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LIVE Nieuw Amsterdam 11-18-2012

CruisingWalter

By CruisingWalter,
in Holland America Line

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CruisingWalter Great Review Rare

CruisingWalter

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Day Seven Part One - Half Moon Cay, Vegetarian Buffet,*

 

Well it's the final day aboard and we rolled into Half Moon Cay around 9:30 with the first tender leaving around 9:50. * We opted to stay aboard and hang in the cabana instead of waiting on the tenders. * The tenders hold up to 200 folks and it sounded most everyone who wanted to go ashore had made it by noon. *It was announced some 1700 folks went ashore. * From the ship Half Moon Cay looked gorgeous, reminiscent of Grand Turk's beaches. * *Looks like folks were having a great time, we definitely enjoyed our time in the cabana. * *All board was 3:30 and we got underway shortly thereafter. **

 

It was a stunningly beautiful final day with temps around 73 and a light breeze. *

 

We hit the Lido buffet for lunch today and DW wanted to note that the best vegetarian options are in the "Flavors of the World" and the Italian / Mexican areas for the entrees. * There is vegetarian sushi every day in the "Flavors" section and on the India day were some good entrees. * Of course you can also get cheese / veggy sandwiches to order and the salad bar is nice. * *The main entrees area rarely has a vegetarian entree though there are plenty of wide dishes. *All in all a very vegetarian friendly buffet. **

 

Speaking of made to order sandwiches, I highly recommend the focaccia bread. * I had a ham and corned beef sandwich today that was awesome on that bread. *

 

Dinner tonight again in Tamarind, will NOT let them seat me near those windows again. :)

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rkacruiser

rkacruiser

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Loving your reports.

 

We sailed on the NA in 2010 and did not experience all those vibrations in the Tamarind.

 

I agree. I was aboard during her first Caribbean season and found no unusual vibrations anywhere aboard the ship, including in the Tamarind.

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tangerinebunny

tangerinebunny

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I've really appreciated your balanced presentation.

 

We had an aft cabin on the NA last December and we, too, were bothered by the vibrations. We put it down to our location.

 

We did sit by the windows in the Tamarind twice and had no problems there.

 

But I did a search here at CC and it is an oft-discussed topic.

 

This is the kind of comment that I found:

Just back from Nieuw Amsterdam. Kids complained that the cabin was unbearable from the vibration and that was when we were docked. They were in cabin 1101. We were in 7118 and could not have our pillows near the headboard or my head would vibrate like crazy when we were at sea. It was not the same vibration you would feel being at the rear of the ship. It was something else. I am still dizzy and we got off the ship on Monday. Probably one of the worst rides in years.

 

Since there are numerous similar posts about the Eurodam, her sister ship, one can't avoid a little speculation.

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PrincessNancy

PrincessNancy

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Just wanted to chime in---thank you so much for your insights. I love your writing style and the presentation of your review.

 

We were on the NA last March and will be on her sister ship in 3 weeks. We spent little time in the Lido---your reviews have made me want to enjoy a few meals there.

We agree about the MDR--nothing to write home about. Based on our experiences in the MDR on the NA we've made reservations 2 nights in Pinnacle and 2 nights in Tamarind for our upcoming cruise on the Eurodam.

 

Thanks again for allowing us to be a part of your cruise!

 

Nancy

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CruisingWalter Great Review Rare

CruisingWalter

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Just wanted to chime in---thank you so much for your insights. I love your writing style and the presentation of your review.

 

We were on the NA last March and will be on her sister ship in 3 weeks. We spent little time in the Lido---your reviews have made me want to enjoy a few meals there.

We agree about the MDR--nothing to write home about. Based on our experiences in the MDR on the NA we've made reservations 2 nights in Pinnacle and 2 nights in Tamarind for our upcoming cruise on the Eurodam.

 

Thanks again for allowing us to be a part of your cruise!

 

Nancy

 

Much obliged. tamarind is just outstanding. We have not done pinnacle grill as my wife is a vegetarian, but have heard good reviews on it from other passengers.

