Nieuw Amsterdam - Thoughts?

I am hesitant to directly ask "would we like Holland America?" because it is impossible for anyone to answer that question for complete strangers. With that said, I'm wondering if you give me an idea of what we can expect.

My husband has a business trip in Vancouver in September 2018 so I thought that might be a good opportunity to see Alaska via cruise ship because it is one less airplane ticket from DC for me to purchase. :-)

We were last on Holland America in 2002 when we were both grad students. Frankly, I remember very little. Since then, we've sailed suites on the mainstream lines and over the past few years sailed solely with Oceania and Azamara. This gives you an idea of what we are used to.

I'm told HA attracts an older crowd but for us, age is just a number. We once had a paddle board excursion in the Bahamas with two women in their 70s. They were quite active and put us to shame (we are in our mid-40s). We do not care about the entertainment because we never attend. Cruising for us is having a nice hotel that moves from one location to another. We are not food snobs but we do care about the quality of food, which is why we like Oceania, Azamara, and the suites-only restaurant on Celebrity. So I guess when it comes down to it, how is the food on Holland America?

Any input is appreciated. If it helps, I'm looking at a corner-aft Neptune Suite on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

Thank you

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I don't think HAL, specifically Nieuw Amsterdam, is a bad choice for you. I find entertainment to be HAL's biggest weakness but you said that's not a factor for you.

NA was my first HAL experience. We were in our upper 30s and we were definitely the babies on board. Same goes for my following 2 HAL cruises. Not a big deal though. With that came a lot less idiotic behavior on board compared to lines like Carnival and NCL.

All in all, I liked NA. I found it to be a nice ship with nice, comfortable décor. I'd say the food is good. Not great. To me, it's major cruise line standard. As for the specialty restaurants, I'd rate HAL's steakhouse at the lower end of cruise line steakhouses. On the other hand, I really enjoyed Tamarind.

Just my opinion. Enjoy whatever choice you make. :)

We have sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam quite a few times -- love the ship.

Food is subjective. A number of years ago we were disappointed in the quality of the main dining room food for dinner.

As a result we eat only in the Pinnacle Grill and the Tamarind Restaurant (Nieuw Amsterdam has this specialty restaurant) all the time. We gave up the dining room.

I did an Alaska cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam at the beginning of the Alaska season last year. There were a number of younger people (than the reputation HAL has) but not too many children since school was not out yet. You would likely have a similar mix at the end of the Alaska season.

I like the food on HAL but then I am not a real picky eater. I would think visiting the specialty restaurants (which have been very good in my experience) and having the corner aft Neptune suite would be very similar to Celebrity's suite experience.

We were on NA in January. The food in the main dining room was the best food we've had in a HAL main dining room in 10 years. We enjoyed it, and will definitely cruise the NA again. Wish we'd taken her to Alaska this year, instead of the Noordam. Definitely have at least one lunch in the Pinnacle Grill. For us, dinner there is generally too heavy and too beefy.... but that's a personal taste thing, like most opinions of food are ;)

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate your input. I placed a hold for 7137 and I think I am going to go ahead with the deposit. I didn't realize it until now that there is a promotion going on, too. I get a dinner in Pinnacle Grill, $200 OBC, and a signature beverage package (need to figure out what that includes).

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We sailed Nieuw Amsterdam to Alaska this June and thoroughly enjoyed the ship. This was our first sailing aboard a Signature Class ship and, while we typically prefer the smaller HAL ships, we didn't get a 'big ship' feel aboard Nieuw Amsterdam.

I would definitely recommend visiting the Tamarind as we thought the food was fantastic. We, like you said, are not food snobs and truly enjoy the MDR on most of the HAL ships that we've sailed. Has there been misses? Absolutely, but nothing that ruined our cruise experience.

If you haven't sailed Alaska in September, remember you're at the end of the season, there will be less snow on the mountains, some tour operators will have closed shop, and you will have the potential for early bad weather.

We flew to Vancouver last year, at the end of the Alaska season, and caught a Pacific Coastal sailing down to San Diego aboard Noordam and had a great experience.

