First HAL Cruise-Underwhelmed by Nieuw Amsterdam

[kazu]

great pics thanks - brings back a lot of memories. Santorini is so beautiful:):)

[HamOp]

Great pictures, Paul. All are "keepers"

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thank You Paul for your review and I do actually agree with you 100%. I cannot tell you how many HAL cruises we have walked around the ship looking for something to do. You think the Nieuw Amsterdam was bad just my opinion the smaller HAL ships are far worse but again that is my opinion which is why we now stay with Vista or Signature Class Ships. Each type of Cruise line has things they do differently and we like NCL for their entertainment, Celebrity for dining etc but over all over the years we just find that HAL has more things we like over what the others offer. Not every cruise line fits everyone which is a good thing ;)

 

We have been on the cruise lines that have the inter-active tvs that have the billing but I have to say both RCI and Celebrity seemed to have times that it was not working and we still had to go to the front desk only to find what was showing on the TV screen in our cabin was a mistake. To me not having it makes for less hassle :D

I will also say in your opening statement you made the comment about not being WOWed, that reminded me right away of our first HAL cruise which was our 2nd cruise and our first being RCI Monarch, when you walked on that ship as a first time cruiser you were WOWed, then we walked on the Zuiderdam 9 years ago and were not but now after many HAL cruises we no longer look for a WOW. We were not even really WOWed with the Celebrity Solstice.

Again thanks for your well balanced review maybe after the years pass and you are no longer looking for an active night life you may want to reconsider HAL :) Because there are some good things to offer too ;)

[Aquahound]

Thank You Paul for your review and I do actually agree with you 100%. I cannot tell you how many HAL cruises we have walked around the ship looking for something to do. You think the Nieuw Amsterdam was bad just my opinion the smaller HAL ships are far worse but again that is my opinion which is why we now stay with Vista or Signature Class Ships. Each type of Cruise line has things they do differently and we like NCL for their entertainment, Celebrity for dining etc but over all over the years we just find that HAL has more things we like over what the others offer. Not every cruise line fits everyone which is a good thing ;)

 

Thank you Lisa. You are 100% correct about cruise line preferences. For right now, HAL just isn't for me. But I am not the type who says "never again!" It may very well suit me better later in life.

 

We got to talking with a couple who were very frequent HAL cruisers. In fact, they eluded to being some secret Mariner level. Sorry, but I don't know the HAL loyalty program well, so don't really know what they were talking about, and my mind tends to wander when people start bragging about status. Anywho, they were telling me they were also disappointed with the Nieuw Amsterdam. They said they had just done a cruise on a sister ship (Eurodam, I think??). They said it was a night and day difference, not necessarily about the activites, but about the service, especially in the MDR.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Excellent.

We have also noticed that HAL has cut back the staff in many areas.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Let me point out something else for future Barcelona travelers. The city is very clean and mostly very safe. However, it is VERY important to be aware of scammers and pickpocketers on La Rambla. Hold on to and secure your bags and men, do not wear wallets in your back pocket.

 

This is a picture of a scam in progress. All the players here are involved. Once others join in, these players break off and pick-pocket those who are focused on the game. We saw it happen and reported it to the police standing nearby. Unfortunately, the police were not very interested, which means this practice will continue.

 

 

Love all your pictures.

Another group you have to be careful of in Barcelona are the women who walk around in what looks like long brown robes and pretending to be praying with books and/or newspapers open in front of them. They will deliberatly bump into you and pick your pockets. They usually go around in groups of threes.

And the children are also great at trying to get your attention to buy a rose while the mother pick your pockets.

[VAPERSON]

Thank you for your balanced review! We are thinking of booking a cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam in the Med and find your review helpful. Love your pictures!:)

[Aquahound]

Thank you for your balanced review! We are thinking of booking a cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam in the Med and find your review helpful. Love your pictures!:)

 

No problem. If you would like to see the entire album, just click on any of the pictures I posted. There are over 800 in the album. Enjoy. :)

[Aquahound]

Here's an amendment to my review. Still trying to be balanced, it is both a compliment and complaint.

 

Compliment first. I was reminded of this by reading another thread. I think it is great that HAL combines certain cruises and allows certain B2Bs to be booked as a single cruise. I'll use RCI as an example here. RCI has ships that alternate itineraries, such as Oasis of the Seas. I have always said they should have the option of selling the 2 itineraries as a 14 night single cruise. I have since found HAL does this on several itineraries. That is a big plus for folks looking to go on extended cruises.

 

Now for the negative. I forgot about this in my first post. I was disappointed in the embarkation process. The Venice terminal was very hot and although large, the designated waiting area after checking in was small and cramped. Most people did not have chairs to sit in. The space was poorly used. This fault may fall on Venice, not HAL, but HAL could have made it a little better by simply providing refreshments. Most cruise lines in most terminals set up water containers and even cookies or other snacks. Nothing here.

