Review of 10/28/17 cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam out of Ft.Lauderdale.

Embarkation: It was the smoothest, most pain free boarding we have ever experienced on any of the cruises we have been on. We were on the ship and in the cabin (veranda) by 11:45.

Shortly after boarding we were hit by the latest tropical storm.

We were concerned that the lifeboat drill would be horrible as it was on our last cruise on NA, but HAL really was at the top of their game. We were scanned and back inside in about 15 minutes.

Shortly after sail away the Captain announced that the port call to Nassau was cancelled due to the storm. A very wise decision as the weather conditions continued to deteriorate. He did a great job of getting NA out of harms way as fast as possible. Nassau was replaced by a sea day.

We had early seating in the upper dining room, table for four with a couple we cruise with frequently. The first night, due to the weather, the dining staff were really off their game. Service was very slow and food not up to the usual standards. This was an aberration, as the rest of the cruise the service and food we're some of the best we've had on any of our twelve cruises.

The first Port of call was Cap Cana, Dominican republic. This was a tender port and HAL issued tickets. Everything went smoothly. This is a brand new cruise stop and it showed. I would highly recommend a ship excursion as other than a few shops and a cafe there is very little to do. The people were extremely friendly and genuinely excited to have the business.

The next port was Amber Cove, and this is where HAL and Carnival corporate really dropped the ball. Carnival Victory was in the port at the same time as NA. This wouldn't have been a problem, except other than a few shops and one restaurant/bar, all of the recreation areas-- pools, beach etc., were only open to Victory passengers. We were denied entry by armed security. When we complained to the office, we were told that HAL was unaware that it's passengers were unable to use the facilities. This was basically a wasted stop.

The final port was Half Moon Cay. Beautiful as always. I only wish more time was allowed there. 8 to 2:30 is too short of time.

The ship: Thankfully NA's dry dock is coming up. Things are starting to break down. The pool dome was stuck in the closed position most of a sea day, making use of the lido cabanas and loungers unusable. The heat was oppressive. They were finally able to get it partially open.

There was approximately 1 hr delay departing Amber Cove because one of the engines wouldn't come on line. Fixed and no problem the rest of the cruise.

The Crows nest is badly in need of a make over. In the explorations cafe, the computers are practically unusable. The keyboards stick and the connection is slow. We bought the 100 minute plan and over 30 minutes were used answering one email. To their credit, the front office replaced the minutes and gave me additional at no charge.

Veranda stateroom: no complaints about the cleanliness. Our Stewards, Fredrik and Patrick kept everything in great order. The furniture, however, is showing signs of wear. The veranda chairs are badly in need of replacement.

The service and food in the Pinnacle Grill was outstanding.

The Lido marketplace was extremely clean and food was good.

The main dining room was very good except for the first night.

The Hydrospa was well worth the price. It was the most crowded of any cruise we've been on.

The lido Cabana we rented for the week was excellent except for when it was unusable due to the dome being stuck closed. Our Cabana steward was great, providing anything we asked for.

The entertainment was the best we've seen on a HAL cruise in a very long time.

The singers and dancers were top knotch. BB King's group was excellent and the singer/ comedian/impressionist was outstanding.

The Casino: very smoky. The smoking rules were not enforced. Didn't see too many folks winning, but had some fun trying.

Debarkation: went very smoothly and on time. The first time I can remember people waiting until group was cancelled, instead of blocking the passageways.

All in all, even though the ports we're below par, it was still a very enjoyable cruise.

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Thanks for the review. One of our upcoming ports is Amber Cove-I'd be very disappointed if we were all turned away because of another ship in port. I agree too about Half Moon Cay-wish the times were longer.

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I enjoyed reading your review.

Keith

Did ship staff ever explain reasons for the Amber Cove "lockout", which makes no sense. The ship cruise staff and captain should have been informed ASAP, and should have corrected that immediately. Is HAL not paying usage fees to Carnival? Hope lots of passengers weren't passive and sent complaints to HAL. That really is bad! We will be there with Royal Princess, so wonder if will be an issue. Can't believe that only one ship has access to pool, and another doesn't. HAL should apologize to all.

