We booked a 6 night cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam mainly because it was a relatively new ship and at a good price. The ship itself is beautiful and very elegant.

Our room: we booked an inside room because of the great value and we were surprised at how spacious it was. We had previously cruised on Celebrity and our room was much smaller. The room cleaners were very friendly and left towel animals and chocolate every night.

Public rooms: the public rooms are large and elegantly decorated, but we were surprised at the small size of the atrium. It is three stories high and not too impressive. My favourite spot on the ship was the Crow's nest. It has beautiful views of the ocean and there is a large selection of books and board games to play. There is also Explorations Cafe, which offers specialty coffee which you have to pay extra for. It is around $3 for a coffee. There is one pool on the pool deck and and adults only pool at the back of the ship, where there are deck chairs and a pizza shop. The Lido buffet is large and we never had trouble finding a table like we have on other cruise lines. The crew members are very friendly, and once when I forgot my camera the guy who was cleaning the table ran and brought it to me. Read more