Noordam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Alaska is the reason we cruised at all and we were not disappointed. The weather in August in more rainy than earlier in the summer but this is when it was best to go for us. Make sure you have the right water proof clothing to deal with the wet/cool weather. My battle cry has always been "no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing".....make sure you have good 3 layer Gore tex shells. I wish I had Gore tex pants for this trip but will have for the next trip. We sailed southbound and the first day at sea was rough as there was a dying weather system (typhoon) that was coming through. My wife wished she had taken some anti sea sick meds before we left a very calm port of Seward. Our room was 4053 which is Mid ship lower, so it was better than the upper floors fore or aft, but it was rolling. All the next day it was blowing 30 to 40 with rolling seas and the tiny shipped was tossed. As soon as we got to Glacier Bay it flattened out again and all was good again. The Inside passage was our favorite part of the cruise and we are so glad we had a balcony.

Our weather was perfect for most of the cruise. It was chilly in Glacier Bay, but not like sub zero temps. It was partly sunny. Captain of the Noordam slowed down and gave us plenty of time to enjoy the glaciers. Truly a memorable experience! Absolutely beautiful...

We have a great experience in this ship. The crew is very professional, correct and happy. The cruise director Carlos is an amazing professional and he is always present; in the mornings at the piers, during the day he cross your way all the time, during the nights shows, etc. He always finds time to talk to everyone. We found Holland America is one of the best cruise lines. The only issue came when they had to reimburse for a taxi they agreed to and took them six months to send the check. I would recommend the Land and Sea Alaska experiance.

This was a beautiful cruise. Everything worked like clockwork. With all the moves we had starting with Vancouver to the ship to different excursions & transfers to two different hotels we never felt like we didn't know what to do next. Would we be met on time?, would our luggage be there? etc. Very good experience. The unfortunate thing was my accident on deck on our first day. My face was so banged up that I didn't want to appear in public, missed the first gala event. My mouth and teeth were so banged up I was in pain all the time and eating was difficult. So we certainly didn't get all that we hoped to and our enjoyment was was definitely diminished. So sad for us both as we were so excited to experience this once in a lifetime gift from our children for our 60th anniversary.

Will recommend all my friends and family to take this Alaska Cruise with Holland. They are so well organized and friendly.

Overall great. We’ve been on Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival and Holland America was our favorite. Older more conservative crowd. We liked the Lincoln Cemter stage entertainment and of course Alaska speaks for itself.

We chose this cruise because it included a port (Haines) we had never been to before. The staff on this ship was really great. I liked that the ship never felt crowded to me except for the boat drill of course)... people must have been well distributed in the various parts of the ship. We had AMAZING weather the whole week of our cruise, which definitely made the port experiences nicer. The only issue we had (DVD player in cabin didn't work) was resolved within 24 hrs.

It's been a few weeks since we disembarked from the Noordam, but it feels like yesterday. My first cruise ever and it was exceptional. From the food to entertainment, the entire staff was totally impressive. I actually miss the wait staff from our evenings at dinner. They were the most friendly and positive people I have had the pleasure of meeting. The food, phenomenal, I could not get enough! The entertainment on board was great, especially the BB Kings show. Our cruise director, Johann(sp?), Was hilarious and entertaining. The captain was knowledgeable and informative. I will go on this cruise again someday, hopefully sooner than later. Thank you so much Holland America, Noordam, and Alaska.

We had excellent service on the ship. The staff was helpful and friendly.

HAL is a logistics expert, and every location and activity transition went very well. Food at buffet was sub - par in my opinion. Sit down and specialty meals were very good to excellent. Neptune Suite benefits include sit down breakfast in restaurant, which was lovely. Many vegetarian options and staff considerate of food sensitivities. Suite was elegant and view from patio was phenomenal. Demographic was old and overwhelmingly white. Most guests were in their seventies, eighties, and more, mostly from North Carolina, Texas, Minnesota, California. Very few families, hardly any children. Entertainers were very talented. but Intellectual activities limited, in my opinion. For instance, EXC talk was a nice lady reading from a PowerPoint. Professional narration of Glacier Bay was extraordinary and inspiring. Classical concerts daily, and extraordinary. Additional excursions purchased through HAL were good, but more expensive and limited than through Viator. Our services were absolutely to notch. On board, HAL pushes sales of alcohol, photography, tchotchkes, jewelry, art, gambling. They will also aggressively promote shopping at their own HAL-owned businesses in Port towns, such are NOT superior to locally owned shops, so be aware. Shop could use refurbishing, in my opinion, but all was clean and in working order.

