We're around 70, have lived abroad, and use cruises primarily to visit interesting ports and meet interesting people. We have no interest in the shows on board and avoid the casino and pools. We chose the HAL cruise from Venice to Barcelona for some new ports and the chance to revisit familiar ones.
Unfortunately, the Med in October had other plans. Port calls for Kotor, Corfu, and Livorno ...
This was our 1st Holland America Cruise. The Nieuw Amsterdam was a very nice ship and not too glitzy. The communal rooms and bars were all very nice but in general walking around the ship was cold and we required a sweater or cardigan. The stateroom was a reasonable size, plenty of storage with extra drawers under the bottom of the bed and plenty of room for the suitcases under there too. It was ...
My wife and I traveled on the Venice to Barcelona cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam on May 16th.
This was our third cruise on Holland America and we expected a special cruise. Unfortunately it was a disappointment.
The Nieuw Amsterdam was to have been their flagship but seemed no better than the other Holland Ships we have been on.
Embarkation – the embarkation was relatively easy however ...
HAL could not take my luxery cruise to the last 5-10% to make it what they claim it is.
The concept of a cruise and a world wind tour of Europe was appealing to me and I did have an excursion almost every day. The conceriage on board was dedicated to the penthouses and deluxe suites. He was about as useless a tits on a bull. Let's just call him Worst for now. Out of 7 requests to the Neptune ...
Embarkment in Venice was very smooth. Used Hal's transfers. Transfers are very expensive for a 30 min. drive; but efficient. The ship is clean; but plain. This is not an elegant ship. Carpets in front of the elevators are showing wear; but the ship was kept very clean. Staff was excellent. Always smiles and they are very accommodating.
The ports were all OK. Only took the ship's tours in ...
I've been on HAL before and had high expectations for this adventure. They failed miserably in several categories. First off...the food. We were part of a large group so I can tell you it was not just me personally with this experience. In the dining room, I received over cooked meat constantly. From the duck, to the osso bucco, and even steaks. We also received items that were simply not ...
My wife and I joined the Nieuw Amsterdam in Venice for a Collectors Cruise, 11 days cruising the Eastern Mediterranean followed by a 17 day cruise that started in Venice and terminated in Fort Lauderdale. We had a Balcony Stateroom on the 8th level which was small but comfortable and were looked after by very friendly cabin stewards.
The first thing that struck us when we boarded was the ...
Our October-November 2011 cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam was our second transatlantic crossing and probably our last. The reality of a major storm on top of day after day of rough seas is sufficient to convince us that there's a good reason for the discounted pricing on these repositioning cruises.
We left Venice on a beautiful, sunny day and had great weather in Dubrovnik, Corfu, Sicily, and ...
My husband and I chose the HAL based on researching reviews and talking to many "cruisers". We are past the age of rock climbing or hitting the water slides so we chose a traditional cruise, leaving the families having to amuse children to the mega ships. We were celebrating our 30th anniversary and were very excited to do so on a 12-day cruise. The cruisers told us that 1) once we were on ...
Perhaps I was unable to do enough research and should have had different expectations, but this cruise was disappointing in some aspects. The ship is beautiful, tasteful. Our stateroom had a nice balcony but I do not consider it spacious for a cruise ship, and it seemed about the same size as most other outside rooms we walked past while doors were open, even on deck 1, so except for shower gel ...
