CSI: NA Reloaded (Nieuw Amsterdam 11/30 to 12/14/14)

[catl331]

don't usually agree with Chef Rudi Bobblehead but this chocolate dessert does look good.

 

By the way, on our NA cruise Dec 7-14 I couldnt believe the "bathrobe" parade. I guess it is good for the sale of bathrobes....but. I am the one who thinks it is okay to wear them poolside. Our contact though was at Breakfast in the Lido and the male said to us "We love HAL because they let us wear our bathrobes wherever we want!" No answer from me. I doubt sales have increased. Psst! I wore mine on my balcony. Yessiree!!:cool:

[cruz chic]

don't usually agree with Chef Rudi Bobblehead but this chocolate dessert does look good.

 

By the way, on our NA cruise Dec 7-14 I couldnt believe the "bathrobe" parade. I guess it is good for the sale of bathrobes....but. I am the one who thinks it is okay to wear them poolside. Our contact though was at Breakfast in the Lido and the male said to us "We love HAL because they let us wear our bathrobes wherever we want!" No answer from me. I doubt sales have increased. Psst! I wore mine on my balcony. Yessiree!!:cool:

 

Wow on the bathrobe. I've worn mine on the balcony too super early in the morning so others aren't subjected to seeing it. Isn't that special for people to wear them as day wear:D.

[POA1]

l

By the way, on our NA cruise Dec 7-14 I couldnt believe the "bathrobe" parade. I guess it is good for the sale of bathrobes....but. I am the one who thinks it is okay to wear them poolside. Our contact though was at Breakfast in the Lido and the male said to us "We love HAL because they let us wear our bathrobes wherever we want!" No answer from me. I doubt sales have increased. Psst! I wore mine on my balcony. Yessiree!!:cool:

 

We must have missed the bathrobe parade. I guess that's one of the downsides of getting a cabana. You miss some parades. ;)

[Mirage]

To the Directors and Associates of the Institute of Good Cheer,

 

My thanks to POA1, Huskerchic, Shrimpboat123 and all those who added to this thread detailing the not to be missed things to do aboard Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

I shall raise my Makers Mark in a few short days as we attend our first happy hour on board.

 

The on scene reporting and those that have added to this travelogue, have enhanced the richness of the the information and entertainment that the Cruise Critic forum brings.

 

Thank you to all, for bringing the rest of us along with your musings on your travels.

 

 

Mirage

[POA1]

 

We've been home for about a week, and Christmas is fast approaching, so it's time to wrap things up with the actual review part of this thread. If you've been following along thus far - and you're still awake, we'd like to say thanks. We really appreciate all of the people who've taken the time to read our reports. Without you, we'd just be typing into space.

My goal with these final review posts is to try to provide a summary of our trip and experiences, and hopefully provide you with a few helpful hints and tips along the way. Some of this is going to be a rehash of what you've already seen, so please bear with me. If this is good enough when we're all done, we'll probably submit it as a standalone review for Cruise Critic. Either that, or print it out and use it to line the bottom of a birdcage. The jury's still out....

 

We woke up on Sunday, November 30th and spied Holland America's ms Nieuw Amsterdam in her berth at Port Everglades. We had a few final preparations to make before we began our long, arduous, eleven minute journey to the pier.

 

 

 

I can see the ship from my house!*

 

*In most cases, you can click on the pictures to see larger versions. This is done to improve loading speed for the thread. Also, some people just enjoy clicking on things.

 

A little about our group: We are a party of three. There's Huskerchick, her father, and me. DW is in her late 40s. I'm in my early 50s, and DFIL is in his mid 70s. Huskerchick and I have booked a Signature Suite on Deck 6, and her dad is just down the hall in a Verandah stateroom. (For the record, my spell checker really, really, really wants me to use "veranda" and leave off the h at the end. Holland America, on the other hand, prefers the trailing H. This really adds nothing to the narrative, and if I had a decent editor, this whole parenthetical would get red-lined. Of course, if I had a decent editor, there would be far fewer parentheticals in the first place. But I digress.) We spent the Thanksgiving holiday together and planned to use the cruise as sort of a catch-all holiday event.

 

We've all been to the ports on this cruise before - some of them many times - so the challenge was to find some interesting activities at each stop. DW and I were in charge of advance planning, so we hit the ports of call boards here at Cruise Critic, read TripAdvisor reviews, and consulted with Frommer's, Fodor's and several other guide sites. The good news is that you can find some very interesting things to do, as long as you're willing to do a little homework. (Or you can just steal our ideas. That's fine with us.)