THE SHIP WAS GREAT AND HAVE SAILED THIS SHIP BEFORE. HOWEVER WE WERE IN THE DARK BECAUSE OUR TRAVEL AGENT FROM NEVER GOT BACK TO US AND NEVER CORRESPONDENT WITH US FOR THIS CRUISE. ONCE HE GOT THE BOOKING HE GAVE US NO THANK YOU OF ANY KIND. DANIEL HAMMERS IS HIS NAME. OTHER TRAVELERS ON THR CRUISE HAD RECEIVED MANY EMENITIES AND DISCOUNTS ON THE SHIP. NEVER GO WITH .

The hospitality of the crew member with MS Noordam were exceptional. The crew member were very friendly, courteous, hard working, knowledgeable, and professional.

We liked the HAL Noordam cruise better than our last few cruises, which were on Royal Caribbean. If we were to cruise again, we'd probably pick HAL.

Overall the best cruise we have been on. Can't say enough about the great staff and activities available. Would go again

The land portion of our trip was wonderful with great views of Denali and wildlife. We couldn't ask for better weather with light rain only in Fairbanks and Ketchikan. Friendly people and good service throughout our land/sea tour. I recommend trying various food venues onboard the ship as the buffet tends to be similar in choices throughout the trip. Definitely eat in port when you can. We had great halibut and chips in Juneau and fabulous clam chowder in Ketchikan.

Ship looks tired but our room is big (ocean view). Food not good in buffet, go here if u wanna lose weight. Dining room has better food. The workers are very friendly, polite and work very hard to please everyone. Love the outdoor adult pool, hot tubs need to be bigger.

Very enjoyable cruise, two enjoyable tours (Helicopter and Dogsled) Alaska was great

Took Noordam from Vancouver to Seward then glass dome scenic trains to Anchorage and again for two nights at Denali,lastly a bus to Fairbanks. The weather while raining in Ketchikan got better each day and the land portion was sunny, cool, and clear, with Mt. Denali fully visible to those on the Park tour and partially seen from the dome train on the way in.We were just a step ahead of mosquitoes getting bad. The scenery from the mountain railroad in Skagway excursion, and in Glacier Bay, and from the dome train, and in the Park was spectacular! The included riverboat cruise and lunch in Fairbanks was surprisingly good and informative. Our accessible balcony room 6001 had lots of room, and was clean, comfortable, quite, and in good working order. Our cabin steward was attentive to the point of daily cleaning the glass doors. A balcony is so worth it as the windows all over the ship are not kept clean like this. We had done a HAL Glacier Bay Cruise 10 years ago with a window only room and this was so much better. We ate in the main dining room mostly and thought the food was good and the service wonderful. We loved breakfast there with the views and soft classical music. Their fruit plates were great as were the Swedish pancakes, salsa egg skillet, and they will customize. All salmon and other fish as well as beef, and rack of lamb, was delicious. Dinner fillet @ Pinnacle Grill was excellent but we happen this time to have a poor or perhaps distracted waiter who influenced our experience. Canaletto by comparison had wonderful service and very average food. Really enjoyed two musical groups: the young Lincoln Center piano string group is marvelous as is the consistent B.B. Kings. The only issues we had were with the land portion of our cruise tour. The early start times were ridiculous (5:30 AM tour, etc) and only at Denali we’re we placed in an accessible room, which was problematic.

We were told by HA that selected our cabin placement and it was the worst we've ever received right next to the engine. This was our third time using and our Fifth time using Holland America. Once we boarded the ship HA guest services did the best they could to give us a better room. We won't be using again.

Our first HAL was truly a disappointment! We have cruise before but not in HAL! From day 1 our toilet didn't work for 3 1/2 days. For all those days they said it was a section problem for several decks! Had to use else where on the ship before going to our cabin or going to Deck 3 by gift shop to use the toilet. Then on 4th day green smelly stuff came up from drain between the toilet and bathtub after a bath! Guest Service was no help and their words and actions were insulative! No response from the Guest Survey as of yet, so disappointed! Other things happened during the cruise also but the disappointment is so overwhelming!