Nieuw Amsterdam Review

4.5 / 5.0
964 reviews

Seasoned HAL cruisers, new ship/experiences for us

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam
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fatcat04
6-10 Cruises • Age 40s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Feb 2019
Cabin: Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom
Traveled with children
Cabin 4155
Holland America high chair with tray
Cabin 4155 with Graco Pack n Play
Cabin 4155, 4151, 4149 balconies opened up
Cabin 4155 balcony
Cabin 4155 bathroom

Dh and I (mid 40's) and ds (teenager) are seasoned HAL cruisers (all three star). This cruise was a family cruise that included us, our newest addition, a one year old baby girl, and both of our mothers, 6 total. Baby girl is a toddler so we had to make some special arrangement for her. My mother in law has some mobility issues, so again some special arrangements.

We embarked in Ft Lauderdale on Sunday 2/3/2019. Our itinerary was sea day, Grand Turk, San Juan, St Thomas, sea day, and Half Moon Cay.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites ($385 per room a night) in Ft. Lauderdale as we have 3 times before but this will be our last time there. Despite getting there at 1:30pm we were not allowed into our room until 5pm (4pm is check in) and the utter chaos of embarkation morning with the 5 tiny elevators being crammed full constantly and no help for those with mobility issues was too much. We will make other arrangements when cruising out of Ft Lauderdale next year.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom

Cabin VC

We actually had a set of three cabins (4149, 4151, and 4155) in our family group. Since these cabins are all next to each other the barriers between the balconies can be partially removed. This was great. Makes for one huge balcony. The rooms were all identical except 4155 was a quad so it had the bunk in the ceiling above the main bed which we never used. Plenty of storage. 3 full closets, storage also above the sofa and room to store suitcases under the bed. The magnifying mirror and hairdryer are in cloth baggies in the desk. The bath is small but has a little tub great for our toddler. We requested and received a Graco pack n play for our toddler. We brought along sheets for the pack n play. It fit neatly near the sofa with plenty of room to spare. We also easily stored her stroller in the cabin next to the sofa. The balconies were deeper than others and were ample. 4155 and 4151 were adjoining cabins and there were no noise issues even with late night movie watching and a toddler that woke up a couple times a night.

Port Reviews

Grand Turk

This used to be one of our favorite beach day ports. Not anymore. The water is very pretty and pleasant but the beaches are crowded out by the locals selling their ramshackle chairs with umbrellas or tents and the cruise centers chairs are crammed together like sardines. The Margaritaville DJ started getting vulgar pretty early in the day so if you were anywhere near there you got to hear him loud and clear. We took the kids and grandparents and headed back to the ship at noon to eat lunch and stay. We did amble down to Jack's Shack to look around prior to leaving and might try that in the future.

San Juan

Crowded port area BUT the city is very lovely and very walkable. The forts never fail to amaze with their history and scenery. Shopping here is also very nice. Lots of great restaurants and crafts stores. A very enjoyable port. Also 2 drug stores near the port in case you forgot something or need something while on your cruise.

St. Thomas

We took a van taxi to downtown. The rates are reasonable. We explored the Palm Passage shopping area. Very picturesque and pretty. We had lunch at Amalia Cafe. Great meal. I highly recommend it. We look forwards to coming back here again. Lots to do.

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