The cruise liner Noordam completes the four points of the compass for Holland America Line. With Noord Dutch for north, the 81,769-ton Noordam along with Zuiderdam (south), Oosterdam (east), and Westerdam (west) make up HAL's Vista-class quartet, entering service between December 2002 and February 2006. While the four ships share much in common, the Noordam is far more toned down than the jazzy Zuiderdam, apart from the occasional ornamentation to dazzle.
Three Noordams have preceded the current one, the first entering service in 1902 and lasting into the 1920s; the second, completed just prior to World War II and sailing between New York and Rotterdam until sold to a French line in 1963 as the Oceanien; and the third serving the company for 21 years beginning in 1984 before becoming the Thomson Celebration for British cruisers. Holland America is justly proud of its 135-year history, and memories of the company's huge fleet come alive in the forward stairwell aboard its present ships with original paintings by Bermudian Stephen J. Card.
Holland America attracts a more sedate and older group of North American than do its rivals, and fewer children. HAL passengers generally prefer a smaller size ship when compared to Royal Caribbean or Princess. The company now uses the standard suggested tipping policy.
The Noordam divides her time between New York-based 10-day Eastern Caribbean and 11-day Southern Caribbean cruises in the fall, winter and spring. She completes a Panama Canal positioning voyage to provide 7-day cruises from Seattle visiting Glacier Bay and calling in at Juneau, Sitka, Prince Rupert and Victoria in the warmer months.
Many public room names and their functions are familiar fleet-wide but their layouts have evolved, and the result is a consistent cruise experience, with innovative tweaks rather than revolutionary change. The Mariners (HAL's past passengers) prefer it that way, yet they enjoy picking out the differences. The Culinary Arts Centers are a relatively new HAL offering, located in the Wajang theaters on the older ships and in the Queen Lounge on the newer ships such as the Noordam. Up to 110 passengers watch a chef work from a state-of-the-art kitchen while passengers also participate in small-group cooking classes. Another highly successful innovation is the Explorations Cafe, a combination specialty coffee house, Internet center and library, and on the Noordam, books are available in an adjacent room. For splashy shows and cabaret acts, the Vista Lounge drops down over three decks to provide good sightlines with the stage flanked by a double staircase and pod-style circular balcony boxes. A pianist accompanies cocktail hour in the Ocean Bar, a watering hole tradition that dates back almost five decades. Two sets of exterior glass elevators connect most decks, and apart from the great view, they provide a faster service as they appear to be less in demand than the central banks. The Crow's Nest has been another regular feature of HAL ships since the Nieuw Amsterdam and Noordam in 1983 and 1984. On the new Noordam, a large central wicker-style chair section gives sweeping views forward from the aptly-named Observation Deck while attractive partitioned side lounges are ideal for private parties and a quiet read during the day. Several other small bars, one a Sports Bar, and a smoking room provide additional social venues. The Greenhouse Spa and Salon, a casino, outdoor pools, with one protected by a sliding dome, and the signature wraparound teak promenade furnished with wooden deck chairs round out the facilities. Volleyball and basketball are available on the Sport Deck. Bowing to the growing family market, The Loft for teenagers (13-17) and Club Hal for children (3-12), plus a video room, all small compared to most large capacity ships, are sited in an isolated location aft on the Observation Deck with adjacent open deck space. On the Noordam, the capacity is 1,918—70 more than her immediate Vista-class sisters.
The additional capacity may only be noticeable in the two-level Vista Dining Room where some table arrangements seem mighty tight for the stewards to circulate. The two sittings each have staggered starting times, and new policy also offers open seating at a wide window of dining hours, by reservation or not. The Lido Restaurant's multiple serving station layout is head and shoulders above the long cafeteria lines on older ships where the queue moves at the pace of the slowest and most indecisive food grazer. Entrees are served at two locations, while other stations offer pizza and pasta dishes, freshly-made and custom-built deli sandwiches with a choice of breads and fillings, Caesar salads, sushi, desserts and an ice cream counter with a choice of a half-dozen toppings. The seating is cushy, partitioned and well distributed to calm the frenetic atmosphere found on board larger and more densely packed mass-market ships. The Terrace Grill, forward of the Lido buffet, is yet another step toward complete informality and impulse eating. Perhaps, the transformation of the extra tariff restaurant from the Italian-menu Odyssey dining to the current Pacific Northwest Pinnacle Grill is the most welcome and successful change. Some of the earlier ships offered an intimate but windowless setting, pleasant enough at night but not exactly inviting during the daylight hours or late summer evenings. To reflect Holland America's Seattle headquarters' location, the menu was drastically altered to feature seafood selections such as Northwest clam chowder, Dungeness crab cakes and Alaskan king salmon plus American Porterhouse steaks and bone-in Delmonico rib-eyes. On the Noordam, the Pinnacle Grill seats up to 145 with staggered reservations. The setting and food are well worth the extra $20 per person tariff and the adjacent Pinnacle Bar provides a pre-dinner drink.
The Noordam's inside cabins (170 to 200 sq ft); outside cabins without balconies (185 sq ft); with balconies (254 sq ft); and the mostly one-room verandah suites (398 sq ft) are similar to her sisters and fleetmates. The non-suite accommodations all feature top-quality mattresses, bed linens and robes, hair dryers, flat-screen TVs and fresh fruit baskets. Suites additionally come with minibars, VCR and DVD players and a private Neptune Lounge with concierge services.
The Noordam's design refinements have produced an attractively evolved Holland America ship that fits well into the fleet.
