Our HAL Nieuw Amsterdam trip was a huge disappointment. The food was excellent. Our dining room and cabin stewards were both excellent. Having said that, the dining room was so noisy one couldn't hear ones tablemates. The cabin's air conditioner blew cold all day whether one had it set higher or not but, at night, it turned off and one would be wake up perspiring. The TV did not have a connection for ear phones which was surprising.

The Lido restaurant was so disorganized that we gave up on it. For example, we were seated on the Port side of the ship for breakfast. I ordered a poached egg and was told I had to go to the starboard side as they didn't serve poached eggs on the port side where my husband ordered his breakfast. I couldn't believe it!! This is just one example of many that we encountered.

The entertainment variety left a lot to be desired. There was no excitement on the ship and being on the ship for two legs, we expected the cruise director to have a larger repertoire of stories (jokes) instead of the same ones. There were no pool activities. Read more