Too bad you were denied entry at Amber Cove’s recreational area but glad you still enjoyed your cruise. Thanks for the feedback.

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Thank you for sharing your experiences.

We were on the Koningsdam in March and were in Amber Cove with a Carnival ship.

Passengers from both ships were accommodated in the entire port area with no problems.

I wonder if a slow recovery from the hurricane is to blame?

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The Carnival ship was chartered for "Salsa Cruise" 10/30 - 11/3. They were hosting a "Salsa Party" at Amber Cove.

https://www.salsacruise.com/en/festival/4-3/

Perhaps this was the day your ship was in port?

We were on the same cruise. Embarkation and debarkation were both under 15 minutes and the food on this cruise was way above average.

I was not happy with either port in the Dominican Republic, but we were able to shop in the stores at Amber Cove when we returned from the Ocean World excursion. Cap Cana was not impressive and the tours were extremely expensive. The 4 hour (5 with travel) excursion to the all inclusive beach resort was not all that great and cost $320.00 for two adults and a four year old.

The Half Moon Cay stop was perfect. The weather was great and the barbecue was impressive. Holland America also did a great job organizing Halloween activities for the kids.

We were also on this cruise and really enjoyed the ship - Food, service, room - everything was great. As others have said, the replacement ports were not our choice but we figured we could enjoy a day around the pool at Amber Cove. I really thought the fellow was joking when he said HAL guests were denied entry to the pool area. Apparently the Salsa Cruise had booked this venue a year ago. Someone definitely dropped the ball on this one - I suppose because it was a replacement port the Nieuw A wasn’t originally scheduled to be there. If we had known ahead we might have booked an excursion as there was nothing at that port other than a few shops. HAL did not address the mixup whatsoever on board. Despite some port frustrations we were lucky to be on a beautiful ship enjoying warm tropical weather!

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Thanks for the review. For a charter group to deny entry to Amber Cove for other cruise ship guests is no excuse, you paid for the use of Amber Cove as part of your cruise. I hope a lot of people send HAL head office a nasty gram. I guess at that time of year you take a chance with the weather.

Allan

Thank you all for your reports.

Glad you all enjoyed the ship as the ports were not up to par.

Did ship staff ever explain reasons for the Amber Cove "lockout", which makes no sense. The ship cruise staff and captain should have been informed ASAP, and should have corrected that immediately. Is HAL not paying usage fees to Carnival? Hope lots of passengers weren't passive and sent complaints to HAL. That really is bad! We will be there with Royal Princess, so wonder if will be an issue. Can't believe that only one ship has access to pool, and another doesn't. HAL should apologize to all.

The front office said the Captain and senior staff were unaware of NA passengers being denied entry until passengers complained back on board the ship. They said they had notified corporation and we're passing on all the complaints to corporate as well.

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We were on the Koningsdam in March and were in Amber Cove with a Carnival ship.

 

Passengers from both ships were accommodated in the entire port area with no problems.

 

I wonder if a slow recovery from the hurricane is to blame?

 

 

 

 

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I later learned that Carnival reserved the recreation facilities with Amber Cove for an all day Salsa party. The Nieuw Amsterdam passengers were left out. Very poor decision and lack of communication.

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The Carnival ship was chartered for "Salsa Cruise" 10/30 - 11/3. They were hosting a "Salsa Party" at Amber Cove.

 

https://www.salsacruise.com/en/festival/4-3/

 

Perhaps this was the day your ship was in port?

Yes, but not really an excuse to deny the facilities to an entire ship. Either HAL and/or Carnival completely dropped the ball on this.

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Thanks for the reviews/comments. I'll be on the NA in 3 days time (11/11) and am now looking forward to the entertainment you liked so much. Great to hear the food is excellent also!

dh

We were on the cruise as well and agree with your assessments of the ports.

