Sea42

After a couple years of planning we’re finally on our way to the fjords of Norway! Our cruise last year on the Volendam was canceled 6 weeks before sailing due to the ship being needed for refugees from Ukraine. For us, that trip turned into a 3 week land trip of the Netherlands and Belgium and it was wonderful but I am so glad we were able to be back here this year to sail on the Nieuw Statendam, leaving from Amsterdam. This is our first cruise on a Pinnacle class ship and so far we are enjoying this ship. We spent one night pre-cruise in Haarlem. Last year we were in Amsterdam and Rotterdam so we thought we’d try something new to us. We only had time for dinner and walking around when we arrived on Saturday. We slept in on Sunday, found a place for brunch and had a short walk. Hotel ML was a nice, central location, with a friendly helpful staff. I had prearranged a taxi for our transfer to the pier. However, I set it up for 12:30 and at 11:30 the street the hotel is on becomes pedestrian only! Our taxi driver walked the block to our hotel to meet us and took our luggage to the taxi.The round trip fare for this service was $130 and the trip took about 20 minutes once we were in the van. We arrived at the port at 13:00 and were in our cabin by 13:30. Boarding was quick and we had all of our luggage in our cabin by 14:00. From what I’ve heard boarding earlier was a little more time consuming so, based on our experience, I recommend enjoying your pre-cruise city for the morning and arriving at the port after lunch. After boarding we went to the stand set up across from the Pinnacle Grill to make a few dining reservations. We already had our included reservations for 1 Pinnacle Grill and 1 Tamarind dinner so we booked one dinner each at Rudi’s Sel de Mar and Canaletto and 2 lunches in the Pinnacle Grill. We had no issues making reservations for 20:00 dinner reservations. The rest of the afternoon was spent checking our onboard account for OBC totals and purchasing a wine package for cabin consumption. One change to the wine package since the last time I sailed was that they would only deliver 2 bottles of wine, from the package,to our room at one time. In the past we’d had all of the bottles delivered at one time. It seems like an unnecessary procedure to make multiple trips to deliver the wine over multiple days. Sail away was spent on our aft wrap balcony and it was wonderful! We ordered a couple of cheese plates (yes, there are crackers) and had a beautiful day to enjoy the views leaving Amsterdam. We had dinner in the Pinnacle Grill and it was quite good. We had lobster bisque and mushroom soup for apps and for mains we had tenderloin with lobster dumplings and Alaskan Halibut (huge portion!). Both were delicious. Dessert was chocolate souffle for both of us. I wish I had left more room to enjoy all of it! After dinner it was off to watch 2 sets at BB Kings. I hadn’t seen them since 2021 so it was a lot of fun. Loved listening to covers of Stevie Ray Vaughn, Lou Rawls and Tina Turner. The rest of the playlist was a bit of a blur due to the consumption of adult beverages, I just remember having a good time! We did find out upon boarding that my one and only ship excursion was canceled. In Flam, I had booked the train ride with the downhill hike. Unfortunately, the tour operator canceled due to icy conditions. My husband is doing a different excursion so I will have to come up with something else to keep me out of trouble while he’s gone. I’ll try to keep up posting new adventures. If anyone has questions, I’ll try to answer. If anyone else, who is on this cruise, would like to share their experiences here that would be great! Google pics is being cranky so no pictures right now but hopefully tomorrow when we get to our first port, Stavanger.

Did you notice if there is a selection of large print books?

Thanks for continuing with all of the information. It's really helping to pass the time until we board on Sunday. I'm thinking about getting a spa pass so I appreciate the information on that. I think I'm going to have to make up my own mind on the chocolate ball because it sure looks yummy to me☺️ I hope we see you at the M&G! Carol

Thanks for taking the time to write up a review, it's appreciated. I am sorry that your trip was interrupted and hope all is well, covid wise, for you now.

Sorry Pete, I should have mentioned that I found the blogs that I follow for this cruise thru your website! That link has helped me pass the time these last few months until our cruise begins (3 days!!). Thank you

I so agree with what you're saying. I've been following 4 other blogs for this cruise and it is very interesting reading the different views of the same cruise. My favorite, besides Pete's of course, is Debra's, who is on the ship with her teenage daughter: https://livevicariouslythroughdebra.com/ She has such a refreshingly positive attitude, it is a joy to read each morning.

We purchased CO separately from our initial booking and the fees were definitely counted towards our precruise/onboard spending credit just like buying excursions, laundry etc.

That's awful!

Wisconsin people by any chance? It may as well be our state cocktail! LOL

That is a good way to handle those type of situations. People who just want to complain are very tiring. Best to avoid them when you can! I hope you find comfort in the good memories.

Thanks, Jacqui.

Can you tell me if NY Deli was open on Embarkation day? Thanks!

The weather certainly made for some beautiful photos!

We're looking forward to joining you on the 14th! Safe travels

Is there a menu that's provided for the hors d'oeuvres? Do you order them thru the regular room service phone number? Thanks!

Anytime dinning.

My TA forwarded the upsell email to me and I made the call.

Because then maybe you could try a decent beer?😁

I like the chairs facing the window in the library! An ottoman would make it perfect😉

You can check how busy the airport is scheduled to be here: https://www.schiphol.nl/en/my-travel-day/today Right now it is showing dates up to May17th

If I am remembering correctly the price is a little bit higher in Europe. It used to be $7 per day for US sailings and $9 for Europe.

Why were you tested if you have no symptoms? Is there a large outbreak on the ship where everyone was tested?

Thanks so much! Vesterasfjellet looks like one where my husband could join me. The views look wonderful.

I loved that you stopped in to visit a library! How neat that they had a weaving demonstration.

I'm glad you are continuing to recover. And thank you for your blogs! I've followed them for years now and look forward to each new entry. Safe travels!