Out of 15 cruise with HAL she is our favorite!!!! Done 4 cruises on her 3 to the med and 1 to Carribean!!!!

So love her! The staff, food and the relaxation.

The specialty restaurants to me are wonderful.

Denise:)

Since it sounds likely that you are going to cruise to Alaska, make sure to check out the Alaska forum

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=55

Some of the posters there live in Alaska, and some have done dozens +++ of cruises to Alaska. Lots of good information.

We have been in our favoritie aft-corner staterooms on the NA many time and the views in Alaska are amazing. Aft staterooms are not affected by the movement of the ship so dinner on your balcony is a real treat. It is also a great place to see Glacier Bay.

Here is a link to my photo review of the NA in Alaska:

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/photo-reviews/ms-nieuw-amsterdam-on-board-images/

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate your input. I placed a hold for 7137 and I think I am going to go ahead with the deposit. I didn't realize it until now that there is a promotion going on, too. I get a dinner in Pinnacle Grill, $200 OBC, and a signature beverage package (need to figure out what that includes).

 

 

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SBP is a great bonus - enjoy!

I echo fsdj1097's concern about the end of season. It's Alaska's wet month, so port experiences may not be pleasant. Prices are discounted for storm chasers.

If you have the time.... go.

The Tamarind on the NA (and the other HAL ships that have it) is our favorite specialty restaurant.

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We took the N.A. on a 26-day transAtlantic/Mediterranean cruise in 2015. We loved the ship! Believe this to be my husband's favorite ship and cruise yet. Holland America's ships are elegant and beautiful (an inside joke there -- the captain's daily message always ends with a wish that you enjoy the day on the 'beautiful and elegant ----Dam') and the crew is the best.

We had lunch in the Tamarind (lunch was very reasonable upcharge) and have since enjoyed the Canaletto on the Volendam. We never tried the Canaletto on four previous HAL cruises because "pay extra for Italian???" -- it was very good, and we don't even eat pasta!

We too will be trying the Pinnacle Grill courtesy the Explore4 promotion on next year's cruise. Signature Beverage Package has a daily limit of 15 beverages, which includes all beverages priced at US$9.00 or lower. ALL upcharge beverages are included including bottled water and espresso drinks at the Cafe. Some conversations point out that's a poor selection of wines; I believe you can upgrade the package for $11/day (for all the days, so $77 for your cruise) so that you can have anything up to $15/drink.

We sailed your itinerary on the Volendam in June 2016. I recommend whale watching in Juneau (verify that the resident 'pod' is still there!) (can combine this with a visit to Mendenhall Glacier visitor center area) and the railroad in Skagway -- we took train up/bus back for double the views. Skagway is also a fun if touristy town to wander, as are Creek Street and the area near the ships in Ketchikan.

It looks like your cruise sails on Sept 1 -- still 14 hours of daylight in Juneau! Sure there is a 64% chance you'll see some rain any day, but the lowest that gets is 42% at the latter part of May -- it is a rainforest after all. Just be prepared for some rain. Here is other historical/average weather facts: https://weatherspark.com/m/289/9/Average-Weather-in-September-in-Juneau-Alaska-United-States

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate your input. I placed a hold for 7137 and I think I am going to go ahead with the deposit. I didn't realize it until now that there is a promotion going on, too. I get a dinner in Pinnacle Grill, $200 OBC, and a signature beverage package (need to figure out what that includes).

 

 

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We will be sailing in that same stateroom Sept.1 2018! I'll post a live review.

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We do enjoy a glass of wine but it appears that is covered under the elite package and not the signature . Are we able to upgrade the signature package to elite?

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We will be sailing in that same stateroom Sept.1 2018! I'll post a live review.

 

 

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Take good care of it for when we take it over on the 8th!

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Loved the NA Alaskan cruise this year. The crew were fabulous. Thought the food was very good in the MDR, but anything I do not have to cook is always good for me. The Pinnacle Grill was excellent. Entertainment was okay. I particularly enjoyed the two classical musicians as well as amazing Blues group that had everyone wanting to dance.