 

In addition to our advance excursion prep, we also pulled a case and a half of wine so we could have a splash or two with dinner. Huskerchick also had a whole lot going on with shoes, and purses, and dresses, and more shoes. I tried to stay out of the way. Luckily for us, our building has luggage carts, and a freight elevator, so we loaded up and headed out. (Remember the opening credits to the Beverly Hillbillies? Picture that, with more shoes, and you're on the right track.)

 

My father in law had a rolling suitcase, a carry on bag, and a small laptop case. Clearly, he's not even trying. You know what that means? He gets to schlep 6 bottles of wine. (Don't worry. We're paying the corkage.)

 

We called for two cabs and headed over to Terminal 26 at Port Everglades. The trip takes all of 12 minutes, and we're unloading at the curb. We hand our large suitcases over to the porters and head inside the terminal. It's about 10:15 AM at this point, and there is no line outside the terminal. After going through the security scanners, we present our wine at the wine check in desk and pay corkage on our 18 bottles. We notice that HAL has gone to "Day of the Week" stickers instead of the colored dots they were using two weeks ago when we last checked in wine. Hopefully you haven't taken a heavy position in green 1/2 inch dots. The market has collapsed.

 

We're both in even numbered staterooms, so we get in the line marked "Even Numbered Staterooms." The line stretches out a good two people, so we are at the counter getting our IDs in short order. We get our boarding numbers and take our seats in the waiting area. Based on our experience two weeks prior, we are anticipating a wait of about 40-50 minutes until boarding begins. You don't have to get to the port as early as we did, but when you're standing in your living room and you can see the ship, you are champing at the bit, and you don't want to wait.

 

We passed the time in the waiting area by meeting new people and doing the "Hi! Where ya from?" dance. I'm not quite sure why this is, but for some reason, when you meet people before boarding, you never see them again for the entire cruise. Where do they go? Surely, the odds would favor running into them again at some point during the trip.

The wait was pretty painless and our number was called in short order. This was our second Holland America check-in inside of a span of two weeks, and both went smoothly. Once the ship was opened for boarding, we were on lickety-split. Our rooms were ready, so we proceeded up to Deck 6, or "Deck Six. Upper Verandah" as the robotic, English-accented voice in the elevator calls it.

 

We were in room 6088, a Signature Suite on the port side of the vessel. DFIL was in 6188, a normal verandah cabin closer to the aft elevators. Here are some photos of the room before we began to unpack. The room is comfortably appointed and has plenty of drawer and closet space - normally. (More on that in the next post.)

 

 

Signature Suite - Facing the outside wall

 

The bed is billed a "queen size" in the Holland America literature, but it's really somewhere between queen and king. Our guess is that it's only about 3 to 4 inches narrower than the standard king sized bed we have at home. Prior to the two trips on the Nieuw Amsterdam, we have traveled in Neptune Suites. The SS accommodations are about 1/3 narrower than a full SA. The difference in space is most noticeable in area around the sofa and the space along one side of the bed. All in all, it would be a perfectly workable configuration for us, even on a longer voyage.

 

Same room, facing the door

 

There is both a work area that will serve as my desk, and a makeup area, that will be Huskerchick's headquarters of beauty for the trip. There are two chairs, a sofa, and a height-adjustable table that goes from coffee table to dining height. (It's pretty easy to figure out how to raise and lower it, but if you get stuck, just ask your room steward.) Speaking of room stewards, we were very happy to have Ari Sr. and Ari Jr. as our room stewards on this trip. We had them on the mid-November sailing, and they were excellent.

 

The photo below was taken standing near the verandah door, facing back into the cabin. (Disclaimer: This photo is actually of Room 6080, which we had from 11/16 - 11/23/2014. We had to meet DFIL for the Mariner's Embarkation Lunch and I was like, "Meh. Pretty much the same room. I already have a photo.)

 

Cabin Entrance, featuring the only clothes you will need for the voyage

 

Our room, and near as I know, everyone's room, was outfitted with two terry cloth robes for our use. What I didn't realize was that they were supposed to be everyday attire, suitable for wearing around the ship.

 

Coming up next: Oh crap! We have an adjoining room and we're down a closet.

 

[Vict0riann]

Only took you 37 pages to get down to the nitty-gritty! :D

 

More! More!

