Nieuw Statendam Review
Nieuw Statendam West/East Caribbean Collector's Cruise, 1/6-20/19
Rating by category
Additional details
We sailed on the Nieuw Statendam 1/6-20/29 for a 14-day collectors cruise to the Western (week one) and Eastern (week two) Caribbean. Mitzi caught a head cold on the flight from MSP and did not feel great for a couple of days in week one. I caught something on board and felt icky for part of week two. There was definitely something going around the ship, even our assistant table steward missed a few days due to illness. We had a very nice cruise, but we are growing a bit tired of this itinerary. Here are some of our observations about the ship and ports. I didn't really notice any major problems related to this being an early cruise in the life of a new ship.
Embarkation-
HAL sent instructions saying to arrive 1:30 (deck 8 & 11 boarding). But we were at the mercy of the Ramada Inn shuttle schedule which left at 11:45 am. We arrived a little after noon. The right side of the wickets had a fairly long line, the left side line, where we were supposed to go, was very short (even number decks I think). We were whisked around to the empty 4-5*/Neptune line and got our key cards very quickly. We were on board and to our room before 1:00. Our luggage arrived within an hour or two. We were unpacked long before muster drill time and set out exploring the ship and taking pictures. Muster drill was by the front desk for our group and was mostly painless.
Cabin Review
Vista Suite with Verandah
Our Vista Suite 8090 was a very nice room. The bed is by the verandah and the desk/sitting area is by the bathroom and room entry. The room felt larger than the VF verandah we had on the Koningsdam, but it was hard to tell by how much since the layout was much different. There seemed to be more storage space than in a VF. Way more than enough for the two of us (but we have learned to pack fairly lightly). The loveseat was in a corner with an end cushion that made it a bit like a fainting couch – quite comfortable. There was a nice upholstered chair for the desk. The bathroom was the same as our Koningsdam VF, but somehow the angle of the toilet did not seem as objectionable. In comparing our pictures from this cruise and last year’s Koningsdam cruise, it is clear that they changed the angle of the toilet wall so that the throne does not point as directly towards the shower stall. A minor change that made a big difference!