I spent 4 weeks on the NA earlier this year, and a week previously to Alaska as well. Whilst I prefer the smaller ships, I have to say that the NA is a lovely ship with a great crew (mostly;)) and food in all venues was good.

Being Vancouverites, we have cruised Alaska multiple times, and frequently in September when, apart from one year, the weather has been great.

Take good care of it for when we take it over on the 8th!

 

 

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I will! I'll take pics and videos for you too.

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I believe you can upgrade the package for $11/day (for all the days, so $77 for your cruise) so that you can have anything up to $15/drink.

 

It looks like your cruise sails on Sept 1

Looks like it's $11.50 (10.00+1.50 gratuity) CURRENTLY. Could be more by then but if so, so would the wines. As POA1 pointed out in another thread -- one glass of wine per day in the Elite range, pays for the upgrade. Put that way, makes me definitely consider it! In that thread, which I bumped earlier today or yesterday strictly speaking, is a discussion of obtaining the upgrade. At the time it was not being consistently offered but POA advised persistence with as many personnel as needed.

I don't know why September 8 didn't show on my search, but the weather won't be much different (historically). I did want to mention that the whale watching in Juneau is in a covered boat and wonderful even in a light rain. I did check a private tour website and it said they offer "to September" and also reminded me that they have money back guarantee you will see whales - AS DOES THE SHIP'S EXCURSION.

Our taste in cruises and cruise food seem to mirror yours.Oceana is our new go to cruise line but we started with Holland America a longtime ago and also have been on a number of Celebrity and Crystal cruises. Ithought I would give you a breakdown on some of the differences between Oceaniaand Holland specialty dining. You have to remember that, unlike Oceania,Holland charges for all of their specially restaurants, albeit a small amount.

The steakhouse: Polo Grill versus Pinnacle Grill. For methis is the closest comparison between the two lines for food. Both are verygood and the Pinnacle Grill will sporadically be open for lunch on sea days.

The Italian restaurant: Toscana versus Canaletto: HollandAmerica has walled off part of their Lido to create their Italian restaurant.So it's a step down in atmosphere compared to Toscana. Still fun to go to butdefinitely the edge goes to Oceania on both location and food.

Asian fusion restaurant: Red Ginger versus Tamarind: similarin execution, Red Ginger having a spicier menu (although never spicy enough forus; my biggest grip with Crystal). The Tamarind restaurant is only found on thenewer Holland American ships

French restaurant Jacques versus ? There is no equivalentrestaurant on Holland America. Jacques is some of the best French food I've had,even on land. This my go to restaurant on Oceania

Executive Lounge versus Neptune Lounge: Since you are in asuite, you have the use of the Neptune Lounge. This is definitely where HollandAmerica is better. Suite passengers have a private lounge on deck seven that hassmall snacks that are changed out during the day. The concierge can be veryhelpful with about any changes or reservations you need to make on the ship.

A couple of final random thoughts;

The crew on Holland America are warm and friendly. The NieuwAmsterdam will give you a real Promenade deck giving you a mile of exercisegoing around 3 times unlike the Oceana’s, going around their funnel for 11 or12 times! The size of your suite will be basically the same size as a PHcategory on Oceania but of course with a bigger balcony being at the stern anda bigger bathroom.

For us, we are coming back to our roots as we started longago with Holland (before electric light, as I remember) after the last fouryears with Oceania, we’ll be again on the Nieuw Amsterdam the end of this monthand on Oceania again next April.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

I am hesitant to directly ask "would we like Holland America?" because it is impossible for anyone to answer that question for complete strangers. With that said, I'm wondering if you give me an idea of what we can expect.

 

My husband has a business trip in Vancouver in September 2018 so I thought that might be a good opportunity to see Alaska via cruise ship because it is one less airplane ticket from DC for me to purchase. :-)

 

We were last on Holland America in 2002 when we were both grad students. Frankly, I remember very little. Since then, we've sailed suites on the mainstream lines and over the past few years sailed solely with Oceania and Azamara. This gives you an idea of what we are used to.