 

(I shall delete the pretend woozy, he takes up too much room!)

Edited December 22, 2014 by Vict0riann

[nana51]

Chapter 4 - In which Poohby goes into detail about what you get with your cabana, and is reminded of his friend, Piglet.

 

At the beginning of each week our cabana was provisioned a basket of fresh fruit and two Evian Braumisateur Facial Sprays. The fruit was replenished as needed or on request. We received two one liter bottles of water each day.

 

 

In addition to the water and fruit, you also get a glass of sparkling wine and chocolate covered strawberries or frozen grapes in the afternoon. Your cabana stewards will also make the rounds throughout the day, offering iced tea or lemonade.

 

Depending on how much sun you wanted to get, you could either lounge in your cabana, or outside in a large, private area reserved for Cabana Club guests.

 

 

Poohby Joe prefers to chill in the shade because he's furry and the fluff with which he's stuffed gets hot in the tropical sun. If you are more into catching some rays, there are a variety of lounge chairs, chaises, sofas, and chairs available in the common seating area.

 

 

There are also a number of tables out in the open for al fresco dining. playing cards, or a game of tiddlywinks. (The lack of a babbling brook makes playing Pooh Sticks an impossibility in the cabana area. Hopefully they will rectify this on the Koningsdam.)

 

 

There is a separate shower and restroom for the Cabana Club guests. You're very close to the Crow's Nest and Explorations Cafe, so there are additional bathrooms nearby as well.

 

 

The cabanas are available for guest use from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM daily. If you are on a back to back voyage, you can use your cabana on turnaround day. Typically, there is a special "Cabana Club Dinner" held during each sailing. This dinner is not included as part of your cabana cost, and you may have to vacate your cabana a little early so that the staff can set up for the dinner.

 

One of my favorite things about the cabana amenities of the Holland America cabanas is the inclusion of the Evian Misters. Nothing shows a commitment to the environment like taking spring water from France, putting it into tiny aerosol cans, and shipping it to America so that cabana guests can spray themselves to cool off. Sure, we could use a wet cloth with cold water from the ship; but what are we? Savages?

 

 

Coming up next: Final conclusions, thoughts, and perhaps even a recommendation.

The Pink Top of the Evian Braumisateur Facial Spray reminds Poohby Joe of his good friend, Piglet, whom he misses very much.

 

My daughters (who is 39) favorite character is piglet. So much so that he is tattooed on her, um, breast. The original piglet not Disney's.

[guinnesshalfpint]

Too many delightful reviews by everyone. I felt compelled (like the old kayak commercial) and booked a lovely birthday cruise for myself...my first b2b, on the NA (also a first) on December 6 2015. Yay me!

[POA1]

Too many delightful reviews by everyone. I felt compelled (like the old kayak commercial) and booked a lovely birthday cruise for myself...my first b2b, on the NA (also a first) on December 6 2015. Yay me!

Congratulations! You should be able to see the ship all decked out for the holidays. :)

[kazu]

Loving your review

 

anxiously waiting for the rest:D

[POA1]

As I alluded to in my previous post, we arrived at the room to find that someone had stolen one of our closets and replaced it with a narrow door leading into room 6086 next door. If you've read C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardobe," you might be forgiven for thinking that the secret doorway would lead to an enchanted land of fantasy, mystery, and adventure. It did not. It led next door to the room of Mrs. Finkelstein and her sister Midge*. While they were lovely people, the words, "fantasy," "mystery," and/or "adventure" would not be your first choices when describing them. Also, the door was locked.

 

*The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Despite the fact that we are normally first-class planners, we somehow overlooked the fact that 6088 was a connecting room. We'd blame our travel agent, but we specifically picked the room because its number, 6088, is very similar to DFIL's cabin number 6118. We felt that there was a beautiful symmetry to the whole thing. In the future, we will be sure to look for the little X on the deck plan that denotes a connecting room.

 

Here are what the regular, three-closet configuration looks like. This was taken when we were in 6080 a few weeks prior to this sailing.

 

The normal, 3 closet configuration

 

 

 

Bathroom (You can't see the shower in this photo, but it's there. Trust me.)

 

The balcony is a decent size, with room for a table and two chairs as well as two chairs with foot rests and a small, chair side table. If you want to have guests over, all four chairs will fit around the table. This is nice for a balcony breakfast, evening cocktails, or a pickup game of Parcheesi on the high seas.

