We are recently back from our enjoyable 12 night cruise of the Mediterranean Empires and sharing our thoughts. This was our third cruise with HAL but first time on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We arrived at Marco Polo Airport and had previously arranged land transportation from Airport Transfer. This was booked on line at clickairporttransfer dot com. We were four adults and had an assortment of 9 suitcases. The total cost was 65 Euro for all of us and our bags one way. We received prompt email confirmation of our reservation and a contact number if we didn't see our driver when we got to the Arrival area. We were met at the airport in a mini bus and decided to also arrange for pick-up at the end of the cruise for which we received a small discount. Embarkation in Venice was smooth and quick. HAL did retain US passports and provided a receipt but not those of EU citizens. We were able to reclaim them after our stop in Istanbul though we had yet to visit Kusadasi. Our staterooms were immediately available (around 1:00 pm) and our bags began arriving shortly there after. We were in a veranda room (VC category) on deck 5 which provided ample storage space. There even was enough space to slide our large suitcases under the bed.

Ship

A quick bite in the Lido and we began a short exploration of the ship before heading out. Being a new ship it was obviously in great shape and we liked the NYC touches. There was a problem with the midship pool and so only the aft pool was available for swimming for both children and adults. The situation was remedied after two days. There seemed to be an adequate amount of lounge chairs and no chair hogs. Most of the cabanas didn't have any occupants so not sure if the space they take up outweighs the additional revenue. There seemed to be a few more announcements and the disembarkation was not silent as on other HAL ships but that too may have changed. Nonetheless, they were few enough not to be an intrusion. The photographers were present but didn't harass you which was nice. Guest demographics on the ship appeared to be about 60% North American, 30% European, and 10% everywhere else. A wide variety of age groups from children to seniors made for a nice mix. Read more