 

I'm told HA attracts an older crowd but for us, age is just a number. We once had a paddle board excursion in the Bahamas with two women in their 70s. They were quite active and put us to shame (we are in our mid-40s). We do not care about the entertainment because we never attend. Cruising for us is having a nice hotel that moves from one location to another. We are not food snobs but we do care about the quality of food, which is why we like Oceania, Azamara, and the suites-only restaurant on Celebrity. So I guess when it comes down to it, how is the food on Holland America?

 

Any input is appreciated. If it helps, I'm looking at a corner-aft Neptune Suite on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

Thank you

 

 

 

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Sounds exactly like us. We're in our mid-50s and have also cruised HAL in our late 40s. We cruise solely for the itinerary and the convenience of having our hotel room move with us, and not wasting time traveling from city - go to sleep and wake up in the next location. We don't do the shows, we don't gamble, and my husband doesn't drink at all and I just have wine with dinner. We loved our recent HAL cruise. The food was very good. We had a dinner at the Pinnacle, and that was excellent. We could get good breakfasts at the Lido in time to get off early and take advantage of all of our time in port. On at sea days we enjoyed using the fitness center. We found excursions that were active enough most of the time but some of the all day bus tours were geared towards riding and viewing from the bus. We'd avoid those in the future. We did HAL in Alaska and they were super organized and it was a great trip. We did a land a sea tour. I did a day by day write up of that trip on this board.

Our taste in cruises and cruise food seem to mirror yours.Oceana is our new go to cruise line but we started with Holland America a longtime ago and also have been on a number of Celebrity and Crystal cruises. Ithought I would give you a breakdown on some of the differences between Oceaniaand Holland specialty dining. You have to remember that, unlike Oceania,Holland charges for all of their specially restaurants, albeit a small amount.

 

The steakhouse: Polo Grill versus Pinnacle Grill. For methis is the closest comparison between the two lines for food. Both are verygood and the Pinnacle Grill will sporadically be open for lunch on sea days.

 

The Italian restaurant: Toscana versus Canaletto: HollandAmerica has walled off part of their Lido to create their Italian restaurant.So it's a step down in atmosphere compared to Toscana. Still fun to go to butdefinitely the edge goes to Oceania on both location and food.

 

Asian fusion restaurant: Red Ginger versus Tamarind: similarin execution, Red Ginger having a spicier menu (although never spicy enough forus; my biggest grip with Crystal). The Tamarind restaurant is only found on thenewer Holland American ships

 

French restaurant Jacques versus ? There is no equivalentrestaurant on Holland America. Jacques is some of the best French food I've had,even on land. This my go to restaurant on Oceania

 

Executive Lounge versus Neptune Lounge: Since you are in asuite, you have the use of the Neptune Lounge. This is definitely where HollandAmerica is better. Suite passengers have a private lounge on deck seven that hassmall snacks that are changed out during the day. The concierge can be veryhelpful with about any changes or reservations you need to make on the ship.

 

A couple of final random thoughts;

 

The crew on Holland America are warm and friendly. The NieuwAmsterdam will give you a real Promenade deck giving you a mile of exercisegoing around 3 times unlike the Oceana’s, going around their funnel for 11 or12 times! The size of your suite will be basically the same size as a PHcategory on Oceania but of course with a bigger balcony being at the stern anda bigger bathroom.

 

For us, we are coming back to our roots as we started longago with Holland (before electric light, as I remember) after the last fouryears with Oceania, we’ll be again on the Nieuw Amsterdam the end of this monthand on Oceania again next April.

 

 

 

Hope this helps,

 

 

 

Jeff

Thank you so much, this was quite helpful. We are runners and it will be nice to just run around 3 times instead of 11-2 times!

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Thank you so much, this was quite helpful. We are runners and it will be nice to just run around 3 times instead of 11-2 times!

 

 

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Sorry to burst your bubble but running is not permitted on the promenade deck: