Holland America’s Newest Ship—MS Noordam
—Sails Into New York

  By  P W  Mooney

Holland America’s newest ship—ms Noordam—sailed into New York in late February for her naming ceremony and to begin her inaugural series of Caribbean cruises. The occasion also marked the welcomed return of HAL to New York as a home port for fall and winter cruises after a lapse of more than two decades.

Noordam (north), named after the northern point of the compass as her sister ships were —ms Zuiderdam (south); ms Oosterdam (east), ms Westerdam (west)—is also the fourth ship to bear that name for HAL. The first Noordam joined HAL’s fleet in 1902 for the transatlantic run and was later damaged heavily by a mine in World War I. The second vessel made her debut in 1938. During the World War II the ship was leased to the US and refitted to carry troops, cargo and provisions. When she retired in 1963, she carried a piece of her wartime rail carved with soldiers’ initials. In 1984 the third Noordam was delivered and sailed on almost 800 voyages before leaving HAL’s fleet in November 2004.

The current Noordam is a model of the latest innovations to hit the cruise industry. The ship has two diesel-electric power plants as well as a gas turbine unit located in the funnel that reduces visible emissions and can be used with the diesel-electric system when cruising in fragile environmental areas such as Alaska and while in port. The vessel’s Azipod propulsion system, powered by a diesel-electric system, is estimated to reduce fuel consumption by as much as 40 tons of fuel a week. And, like the other Vista ships,  ms Noordam sports a revolutionary wastewater treatment plant to purify waste, sink and shower water to near-drinking water quality as well. “The ramifications of these treatment plants are quite amazing, says Stein Kruse, president and CEO of HAL. “These ships discharge water that is virtually pure and is cleaner than the treated wastewater of many communities.” And all ships have a comprehensive bilge-water management program that minimizes the amount of water and oil getting into the bilges, with the oily bilge undergoing two separate systems to separate the oil from water in strict compliance of maritime regulations.

Recently, I had an overnight stay pierside on the ship. Though my visit was brief and I did not experience the vessel at sea, I did have a chance to get a look at this newbuild and here’s what I found.

Dining

 

The food I had during my short time on board the ms Noordam was very good. Credit must go to HAL’s Culinary Consultant Rudi Sodamin who is the driving force behind the company’s above-average dining experiences found on board its vessels today. The Austrian-born, highly decorated Master Chef has created new menu categories and new ways to present food to highlight the artistry that goes into food preparation. He created unusual themes such as eating salmon 50 different ways on HAL’s Alaska cruises; another is the cooking demonstrations with guest participation and the soon-to-be-introduced Cooking with Kids hands-on classes. Sodamin’s influence is evident in the quality of the food served and how it is served.

The main dining restaurant is the tastefully decorated, two-level Vista Dining Room. On this ship, there is a raised bandshell-shaped platform within the middle of the lower level dining room where the Captain’s Table is situated. A wall of windows surrounds the restaurant’s rear and well-selected table settings provide a pleasant dining experience. At least five entrees are available for guests as well as the chef’s daily specials that often reflect the specialties of the cruise ports visited. Dietary and vegetarian selections are also listed.

There are four assigned seating times for dinner: 6 and 6:30 pm, and 8 and 8:30 pm. Breakfast and lunch are also served in the Vista dining room with open seating.

The casual Lido Café is a delight—one of the best Lido cafés I have dined in to date on board a large ship. The buffet stations are nicely placed and lines move quickly. Quality dining tables and chairs ring the Lido where diners have outstanding views of the sea. On the tables I found small sea salt and pepper grinders—a wonderful change from those ugly shakers or paper minipacks usually found in Lido restaurants—along with cloth napkins.

At breakfast there is a special omelet station in addition to the standard offerings. At lunch, diners are offered a variety of hot and cold menus that represent different regions of the world. Lunch here was a delight as there was a wonderful choice of crab legs and seafood salads to choose from. After filling up on the crab, I then discovered the sushi station and of course just had to have some samplings.

Fancy desserts are served from a glass refrigerated section and a waiter helps you with the selections at hand. In the evenings, the Lido offers casual dining, and I am told, made-to-order dinner entrées. After 11 pm, the traditional late-night buffet is presented here.

The popular reservations-only Pinnacle Grill is located midship just off the Atrium on Deck 2.  On this ship, the grill has been expanded and its bar, formerly inside the restaurant, was moved across the passageway. This more intimate restaurant is elegantly decorated to accommodate to the fine dining presented here. Tables are dressed with Frette linens, Riedel glassware and Bvlgari china. A variety of fish and grilled premium meat entrees are available from the daily menu heavy on Pacific Northwest theme dishes. Desserts include a warm Grand Marnier chocolate volcano cake but I opted for the baked Alaska after savoring a quite tender fillet mignon with Béarnaise sauce. A fee of $20 per person is charged to dine here.

