Amsterdam Review

4.0 / 5.0
0 reviews

Families 50th Wedding celebration, nice cruise

Review for Alaska Cruise on Amsterdam
User Avatar
MrGadget007
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Jun 2015
Cabin: Large Ocean-View Stateroom

Parents took 3 kids, their spouses (significant other) and grandkids on a cruise to Alaska to celebrate their upcoming 50th wedding anniversary. We have all cruised before, and have experience with several lines. Seattle's embarkation/debarkation was very good, didn't wait very long and the Ruby Princess was also using the same facility as they were across the dock at the start and end. The Amsterdam looked good for her age, the fresh carpet that had just been replaced looked good (due to the recent mini drydock after her world cruise), only noticed one area that still had a leak in the public areas by the shops, but the carpet had not been replaced on the stairs, but the beds were comfortable. We had 4 cabins on the lowest deck, but they were all ocean view. No big issues except we noticed a very strong varnish smell in two of the cabins on different days for several hours, not sure if it was a ventilation issue. Otherwise everything worked, cabins were clean and stewards were attentive and very nice (threw in some extra cash for them above the expected automatic tips). Some in our party had a few discrepancies dealing with the front desk, but I personally didn't. We had the explore 4 promotion attached with this booking, so $25 credit, dinner in the Pinnacle Grill and the SBP was also included for all the adults (my father is the master of finding deals). Actually purchasing the SBP would not have been worth it for us, as none of the 8 adults ever reached the 15 drink limit, and rarely even reached the equivalent cost of the daily charge. As we're not heavy drinkers, but it was nice to sample different drinks and coffees this time. The food was good, but I've noticed on all of the cruise lines that the quality has suffered over the years due to costs and consolidation. HAL does great deserts, and actually had quantities of salmon on the buffet every single morning (not sure if this is an Alaska thing). But the serving times on the Lido (and it's closures) were an issue at times and not convenient at 9 PM if you were hungry and had gone light at an early dinner. We actually liked that the portion sizes in the main dining rooms were not large, so you could pick and choose more. We were accommodated at the only table that could fit our party of 11, which was nice, but we got a couple of snooty looks from the wine steward, as we used our individual SBP cards at dinner instead of overpriced bottled wine. The Pinnacle Grill food was good the one night we went, but the cost is only really acceptable to someone from a major city, and that kind of food/service is what standard cruising used to be like. We didn't do any ships excursions, but wandered in the towns that we have traveled to before, and explored the new ones by foot or on the city bus ($2 per adult in Juneau to the Mendenhall Glacier). The Tracy Arm sightseeing was excellent, and an experience, love the dutch pea soup. Weather was ok, you just have to accept that it's going to rain in Alaska during the summer, but it wasn't unbearable. Definitely wear layers with a waterproof shell. We enjoyed the cruise, as did most of the people on board, but the up-selling is more noticeable and getting harder and harder to escape from though.

Cabin Review

Large Ocean-View Stateroom

Cabin EE

I prefer Princess layout with the closet/dressing area and a shower instead of a tub, but there is more closet space in HAL's layout. Underbed storage for suitcases and the drawers are always forgotten about if people aren't aware of them. The carpet was new, and the beds comfortable, some wear is noticed, but otherwise they are clean staterooms, the pink tile in the bathrooms is dated. Not having a fridge is a drawback, but the icebucket was filled daily, sometimes even twice, without asking, and we had a complimentary SBP that mitigated that issue. Only one US plug can be a problem if you don't travel with an extension cord with extra plugs for all the electronic gadgets, but there is a second hair dryer provided that uses the UK plug, if the hair dryer in the bathroom isn't up to speed.

4 Helpful Votes
previous reviewnext review

Find a cruise

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.