We heard that Holland America has a more mature passenger crowd and fewer kids. The activities are geared towards a more mature clientele, but there is still a kids club and swimming pool for the few kids who were on the cruise, but no water slides, etc.

Holland America really went the extra mile to keep the guests happy. One of the sightseeing destinations On the itinerary was a morning of scenic cruising in Milford Sound and Fiordland National Park (New Zealand). Unfortunately, the area was hit by major storms a few days prior to our visit. This was widely reported in the News. As a result, the fiords were inundated by large amounts of floating debris, large trees, etc and it was deemed by the authorities as unsafe for cruise ships to enter. Captain Scott and Cruise Director, Chris, went out of their way to arrange an alternative itinerary involving a visit to Stewart Island, the southern-most island of New Zealand. At short notice, they arranged for a pilot to meet the ship and guide us in to the port of Oban on Stewart Island. The organising to do this was no mean feet and, despite the disappointment of missing out on Milford Sound, we were lucky enough to be one of the few cruise ships to visit Stewart Island each year.

Food on Noordam was very good. We ate our evening meal in the main dining room on about half the days and the other half we ate in the Lido buffet on deck 9. We had most breakfasts in the Lido. The variety was excellent. Coffee in the Lido seems to cater for American pallets, as it is quite week and not really that good. Espresso machine coffee is available at extra cost at several cafes and bars on the ship. We tried this once and found it to be excellent, and we were given a complimentary selection of very nice cakes and macaroons to go with it. Use of porcelain cups or glasses instead of paper take-away cups would improve the experience. Read more