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Named for the Northern compass point, Noordam dazzles with museum-quality art and lavish staterooms. Guests of this Vista Class cruise ship will have their pick of onboard activities. Watch dramatic footage of natural wonders set to live music at BBC Earth In Concert. Listen to pianists play favourite hits at Billboard Onboard. Get moving with a pilates class at the fitness centre. Or savour the delights of numerous specialty restaurants. The Pinnacle Grill serves the juiciest steak at sea and Canaletto beckons with tantalising Italian dishes. These name just two of many dining options.
Well.....a bucket list trip and a huge eye-opener......my wife and I have always wanted a "Taste of Asia" and this was the way we planned to do it.....lots of great memories and lots of "wow....a different way of life"....we are two seniors in our upper 70's....but love to travel and are quite healthy...but who knows how long.....a crap shoot now!!! Take whatever I say with a "grain of salt" and not all of you would agree with my thoughts....lol.... The Ship.....Noordam.....a mid size HAL ship.....had a balcony....we were on 6th floor aft.....a very nice location as three floors up to Lido and three or four floors down to the main dining area and the decks where all the action is.....two and three.....so easy to take the stairs.....and the elevators were not always crowded...most of the time pushed the button, and bingo the elevator was there.....I guess because of the location of the cruise and length there were very few people in wheel chairs or walkers or using canes.....most of the cruisers seemed to be American "oldsters"....who knows what that means anymore....lol.......a spattering of us Canadians and it seems lots of Australians and New Zealanders and some Europeans....not so many Asians......The aft location is a great place to be as easy to go up to the pool and food areas fast.....could easily be up and back in less than 4 minutes with stuff for the cabin....a bonus.... Ship was in good condition .....after the cruise ended in Singapore it was going into dry dock for two weeks to get perked up.....so I guess there were repairs to be done...but none were very visible.... Dining....well we lucked out....had the same table for two by a window for the whole month....table 109.....when first got on the ship in Tokyo went to the dining room and requested a table on the outside of the "anytime dining" room....early seating at 5:15 or so.....the maitre'd was a great guy.....he was leaving the ship in Hong Kong.....so when we went the first day of the cruise we did not know what he had picked....."were pleasantly surprised"....wow....this ship does not have lots of tables for two so had four tables in a row along the outside by the windows.....109, 110, 111, and 112......a great location.....loved it and met lots of very interesting folks at the tables next to us.....some stayed at table 110 for a week or more as we really got along.....made the one month of eating super enjoyable....most of the time stayed until 6:45 pm and then could hit the shows at 7:30 ish......then the casino and piano bar which was amazing and great fun Food....well usually very good.....but had its ups and downs.....for the month the menu started to get repetitive...... had to be careful of some of the new items reflecting the "Asia" theme....heartburn later in night...ha ha........the beef and the fish dishes were excellent....Lido Food was usually great also but only had lunch and breakfast there....one night got back to ship after a late tour and ate in the Lido on a Thai Night....Breakfast....ate most of the meals outside by aft pool on the non-smoking side as so crowded and noisy inside....the mornings were cooler so nice for eating outside.....only problem was lots of people wanted to do the same thing so getting a table was hit and miss.....HAL....you need more tables with umbrellas on the aft Lido deck.....or comfortable sitting areas with couches rather than just chairs....even up on deck 10 aft would be nice.....most of the days had following seas so wind was not a problem.... Room service.....super.....usually near the time chosen arrived at our door........had continental ....was very good if we chose muffins or something else that wasn't hot ......so not worried about rushing to eat as nothing to cool off........did mostly on the days that we had tours leaving at 8 ish....running up to the crowded Lido was not our thing....delivery staff loved when given a tip....some mornings said they had over 200 breakfasts to deliver....wow Shows.....well mostly good....I am not a singer or piano guy with just the one person on stage doing the act.............the production shows....4 over the two weeks....or 8 over the month were great with the dancers and music...but....a warning.......they were the same ones we saw a year ago when on the Baltic cruises....HAL...you need to get more shows.....we saw the same ones over and over but held our attention....... the one called Humanity we have seen 4 times now.........other shows....well....singers, violin, magic shows....etc.....all fairly good.....Missed BB Kings.....for us the Rock and Roll does not cut it for 4 weeks.....my wife loved the Piano Bar with the two players.....excellent....packed every night Weather.....well excellent but we had to dodge 2 typhoons.....one near Taiwan and the other near Hong Kong.... Taiwan, arrived the day or so after...downed trees and debris all over.... one Taiwan port was missed but did another one, Kochi in Japan instead...very nice port....seas not bad but had some rocking...being aft was a good place for us.....seemed fairly stable for movement...only problem and not sure it was a problem for some, were the temperatures.....most days over 90 degrees and sunny and lots of humidity.....very draining on our energy.....one did not want to sit outside in the direct sun very long.....HAL....you need more shade areas....sun was directly over the ship ... so no shade anywhere on the decks.........the pool area on deck 9 mid ship....so hot and humid was not the place to hang out with the roof open or closed.........pool water must have been chilled as fairly refreshing........Had only some rain on the whole trip.....one night in Osaka and a thunderstorm in Koh Samui.....and a few showers off and on in Singapore.....we really lucked out... Ports.....very good...... trip was booked ended by two "high end ones"...Tokyo and Singapore, with quite a variety in between....most were crowded, smoggy, packed with cars and scooters,noise and lots of smells.......a real eye opener for us.....hopefully not offending anyone there.......Liked the smaller ports ....more countryside and smaller islands....Boracay....lovely island....big cities full of high rises and a few green areas or parks, not our thing....Hong Kong a disappointment...mostly