We are in our late 50s/early 60s. It is our 4th cruise with Holland America; six cruises with another company. We like HAL’s quiet nature, the service, and particularly the promenade. We were limited to a 7-day sailing this winter.
Food, service, entertainment, and Cruise Director Kelly, were all very good. You can find Kelly about the ship during the day and I found her to be very approachable. It was the first time to try Tamarind. The service and food were excellent. I highly recommend dining with them. Due to scheduling conflicts we missed out seeing Adagio Strings, the pianist, and the house band.
I enjoyed the cooking presentation with America’s Test Kitchen. I learned some new techniques and the chefs were fun. My husband found the Digital Workshops informative. The instructor was great. The classroom was cleared after each class so that guests who were waiting outside were able to enter and those attending the last class went to the back of the line.
Our Deluxe Verandah cabin was ready when we boarded at noon. Well cared for by Mulkan and Arif.
It was our first time on the Nieuw Amsterdam and it appeared to be a more modern ship than our other sailings. She was in fine condition. Our stateroom had a flat screen TV mounted on the wall. It had some great features, including some very recent top movies and more movies were added almost daily. Too bad movies, shown in the ship’s theatre, were not repeated in our cabin the day after. News channels were available; but no network shows. Plenty of room in the bathroom for two with a large shower. The balcony was also a decent size but the two chairs were uncomfortable. Plenty of storage but not in the desk area. We were well-cared for by Mulkan and Arif.
You get what you pay for. It was an inexpensive tour of the island by taxi; $20 each. Some island highlights. We were rushed, but the driver had time to pick up his lunch.