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CruisingWalter Great Review Rare

CruisingWalter

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Day Seven Part Two - Tamarind 2, Silk Den, *Beverage card*

 

First off, we think the captain stayed at least 30 minutes later at Half Moon Cay today due to our late arrival and right now we are seriously "hauling butt." *21.7 knots on our way back to Ft Lauderdale on a ship with a 23 knot top speed. * *Wooooo, you can feel this thing flying through the water. **

 

Had a chance today to talk to other passengers about the Manhatten Dining Room and everyone I spoke to agrees, it's just not very good. Longtime HAL cruisers tell me it used to be really good but in the past two years especially, it's dropped in quality. At the same time, they tell me the Lido Buffet has really stepped up in quality. We can attest to that.

 

On our way back from putting down a deposit on a future cruise, we happened upon a towel animal demonstration down on Deck 2. *The room stewards leave a towel animal on the bed each day and HAL sells a book with instructions on how to do them. *The demonstration showed how to make an elephant, and underdog, a swan, a peacock, a monkey and a gorilla. *Gave us a better appreciation for how talented the room stewards are creating these each day. **

 

Not sure if we mentioned the Silk Den before, it's directly in front of Tamarind on Deck 11. * What a beautiful bar overlooking the Lido Pool with oversized couches and chaise lounges. *A great place for a drink or conversation. *Wen you order a drink they bring an appetizer plate with a spring roll and some sushi samples * They also make the best Tropo Mango Mojito on the ship. *We had drinks there before dinner at Tamarind both times. **

 

Dinner at Tamarind was simply incredible again and we noticed that the vibration issue along the windows was gone. * Kind of ironic since we are going so much faster tonight than the first meal. * *DW started with the vegetable spring rolls, then a vegetable sushi mix. * For the main course she went with the Five Spice Seitan and Tempeh. * She said it was excellent. * Then for dessert she went with the Trio of Sorbets which was wasabi, passion fruit basil and lychee green tea. * The passion fruit basil was her favorite of the three. **

 

I started off with the Chicken Pho with lime and rice noodles. *Absolutely incredible. * I've never had pho with a coconut milk base before, usually it's broth. * Then the Shanghai ribs again because they're so darn tasty. * For the main course I went with the Wasabi and Soy crusted beef tenderloin. I'm not a hot spice fan so I asked them to go light on the wasabi, which they did. *I could taste the wasabi, but didn't have any of the heat. * It was the best steak I have had in a very long time. *Was also served with tempura onion rings which were a nice touch. * For dessert I went with the tempura ice cream again because it's so good. *

 

The table next to us ordered the fortune cookie dessert which is an oversized cookie the size of a dessert plate. *It's huge! *Tamarind is well worth the $15 between the quality of the food, the outstanding wait staff and the ambiance of the space. *

 

We have not used up our entire beverage card and according to the front desk, the remaining balance will automatically be refunded back to our credit card. * We will follow up on that. **

 

Tomorrow we leave the ship and the deadline to get the bags out in the hallway is 1am. That's the latest time we've ever had on a ship. *Nice to not have to rush before dinner to get the bags ready. * Also, today we really appreciated HALs policy of having the departure paperwork in the room on the very first day. *That was all out of the way early so we don't have to think about it today.*

 

The Lido Buffet is slated to open at 5:30 am and the Dining room at 7am so folks can have breakfast before exiting. * Thy expect to start getting folks off around 7:30 and be completed sometime around 10:30 pending the customs process. *We do not have any planes to catch so we know we will be one of the later groups to exit.

 

Despite the disappointment with the dining room food, we do plan to cruise HAL again for the right itintary. As we have mentioned multiple times, the ship really does feel like you're on a classic ship. * *Attention to detail is well done and the staff is just ridiculously friendly. * The bed is comfortable and the room was a good value for what we paid. **According to a crew member today, the NA is due to go into dry dock in April for a full refurbishment. The small issues like the carpet in front of the elevators will be cleaned up at that time. All in all, a relaxing cruise.

 

Well this is the final update from sea. *I'll post one more update tomorrow to let you know how it went getting off the ship. **

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nchagwa

nchagwa

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walter,

It seems as if you really enjoyed your cabana and we are definately thinking of getting one if there are any available for next week. A couple of questions:

1-Are the ones on the Lido deck able to get any sun? And is there a breeze that flows through those down there?

2-Can you take the loungers out of the cabana and into the sun, or are the cabanas only for shade?

We would definately like to get some sun on this trip without having to constantly search for a lounger

3-Do the cabanas on the ocean side of the ship have a plexiglass wall that blocks a breeze?

