Nieuw Amsterdam Review

4.5 / 5.0
963 reviews

The Greatest Show on Water

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam
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Time For Dreaming
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Mar 2011
Cabin: Superior Verandah Suite

Holland America Line's Nieuw Amsterdam IV was only nine months old for our 7-night Western Caribbean itinerary on March 27, 2011: Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Day at Sea, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Mexico, Day at Sea. Weather was in the 80s for the entire vacation. This was our first HAL cruise. Although the ports weren't particularly scenic or exciting, we would certainly be interested in seeing more of the Caribbean but only on HAL.HAL was used for all travel and transfer arrangements which included a pre-night stay in Fort Lauderdale. Our overnight direct flight from LAX on Delta to FLL arrived at 6:15 AM the day before the cruise, where we were immediately welcomed by a friendly Holland America representative and quickly taken to our hotel. We thought for one night a moderate hotel category would be okay, but we were mistaken. The Westin Fort Lauderdale is about a 20-minute ride from the airport in the middle of no where. The hotel was not very good. Try Duffy's Diner (5-minute walk) and a little beyond a small but very good Italian place. At 12:45 PM on cruise day we started the embarkation process, and within ten minutes we stepped aboard this beautiful vessel. Staterooms were ready; luggage arrived within an hour.PUBLIC AREAS: We loved the size (2100 passengers) and personality of this ship with her classy and gracious charm. Even elevator doors were a work of art. The dEcor blended traditional and contemporary styles with warm neutral colors for the most part, lots of brass & wood, mood setting accent lighting, fresh floral arrangements, day-of-the-week carpet inserts in the elevators, a collection of fine art reflecting the history of New York City, and black & white photos along stateroom hallways reflecting NYC and ships from the past. There's an exterior non-jogging promenade on deck 3 that goes around the ship (plenty of lounge chairs and benches along the way). Three trips around equals one mile. Every inch of this ship was always spotless. STATEROOM: Our SS Category stateroom (7080) was portside on the Rotterdam Deck (Deck 7). If this stateroom is available, jump on it. Having a Superior Veranda Suite made a big difference in storing belongings and moving about with ease. With plenty of closets, drawer and surface space, keeping things organized and out of sight was a breeze. Furnishings were selected with thought, and fresh flowers and fruit a surprising touch. The bathroom has double sinks with actual counter space and an entire shelf underneath, a full whirlpool bathtub/shower combination plus an additional shower stall, large fluffy towels and nice sundries. The SS category on this ship usually has 300 sq. feet of interior space with a 98 sq. foot balcony. However, SS 7080 is a corner stateroom on a hump section. Because of location, the stateroom itself is a little bigger than other SSs. Rather than a coffee table with two chairs in front of the couch (would have been cluttered) this stateroom has two chairs around a moveable rectangular table next to the side table separating it from the couch. The view looks out onto the balcony. Table is large enough to eat, play cards, even a board game. Instead of a rectangular balcony, this one has as angled section (looking forward) with two straight sections, and is also larger than the norm. Two padded chairs with ottomans, small drink table, and dining table with two more padded chairs did not crowd the balcony. Balcony furniture was imitation wicker. Cabin attendants kept everything 100% immaculate. Note: Only those in Deluxe Veranda Suites and Penthouse Suites get the suite perks such as the private Neptune Lounge, complimentary laundry service, etc. ENTERTAINMENT/ACTIVITIES: There was such a multitude of interesting and varied events going on both day and night that you could spend all your time just going from one entertainment/activity to another and do nothing else. Went to all the main evening shows: Listen to the Music, Cantare, Hal's Garage Band, Comedy Magician Andy James, Lido Deck Pool Party followed by late night comedy with Chris Bliss, Live at the Avalon Ballroom, and NYC, all of which were extraordinary. The Showroom at Sea has tiered seating after a few front rows of level seating for better views. For some fun, guests in the Queen's Lounge one evening were divided into groups and competed in The Seaquest Game Show where the competitions became more convoluted as the game progressed. The most hilariously funny creative thing we've ever seen is The Liar's Club, a twist on To Tell the Truth. Don't miss it. Travel Guide Ian Page was most interesting and funny with his ports talks as well as sessions such as the Legend of Ernest Hemmingway, and Caribbean Pirates. During Steel Pan Jams, the musician not only explained how steel drums are constructed but also did some unique numbers such as "In the Mood" and "Beethoven's No. 5." Good Morning Nieuw Amsterdam with Captain Jonathan Mercer had us captivated. He was very approachable and honestly answered all questions. We could have listened to him for hours. Even the Disembarkation Briefing & HAL's special Crew Farewell was surprising well done. Top marks also go to Cruise Director Gene Young.As with everything else, SERVICE was exemplary. Every single employee was there to make our cruise the best possible experience. The super friendly crew was mainly Filipino and Indonesian and always took the time to make that personal contact and keep you smiling. LIDO DECK: The mid-ship section has the medium-sized Lido pool with waterfall entry arch, three jacuzzis, and bar. All furniture is thickly padded imitation wicker, but with only about 100 loungers. Plenty of tables and chairs in the shade were available. Six Lido cabanas line the starboard side back from the main pool. Above (on the Observation Deck) and over-looking the main pool and port/starboard sides, are the luxury Retreat cabanas which offer a spa-like setting. Cabanas in both areas can be rented by the day or for the entire cruise and come with special amenities. We had one of the Lido cabanas for the week and it was wonderful. Large round comfy lounger for two, small drink table, dining table with two chairs, towels & robes, and afternoon champagne with chocolate covered strawberries. A special cabana attendant was there to meet your needs.An adults-only area in the aft section (behind the Lido Buffett) consists of the medium-sized Sea View Pool, large jacuzzi, grill, and bar. The loungers were less cushiony and there wasn't much in the way of shaded areas (unless you sat in front of the bar), but overall a great looking area for adult sun worshipers. We didn't spend any time there, but do like ships with an aft pool for some reason. DINING: We did not try the Pan-Asian Tamarind or Pinnacle Grille specialty/fee required restaurants nor Canaletto's family-style Italian.Had breakfasts and lunches in the Lido Buffett which offered varied, plentiful, and quite good selections. Had dinners during early seating in The Manhattan (main dining room).Late seating as well as anytime dining is also available. The only disappointing meal was on the second formal night. The meatball sized filet mignon was not filet mignon but a tough piece of meat. The large lobster tail was somewhat rubbery. No simple garden salad was ever offered, but the soups were extremely tasty.PORTS/TOURS:HALF MOON CAY is a private island in the Bahamas used by Carnival and HAL but never at the same time. We were happy that ours was the only ship there. This is beach day with powder fine white sand and clear turquoise water. No need to tender back to the ship for lunch because the ship brings a BBQ lunch to the food pavilion. For our "shore excursion" we reserved one of the colorful cabanas, #11 Gray. These are 3-sided wooden structures with pop-open windows on the sides, ceiling fan, A/C, small fridge, storage areas, chairs, table, lounge chairs, porch, mister fan, and shower. Included are 8 sodas, 4 large bottled waters, fresh fruit, vegetables with dip, chips with salsa, snorkel equipment, floating mats, and towels. Cabana guests are shuttled to their little piece of Heaven once tendered and we were in ours at 8:30 AM. Earlier this year Captain Morgan's Bar opened between cabanas 5 & 6. Guess it was suppose to look like a shipwrecked pirate ship that washed ashore but it's somewhat out of scale for the place. Cabanas #10 and up are best if you're looking for less crowding and a more peaceful area.GRAND TURK has a very nice and clean cruise port. There's a large complimentary pool with chairs for guests. After our tour we didn't really walk around looking at the various shops very much. New this year is the free Splashdown Grand Turk museum which commemorates John Glenn's splashdown of Friendship 7 off Grand Turk in 1962, but we forgot to look for it. Our tour was the Grand Turk 4WD Safari. The open-aired wild animal type vehicle held 10 people and our tour guide was extremely nice and informative. We saw all of Grand Turk during the expedition.In GRAND CAYMAN we took the Cayman Sightseeing Adventure. Wish HAL had a tour that encompassed more of the place. It took a conscious effort to understand the tour guide. At least the next time someone tells us to go to Hell, we'll be able to say - "been there/done that." Didn't know this in advance but at the Post Office in Hell, you can get your passport stamped. We passed 7-mile beach but couldn't really see it what with all the resorts. The tour description said we would have a 30-minute stop at this beach to go swimming but that didn't happen. We stopped for about 15-minutes so far down from it, that you couldn't see what it looked like. But as it turned out, one of the first stops on the tour was the Tortuga Rum Factory. After the rum cakes and rums tasting, it didn't matter that we didn't see it. COSTA MAYA has a decent cruise port with a complimentary pool and chairs for guests but the shops weren't of much interest. If you wander beyond the main area there are more and better shops along with Senior Frog's (yes, we stopped for the merriment of it all). If you ever wondered—one of the many signs that decorate the establishment lets us know to "Tell Tom, I'm alive" and the smiling Wilson looks darn good. We've been to many a Mayan ruin so we didn't take a tour. There's a fake ruin next to Senior Frog's that might look like the real thing in pictures. Be sure to get a shot of the backside too which shows an "entrance."Because of our flight time home, the only tour of Fort Lauderdale we could do was cancelled by HAL for operational reasons. Hopefully we can see something of it next time.

