This was a good itinerary starting in Ft. Lauderdale, going through the Panama Canal up the West Coast to Seattle w/an Alaska cruise included. HAL calls this a Collector's Voyage. The Amsterdam is smaller than most medium sized ships w/mostly an older crowd and other than an on-going problem with a persistent series of water leaks mostly on deck 5, the cruise went on w/o a hitch. We had an OV on the Main Deck which I would take again in a heartbeat. The only irritation w/the cabin [and just about everywhere else] was a continual vibration when the engine were going.
Then crew worked hard to make sure we enjoyed ourselves. Many went out of their way for us. Esp. the crew in the MDR and Lido. The Lido was OK, the Dive-In was really good, and the MDR was excellent [not every dish was great, but many were really, really good].
Entertainment was just OK. The HAL Singers and Dancers [two troops as they were changed out during the cruise] did a very fine job. The best was getting to listen to "Island Magic" [Steel Drum Band] again. Had been entertained by them on the Zuiderdam.
This was on the Main Deck directly below the Promenade. A usual HAL OV cabin w/o an obstruction to your view. Quite nice, fairly quiet, but had a slight vibration when the engines were running. I would choose this room again.
Flew in, quickly taken to the ship, embarkation was easy.
Nice enough town. Tour cancelled at the dock by the Harbormaster.
Excellent shopping at the end of the pier. Clean. Few hawkers.
Tour cancelled because of bad weather. Very pleasant city.
Wet and cold. Just walked around near the ship. Was pretty.
Been here several times. Just walked around and enjoyed the sunshine.