Amsterdam Review
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We just returned from a 14 day cruise on a the venerable Grande Dame, Holland America MS Amsterdam. Let me preface this review by saying we (my husband, son and DIL) very much enjoyed this cruise. We chose it for the unique Alaska Itinerary that included many ports to which we had not been on our previous Alaska cruises. This was our 4th Alaska cruise and first time on Holland America. We have also cruised with Carnival, Norwegian, Celebrity and Viking Ocean.
By reading all the previous reviews, we knew that HAL caters to an older crowd; however, "older" is a relative term which in this case means "floating nursing home." I myself am 70 but I felt young and spry on this ship of canes, walkers and wheelchairs. Don't expect to move anywhere quickly, but do expect to meet educated, well traveled shipmates with much good information to share. One of our shipmates reported going to the Lido late-night buffet, when an elderly man wandered in completely naked. Yes, that happened. Holland America knows their target market well, and have staff to help the frail get food at the buffet, enter and exit the ship, and even have the day of the week printed on the rugs in the elevators to help with orientation.
This ship still has the great viewing room with floor to ceiling windows that many newer ships have replaced with fee restaurants. There is also a big library/gameroom/computer room with large windows, which is a great place for hanging out.
Cabin Review
Large Ocean-View Stateroom
Our cabin was larger than most ocean view rooms and had more storage than any category cabin we have had in the past. In fact, there is so much storage that we did not use it all. There is no mini refrig, but the ice bucket was kept full and was all we needed. The cabin shows it's age with rust at the base of the bathroom door frame and a clean but not completely clear window. The A/C is barely adequate. You will need to draw your curtains on warm days if the sun is out. The heat and A/C have slow response times. The bathroom is larger than most, has a big medicine cabinet and a roomy shower with a curtain and a spray head that converts to handheld. There are dispensers on the shower wall for shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. I found the gel to be a bit harsh and drying--it has a menthol feel. The biggest problem with the shower is the unstable water temperature. If you are showering when many others are doing likewise, the water will need near constant adjustment, and it has a knob rather than a lever which I could not turn with soapy hands. There is good lighting in the bathroom for putting on makeup and a wall mounted hair dryer. There is another hair dryer in a drawer of the vanity/desk outside the bathroom. There is also a wall-mounted adjustable lighted mirror over the desk, but I found even with that, the lighting was not adequate to put on makeup. The bed was a little harder than I like but not bad and the extra pillows I asked for were cheerfully delivered. There are light switches behind the area where you prop pillows to read in bed, so a shift in position would turn the various lights on and off. As many have noted, the outlet in the bathroom is for razors only, and there is only one outlet in the main cabin area, over the desk with a 220 and a 110 outlet. We brought a fast charger that allowed us to plug in our cell phones and it was all we needed. But if you need to use CPAP, for example, you will need to get an extension cord from customer service. Overall, I was pleased with my cabin choice and found it comfortable.