This was my fourth Holland-America cruise among 14 overall cruises in the past 10 years.  In the past, my experiences were generally favorable. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the 'Nieuw Amsterdam'. The embarkation turned disastrous, although it appears through no fault of Holland-America. The ship had arrived in the morning from Europe, during which time a number of passengers developed gastrointestinal virus. Therefore the ship needed to be cleaned and inspected by the Coast Guard, delaying boarding by several hours.

The first two nights we ran into some rough seas and wet weather, which didn't help to raise any one's spirits. Food was served by the crew in the Lido for the first few days. A good thing.  As for the ship itself, I have been on 3 HAL Vista class ships previously, and despite the hype for the brand new "Nieuw Amsterdam', it was just more of the same basically. I don't know what it is about the design of these ships, but none of them seem to handle rough seas very well. I have been on many other cruise lines, and their ships never seemed to rock quite as much.

The interior design of the ship was nice overall, easy to maneuver if you're familiar with other Vista class ships. As for the trumped-up hype for the New York City theme, there was little to make such a impression. A crystal chandelier in the main atrium depicts famous NYC buildings. Read more