Nieuw Amsterdam Review
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We have just completed our trip to Venice, Athens, Istanbul and the Greek Isles on Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam. We were a party of 5 so we had 3 staterooms. We had booked this trip late last fall and knew it would be only the second voyage but for the price we received it was well worth the risk. To say the least, we had a great time. The ship was in great shape, our room steward was the best and all the wait staff were efficient and friendly. We hardly knew we had a steward but our room was always clean, fresh towels, ice and bed turned down. I don't know how they do it, but he knew our routine and when we were gone, he was there and done. Our food experience was also very good. We ate most of our dinners in the Manhattan Dining room with open seating. We never had to wait more than a minute and had nice large tables for 5. We ate breakfast in the Lido and a couple of lunches also. The selection and quality of the food here was much better than our last experience on Princess. We did eat in the Pinnacle Grill one night and the food was excellent but I am not sure it was worth the $20 up charge. Problem here was we sat a table too small for 5 people so it was a little cramped. However, again our service and food was certainly above average.
There are so many things to do while on board that you would never get bored but you just can't do them all so you have to be selective. Bingo and Trivia seemed to conflict the days we were on board so we opted for Bingo. My complaint here is that the ship keeps too much of the entry fee rather than giving it away as prizes. At $25 per card, it seemed the prize giveaway was less than 50%. Some days it was very crowded and my son and I started figuring out how much the take was and then what was given away. The fact both he and I won did make it better and covered all of our entrance fees.
The entertainment was decent but not over the top. A lot of the people liked the ships' singers and dancers. We thought that was the weakest of the entertainment. The comedian was ok, the Broadway singer excellent and the two piano players on one piano was clearly the best. The entertainment needed a magician and a ventriloquist.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom
Our room was very nice and for a cruise ship, spacious. We had good closet space. The bathroom was big enough and we had tub/shower unit. We were on the 8th deck toward the front of the ship and our views were incredible. The people next door were noisy a couple of nights but were quiet after 11 pm. We were right adjacent to the elevators for the front of the ship but that never did create a noise problem. It also made it easy to get down to the floor for dining or the showroom or casino. We only one deck away from the Lido so it was an easy walk for breakfast. Our room steward was excellent. Actually the best one we have had on any of our cruises.