4-Can you people watch down to the Lido pool from the cabana club location? It looks like from you photos that perhaps the roof may block your view.

 

Any thoughts that you think might be helpful will be greatly appreciated (for ex - particular cabana to request, if you can do so)

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mkazmer

mkazmer

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Thanks so much for all the wonderful information. Since our upcoming cruise on HAL and the NA will only be our third on HAL your help has been invaluable. We may even try Tamarind for dinner based on your descsriptions - we usually don't use the alternate dining - will be interesting to see how the Manhattan dining room compares to Princess and Celebrity.

 

Your pictures also were great - Have a safe trip home -

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OneWiseCruiser

OneWiseCruiser

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We just booked yesterday the 14-day NA Cruise beginning on Jan 6th and as such, just read this thread end-to-end. We have Cruised with HAL four times and always loved it. We have also Cruised with Disney, Celebrity, and Norwegian; but found HAL to be our favorite. We have been twice on the Veendam, once on Zuiderdam and once on Ryndam.

 

We enjoyed the "Live" daily review posts and the beautiful photos. We have found HAL food to be better than our other Lines, so were a little surprised at the Main Dinning Room Dinner critique.

 

We have also enjoyed the Entertainment on HAL and wonder if the Shows will changed on week two of the b2b?

 

For First-Time-Cruisers, don't forget a small night-light for the Bathroom (although the NA may have one). Also we always bring two 16oz SS Travel Mugs to bring Coffee to our Cabin each morning. The one's at Bubba.com are fantastic and can typically also be purchased at any Walmart. (abt. $10 - $15)

 

On HAL we typically have brought onboard a bottle of wine as we start our voyage and then pick some up in the ports as needed. A large can of peanuts is not a bad idea for your cabin as well. We have had not issue buying Coke in the port and putting some cans in the small Cabin Fridge.

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CruisingWalter Great Review Rare

CruisingWalter

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walter,

It seems as if you really enjoyed your cabana and we are definately thinking of getting one if there are any available for next week. A couple of questions:

1-Are the ones on the Lido deck able to get any sun? And is there a breeze that flows through those down there?

2-Can you take the loungers out of the cabana and into the sun, or are the cabanas only for shade?

We would definately like to get some sun on this trip without having to constantly search for a lounger

3-Do the cabanas on the ocean side of the ship have a plexiglass wall that blocks a breeze?

4-Can you people watch down to the Lido pool from the cabana club location? It looks like from you photos that perhaps the roof may block your view.

 

Any thoughts that you think might be helpful will be greatly appreciated (for ex - particular cabana to request, if you can do so)

 

Lido deck cabanas only get sun through the roof. They are tucked back under the Deck 10 walkway so they seem pretty stuffy and not a lot of breeze. You cannot remove the lounge chairs from the Lido cabanas. The cabana club has a whole row of chairs and sofas in the sun. You will get better sun up on the cabana club level than Lido.

 

Cabanas on both sides have the glass walls. We had a pool view one that had a nice breeze. To people watch you need to stand up or sit in the chairs by the table. You also get th amusement of people who don't realize it's an upgrade area and try to use the space We spent most of our time on the sofas up there. Really nice.

 

Seemed all of the cabanas got a nice breeze. Good WiFi too. We are glad we got the cabana club vs the Lido area. Note that the horn will sound 30 minutes prior to departure, 3 different times, so that will jolt you out of your seat. I wore ear plugs. :)

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CruisingWalter Great Review Rare

CruisingWalter

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We enjoyed the "Live" daily review posts and the beautiful photos. We have found HAL food to be better than our other Lines, so were a little surprised at the Main Dinning Room Dinner critique.

.

 

Food is obviously subjective and we are definitely foodies. W love to try new tastes and flavored. DW noted that her vegetarian items were pretty good and I think that's because there at far fewer of the veggie dinners so they are fresher.

But for my meals they were for the most part quite poor, particularly the entrees. Had it not been for the great table company we would have left th dining room after the first meal. The waiters at handing too many tables now too so it's harder to get their attndtion after they bring the food. Coffee would be brought to the table 5 or 10 minutes after the dessert for example.

 

Tamarind and the Lido were great though. Overall the ship was good but food on th three Princess ships was much better for us.

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