Noordam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Very clean, beautiful. Staterooms on the small side.

Stateroom (suite) was quite roomy and comfortable. Ship is quite large and a bit confusing to find your way around. Service on board is exceptional (housekeeping and dining). Check in when boarding took a long time and seemed disorganized, disembarkation was well organized. Mostly an older crowd. Entertainment was pretty good, Noordam dancers and singers were the best. On board costs are high.

This was our 8th cruise and our first on Holland America. We're now spoiled - HAL is our favorite. This was also our first 10-day cruise and we will NEVER go back to a 4-day one. Pricing for this cruise was great, our cabin had an obstructed view but we weren't bothered much by it. Everything except initial boarding was fabulous. One excursion on Grand Turk (snorkeling and kayak was poor but HAL excursion director promised to look into the company and correct the feared safety risks) was a problem but all others were great.

As the last ship of the season, we expected good shopping deals on board and in towns. By the time we reached Ketchikan, major shops had very little merchandise and were packed to move to Caribbean. Onboard shopping guru, Chris, very informative and helpful. BE FOREWARNED: All shipboard purchases are considered taxable by customs as the ship has a Dutch registry!! We were not told about this by store staff as front desk staff said they should have. Entertainment was fine. Beware of multidemoninational slot machines as some of them revert to higher bet. Enjoyed the wildlife guides onboard...good programs. Totem Bight and city tour in Kechikan was great!! However, a friend in a wheelchair was dissuaded from going on that tour because pathways were gravel...don't believe them. It is a hard packed path and would have been a wonderful outing for her. Cabin stewards were good, room service not so great. One of our group was seasick and called room service several times to get some broth and crackers since she was too ill to leave cabin and was told repeatedly that they were too busy to take her order. Sitka was a real gem. Glacier Bay was interesting. Glaciers much smaller than imagined...others told me that Hubbard glacier is the magnificent one to view from onboard (not reached by this itinerary).

great food ,great service the wine stewart was great our waiter and cabin stewart were fantastic the ship itself was very clean and was beautiful. the ports we went to were so beautiful and the wheather was so great we just love every minute of it.

The Noordam was immaculate, both inside and out, and very well run. It is a floating luxury hotel. I have never been so pampered in my life. The shore side excursions that I took were pricy, but they added so much to the experience of the trip that the cost was worth it.

Large and impressive ship; great casino, ship is beautifully maintained.

We had a fantastic time on our Alaska cruise. We had an incredible day at Glacier Bay with lots of photo opportunities. The staff are well-trained and lovely to be around.

Although the ship was huge, it was easy to get around to the different areas: restaurants, casino, spa, entertainment, etc.

The ship was wonderful. the staff excellent. The service was exceptional. The Open Seating was a little confusing as we thought you could still make a reservation for 6:00 but we found that not true. Only very early times and very late times. This was not what we experienced with other cruise ships. Perhaps they will sort this out with changes to dining rooms and for those that really want to get dressed up and eat at a set time and meet other people.

The Noordam was just fabulous! They had everything needed for a luding the most up to date electronics used for check in and departures, purchases on the ship, and for other events on the ship. All the staff were very attentive and always helpful. They did everything possible to make the passengers feel comfortable.

The ship was beautiful, and was well maintained by a friendly and helpful staff.

With this being our first cruise, we had no idea what to expect. We followed the recommendations of experienced cruisers to choose our room and so on. Our balcony allowed us plenty of private time together on the deck and yet having met and spoken with people that were traveling with friends that had an inside stateroom, they found they were having an excellent time as well. I wished I had researched our ports of call in advance, but found the information available on ship was excellent and the cruise director was very helpful. I strongly recommend a full exploration of the ship as soon as possible to get your bearings and to ensure timely arrival at certain events. Don't be afraid to get out there and try things. You'll be glad that you did.

This cruise was amazing. The staff was wonderful, the food was terrific, the ports were amazing.

The stateroom with veranda was awesome....we've been spoiled. I don't know if we can go back to an inside room. The room was designed for convenience and a place for everything. Easy to unpack everything and also to repack. Bathroom had mirrored cabinet to place all toiletries and shelf below sink and a bathtub!! Hairdryer in stateroom was nice...one thing less to bring. The ship was very classy. Enjoyed the wooden deck three for walking. The attendants and crew were so friendly and personable. It is the best!!

The cleanliness of the ship was very noticeable 24/7. Though the cleaning agents were overwhelming at times, it was still great to see. I would highly recommend Ms. Noordam. We are first time Holland America cruisers. Previously we cruised with Royal Carribean and they pale in comparison to Holland. We are looking forward to travelling with you again.

Overall a very nice ship. We sailed from Seattle. We enjoyed the open areas, the Lido deck/restaurant. There were a few times when the Lido was crowded but not enough to hinder the enjoyment of the cruise. Cabins were great, nice size, plenty of storage and nice balcony that opened to our cruising partners. Bed was wonderful!! The crew was very accomodating and made every effort to make the cruise enjoyable.

we loved our balconey, room was very spacious. we wish they had a few more "active" bars, the Piano Bar was great each night, he was very talented and entertaining. Dinner each night was always great, and service was above reproach. We liked the idea of the wine and cocktail cards because you didn't have to give you room each time you wanted a drink. we tried the Pinnacle Grill, the food was great,but we were very disappointed when we dined there and the wine stewart seemed offended that we were using the wine card there rather than purchasing a bottle of their wine, fortunately the maitre d handled it and we had another wine stewart for our table and the rest of our night was fine. we did not like the long, slow lines at the breakfast buffet, lunch didn't seem as bad for some reason.

ship fantastic , lack of dining options , the entertainment staff were not very good including cruise director. lack of fun activities for teenagers and family fun lead to teenagers hanging around the ship throwing food around the staircases and loittering in corridors .

I loved leaving directly from NYC without the hassles of flying. I have sailed on Holland America before and I must say, they really do think of everything. For example, free hot chocolate inside the terminal to warm you while waiting for the check in. And, when the bon voyage departure began, it was chilly topside...but if you looked around , there was even an abundance of loaner blankets for you to wrap around yourself as we waved ggodbye to NY harbor. The cabins are larger on Holland America and noise less. No bothersome announcements every 10 minutes to disturb you. In fact, the only announcements were for the emrgency boat drill which everyone must attend. The food is best enjoyed formally in their beautiful dining room, but if you are not into formalities, then eat by the pool or serve yourself cafetaria style from the Lido deck. Always sandwiches, custom made, pizza and pasta , Asian selelctuions and regular menu. They even have staff on hand to help you to your table by carrying your trays for you. Ice cream and desserts always there to tempt you and freshly squeezed orange juice and bagels "n" lox w/ a shmear for breakfast. The dinners were always well prepared just as in a very fine resturant. I loved the trivia contests and the jewelry making classes. When visiting Tortola, I decided to swim w/the dolphns and this was a first class ex perieince. While on Puerto Rico I went to see the Rain Forest ....the only one on US soil. When I returned each night, I was delighted to see a different towel animal on my bed. The ship's crew is absolutely the best. Each person gives you eye contact, is extremely corteous and willing to please you. One an 11 day, they chose the ports wisely...if you like adventure, choose like I did....THe Noordam, 11 day round trip from NYC, destination southern carribean!!