Be aware of the hidden costs on the HAL up sell with everything, gratuities especially , we went up to desk and had removed , we gave to who we wanted . If we had left on it would have been another $500 aud . $18 aud per day.

Item: Noordam
Rating: 4
Author: rozinamarie

Noordam Cruise Review

rozinamarie

Contributor Level: Purser

629 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 15

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

12 Night Australia & New Zealand (Sydney To Auckland)

Sail date: February 10, 2024

Ship: Noordam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 5047

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 months ago

Review summary

Ship is tied , need more entertainment etc staff fabulous , but everything is a sell on board , photos etc

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Very well organised

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Excellent

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

The deck walking fabulous

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Band was great , stage productions very ordinary

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Loved Daywon who was in charge of our cabin

Ship tip

Most ports I’d a working port get shuttle into town , some excursions were fabulous

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Gisborne, New Zealand

3 out of 5

Nothing much

Thumbs Up 0

Cruise Fjordland National Park

5 out of 5

Cruise Milford Sound

5 out of 5

Waitangi, Bay Of Islands, New Zealand

4 out of 5

Beautiful islands

Thumbs Up 0

White Island, New Zealand

1 out of 5

Why !!

Thumbs Up 0

Tauranga, New Zealand

4 out of 5

Beautiful

Thumbs Up 0

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand

4 out of 5

Lyttleton (Christchurch), New Zealand

5 out of 5

Auckland, New Zealand

1 out of 5

Went straight to airport

Thumbs Up 0

Napier, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Traveler Photos

8 Comments

Gwbigdog 9 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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javawoody 9 months ago

I agree with Lawnboy 1956

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byhisgrace 9 months ago

Appreciate your feedback

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cruising2004 9 months ago

Agree with previous comments. Several crew members work behind the scenes.

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Lawnboy1956 9 months ago

The crew appreciation charges are not a hidden cost. If you bothered to read the details about your cruise that were provided to you or are found on the web site you would know that HA charges $16 per day for regular rooms and $17.50 for suites. Having cruised before you would know that. The main motivation for removing the tips is to save money not to redistribute it in a different way. All lines chose to pay their employees in this fashion HA is no different. All you did was get an overall cheaper fare at the expense of the people who were taking care of you while you enjoyed a luxury vacation. You should be ashamed but judging how you boasted about it that’s doubtful.

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HeavySeas 9 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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Dumfy75 9 months ago

karlgrgurich is exactly right. I do think that people feel they get less service for higher gratuities these days though. But that’s not the fault of the staff, they are doing more work and probably not seeing much more reward if any at all. Both sides are entitled to feel hard done by. Just the way it is now cruise lines are trying to recoup money unfortunately.

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karlgrgurich 9 months ago

All cruise lines have automatic gratuities. And all staff deserve them

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