[sail7seas]

I agree with some you wrote.

We sailed two weeks on Nieuw Amsterdam November/December and the lighting in the MDR bothered me, as well. We also had a terrible time with the remote control in our cabin. I asked for a new one and personally replaced the batteries with my own to see if that would help. It's not a very good tv /remote IMO

 

We don't look for lots of entertainment and 'make our own' but I agree Nieuw Amsterdam seems to be a 'quiet' ship.... more so than the others for some reason. Can't put my finger on just what it is but we prefer Eurodam to Nieuw Amsterdam of the two sisters.

 

Thank you for sharing your comments with us. It is appreciated. :)

[sail7seas]

 

<snip>

 

 

Now for the negative. I forgot about this in my first post. I was disappointed in the embarkation process. The Venice terminal was very hot and although large, the designated waiting area after checking in was small and cramped. Most people did not have chairs to sit in. The space was poorly used. This fault may fall on Venice, not HAL, but HAL could have made it a little better by simply providing refreshments. Most cruise lines in most terminals set up water containers and even cookies or other snacks. Nothing here.

 

 

I certainly don't know but it is possible the port did not allow HAL to bring food ashore. We have been in terminals where it was not permitted.

 

I could be wrong but it's a maybe???

 

[cruzisme]

We are much older than the OP but many of his comments are

'dead on' in our opinion. We feel that there could be more activities in the evening so that we could have a choice (after the production show we like to do some ballroom dancing) and we have had issues locating a band that caters to this.

For an itinerary, we will sail with HAL but we still prefer other cruise lines.

[Seago2]

Thank you for your review. Loved the Santorini pic! Like you I am happy to travel many different cruise lines. I do love HAL but have not heard great things about the NA. Posters like you, who balance things Out and do not sugarcoat are the most persuasive IMHO.

[SwissMyst]

Yes, I agree this was the wrong cruise line for you. Pays to keep shopping around to find just the right combination you want. Lots to choose from. No one line can be all things to all people. We all ultimately find the right fit for what we are looking for and then tend stick with it.

[ariawoman]

OP thanks for your review.

 

I for one am sad to hear that it seems the NA has declined since her inaugural year when I sailed on her. I loved the ship. The MDR indeed doesn't match the theme but the lighting wasn't bad then (wonder what changed or maybe they switched to those spirly bulbs that are brighter). We had a fine time with the Open dining as well, so it's sad to hear that too has declined.

 

I hope they are able to fix their problems, as it seems HAL has been driving various folks away with their reduced staffing and more obvious trimming down.

 

I choose based on itinerary first, so I too will consider HAL in the future, but I'll be sure to see if the ship I'm considering is having issues with AC/plumbing/staff/whatever before booking, that's for sure.

 

I was on the same itinerary as you took it seems, loved it as well.

[sammiedawg]

HAL is our favorite line ( over Princess which we sail frequently, didn't care for Celebrity, one bad experience and we never went back) but I agree with the OP comments on the main dining room service. We were recently on the Veendam, the waiters had too many tables, they had time to pass out menus, take orders, clear courses, serve courses. I complained on my survey there was little followup. The waiters were proficient, served the food as ordered, the food was hot and well prepared. . No one came to remove lobster shells, we took them off ourselves, then no one came to remove the shells from the bread plate. Water was refilled frequently. We had anytime dining and we were seated half a dozen times on the fixed dining floor, upstairs. We noticed the head waiter, maitre'D or whatever the roving position is called followed up and chatted adjacent fixed diners but pretty much ignored us. I saw a double standard between fixed and anytime dining. Never saw this before. We knew the adjacent tables were fixed diners because we were taken to the same table multiple times.

We also noticed the wine stewards had too many tables. Some nights they were slow to get around to us. They were running back and forth getting people's open bottles from the storage room, getting drinks.

Dining room service has slipped.

We had one sailing on Celebrity, the TV (and many other things) didn't work much less the interactive feature.

We had very good entertainment on the Veendam March South America cruise, cannot complain about it. Mostly cabaret singing shows which we prefer over production shows, they had a small company of 4 singers and a couple dancers. They also brought in a South American tango troupe, the show was as good or better than the dinner show we paid for in BA. We're not night owls but we had things to do after dinner every night. We thought the entertainment on our only Celebrity cruise was pretty lame. Princess seems to offer the most entertainment.

Have not been on the Nieux Amsterdam. Some friends sailed Europe 12 days last year and really enjoyed it.

[cruzn single]

Thank you for an informative, and very balanced review. You were more than fair, and your complaints seemed grounded in very good facts. Reduction in staff can go only so far if standards are to be kept up to the level HAL usually provides.

[Friend100]

OP, thanks for the review. Nieuw Amsterdam was also our only cruise on HAL. I don't know how it compared to other HAL ships but I feel the overall atmosphere and food quality at the Lido buffet to be very good, comparing to the buffet restaurants on other lines we did.