Cabin Review

Superior Verandah Suite

Cabin SY

STATEROOM: Our SS Category stateroom (7080) was portside on the Rotterdam Deck (Deck 7). If this stateroom is available, jump on it. Having a Superior Veranda Suite made a big difference in storing belongings and moving about with ease. With plenty of closets, drawer and surface space, keeping things organized and out of sight was a breeze. Furnishings were selected with thought, and fresh flowers and fruit a surprising touch. The bathroom has double sinks with actual counter space and an entire shelf underneath, a full whirlpool bathtub/shower combination plus an additional shower stall, large fluffy towels and nice sundries. The SS category on this ship usually has 300 sq. feet of interior space with a 98 sq. foot balcony. However, SS 7080 is a corner stateroom on a hump section. Because of location, the stateroom itself is a little bigger than other SSs. Rather than a coffee table with two chairs in front of the couch (would have been cluttered) this stateroom has two chairs around a moveable rectangular table next to the side table separating it from the couch. The view looks out onto the balcony. Table is large enough to eat, play cards, even a board game. Instead of a rectangular balcony, this one has as angled section (looking forward) with two straight sections, and is also larger than the norm. Two padded chairs with ottomans, small drink table, and dining table with two more padded chairs did not crowd the balcony. Balcony furniture was imitation wicker. Cabin attendants kept everything 100% immaculate. Note: Only those in Deluxe Veranda Suites and Penthouse Suites get the suite perks such as the private Neptune Lounge, complimentary laundry service, etc.

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