NA Review: 2/1 to 2/8 Western Caribbean

[BellBoys]

We just returned from a fantastic cruise aboard the NA. We cruised this ship in November of 2012 and felt at that time there were some service missteps but were pleased to report that none of that was found this time aboard the ship.

 

About Us:

My partner and I (44yo and 48yo) traveled with his 84 year old and 24 year old niece. We thought it would be a great holiday gift for his mom and his niece came along to help out her out. We had rooms next to each other Pinnacle Suite 7031 and Neptune Suite 7033.

 

The Ship:

Overall, the ship is in great shape! We thought the decor was tasteful and the overall condition was fantastic as we did not notice any worn areas or damage to soft goods. I don't believe there has been any discussion of vibrations lately but we did experience it at the Crow's Nest on occasion and especially at the Silk Den and Tamarind. The silk trees in the Tamarind shook the entire time we were there.

 

Rooms:

Both of our rooms were fantastic, we stayed in a Pinnacle aboard the Amsterdam earlier in the year and found we liked the layout better on the S Class ships for a few reasons. If one of us was up earlier you had the option to close off the bedroom with actual doors versus a curtain, in addition the living room area was opposite of the bedroom offering more privacy. The decor of the NA is more modern and tasteful in color scheme than the Amsterdam in our opinion but we realize that tastes vary. We also enjoyed the deck space on the S class Pinnacle more and appreciated it for our warm weather cruise. Our only concern was that at this price point an iPod docking station should be standard. We were surprised that this was not an option, in fact our room steward was surprised as well as it was available on other ships. We had this option on the Amsterdam in the summer and assumed that the NA being newer would have it available with their Bose system. Finally the drawer space in the dressing room is woefully lacking, there are only four drawers in the area. There were two additional drawers in the bedroom and four in dining room but felt more shelf space or drawers were needed. One last first world problem was that the televisions required three remotes to operate: one to turn on the television, the next to operate the channels and the third to activate the Bose sound system. This seems to be something that could be fixed with a universal remote.

 

We have been avid aft corner suite fans but I think we have been sold on moving to mid-ship on the larger ships as it just makes getting from one location to the other much easier. Our niece and mother's room 7033 was well appointed as well with all the soft goods in great condition. Sunda was our room steward for both rooms and took really great care of us!

 

Neptune Lounge:

Jersey and Joyce were at the concierge desk and both were absolutely brilliant. They were able to handle any request and provide great insight and information regarding dining options an tours. Hands down our favorites thus far!

 

Dining:

In 2012 we felt that the Pinnacle food and service was lacking in quality. However the Pinnacle manager on board has really turned things around. Our service was outstanding as was the quality of food. In 2012 we canceled our Le Cirque dinner as we felt it didn't justify the cost based on the service we received, however this time we had to say that the updated menu was refreshing and our food was fantastic! The Chateaubriand was the best I had either on land or sea. We have attached a few photos of our meal including the beef carpaccio and pineapple dessert below. Our other surprise was the quality of the MDR food and service. The meals were consistently good and well flavored, especially of the soups. We even enjoyed the last night's international menu as we raved about the offerings. Tamarind continues to impress with great service including a green tea palate cleanser which was a new experience for us and a nice touch. We love the Vietnamese Lamb and the beef tenderloin there. We also continue to be a fan of the updated Canaletto, the shared plate experience is great for a party of four. Standouts here include the Vermouth Braised Clams and Pappardelle.

 

Service:

Some of the best we have experienced onboard. We especially loved the service in the Crow's Nest. Jeffrey the bartender is entertaining and kept the place alive during the late hours. This is what we feel sets HAL apart from the rest is their staff: all of which are friendly and engaging.

 

Cabanas

We rented two cabanas on the port side: Marbella and Santorini. Our cabana attendants were willing to fetch food or drink from pretty much anywhere on the ship: from the Dive In to the buffet nothing was out of the question and they encouraged us to get as much as we wanted. We assumed that the cabanas closed at around 5pm but were surprised to see that we could stay as late as 8pm if we chose. Chocolate covered strawberries and Evian misters were supplied to us as well!

 

Entertainment:

Much better than in the past, since we stayed late in Cozumel is was great to see a mariachi band brought on board for evening entertainment at the Lido pool. In addition the steel drum band was an different mix than the past offerings in the showroom. The best was by far the BB King Lounge: the performer were engaging, talented and got the audience to dance and participate which was fantastic to see. We hope to see more of this type of entertainment in the future.

 

Changes We Noted:

 

No live music in the Crow's Nest

No Code Orange on the first two days at sea.

Less paper: not as much filling up our mailbox each day.

Captain and staff shaking passenger hands at the Suite Party.

Large jackpot bingo has been diminished. We didn't see a $100,000 jackpot.

 

Missing:

 

Some of the things we would like to see added to the ship. Again these are minor but feel it would make our experience better. Everyone is different!

 

Bleu cheese stuffed olives

More craft beer selections

iPod docking stations in staterooms

More television channels

More variety/rotating stock in the onboard shops.

 

Thanks for allowing us to share our experience and if anyone has any questions we would be happy to answer!

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[POA1]

Thanks for your review - and I'm completely on board with the Châteaubriand comments. (Not saying that one should write songs about steak, but if you are going to, the Le Cirque Châteaubriand deserves a couple of stanzas.) :D

 

DW & I think that Jeffrey is one of the best bartenders we've ever had. Anywhere. Rumor has it that he's taking a land-based job in New Zealand after his contact is up. Bummer.

Edited February 10, 2015 by POA1

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

We sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam in 2010, 2013 and 2014 -- Collector Cruises.

We also feel that more drawers should be added in the dressing area of the PS cabins. The Westerdam did add a second set of drawers in the PS.

We were on the Amsterdam in 2012 in the PS and there wasn't any docking stations in the cabin.

We loved our Nieuw Amsterdam cruises so much that we had another Collectors Cruise booked on her for this fall. But HAL extended her stay in Europe and our cruises were cancelled.

We didn't have the Code Orange on our November cruises on the Noordam.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

Glad you had a good cruise.

[ithaca gal]

We sailed on the N/A the week before you. I agree with all of your comments (although we were in Room 8018, not a suite).

 

I mainly wanted to second your statements about the manager in the Pinnacle Grill. I am so sorry that we did not get his name. The PG was great this time around. We had kinda "given up" on the PG and only went this time because of our Explore4 promotion. We sang his praises in the survey even though we didn't get his name.

 

Our server, Widodo, was great -- as was the food!

[erewhon]

Thank you for your review.

 

Have never experienced the Captain and Officers shaking hands at a Suite party.

 

Pleased that you had a fantastic cruise.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write and post a review of your Nieuw Amsterdam trip. Sounds like you had a good time on your cruise.

Edited February 11, 2015 by PathfinderEss

[bshow]

Nice review, thanks. I would like to try the new Le Cirque menu; looks good!

[cruz chic]

Thx for the review. I think I was on the same cruise as you in 2012 and the service left a bit to be desired. I was on the ship November 2014 and it was wonderful. Happy to hear things are still as good now.

[freestyling]

Thanks for posting review. We found the NA to be excellet earlier this year and enjoyed our morning breakfast as well as a number of dinners in the pinnacle.