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After
'officially' checking in pierside at about noon, I had my official
embarkation photograph taken by the staff at the gangway.
After embarking the ship again, I made my way to
stateroom 474, a category "I". I found the size and
layout to be perfect for it just being myself. Noordam
still accommodates her guests with wonderful amenities despite their
being just a bit older than newer ship standards. The main area
where this is more apparent is in the bathrooms where shower, sink and
toilet fixtures are not as modern. |
After having
settled in and exploring Noordam to discover how much I had
already taken a liking to her classic style, I took my customary
afternoon nap. Prior to my having left for Europe, I had met
several people through Cruise
Critic with whom I had decided to share a private shore excursion in
St. Petersburg, Russia. We were to have our meeting prior to
lifeboat mustering drill in the Crow's Nest Lounge. Upon my
entering the Crow's Nest, I could immediate spot where and who everyone
was! It was wonderful to feel as through I had such good friends
whom I had never met but are meeting and so far from home! I met
Eileen and Ron from Boca Raton, Karen from San Diego, and Joanne from
Chicago. We, of course, already had a lot to talk about given our
prior communication online about our shore excursions. Lifeboat
drill was scheduled for 4:15pm so we departed the Crow's Nest just prior
to gather our belongs and proceed to our staterooms.
| Given
my technical interest in ships and also my interest for safety
systems in general, I'm always interested to see how things
operate on each particular ship I sail aboard. I continued
to organize my belongings in the stateroom until the mustering
actually began. Noordam's muster alarm is unique in
that motor bells ring continuously for a good amount of time
before the electronic bells ring of 'seven short and one long
blast'. I find that the older ships that still have motor
bells for signaling is a unique and endearing quality in the
nautical world given that newer ships are mostly electronic save
for a few exceptions (like Royal Caribbean International's newer
Finnish-built ships). I proceeded to Upper Promenade Deck
where all of the muster stations are located and the drill did not
take very long at all to take attendance and read off thorough
instructions. |
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My
favorite part of any cruise was about to begin : sail away!
I positioned myself along the tiered aft decks where I could get a
prime view of the sail away festivities and the surrounding
activity in the Port of Copenhagen. Again, it was a
melancholy feeling in that I took such a liking to Copenhagen and
sailing away from her after two full glorious days was a
challenge! That did not take away from the excitement of
setting sail on a beautiful and classic ship such as the Noordam
and looking forward to the ports of call ahead. During the
sail away process, I even recognized a co-worker from Seattle and
had to double-check myself prior to saying something! I
could hardly believe that I would run into someone I know from
Seattle being half-way around the world! |
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| Crystal
Serenity just aft of Noordam. |
Noordam's
lifeboat against the Danish landscape. |
A'Rosa
Blu sets sail first. |
A
bit of industry is located around the port area. |
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| One
of Copenhagen's public yellow HT buses. |
Noordam
alongside Langelinie and ready to sail. |
Noordam
majestically overlooking Frederksstaden. |
Crown
of Scandinavia sets sail next. |
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| Captain
John Scott and Chief Officer Izaak Klock accompany the harbor
pilot for sailaway. |
Noordam's
bow thrusters push her away from Langelinie Pier. |
We
pass by Crystal Serenity and greet her guests. |
Crystal
Serenity was one of the newest ships in Europe this season. |
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Noordam set
sail on her 'Gems of the Baltic' voyage at just about 5:00pm. We
passed the Crystal Serenity and saw many of her guests on their
balconies and even in bath robes! In very little time, we were
sailing well into the Øresund
and looking back on Copenhagen as now a distant memory. Only
shortly after sail away I began to walk around the ship to see
all of the goings on and I ran into Karen and Joanne in a stairway
landing. They had already had cocktails in hand and we began to
share what we had already done. We very much 'hit it off' right
away and were laughing and having a great time! I could tell that
this was going to be a fantastic voyage in many regards. We began
what was going to become our nightly tradition of wine in the Piet Hein
Lounge prior to dinner.
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hat
evening we had our first dinner in the Amsterdam Dining Room and met
our tablemates. We got along with them very nicely as well and
enjoyed each evening there. We had a nice table location along
the windows so we were able to watch the seas and enjoy sunsets
despite the sun's typically setting on the opposite side of the
ship! |
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As I had
witnessed on a previous Europe cruise, the first evening on board was very
mellow. I attended the first show in the Admiral's Lounge which was
"A Dream Vacation" presented by the Cast of the Noordam
and Cruise Director Bob Cook. Shortly after the show, many guests
returned to their staterooms after having flown in from the United States
earlier that day. I walked around the ship a bit and wound up in the
Horn Pipe Lounge which acts as the ship's discotheque. I was the
only one in there that night so did not stay out very late.
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The
sailing distance between Copenhagen and Tallinn is 511 nautical
miles so we had one sea day on Saturday, July 12th. I enjoyed
sleeping in a bit and having breakfast in the Lido Restaurant.
I actually decided to do a 'first timers' activity and take the
galley tour at 10:45am. My thinking was that I had seen those
on newer ships so I'd like to get to see Noordam's. The
rest of the day was spent walking around the ship and enjoying the
warm sun out on deck. It was much warmer than I would have
anticipated in the Baltic waters, for sure. That was a true
precedent for the rest of the month, actually, as well! |
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The
rest of the day was quite mellow and the highlight of the evening
was the upcoming Captain's Champagne Reception. Joanne, Karen,
and I met in the Piet Hein Lounge prior to going to the Admiral's
Lounge for the reception. As customary, Captain John Scott
introduced himself and his staff of officers. Elsewhere around
the ship there was music, dancing, and cocktails in venues around
the ship such as the Crow's Nest Lounge. |
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Following
in the same theme, the Admiral's Lounge hosted the "Welcome
Aboard Dinner" in a formal and black & white
theme. I always enjoy dressing up in formal wear on
board and seeing the other who had done the same. In my
opinion, it truly adds to the seagoing experience and compliments
the elegance of the ship herself. |
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This
evening was quite a bit more active in terms of night life.
After the "Welcome Aboard Dinner", Joanne, Karen, and I
went back to the Piet Hein Lounge and then headed up to the Horn
Pipe where a lot of the staff and officers were enjoying
themselves as well. The theme on this particular evening in
the Horn Pipe Club was 'Baby Boomers Night'. |
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| Myself
and Future Cruise Consultant Tina Faulkner |
Joanne,
Security Officer Jim Morse, and Karen |
Guest
Relations Manager Synthiea Borst-Kaldi and Myself |
This
was, admittedly, a later night for us to be out but I still attempted to
get back to the stateroom at a decent time given that the string of ports
of call was just around the corner!
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