 

Because we get to put six photos in a single post, I'd hate to waste the opportunity. Here's the view from our balcony, looking north.

 





 

I can see my house from here!

 

Here's the view looking due east, with John U. Lloyd State Park in the foreground, and the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

 

 

 

While we prefer the size and amenities of a Neptune Suite, we found that the Signature Suites are a good size for two people. In fact, some friends of ours who were in an SA on this cruise stopped by to see if the Signature Suites would be workable for them on a family trip. Like us, they prefer that the whole family be located relatively close together for the sake of convenience. I'm sorry to report this HAL, but they thought that the SS would work for them, too.

 

One of the great things about our room - aside from the close proximity to all that is Finkelstein - is that we got to have our outstanding room steward duo, Ari & Ari again. They remembered that we liked an extra bucket of ice and extra towel, which was a nice touch. The only adjustment required on their part was to note that we now had fixed, late seating. (We were in open seating when we sailed a few weeks prior, and we dined a little earlier.) The Aris did a super job and we were glad to have them with us once more.

 

Coming Up Next: Our overall impressions of the Nieuw Amsterdam, and maybe even a tip or two to make your trip better.

 

 

 

And here's the passage door that replaces the closet closest to the door in room 6088. You lose one of the long, hanging closets. Normally you would have two, and the short closet with the safe and the shelves. On the plus side, the missing closet creates a little nook you can step into when opening the front door to receive your room service breakfast. Beyond that, we couldn't really think of a good use for the little alcove where the closet would be. (If you want to connect to the room next door, because you're a little Finkelstein tyke for example, the door serves a useful purpose.)

 

Pass-through door to connecting room

 

The bathroom is configured with two sinks, a commode, a whirlpool tub, and a separate shower stall. If you have experienced the showers on the Vista Class ships that create a flowing water feature when you bathe, you'll be pleased to know that the shower stalls on the Nieuw Amsterdam have a deeper shower tray, and the leaking is practically non-existent.

Edited December 23, 2014 by POA1

[shrimpboat123]

From the picture of your balcony, it appears to be as narrow as the ones on deck 5. I thought perhaps the deck 5 balconies were smaller because the life boats were directly below us. It appears that you couldn't have a lounger on either balcony.

 

Do you know if the balconies in the Neptune Suites are wider and hence can accommodate a lounger?

[POA1]

From the picture of your balcony, it appears to be as narrow as the ones on deck 5. I thought perhaps the deck 5 balconies were smaller because the life boats were directly below us. It appears that you couldn't have a lounger on either balcony.

 

Do you know if the balconies in the Neptune Suites are wider and hence can accommodate a lounger?

Our friends were in a Neptune Suite, more or less directly above us, and they said that the balconies were the same depth as ours. If I recall from the previous sailing, ours and Cruz Chic's (SA) were the same depth. She might be able to weigh in after looking at the photo.

 

DW thinks yours was a little narrower. Did you have the hassocks /foot rests?

Edited December 23, 2014 by POA1

[kazu]

From the picture of your balcony, it appears to be as narrow as the ones on deck 5. I thought perhaps the deck 5 balconies were smaller because the life boats were directly below us. It appears that you couldn't have a lounger on either balcony.

 

Do you know if the balconies in the Neptune Suites are wider and hence can accommodate a lounger?

 

When we were on the ship, our Neptune Suite did not have a lounger. I thought that the balcony was not as deep as the other HAL ships I had been on, but I didn't measure:p so it could have been my perception;)

[cruz chic]

Our friends were in a Neptune Suite, more or less directly above us, and they said that the balconies were the same depth as ours. If I recall from the previous sailing, ours and Cruz Chic's (SA) were the same depth. She might be able to weigh in after looking at the photo.

 

DW thinks yours was a little narrower. Did you have the hassocks /foot rests?

 

It seems like the same depth as mine. Off topic but I've yet to see a lounger on any balcony I've had. That includes a regular balcony, a signature suite or a neptune. I can't recall if I had one in the ph. They must be pretty scarce.

[shrimpboat123]

Our friends were in a Neptune Suite, more or less directly above us, and they said that the balconies were the same depth as ours. If I recall from the previous sailing, ours and Cruz Chic's (SA) were the same depth. She might be able to weigh in after looking at the photo.

 

DW thinks yours was a little narrower. Did you have the hassocks /foot rests?

