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Caribbean Cruise With Holland America Line
Caribbean Cruise with Holland America Line |
5 of 5 people found this review informative
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Reviewed By: Hughes, Perth on 19th Mar 2010
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| Cruise Line: Holland America Cruises |
Times cruised before: 6-10 |
| Cruise Ship: MS Noordam |
Sailed:
March,
2010 |
| Destination:
Caribbean
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Age: 65+ |
| Cabin: Balcony |
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CARIBBEAN CRUISE with HOLLAND AMERICA LINE– BETTER THAN OTHERS?
We recently had the opportunity to cruise on the Noordam, and here are our findings. In the past we have cruised with Celebrity, Fred Olsen, and also Thomson. It is with these previous cruises in mind that we report on our experiences on the Noordam. To clarify my thinking I have grouped the findings under a few headings, as listed below
Organisation
Here, we found that both boarding the Noordam and leaving the vessel in Fort Lauderdale, was well executed, in fact we were off the Noordam, and ashore picking up our luggage in less than 10 minutes, after our disembarkation group was called. Time slot was given in advance the night before.
Boarding too was painless, having a class of wine on the Lido deck before proceeding to lunch all before 12.30 hrs.
Accommodation
We were upgraded from a deck 4 Verandah to deck 8 Verandah. Which in terms of comfort and location was excellent, it was located in the forward section of the vessel. Cabin service met all our needs.
Facilities on board
Here we found the standards were to our expectations, and could be described as grand. All public areas gave you a warm and comfortable feeling, especial the library and the various bars. Entertainment in the evenings was a mixed bag, and not always to our liking. As you would expect it was directed at the Americans/Canadians on board who account for the majority of passengers on board the Noordam. At all times there were sufficient deck chairs in all outdoor areas, and many were of the wooded type with comfortable cushions, not your bare plastic kind found on other cruise liners. It would be amiss of me not to praise the mainly Indonesian staff on board the Noordam – Excellent service!
Food
Here HAL must be congratulated, this can only be described as excellent, especially in the formal Vista Dining Room, this experience could be classed as 5 star. In the informal Lido Restaurant, here the food ranged from a Sushi bar to traditional Roast Beef/Pork/Chicken selection on to a more specialised Oriental food counter, to name but a few dishes. Many of the selections were modified on a daily basis.
Milieu/Style
This type of cruise would suit people, who value traditional style cruising,
and are comfortable mixing with more senior members of our society. It would not suit an individual whose expectation of a cruise is to party 24/7, or those who like to mix with fellow Brits only. Likewise, if you are not comfortable in a non British environment, and do not wish to stray form traditional British food, then Fred Olsen/Thomson would serve you needs better. On a 10-day cruise expect 3 formal evenings, and, yes, the Tux. is still popular on board HAL cruises, but a suit would suffice on the formal evenings should that be preferred
To finish, let me try and answer the question I set in my heading of this review – Is HAL better than others?
I am unable to answer the set question, as it very much depends on what you are looking for in a cruise. Some people form the Uk want a lively atmosphere on board their cruise ship, so they may not enjoy a HAL cruise, and may prefer Carnival or Thomson cruise. Likewise many people from the UK prefer to have traditional British food, and mix with other British people so they may choose Fred Olsen or one of the PO cruise ships To be honest the choice is yours, we prefer HAL cruises, for the reasons stated in this review. Having stated that, we have found that Celebrity Cruises provide a similar experience to HAL.
Best advice; try different cruise lines, until you find your favourite. Enjoy your cruising!
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Evenings in the Vista Dining Room, during the day Lido Restaurant | | Entertainment |  |
| Least enjoyable comedian. most enjoyable ventriloquist | | Shore Excursions | |
| Grand Turk - Govener\'s beach swim snorkel - Best
Bonaire No name beach Swim/snorkel - Best
Aruba - ticket to paradise Swim/snorkel - best | | Staff | |
| All excellent! | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities |  |
| Good range of activities to suit all age groups | | Cabins | |
| In all aspects - Excellent! | | Overall Rating | |
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