Nieuw Amsterdam Review

East and West Carribean

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam

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Sail Date: Jan 2012
Cabin: Deluxe Verandah Suite

We are very experienced cruisers and have cruised with Hal 3 times.We chose to book direct with them,what a disaster. We experienced a catalog of errors which were eventually sorted and as compensation were offered an additional $50 per person on board spend for which we were happy to accept. Unfortunately when we came to settle the account on board the $50 was not booked with the ship. I was told that I would have to sort it out with the head office in the USA when we returned to the UK.Apparently there was nothing that could be done on board and all we got was a corporate brush off.In view of the problems experienced in booking I was not prepared to leave it at that especially as trying to deal with an inefficient administration from another continent did not appeal, so I cancelled the gratuity portion of the bill.This caused a chain reaction and within the hour the original $150(3 passengers @ $50 each)was instated on the bill and we reinstated the gratuity. Clearly it could be resolved on board but we were left feeling that had we not been forceful Hal would have simply got away with it. I wonder how many simply give up.We had no desire to withhold the gratuity as the crew in general were excellent and worked very hard but it was the only lever we had on board.

Now to the holiday itself. We booked a two night stay at the recommended Westin Hotel at Fort Lauderdale. There are Two Westin hotels and the one Hal uses is someway from any places of interest,expect to pay at least $25 to go anywhere in a Taxi.The hotel has a courtesy bus which operates within a 3 mile radius which given the hotel location does not get you very far. The hotel itself is reasonable for a short stay but is located next to an interstate highway so there was significant traffic noise 24 hrs a day, particularly when using the swimming pool or terraces.

Transfer from the hotel to the port was fine but expect a long queue at the port before boarding.Once on board everything was well organized and in case you think I am a moaner I can say the cruise was excellent,food good and plentiful,the crew could not do more to please(unless you had to deal with customer services with a complaint), cabin stewards bar staff and waiters always with a smile. The entertainment was average compared to other cruise lines we have used except the four male singer group who were superb.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Verandah Suite

Cabin SA
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