 

I looked back at a picture I took of our balcony. It is definitely narrower than yours. There were no foot rests. Huskerchick is very observant. ;)

 

Thought maybe it was the conversion from metric to english! :D

 

Lesson learned, don't book a balcony on deck 5.

 

Back to your regular programming. :D

[POA1]

 

Lesson learned, don't book a balcony on deck 5.

 

Back to your regular programming. :D

 

Good tip, and one that wouldn't be obvious to most people.

[catl331]

It seems like the same depth as mine. Off topic but I've yet to see a lounger on any balcony I've had. That includes a regular balcony, a signature suite or a neptune. I can't recall if I had one in the ph. They must be pretty scarce.

We had two on our aft-wrap SB5186! They were on the narrow side part of the balcony, and faced mainly aft, on an angle. Also 5 or 6 years ago we had a lounger on Noordam 4178, then a VB and now a VA: http://halfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DSCN2020.jpg

 

Lesson learned, don't book a balcony on deck 5.

They were a pretty good deal when they were all VE, but I definitely wouldn't book one now at V (Signature ships) or VA (Vista) prices!

http://halfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/5122-N-amsterdam.4.png

Edited December 23, 2014 by catl331

[Lizzie68]

I looked back at a picture I took of our balcony. It is definitely narrower than yours. There were no foot rests. Huskerchick is very observant. ;)

 

Thought maybe it was the conversion from metric to english! :D

 

Lesson learned, don't book a balcony on deck 5.

 

Back to your regular programming. :D

 

I know nothing about the NA, but I did learn that deck 5 balconies are less deep than deck 4 (and perhaps other decks) on the Vista ships. Also on our cabin crawl, the aft wrap people had to request loungers - they got them no problem, but the people next door on the aft, with a very deep balcony, also requested and someone had to come and check to see if there was enough space for one. I would have thought there was, but it wasn't allowed. We had no lounger on our Neptune balcony. Lounger politics!:D

[jtl513]

I know nothing about the NA, ... the aft wrap people had to request loungers ...

We didn't in 5186

 

... but the people next door on the aft, with a very deep balcony, also requested and someone had to come and check to see if there was enough space for one. I would have thought there was, but it wasn't allowed.

 

Also 5 or 6 years ago we had a lounger on Noordam 4178, then a VB and now a VA:

http://halfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DSCN2020.jpg

Edited December 23, 2014 by jtl513

[cruz chic]

We had two on our aft-wrap SB5186! They were on the narrow side part of the balcony, and faced mainly aft, on an angle. Also 5 or 6 years ago we had a lounger on Noordam 4178, then a VB and now a VA: http://halfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DSCN2020.jpg

 

They were a pretty good deal when they were all VE, but I definitely wouldn't book one now at V (Signature ships) or VA (Vista) prices!

http://halfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/5122-N-amsterdam.4.png

 

Lucky you! I guess that's where they all are. It's not a matter of me not remembering it was there. Just because you've had them doesn't mean others have.

Edited December 23, 2014 by cruz chic

[cruz chic]

I know nothing about the NA, but I did learn that deck 5 balconies are less deep than deck 4 (and perhaps other decks) on the Vista ships. Also on our cabin crawl, the aft wrap people had to request loungers - they got them no problem, but the people next door on the aft, with a very deep balcony, also requested and someone had to come and check to see if there was enough space for one. I would have thought there was, but it wasn't allowed. We had no lounger on our Neptune balcony. Lounger politics!:D

 

I guess you and I aren't "special" enough to get one:D. Maybe they ran out because of everyone else requesting them.

[POA1]

I guess you and I aren't "special" enough to get one:D. Maybe they ran out because of everyone else requesting them.

We haven't seen them on Vista Class Neptune Suite balconies in years. They weren't on the Westerdam in 2009,nor were they on the Noordam earlier in 2014.

 

We had them on the Maasdam in 2012, but those balconies are quite a bit deeper.

[Lizzie68]

We haven't seen them on Vista Class Neptune Suite balconies in years. They weren't on the Westerdam in 2009,nor were they on the Noordam earlier in 2014.

 

We had them on the Maasdam in 2012, but those balconies are quite a bit deeper.

 

Interesting, re the Maasdam balconies. I always though balconies were pretty much the same size apart from those on the aft. And glad to know I wasn't the only deprived one on my Neptune balcony, LOL.:D

[sail7seas]

The "S" and "R" Class Neptune Suite verandahs are very much larger than the Neptune "SA" on the Vista and Signature Class ships. It's a very noticeable difference.