available on the Noordam, and when we were on it in November, he held a booksigning event, so watch the dailies to go and have it signed.

 

Bonnie

[cruiserking]

We pulled away from the Dock Yark pier at 6:15 this evening. One very long blast from the Noordam's horn and we turned 360 degrees, the propulsion system churning up great clouds of sand from the ocean floor. In New York when the Noordam leaves port there are always three sharp horn blasts, interesting.

 

As of 11:11 pm we have traveled 79.5 miles from Bermuda with 2335 nautical miles to go until we reach Funchal, Madeira on Sunday April 13. One little quibble we Cruise Critics have had concerns the new production show times in the Vista Lounge. Last January shows were at 8 & 10 pm. So whether you dined early or late you could easily make the show.

 

Now however, the shows are performed at 7 & 9 pm. It's just not the same going to see a show before dinner, especially if you like the extra time to get ready for dinner and or enjoy a cocktail in the Ocean Bar. We're thinking HAL wants to see the Casino filled at 10 pm, which is basically what is happening. It's gangbusters down there right now.

 

Otherwise, no complaints, smooth seas, tremendous service, delicious meals, gorgeous ship. Whether we're tendering into port, relaxing on the balcony, exploring a new port, the same phrase pops to mind, "this never gets old" We're all very lucky to experience this wonderful mode of travel called cruising.

 

I am savoring every facet of this trip and this ship. I love the sounds, the smells, the rush of air from an exhaust fan as you round the promenade deck, the conveyor box a HAL deck man glides by on an and scrubs the Lido windows with a very thin brush. The immaculate officers adorned in their starched white uniforms, the hum of machinery, the gentle rumble of the engines beneath the Vista Restaurant.

 

Tomorrow night is formal night aboard the Noordam it will be fun to see the atmosphere bump up another notch as elegance and finery are the trademark of the evening. The ship is so still right now, only the inky blackness of the night sky surrounding us. It is as if we are a ship of another kind spiraling through space, in a way I suppose we are.

 

Jonathan

[Peggy Sue]

Congratulations!!!! Enjoy your honeymoon .. .and thank you for sharing your on-board and port experiences .. Excellent!

 

Your cake was amazing! I don't know if I could have brought myself to actually cut the cake ... You said the cake was back in your home ...when you cut the cake, which section of the ship was cut? The baker/designer really did a fantastic job!

 

Your guests were able to board the ship for the wedding? Did they escort everyone off before they started boarding the other passengers? Have a technical question ... Did the captain marry you? I've heard people say a captain doesn't really have the power to marry anyone ..so can you set the record straight for me. Thank you! So, tell me ....did they have to drag your guests off the ship? I imagine after boarding for your wedding many of them were wishing they were going to be able to sail with you!!

 

Loved the candid shot of the two of you!

 

Enjoy your days at sea, and the upcoming formal evening!

 

Peggy

[Table 147]

We were wedding guests of Elene & Jonathan. It was a beautiful day. The sun came out and blessed the day. Wedding guests boarded the Noordam at about 11:30 am. We were able to take a quick walk around the ship before any other passengers were boarded. Very strange to be walking the halls with no one else on board. The wedding was in the Vista Lounge followed by the reception in the Crow's Nest. Elene & Jonathan were married by a Rabbi that I believe they arranged. The Captain can't marry anyone and the ceremony must take place in port. As guests, we had to leave by 3:30 -3:45 pm. Yes, it was very sad to be on the Noordam and then leave without sailing. Jim & I sailed on her in Jan. 07 (with the bride & groom) and again this past January. We will greatly miss the Noordam sailing in and out of NYC. We live on the harbor, almost under the VN Bridge so we watch her sailing evry 10 days or so.

 

JoAnn

[innlady1]

Was this a side, or the main entree? I can get Mac and Cheese at Cracker Barrel...I want something a little more gourmet on a cruise. :D

 

I think it was an entree, but don't quote me on that! Plenty of "gourmet" options on the menu always...don't worry...you'll have lots to choose from.

