Nieuw Amsterd aam Western Caribbean 3-13-11 sailing review

[esquire20]

Backround: We are a couple in our 50s, veterans of over 30 cruises on all major lines with the exception of Holland America. Most recent cruises were on the Ruby Princess in September 2010, and the Celebrity Solstice in May of 2010. We originally booked a large inside J cabin, took advantage of a flash promotion to a VH GTY and was upgraded to a VA cabin 8151 two weeks before the cruise.

 

EMBARCATION: We flew into FT. Lauderdale 3 days early and stayed with some friends in Miami. We rented a car through Alamo and returned the car to FLL airport and used the FREE Alamo shuttle to the Port. Please note that there was NO rental drop off at the port for Alamo. We arrived at the port at about 11:00am checked in 15 minutes. we were in the 4 group called and were on board by 11:30. To all HAL faithfuls, cabin direct was operational, that is our cabin was ready and we were able to drop off our carry on luggage in the Cabin.

 

CABIN 8151: on the Navigation deck was toward the stern,one deck below the Lido deck, very convenient for quick visits to the buffet. The cabin was well laid out. Sufficient storage for clothes and suit cases. Clean, well organized and spacious. The balcony was a nice size, with 1 wicker chair and ottoman and another smaller chair. Our bathroom had a small tub and all the gel,shampoo and conditioner were in a dispenser. the towels were fluffy and fresh.

 

BUFFET: I personally did not like the layout of the buffet, the specific areas were awkwardly disconnected. The breakfast sections were very good, lunch selection fair, the dinner selections always mirrored the dining room selections. The first 2 days were code orange which meant that all food was served by the staff, including coffee and water. This caused a delay but nothing crazy. My main complaint was the service. The staff took a long time to come and take dirty plates, also at times there was very slow beverage service, one time I had to go to the pool bar to get my soda. Also the first couple of days did not see anyone come around to refill your coffee. Also, for some reason the Lido would start closing at 7:30 PM ! and they did not keep the food selections full late in the service. My feeling is that the last person served should have the same selections and freshness of items that the first person served had. This was not the case at the Lido. We ate in the MDR on two evenings, the first and the second formal night. We had anytime dining, and both times we requested a table for 2 with no problem and no wait. both times it was at 7:30pm. The MDR service was very slow. Also on both occasions the waiters were not friendly. They were not rude but somehow they seemed overworked and stressed. We did not eat in the MDR for breakfast or lunch.

 

SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS: Here is where HAL shined, except for Canaletto, The Pinnacle Grill and Tamarind were excellent, both food and service. We reserved the Tamarind and the Pinnacle Grill on line. You had to reserve lunches at the PG and Tamarind and Canalatto once you were on board, the Canaletto service was also very slow and it seemed that this venue was under staffed. Lunch at the PG was excellent and well worth the $10.00 upcharge, the 5 onion soup was excellent, I had the Burger and my wife had the Filet Mingon. We booked the PG for dinner on the last night before we returned home. The Tamarind lunch was not as good, not enough food. But no charge. Dinner at the Tamerind was much better, good service and excellent food choices I had the wasabi crusted Filet and my wife had the Hoison sea Bass. NOTE the Silk den was a beautiful lounge to have a pre dinner drink.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: I cannot really comment on a lot of the shows because we did go to many except one night we caught the comedian. It was ok. The casino was small, but I did not donate. All the other public lounges were nicely decorated and always clean.

 

LIDO POOL : Here is were I have my biggest complaint. The pools are just too small. I also do not know who designed the Jacuzzis but they were also too small. You could not fit more that three adults in the Jacuzzis, also, there was no shade in the aft pool. If you wanted to be covered you either have to have a Cabana at an extra cost or you to go to deck 3, the promenade deck were they had a wrap around walking/jogging track. Did not see or use the gym or spa.

 

SERVICE: We ordered room service almost every morning for coffee which always arrived prompt and as ordered. Generally the overall service was good, but I did not find it outstanding as I was led to believe by all the HAL faithfuls. In other words, I did not find the service to be any better than we experienced with Celebrity or Princess, the service was professional but not outstanding. I believe this is due to the staff being overworked.

 

DISEMBARKATION: Excellent, another vote for luggage direct! It was great! we were off the ship by 7:15 am no fuss no muss. All of our bags arrived safe and sound.

 

OVERALL: I really wanted to like HAL. I realize that HAL has a loyal following but somehow it did not measure up to other cruise lines I have been on. For instance, the Exploration Cafe did not have cups and saucers only take out containers, this was unacceptable to my wife, this must explain why it was always empty. Also, they had a disdplay case that was always empty in the evenings. Princess has the Piazza where you could always have a pastry with your coffee, Celebrity has this as well. Also,there was only one sugarfree choice for dessert in the Lido and the MDR, this was so curious because HAL has a older demograhic. Celebrity always had 3 or 4 choices for sugarfree desserts. I want to thank all of the HAL regulars for posting so much valuable information and helpful tips which allowed my wife and I to have an enjoyable experience. Any cruise is a good cruise, the weather was good the oceans calm. My observations are only made to help inform other cruisers as I have been informed, Happy Sailings

[Himself]

Thank You for sharing your esperiences on HAL

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review.