In the dining rooms, there is no charge for non-alcoholic beverages such as soda, coffee and tea. A charge does apply for all alcoholic beverages and bottled water.

Culinary Arts Center Presented by Food & Wine Magazine

HAL has invested some $13 million to create the Culinary Arts Centers aboard its fleet of 13 ships as part of its Signature of Excellence improvements. In the semi-circular center that can hold around 110 persons, a replica of a full-size kitchen takes center stage with large plasma video screens that display overhead and close-up views of the food as it is being prepared. Guests will be able to participate in the cooking classes and soon, HAL will be introducing a cooking with kids program for its younger guests. During my stay, the guest chef Frank Lomonico, the proud chef/owner of a new restaurant in the Time Warner building opening later this year, was a welcome delight with his informative presentation not only on how to prepare seared breast of duck and a seviche of bay scallops complete with tasting samples of the dishes, but interesting tidbits about smoked salmon or how to make grav lax.

The Center in partnership with Food and Wine Magazine will feature more than 60 chefs, wine experts, and cookbook authors on HAL cruises in 2006 demonstrating their culinary techniques and providing seminars. Those scheduled on the ms Noordam this year, include Johnny Luzzini the executive pastry chef at New York’s trendy Jean Georges, who will be creating delights on the April 5 Caribbean cruise. Wine expert Gerald Dawses, the only non-Spaniard to receive the prestigious Premio Cena de Los 11 Vinos award for his significant contribution to the image and culture of Spanish wines will be on the July 20 Mediterranean cruise. Joining Dawes on the July 20 cruise is food and wine writer for the New York Sun newspaper Anthony Giglio. And on September 18, culinary visionary Charles Dale of Aspen, Colorado’s Range and Rustique restaurants will lecture on modern French cuisine that is both organically based and rustic in presentation.

The Culinary Arts Center can also double as a small conference meeting area as well as a venue to show films.

Greenhouse Spa & Fitness Center

The Greenhouse Spa & Salon offers a variety of massages and a variety of treatments and has couples’ massage rooms, a small relaxation room with heated ceramic loungers that look out to sea, and a hydrotherapy pool set within a luxe Asian décor. Adjoining the spa is a spacious workout center that features the standard exercise machines and free weights. Aerobics and Pilates classes are also available.

Public Rooms

Of the 19 public rooms on board, several stand out. The multitiered Vista Show Lounge with its professional stage offers the venue for special events and the nightly revue. Where ever one sits on one of the two theater levels, there are unobstructed views of the stage. The electronically advanced technology available allows guests to be regaled by Vegas-style revues or be treated to a comedic or cabaret performance, or perhaps a film.

Another area I really liked was the Explorations Café powered by the New York Times, which features cushy leather seating along with headphones connected to a table unit that offers a variety of music choices, lots of computers and some 2,000 books and magazines available for guests.

Placed around the café were square tables with crossword puzzles embedded on the top for guests to test their ability. A grease pencil is provided that allows one to easily erase a wrong entry. Great idea! The café as well as other areas of the ships are “hot” spots for wireless laptop accessibility to the Internet. Complementing the café was a wonderful Coffee Bar offering a wide choice of select coffees and teas.

The red-and-mauve-themed Piano Bar with a baby grand piano situated within the circular bar is a jazzy lounge, and at night a popular destination for karaoke.

The Crows Nest lounge perched atop of the ship is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows offering fantastic views. It has some cozy nooks, one with handsome wicker furniture reminiscent of a tropical 1930’s lounge. Live DJs provide the kicky music for disco dancing in the late hours.

The Explorers Lounge was another favorite. Tastefully furnished with mementoes of great explorers, the cozy setting with interesting art works scattered around provided a wonderful place to hear a chamber-music performance by a quartet from East Europe.

Throughout the ship’s public areas are some impressive paintings and sculpture. In the near future, HAL is planning to introduce self-guided art tours for its guests. Using an iPod with a recording narrated by an art expert, guests can learn about the significant art works on board the ship and the artists—similar to those self-guided tours one gets at the Metropolitan Museum or MOMA in New York.

Out on deck, the midship pool on the deck has a retractable dome for inclement weather. New to thisLido ship is the small pool area in the aft section with two hot tubs and lots of teakwood lounges and tables. In fact there were many areas for sunning on this ship on the different decks, something not seen on the mainstream ships. On Deck 3, the Promenade deck provides an uninterrupted stroll or jog around the ship while the Sports Deck offers basketball, volleyball, and a makeshift tennis court.

