Any thoughts on the Noordam, good or bad?
We haven't sailed HAL since 2001 on Maasdam. We were impressed then, hoping the food and service and amenities are still up to par...
We sailed on the Noordam in November to the Southern Caribbean for 10 days. We had a suite and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The itinerary was Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, Dominica, Curacao and Aruba. The ship is in excellent shape. The food was good, I would not say great. Our room service breakfasts always arrived on time and hot. The Pinnacle Grill was excellent (we ate there twice). The staff does a very good job of keeping the staterooms ship-shape. Our friends sailed the week before us and also had no major complaints that I've heard. Happy hour drinks in the Crows Nest and Ocean Bar every evening from 7-8PM were a good deal. I would recommend the Noordam.
We've only ever sailed HAL once -and that was the OLD Noordam on one of her last cruises in 2003. The food and service was excellent. The new Noordam looks very impresive and we're looking at a 10 nighter to the S. Caribb. which has a fantastic (IMHO) itinerary. We're anxious to hear more about the ship-anyone?
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Oceanus 1987
Splendor of the Seas 1997
Regal Empress 1998
Horizon 2000
Summit 2001
Sovereign of the Seas 2003
Noordam 2003
Zenith 2004
Mercury 2005
Princess Sun 2006
Princess Sea 2007
Constellation 2008
Mercury 2009
Constellation 2010
I sailed the Noordam a year ago and the ship looked BRAND NEW. There were CONSTANTLY workers touching up paint and scrubbing decks, etc. We had a deluxe verandah suite and as always the service was EXCELLENT. The food was good - I would not go so far as excellent there, but I just got off of a Princess cruise and I'd say the same about their food. Anyway, I would highly recommend the Noordam. Enjoy your cruise!
Noordam is one of the better HAL ships - with HAL you can almost say the newer the better as they seem to have added more and more as each new ship comes out. Noordam arrived in 2006.
She has plenty of public rooms and alternative dining spots.
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I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
Noordam is a gorgeous ship with a great crew. She is the fourth in the series of Vista ships and HAL really got it right with her. Whatever mistakes they made with the first three Vistas was corrected by the time Noordam was built.
She and Maasdam are our two favorite HAL ships. Love 'em both.
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Thoughts on the Noordam?
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