lots of apartments and a couple of nice sites....too busy....after three or four or more religious sites on the cruise, they all started to blend together.....one we went to in Tokyo must have had over 5,000 people crowded in....wall to wall people...not much fun...Docking areas, we were not impressed by the docking ports......mostly commercial ones with lots of cranes and noise....could rarely just walk off the ship to do any touring... Perks on ship....had all the gratuities included...a HAL booking bonus so did not worry about tips...gave wait staff and cabin crew extra at the end.... ..... but no wifi and no drink package......used a phone which took an esim and had a package for the month with 10 gigs of data for $45...a bargain....worked like a charm in ports and even on seas days when an island or land was close, and in the towns and countryside on tours....a bonus.... ..and no tours from HAL except in Hong Kong....time was too tight to organize a Do Your Own thing.....for that port.....used a lovely outfit for other ports or did our own thing......Authentic Asia for lots of the tours in other places and a great company from Cambodia for a tour in that country....Drinks on the ship....well bought the 8 bottle wine package...cost with discount quite reasonable....and a big bottle of Rum for the cabin.....HAL had no problem with bringing coke on the ship or the odd local beer in cans back to the cabin....Water....drank the ship water for the whole trip....so no waste of money there....filled up water bottles to take with us when walking about....and usually the tours gave water also, with the odd lunch out ....a bonus there TV....hit and miss.....over the election time...lots of complaints.........there were days of no News or Sports.....too close to China they said...or Japan does not allow outside TV.....and the Starlink internet system would not work....who knows if true.....and one day....a notice not to take pictures from the ship as in Chinese Naval waters....wow....lots of interesting stuff going on to fill your sea days..... Flights....used Japan Airlines....quite nice.....great service and seats seemed to have lots of room....premium economy over from LAX including lounge access before getting on the plane, and regular economy back....plane back had two-four-two seating ...so nice for two us us on one side of plane....but a marathon back....Singapore to Tokyo and Tokyo to Vancouver and then home....three flights....22 hrs.....but....booked a lounge pass in Tokyo Narita for the three hour layover....lovely....had a shower even and food and drinks....well worth the $60 each.... All in all...." A taste of Asia".....would we go back....probably not.....getting too old and set in our ways......but for others probably great places to visit.....some countries good value for money....others not so much
I had a really good experience cruising with Holland America from Vancouver to Japan. I was looking for a more traditional experience with good food, no loud drunk people and a sedate but still fun crowd and this fit the bill. The food was better than expected given earlier reviews. I though that everything was well done. We had great service in dining and our cabin steward Dedi was tremendous. I liked all the choices in dining and was glad to be able to find so much Asian food at every meal. The Rolling Stone Lounge had a good band and was lots of fun. Billboard Online had a tremendous couple of singers/piano players who we went to every night on board. The World Stage had a good dance troupe, but the other entertainers were for the 80+ crowd - not very good. We had a Veranda cabin it is was just fine. It was nice to look out the window and the TV had access to movies, some channels and all the ship info. It wasn't the fault of the ship, but we had every port call changed due to weather. We did make to Juneau and Ketchikan and it was fun. Our Kushiro port got changed and we went to Yokohama a day early. That was probably in our favor since we got to explore at leisure and were not rushed to get back to the ship. I did enjoy the fitness lounge and spa. I worked out every day and lost 3 pounds in spite of eating so much and drinking so many cocktails. The only issue was that the classes were not connected to the navigator app, so changes were not reflected. They should fix that. All in all, I really liked Holland America and their crew. No slides, drunken crawls and lousy food. I will take them again.
With refined amenities and Holland America Line signature Mariner’s Dream bed gracing each elegant stateroom, the ship offers six grades of staterooms. Most are ocean-facing, many featuring teak-lined verandas for dining alfresco or private sunbathing.
Holland America Line invites you to dine "As You Wish". To savour Italian cuisine one night and a perfectly grilled porterhouse steak the next. To take your place in the Dining Room at a specific seating time or be spontaneous, following your desires. Onboard, there are restaurants to suit every mood, along with the flexibility to choose the dining style you prefer.
Boasting an expansive range of enrichment facilities and opportunity, Holland America Line's ships are bound to offer something you'll want to know more about. Why not have a go at the Digital Workshop powered by Windows and learn how to enhance your holiday picture or how to easily share them.
Every day aboard a Holland America cruise ship brings a wealth of cruise activities and indulgences, along with the freedom to partake in as many- or as few- as you please. It's an opportunity to try something new that surprises you, every day. Dabble, discover, daydream- do everything, or do nothing at all.
Whether you want to workout in the Fitness Centre, learn yoga, pamper yourself with a massage and spa treatment, or enjoy a game of basketball, there's a perfect onboard activity for everyone.
Holland America Line's youth activities program, Kids Club, offers an array of entertaining events for kids and teens ages 3-17, supervised by a full-time, professionally trained staff. They'll have an opportunity to join other kids their age for arts and crafts, sports, video game competitions, scavenger hunts, challenging team games and themed parties.
Note: Kids Club is not offered on cruises of 25-days or longer, including all Legendary and Grand Voyages. We will offer a selection of children’s activities throughout these longer voyages for any children who may be onboard.
Safety Comes First
Safety is our primary concern and strict policies are in place for effective supervision. Adult guests are not permitted to remain in Kids Club unless attending to a special-needs child.
Please note: During voyages with a high number of families onboard, we will make all efforts to accommodate interested parties. However, participation in our program cannot be guaranteed. Hours of operation may change to better serve our guests.