[Grandma Gilly]

Thank you for your honest review. I agree with you that HAL's loyal followers think it is the BEST line. We tend to be Celebrity cruisers but have also been on HAL, Azamara, Princess, RCCL, Cunard and Crystal. Every line and ship has its fors and againsts. For me, I will consider any 5* ship and look at prices and itinerary. My next cruise is on the Nieuw Amsterdam but the following one on Azamara Journey. There is no such thing as a 'perfect' ship. and thay can vary so much from one sailing to another. I do agree about the useful information given by all 'faithfull' cruisers, I have learned so much. Thank you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

thank you for taking the time to write your review

 

we agree on the tamarind lunch -- very small

[IRL_Joanie]

Thanks for your review of one of my favorite ships and welcome home!!

 

I do have to make a clarification to your statement about no shade on the Aft Lido Sea View Pool area not having shade. There are many places to find shade as you can see by the photos below (click on each photo to see full sized):

 

 

--

 

 

Lots of shade and the Hit tubs btw, are meant to be smaller for a more relaxed feel as opposed to other lines where it is party time.

 

Joanie

[kazu]

Thank you for your review. Always nice to hear from another perspective.

 

Ships vary by experience from week to week.

[DFD1]

Thanks for your review. You're right. HAL is a long long way from perfect, but we still believe that it is a good value for the money, especially if you like sailing the smaller ships of less than 2500 passengers.

 

Hope you have many more great cruises.

[blueboro]

We were also on the same cruise...4 brothers and wives...8 total. We were upgraded from a VF guarantee to a V on the Navigation Deck. It was great to be able to open 4 balconies and have a huge space. I agree with some things on your post and not others.

 

The cruise director was Gene Young. I have to admit I don't remember any of our cruise directors an hour after leaving the ship and he was no different. Did not really add or detract from the cruise. We loved the fact that when we boarded at about 11:30 we were able to go directly to our staterooms. Great job HAL!!

 

LIDO: The lido food was always good but I like the layout of the Solstice buffet much better. Seemed to be more congestion on the NA. And one of brothers also complained that he could never get anyone in the morning to fill his coffee. One thing we noticed...we always had coffee after dinner and found it odd that they NEVER offered a refill, even in Pinnacle or Tamarind. I did notice after returning to the ship after 3:00 there was not a lot of food and we were always hungry when returning from shore.

 

MDR: Ate there 3 times with anytime dining. Food was very good each time but I agree the service was not very friendly and sometimes slow. I just assumed it was because this was the first time we had experienced anytime dining and the wait staff does not get "invested" in you as much or get to know you.

 

Tamarind: We felt it was the highlight of the dinners. So good we booked a second night. Service excellent as was the food.

 

Pinnacle: While the food was very good, I just can't understand why it takes almost 4 hours to complete a meal. We had 6:00 reservations and got out a little before 10pm.

 

Canneletto: We ate their the first night. The food was good, nothing special, but it was free and something different. Service was okay and we did get cotton candy.

 

Entertainment: Cantare was one of the best shows we have ever seen on our 14 cruises. Go to this one! Rondell Sheridan was the comedian and we all recognized him from TV. Very funny. Just saw a short sample of the magician and he was amazing. Other stage shows were pretty good but the one exception was "The Two fo Us". This was a married couple who are part of the ensemble and had their own show. While the singing was excellent, the banter between songs was so cornry and cheesy it ruined the show. Many walked out. Matt Murphy played guitar and sang in Crows Nest...good and very nice guy. Gini and HAL Cats were musically very good but they really need a male voice to assist with vocals.

 

We enjoyed the Piano Bar mainly because of "Boozie" the waiter. You have got to meet this guy. All 8 of us met him one night and he remembered our names the next day. David Searing (sp?) played and sang but was a little over the top...think Liberace without the glitter.

 

Adagio Strings were good but selections seemed to be designed for bedtime. The Jazz Trio called The Neptunres were also good but it seemed everytime we sat down to listen they took a break.

 

It did seem that after the late show there were not many entertainment choices but we were never bored!!

 

The SHIP: We really liked the Nieuw Amsterdam and it was so much prettier and more elegant than our last HAL cruise on the Zuiderdam. It is indeed a beautiful ship. There are some dead ends where you "can't get there from here" but that is the case on most ships. I know some have complained about the red in the MDR but we loved it, especially when compared to the stark white in the Solstice MDR. The NA is not as open with a large atrium like the Solstice but after a while we came to like it as well. On a sea afternoon there is no place better than lounging on the promenade deck. Kudos to HAL for keeping the wrap around on all of their ships.

 

The Queens Lounge is a beautiful spot as are most of the numerous lounges. The one place we found that was really ugly in our opinion was the casino. Very dark and not colorful and very uninviting. Maybe it was just all the smoke (oh oh...I don't want to start THAT debate).

 

VERDICT: Book this ship. We had a great time. I think the NA and the Solstice are very comparable. There are some things we liked better on the Solstice and some we liked better on the NA. But if you go on a cruise looking to find something to complain about you will. If you don't have a good time on the NA, or for that matter any cruise, it is your own fault!!

[blueboro]

One other thing I failed to mention. If you like to hang around the pool be sure to bring some type of shoe to wear around the pool deck. You will get the bottoms of your feet burned within seconds by just going from the pool back to your lounger. Not sure why they did not use some sort of heat reflecting material for the decking.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your review, sorry HAL did not measure up to your expectations. I agree with your comments on Lido's layout, we have found Celebrity does a much better job in that regard.

 

Kirk