I was surprised to see so many people ordering the mac and cheese, but there were lots.

[innlady1]

We were wedding guests of Elene & Jonathan. It was a beautiful day. The sun came out and blessed the day. Wedding guests boarded the Noordam at about 11:30 am. We were able to take a quick walk around the ship before any other passengers were boarded. Very strange to be walking the halls with no one else on board. The wedding was in the Vista Lounge followed by the reception in the Crow's Nest. Elene & Jonathan were married by a Rabbi that I believe they arranged. The Captain can't marry anyone and the ceremony must take place in port. As guests, we had to leave by 3:30 -3:45 pm. Yes, it was very sad to be on the Noordam and then leave without sailing. Jim & I sailed on her in Jan. 07 (with the bride & groom) and again this past January. We will greatly miss the Noordam sailing in and out of NYC. We live on the harbor, almost under the VN Bridge so we watch her sailing evry 10 days or so.

 

JoAnn

 

Thanks for coming on and explaining that, JoAnn! How many guests were they "allowed" to have, or doesn't it matter?

You will miss being able to see the Noordam every 10 or 11 days...and miss the ease of sailing out of NYC on her. We will miss not being able to sail from NYC, too.

[innlady1]

Was this a side, or the main entree? I can get Mac and Cheese at Cracker Barrel...I want something a little more gourmet on a cruise. :D

 

Don't be concerned about appetizers vs. entrees and the order of things. If you want, you can choose all appetizers (as an entree), two entrees, etc. The wait staff will bring you whatever you want.

One evening, I was torn between the beef wellington and something else (maybe rack of lamb?). The waiter brought one of each...I was mortified...and could only eat a little of each. He was concerned that I didn't like it!

The escargot is my very favorite...and offered on one of the formal nights. The next night, the waiter surprised me with another...he had "saved" one for me!

Re the mac and cheese, every so often they have something a little funky on the menu like this...but most entrees are more elegant.

[Table 147]

Sheila,

 

Elene & Jonathan had a about 50 or so guests at the wedding. It was a very comfortable number for the Crow's Nest. The food was wonderful, hot and cold buffet and as usual the staff was excellent. The bar service was fantastic. Great fun!

 

JoAnn

[Sea Island Lady]

Don't be concerned about appetizers vs. entrees and the order of things. If you want, you can choose all appetizers (as an entree), two entrees, etc. The wait staff will bring you whatever you want.

 

One evening, I was torn between the beef wellington and something else (maybe rack of lamb?). The waiter brought one of each...I was mortified...and could only eat a little of each. He was concerned that I didn't like it!

 

The escargot is my very favorite...and offered on one of the formal nights. The next night, the waiter surprised me with another...he had "saved" one for me!

 

Re the mac and cheese, every so often they have something a little funky on the menu like this...but most entrees are more elegant.

 

 

 

Escargot and lamb are my favorites!

 

Also, I have been known to get 2 appetizers, but no soup or salad. I always choose an entree, but by the time it comes, I am not that hungry...especially if I have a salad first. of course, then it is a struggle to eat dessert. :)

[sfnew2sail]

Thanks so much for this live thread from the Noordam. My husband and I have never sailed before, but we are sailing the Noordam around Italy in June with my husband's company. It will be a "chartered" (I don't know another word to use) cruise, exclusively for his company. We are really excited. Thanks for guiding the Noordam safely to Rome!

[Boytjie]

Thanks so much for this live thread from the Noordam. My husband and I have never sailed before, but we are sailing the Noordam around Italy in June with my husband's company. It will be a "chartered" (I don't know another word to use) cruise, exclusively for his company. We are really excited. Thanks for guiding the Noordam safely to Rome!

 

That's the correct word - chartered! Welcome to Cruise Critic and enjoy that first cruise.