Youth Activities

Holland America is aiming for families but I did not see much to amuse children ages four to 13. While there is a compact indoor area for crafts and games for toddlers and preteens, there seemed to be little more out on deck, such as a special wading pool. Nor did I see any special dining section for children in the Lido. However, I did find handsome spot called The Loft patterned after a funky New York loft for teens to hang out with an adjoining teens-only sunning area. And there is the inevitable video games arcade. It would seem that the older child would probably get more out of a cruise than the younger ones on this ship as the sports activities are basically geared to adults.

The Staterooms

Eight-five percent of ms Noordam’s staterooms offer ocean views and more than two-thirds of the staterooms have private verandahs. My 254-square-foot Deluxe Verandah stateroom seemed small as the footage included the verandah. It was furnished with a queen size Mariner Dream bed with a comfortable Euro-Top mattress covered with 250-thread-count white cotton linens. “In fact the mattresses are so comfortable many guests on other ships want to buy them after their cruise,” says HAL president Kreuze, “that they are for sale.” (You can purchase the mattresses at www.shophollandamerica.com.)

A flat-panel TV and DVD player, a minifridge, and a small sitting area with a coffee table with a bowl of fresh fruit were other features of the stateroom. On the verandah were two wicker chairs and a small table. Several closets lined the narrow entry hall.

The bathrooms featured a tub with premium massage showerheads while a magnifying makeup mirror was conveniently located over the single-sink vanity. A new line of the Elemis aromatherapy products formerly only sold in the Greenhouse Spa and Salon were placed on the vanity sideboard. Thick Egyptian-cotton towels and deluxe waffle and terry-cloth bathrobes complemented the amenities.

The ms Noordam has six categories of cabins. Top of the line are the two Penthouse Verandah Suites (1,218 sq ft) with king-size beds, two whirlpools (one on the verandah), living and dining rooms, a dressing room and a powder room. The Deluxe (510 to 700 sq ft) and Superior Verandah (398 sq ft) suites also feature whirlpools, dual-basin vanities and a separate shower stall in the bathrooms. For guests in the Deluxe Verandah and Penthouse suites, there is a private concierge lounge

The Outside and the Inside Staterooms are comfortably furnished and measure from 170 to 200 sq ft.

Round the clock complimentary room service is available and guests also receive a daily satellite edition of the New York Times each morning.

Handicapped Facilities

For the disabled, the ms Noordam offers 28 wheel-chair-accessible cabins equipped with roll-in showers. For the hearing impaired, there are amplified telephones, visual alert alarms, closed- and open-caption decoders on televisions and a special listening system in the Vista Lounge is available on request.

All public rooms are wheelchair accessible as well as the elevators. Wheelchairs are available on board for disembarkation and embarkation use only.

Service animals are permitted on board and guests can walk their animals to a service deck. By advance request a convenient table in the dining room with space for the animal on the floor can be arranged.

Overall Assessment

I found this new addition to HAL’s fleet quite a beautiful ship despite its size. The public areas are tastefully and creatively decorated while a stunning illuminated Waterford crystal sculpture hangs over the three-deck atrium. For a large ship I was surprised to see the abundance of fresh flowers and green shrubs in the public rooms and restaurants. Usually there is a tendency for plastic flowers on mainstream ships but not here.

I also was impressed with the competency and attitude of the service staff, which were more than helpful. In the Lido, service staff were quite eager to get your beverage request or help select desserts and bring them to your table. And most importantly is the superior quality of food served on board.

However, I did find a higher level of noise than expected between the staterooms—at least mine—and if your neighbor closes a cabin door harshly, you are bound to feel the vibration. But that is a minor nuisance.

Founded in 1873, Holland America has 133 years of maritime history behind it. The cruise line has grown to 13 ships with two more on order. There is a more traditional approach to cruising on HAL vessels but one that is colored by advance technology and creative innovations such as its Explorations Café and its Signature of Excellence improvements. Ms Noordam is a reflection that successful blending, bringing premium quality at a great price. Another plus is that the ship sails from New York during the Caribbean season—what better place to depart from?

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What’s Ahead For Holland America?

A new class of ships for Holland America was announced recently. Taking the name from an integral component of HAL’s branding as a premium line and the $225 million Signature of Excellence initiative installed on the current fleet, the pair of newbuilds will be called the Signature Class. The 2004-passenger ships will be an evolvement of the Vista Class ships such as the ms Noordam,” said HAL president Kruze at a press meeting on board. The new ships will “represent a 22 percent increase in Holland America’s capacity and allow us to achieve a greater share of the premium cruise market.”  Holland America is aiming for the younger passenger as well more families.

The Signature Class vessels will feature additional decks and 63 new staterooms. While the majority will be verandah cabins, ten staterooms will have ceiling-to-floor and wall-to-wall panoramic windows. In the public areas, a 144-seat topside restaurant and 50-seat lounge is planned as well as a premium wine-tasting lounge, a redesigned show lounge, and enhanced youth facilities. And possibly longer cruises to unusual destinations.