Trying to plan for this itinerary was frustrating at best. I understand that HAL had to make changes due to the hurricane damage, but don't feel like they did a very good job at it. St. Croix was left on the itinerary until the last minute even though the governor was reporting that cruise ships would not be coming there until at least mid-November. Amber Cove was finally added as a replacement for St. Croix but no tours were available to book online ahead of time. This wasn't too much of a concern to me since I knew that the pool at Amber Cove was an option for us.

I can't tell you how frustrated I was to go ashore at Amber Cove and be told that we were not allowed to even get near the pool!! The temperature & humidity were so high that we just returned to the ship. I took time to stop by guest services and express my frustration and became even more angry when I was told "sorry...we didn't know the pool wouldn't be available." :mad:

Our balcony faced the dock and in the late afternoon there were two gangways set up for Carnival passengers to get back on their ship. I watched as the lines grew to the length of the very long pier. The line of passengers to get on the NA? Zero. While the Carnival passengers had spent the whole day enjoying the water park, I'm assuming the majority of the NA passengers had returned to the ship early in the day as we had. Basically a wasted port.

At Cap Cana we took the Outback Adventure excursion. I had tried to book this independently, but was told I had to book through HAL. I then submitted a claim for HAL's 110% price difference guarantee and received OBC for the difference.

The tour itself was very good, but not exactly what the description said online when we booked in advance. The original description said the tour was approximately 8 hours long and included swimming in a fresh water pool and also a stop at a school...none of which were part of the revised tour description that was published once we were on the ship. Our tour was only 5.5 hours long and the guide apologized multiple times for being so rushed. He said that he was under obligation to get us back to the port no later than 3:15 pm (for a 4:30 all aboard time.)

Half Moon Cay was a true paradise...but frustrating in that it was such a short stay. We were on the last tender back to the ship trying to enjoy every minute possible.

Fortunately it was only the ports that did not live up to our expectations. The food, service and entertainment on the ship was top notch. This was our first cruise on HAL so I am going to assume that all of the problems with the ports was due to complications from rescheduling after the hurricanes.

Laundry and photo editing are taking place now and I hope to get started on a lengthy review on my blog in the next few days. (Link is in my signature.)

Thanks for the reviews/comments. I'll be on the NA in 3 days time (11/11) and am now looking forward to the entertainment you liked so much. Great to hear the food is excellent also!

 

dh

Unfortunately (for you) one of the best entertainment acts has just moved to the Zuiderdam...a group called Island Magic. We were expecting to hear "island music" from this 4 person steel drum band but were amazed by the classical and broadway show tunes that they performed. The EXC host arranged a Q & A session with the band on the last sea day and commented that in all of her years on HAL it was the first time she had seen performers receive not only standing ovations at the end of a performance, but also in the middle!

On Sunday they started a several month long contract on the Zuiderdam so if you have any cruises booked on that ship you are in for a treat!

We will be on this ship soon and glad to read the mostly positive comments. We were very disappointed in the Koningsdam and decided to give HAL another chance.

We have not been notified of any changes to our itinerary: Key West, Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and Half Moon Cay, but know that is always a possibility.

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Unfortunately (for you) one of the best entertainment acts has just moved to the Zuiderdam...a group called Island Magic. We were expecting to hear "island music" from this 4 person steel drum band but were amazed by the classical and broadway show tunes that they performed. The EXC host arranged a Q & A session with the band on the last sea day and commented that in all of her years on HAL it was the first time she had seen performers receive not only standing ovations at the end of a performance, but also in the middle!

 

On Sunday they started a several month long contract on the Zuiderdam so if you have any cruises booked on that ship you are in for a treat!

We will be on Zuiderdam on March 21st. I hope Island Magic is on there then. I some how forgot to include them in my review. They are tremendous!!!

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We will sail Thanksgiving week on the NA and appreciate the reviews. Thank you!!

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Thank you for reviewing your cruise.