[cruiserking]

A thick cloud bank continues to hang over us as we steam for Europe. We have sailed some 320 nautical miles since departing Bermuda last night at 6:15 pm. The seas are moderate, but, there remains the ever present bounce and pitch. Though I must say it's not unlike learning an obscure dance step, after about three days of this rolling sea you get used to it. You seem to know where to place your foot as you traverse the decks and there is much less leering back and forth.

 

This morning I took several spins around the promenade deck. The ocean color has morphed from the tropical turquoise of Bermuda to the much darker, royal blue shade of the Atlantic. It is about 65 degrees and there has been intermittent rain. The Bermudians who boarded yesterday had their Muster Drill this morning, I passed them during my stroll. Carol and Thelma who boarded yesterday didn't quite have their footing yet, so I helped them back to the nearest door to deck 3.

 

The skies seem to be brightning a bit. The sun peeked through earlier but just a white globe buried in a shroud of cloud cover. Most of the passengers are seeking refuge in the Explorations Cafe, the Lido Pool. Trivia today at the Crows Nest was loaded with people. There is a great feeling of excitement with the exotic ports looming ahead of us. As jewels of sunlight reflected of the harbor waters late yesterday, the words of Captain Materboer set the tone for the thrill we all felt "At 6:15 tonight we shall set sail for Europe."

 

Bingo this morning was rather dull, the cash prizes were less than scintillating amounts. A meager $79 to the victor. Adam Dyer our Cruise Director is doing a fine job, he is sharp, funny and very professional. However, some of his cohorts are not quite up to par. We are bit miffed that we will only be having three formal nights now on this 17-day voyage. I thought the standard was two per week.

 

The Tropical Cable Car is the drink of the day, it is a very tasty beverage made with rum. It is smooth, refreshing and served in a chilled martini glass.

 

The casinos are pretty miserable, I fared much better last January. In fact the next hull painting of the Noordam..I paid for.

 

Aparently, there was a left over bottle of bubbly from our wedding at the Crows Nest. Having just completed trivia we found ourselves in the company of six of our good Cruise Critic Pals. In the interest of not carrying another heavy item back to the USA. We ordered six champagne glasses and made happy toasts in the Oak Room as a light rain fell upon the outside decks.

 

Several cruising friends spotted a medium sized tanker heading for Bermuda, earlier today. A few nights ago I noticed a still light hanging high above the sea. I became spellbound with anticipation wondering from where this other worldly light was emanating. A second later I realized it was only the reflection of light from our door's peep hole.

 

It is almost time for me to inspect the ice cream in the Lido and make absolutely sure it is still cold. It was perfectly cold yesterday even with assorted toppings. I must away now to further my research.

 

Jonathan

[sail7seas]

Wonderful reports, Jonathan. Really enjoying reading them.

 

[Sea Island Lady]

sfnew2sail - How nice! Do lot's of research in the next couple of months. :)

When in June is your cruise? We cruise on June 8th - 18th.

[Rhea58]

Best wishes to you and your "new wife" ... do trust you will have a wonderful honeymoon.

 

Re your statement:

 

Adam Dyer our Cruise Director is doing a fine job, he is sharp, funny and very professional. However, some of his cohorts are not quite up to par.

 

Were you referring to the 4 gals who are on his staff? Recently on the

Noordam so am curious ...thanks in advance.

[sfnew2sail]

Sea Island Lady, I've been LOTS of research lately:the ship, ports of call, food on the ship, etc. Not to mention, sea sick remedies! LOL My husband is positive he'll be sick the whole time! But I'm taking everything but the proverbial kitchen sink to make sure he's comfortable.

 

Our cruise starts on June 18th. We'll sail for 7 days and then will have 3 nights in Rome. Where will you be sailing? And will you be on the Noordam?

[Sea Island Lady]

Yes, we cruise on the Noordam. Will be getting off, as you get on. :(

 

We will also spend three days (1 pre-cruise and 2 post) in Rome.

 

How nice of your husbands work to give their employees a cruise vacation. We have found that Meclizine works the best for sea sickness. Take it BEFORE you start the cruise. I like to take 1/2 pill, because a whole pill makes me sleepy in the evening.

