Holland America - Noordam Reviews

Amazing views but the walking was exhausting

Although there were changes we hope will be temporary, it was great to be back cruising and visiting the beauty of Alaska.

The 10 day Single Denali was a great way to see a great state. Transfers and lodging all went well.

Only issue was after the cruise I tried to reach Holland America about a charge and I could not reach anyone by phone. Very frustrating.

Mario, Our cruise tour was very nice. We just wish we'd have had 2 days in Denali and 2 full days in Anchorage Some things that happened on our railtour. The train lost it's engine and we had to push back and wait for another engine, a 2 hour wait, then two trains in front of us experienced a rock slide and it took 2 hours for that to be cleared. So wait was supposed to be a 7 hour trip took 14 hours altogether. We left Whittier at 7:15am and got to Denali at 9:15pm. All facilities were closed but one restaurant stayed open until midnight to accommodate all the late trains. That was really top drawer for them to do. Of course, we had to leave at 2pm the next day so had to be out the door and packed before 5:30 to catch the green bus to see the park. No time for eating as, as soon as we returned from the green bus we had to get on the bus to Talkeetna. (A stop that could have been avoided as nothing was open) The quilt shop was open and she and another passenger told us to go to the Swiss Inn and motel for breakfast. Which was great but a mile and a half walk away. Once there they gave us the shortcut back to the shuttle, so we could get on the bus in time. Once in Anchorage we were overwhelmed with the wonderful 5 stay Capt Hook hotel and their great service. Our plane did not leave until the next day so Barry had made reservations at the Inn at Merrell Field. When we asked a cab driver to take us there he wondered why we were staying at a "homeless" "bed bug" infested hotel and not to open our door for anyone that it was a very dangerous place. We tried to get our money back 179. and go to another hotel priced at 580. but they wouldn't give our money back so we stayed---very nervously! Our fault for not telling you we need another night in Anchorage! In Anchorage we ate two nights at the Brew House and it was fabulous! Great service and awesome food. I thank you very much for your services and know now that we will be more specific in what we need to ask for should we travel to Alaska again. One very negative that needs to be brought up to the Rail line. The host (under 20 years) on train 6 that we were in was completely untrained. She could not answer any questions including where do you suggest we eat in Denali. Her answer was she was only 20 and couldn't go into restaurants with bars so she did not know. We also asked her what the population of Talkeetna was and she said at least 2000. haha. The 14 couples in the back of our train decided we'd do a sitcom on our rail ride and for sure include her in it. At the end of the trip a nice older lady brought up a tray of warm chocolate chip cookies for our section of the train since she knew how frustrated we all were by that time. The food on the trail was very good and outrageously expensive but that is part of train travel. All in all we enjoyed ourselves. The cruise portion was wonderful and we met a lot of new friends and enjoyed the trip. There were lots of complainers are the ship as toilets weren't working and water didn't work in some cabins. We had no trouble at all and were finally upgraded to a room with a balcony after two other rooms. I think Holland made a mistake by telling the passengers early on that the ship had been traveling around the world with only 19 crew on board for 776 days. Most of the crew was new but people are demanding and they were learning and I think doing an excellent job! The entertainment was good but we did not like the Rolling Stones lounge and spent most of our time with the piano players. Michelle and KG were great and gracious and played requests of all kinds. Of course, I spent most of my time in the casino and at the coffee bar. I can say that we gave generous tips to all of our stewards and the coffee girl and casino girls. Thanks for all your help. Carolyn (Carrie) Bethel Barry Seip

they cut on comfort, on food, food variety and on advantages

Loved the Noordam. Great ship and great people on it. Loved the itinerary and cruising the Fjords. Wonderful and easy to book. My travel agent was very easy to work with. Happy I booked with Avoya.

I thought it went pretty well. Temperture was abit cooler than expected. I felt the food in the main dining room was ok and Lido was lacking from past cruises.

Great entertainment

Excellent! Ship was great. Entertainment the best we’ve ever had on any ship with outstanding service.

It was a great trip

I felt like I was in a retirement home for two weeks.

We enjoyed the ship and all it had to offer. There was an outbreak of norovirus and the staff did amazing sanitizing constantly.