 

 

I do agree with you about the lack of activities on HAL ships. It seems that even on sea days there is just not enough "going on". We know now to choose HAL cruises that are VERY port intensive. After being ashore all day and then a late dinner & perhaps the show, we're ready for bed! ;)

 

Canadarocks, that's pretty much my conclusion after our last cruise.

[DizzyDallasDi]

Hi Aquahound - Completely off topic but I just had to let you know that I remember you from that fantastic thread you started looking for the owner of a camera you found. I followed it here and on the scuba board as well. It was so much fun to read all the replies as people narrowed down the possible owner. Really gave me a warm fuzzy feeling about humanity as everyone was trying so hard to help you find the owner. I must admit I was a little disappointed when it ended...it was better than any mystery novel I've ever read. :) That turtle video went viral and I remember seeing Jay Leno feature it on his show. Good times!

 

Anyway, sorry your cruise on the NA wasn't a homerun but I hope it was at least a triple. :D

[griz]

In Livorno, we booked a private taxi to Florence and Pisa. This provided just the right amount of time in both and we had a great time. It was 320 euros for up to 8 people.

 

 

May I ask who you were booked through? I'm researching our trip the end of July with same itinerary. Thanks!

[Aquahound]

May I ask who you were booked through? I'm researching our trip the end of July with same itinerary. Thanks!

 

It was through a website called TuscanyByTaxi. They were very professional and I do recommend them. :)

 

Hi Aquahound - Completely off topic but I just had to let you know that I remember you from that fantastic thread you started looking for the owner of a camera you found. I followed it here and on the scuba board as well. It was so much fun to read all the replies as people narrowed down the possible owner. Really gave me a warm fuzzy feeling about humanity as everyone was trying so hard to help you find the owner. I must admit I was a little disappointed when it ended...it was better than any mystery novel I've ever read. :) That turtle video went viral and I remember seeing Jay Leno feature it on his show. Good times!

 

Anyway, sorry your cruise on the NA wasn't a homerun but I hope it was at least a triple. :D

 

You remember that, huh? Believe it or not, that story is still running in some countries. I just did an interview with the Japanese. I never expected this. :o

[DizzyDallasDi]

You remember that, huh? Believe it or not, that story is still running in some countries. I just did an interview with the Japanese. I never expected this. :o

 

Your 15 minutes of fame just won't stop. :cool: It's a great story so I'm not surprised it's still being reported.

[cruzingtchr]

Having been an <almost> loyal Royal, I thought your "name" looked familiar. I will be going on HAL for the first time, too, next summer for a B2B on the NA which includes your itinerary. Glad to see a review by someone who has cruised a lot on my favorite line. Itinerary is definitely the reason we've booked with HAL. My parents cruised on the Zuiderdam with this (almost) same B2B itinerary 4 years ago and enjoyed both the ship and itinerary. After deviating from Royal in April for the first time since '84, I came to realize that each line has something special to offer, and from now on I'll be choosing my vacation by itinerary and price. In this case, itinerary. Nobody else seems to be able to come close, especially with an overnight in Istanbul. I was a bit concerned about "nightlife" and entertainment, but with all of the running around we'll be doing in the hot July sun, and only 3 sea-days in 24 days, I might be turning in at 11:00, too. ;)

[0bnxshs]

Paul,

 

You did an excellent job of giving a balanced review and I appreciate your efforts. Our last cruise was on a ship that featured the 'hotel' style, interactive TV systems and while it was problematic all cruise long, when it did work (the interactive part), it was efficient and accurate for quick room service and checking our bill. Here too, our remote was possessed by channel-changing and button-disabling goblins, something I've found is common to heavily used cruise and hotel remotes all over the world. But I'd sure like to see it, in good working order, across all lines. Of course, to accomplish that, it's a box in every stateroom plus other equipment behind the scenes, not to mention a new level of complexity to be mastered by crew members, so not an effortless and far and away not a cost-less installation.

 

I'd have the same issues with the brightness and 'redness' of the MDR as you, so completely appreciate your discomfort there. Seems to me the color red features in other HAL MDRs if I remember correctly.

 

Again, well done and useful review! Many thanks.

[SwissMyst]

Personally, I expect banquet food and a banquet setting on HAL ships in the MDR and am surprised when it exceeds that basic level, which is often does.

 

But that does not change my original expectation for the setting, price and volume of diners served when on this level of cruise ship. Nor was Crystal that much better, but they did offer a veneer of service "hype", but still it was a large setting for large volume dining.

 

Ships are large floating hotels - this is hotel food and not fine dining in the MDR. That said, we were very pleased with our Pinnacle Grill experience on the Maasdam; and not so much with Le Cirque but neither lacked in service attention and amenities due to their much smaller venue and intent.