 

Ours is a 10 day to the following ports.

Dubrovnik, Croatia - Corfu, Greece - Katakolon, Greece - Santorini, Greece - Kusadasi (Ephesus) Turkey - AT SEA - Valletta, Malta - Messina, Sicily

[sfnew2sail]

Sea Island Lady, maybe we can wave to each other as we embark/disembark LOL!

 

Actually, my husband won this trip through his company. It's an incentives gift for sales. He's with a well-known insurance company. They've offered cruises before, but we've never taken them because of my husband's "fear" of ships. To my knowledge, the only boat he's been on was a ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar on one of our company trips. That was AWFUL!!! I'm so surprised he booked this cruise, but it's something I've always wanted to do. Needless to say, I'm elated! I think it's going to be a trip of a lifetime.

 

Thanks for the advice on the seasick meds. I was planning to take some Bonine with me. My doctor is also giving us a script for the patch. And I'm taking some ginger pills with us. I plan to start with the strap that goes on the wrist. If that doesn't help, I'll try something else. We won't use all of it, of course! That might be counter-productive LOL. I just really want my husband to enjoy himself so much, he'll want to sail again!

[Sea Island Lady]

Sea Island Lady, maybe we can wave to each other as we embark/disembark LOL!

 

Actually, my husband won this trip through his company. It's an incentives gift for sales. He's with a well-known insurance company. They've offered cruises before, but we've never taken them because of my husband's "fear" of ships. To my knowledge, the only boat he's been on was a ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar on one of our company trips. That was AWFUL!!! I'm so surprised he booked this cruise, but it's something I've always wanted to do. Needless to say, I'm elated! I think it's going to be a trip of a lifetime.

 

Thanks for the advice on the seasick meds. I was planning to take some Bonine with me. My doctor is also giving us a script for the patch. And I'm taking some ginger pills with us. I plan to start with the strap that goes on the wrist. If that doesn't help, I'll try something else. We won't use all of it, of course! That might be counter-productive LOL. I just really want my husband to enjoy himself so much, he'll want to sail again!

I don't want to take over cruiserking thread, so perhaps you can post another thread on this forum, with any questions you might have. :)

[innlady1]

I don't want to take over cruiserking thread, so perhaps you can post another thread on this forum, with any questions you might have. :)

 

Good advice, Sea Island Lady...it gets confusing when one thread goes into a whole different topic.

 

And, this is, after all, Cruiserking's thread for their 17 day, transatlantic crossing on the Noordam, leaving NYC on 4/5...for their honeymoon!

 

Not fair to hijack his thread...and it's easy enough to start a new one!

[sfnew2sail]

Oops! Sorry, Cruiseking! Didn't mean to hijack! Please forgive.

 

Look forward to reading about this cruise everyday. Keep the posts coming.

[gf42]

Hello on the Noordam,

 

Are there any cabin locations on the ship to avoid ? I once had an oceanview cabin on another ship, that had the jogging track right outside my window. How are the dining times working out and coordinating with show times ?

[cruiserking]

Thank you very much for the lovely comments, Sail and Sfnew2sail, I really appreciate it. Also, thanks to Sea Island Lady, Inn Lady & Sfnew2sail for starting a new thread for misc. questions and not hijacking this one, lovely folks you all are!!!

 

Well, today the seas have calmed down yet, we are still bobbing and teetering across the sea. We have now traveled 800 nautical miles since leaving Bermuda, with 1222 miles until we reach Funchal, Madeira. The ocean depth we are currently cruising over is 15,000 feet or 2 miles deep.

 

Earlier today, some Cruise Critics friends of ours spotted a school of dolphins cavorting off of the starboard bow. Very whimsical creatures, they always seem as if they are smiling. Last night the Noordam sparkled with sequins, baubles and tuxedo clad men. One gent had even adorned a sort of Kimono. The traditional picture pose with the captain was 86'ed in favor of what they now refer to a Salute to the Captain.

 

We all trooped into the Vista Lounge, champagne flutes bubbled with the fizzy victual. It was quite a sight to see everyone decked out in all of they finery. Captain Mateboer introduced his officers, commented that our glasses appeared empty and then at the cue a fleet of HAL waiters adorned in traditional tails descended from the stairs that flanked either side of the stage and began topping off our glasses. Two such servers held large prop Champagne bottles and at the appropriate toast moment the giant bottles exploded in a silvery, spray of confetti. It was theatrical, but, we all wondered why we didn't engage in the traditional hand shake moment.

 

I have since learned that the photo opportunity with our captain will take place during the second formal evening. Tonight we have a cocktail hour with the captain in the Crows Nest. The chorus of clouds that has been hovering over us since Bermuda, remains. However, we have experienced several interludes of sun. In fact the magrodome over the Lido pool has been opened. Strangely, the brightest sun seems to be in that spot. As I write now in the Explorers Cafe, it is such a pleasure to see the bold white bars of the promenade deck bristling with sun light.

 

Earlier today I took my morning strut around the promenade deck. It always strikes me how much this pursuit reminds me of a parade. The grand stand crowds are people with passengers lounging, reading and dozing in their wooden chairs as great clusters of pedestrians march along with aplomb.

 

Afternoon trivia continues to buslte with great crowds, today we were stumped with an array of very esoteric sports questions. However, after many requests to our Cruise Director Adam, it seems our evening hours will be graced by a very welcome addition of night time trivia.

 

The Casino gods finally smiled upon me last night. I was dropping coins in the dollar slots, when all of a sudden a flurry of bells rang like the fevered pitch of a platoon of pinball machines. I swiveled my head to discover the lady behind me had hit the jackpot. After a moment I looked back at my machine and lo behold the numbers on my contraption were ascending into the stratosphere. I hit 7-7 and a triple. It was a significant amount, the most I have ever won, anywhere. The lady behind me hit a trio of double jackpots and waltzed away with $5,000 fattening up her purse.

 

Cruise Critic as we all know is an incredible invention and such a wonderful resource. We have met so many wonderful people in the recent past and aboard our current Noordam voyage. Yesterday, Elene hosted a little ladies makeover session with her new pals. Our CC tablemates and passenger pals have lauded us with bottles of champagne, we have quite a collection in our cabin. Last night at the Prom celebration at the Crows Nest, after the longest married couple was saluted our fine Cruise Critic friend Sherri thought it only appropriate that the newest married couple should be mentioned. Well, we we happily accepted yet another bottle of champagne and led off the final dance of the evening.

 

The food continues to wow us at each seating. This morning I sampled the omelettes in the Lido. The most perfectly cooked, half moons rich in flavor, mine concocted with cubes of tasty ham and melted cheese. Some of the other fixings included shrimp, mushroom, bacon. We have adopted a practice we started on the Noordam during our January 07 cruise, we order a dessert For The Table. Such great thought and reflection goes into this portion of the evening. Our adept waiter Yunnis, then bestows us with not one but, three separate servings for each couple. In fact this has become such a hit, that Barbara and I have branched out and championed an appetizer For The Table.

 

The dessert favorite last night was the Bomb. A rich coffee ice cream, with sweet crunchy morsels, draped in a bittersweet shell. Our delicious entree was Linguini a la Fruite de Mare, strands of perfectly cooked pasta, booming with flavor and adorned with moist mussels, clams, baby shrimp and scallops.

 

I am pleased to report that my ice cream research in the Lido is proving wildly successful. I will of course endeavor to discover how the frozen texture interacts with crushed candy bar pieces, in the Mediterranean as compared to the Atlantic, it is a very high tech operation, but, I am prepared to tackle it.

 

I am off continue my research and take a gander at the great, big beautiful ocean out there.

 

Jonathan

[mamaofami]

Jonathon, don't miss the chocolate volacna dessert in The Pinnacle. Yummy, if you like chocolate.