Nieuw Amsterdam MED Tapestry 9/13-9/25 Review

[Ricktan]

Since I really enjoy reading all the reviews on here (and have learned so much), I thought I would give it a try. This is my first review so bear with me. To give you a little background, I am in my mid-40's and DH is early 50's (pushing "mid" pretty hard, haha!) We loved the one HAL cruise that we did about 7 years ago to Alaska which was my first cruise. However, with our daughter in school and a very busy business, getting away wasn't in the cards for us for awhile. However, with her wedding last year, our time has arrived so I booked this dream cruise about 15 months in advance. And, then I researched and read everything on here I could find. A lot proved helpful and some things that I worried about proved to be a non-issue. I will try to address as many things that I can remember. (if you like short and sweet, maybe stop now!) I can say, this trip was everything we imagined and then some! There were a couple bumps along the way but we just adjusted and kept on moving. So, here goes!

 

Some of you may have read on my post here about the issue about we had 3 days before we flew out where HAL somehow cancelled our flight. (we booked through FlightEase) They got it fixed and bumped us up to business class as a good will gesture. Well, when we looked at our booking we realized that our business class upgrade was only for the return flight. So, we board in Atlanta and get sat in the 2 middle of 4 seats. Needless to say, it was a LONG flight with no sleep. We landed in Barcelona and it was a LONG line to get through customs. DH swore that he would never fly overseas again and I totally understood. We were just exhausted! The good news it that all our luggage arrived!! Since we booked our flights and hotel through HAL they had someone there to pick us up and that went smoothly. We arrived at the Hotel Melia and since it was very earlier they didn't have a room ready. BUT, the guy told me that if I wanted to upgrade to a suite he could have us in a room in a matter of minutes. It was the best 200 Euros I spent the whole cruise! We closed the curtains and sleep for the next 7 hours! We did enjoy dinner (the hotel got us in to a great place) and then chilled the rest of the day. So, we didn't see any of Barcelona! HAL has reps at the hotel who told us that our transfer would be the next morning at 11:30! I knew, from reading on here, that we would be able to start boarding around 11 and I wanted to get my dinner and salon reservations set and was hoping to go to the Mariner's Lunch. There were 2 reps and while one was super nice the other was full of attitude. She said,"well, we can squeeze you onto the 11 o'clock bus but it's going to be really crowded and you aren't going to be able to board then anyway". She repeated this at least 3 times and finally my husband said, "we will just get a taxi and you can just take our bags". (Thank you CC for making sure that I knew better than that!) The nice lady pulled him aside and said she thought that was a great idea if we wanted to leave early and to come get her at 10 and she would get us a taxi. I'm so glad that we followed our instincts! We had a great nights sleep and woke up refreshed and ready to go! We indeed got our taxi and boy, am I glad! Seems there was a marathon run going on and our poor taxi driver got blocked off at every turn. I don't understand Spanish but I do understand "irritated driver language" He finally asked a cop but I couldn't help thinking that those transfer buses were going to be running into the same thing! We quickly got our pics taken, our room keys and sat down to wait for about half an hour. We were in a Pinnacle Suite and they called that first so we were actually the first ones to walk on the ship! Our day was starting off wonderful! We went directly to the Neptune Lounge where Joyce greeted us by name. They were NOT having a Mariner's Lunch but did get all my appts set up. I can't say enough about Joyce. We used her services the whole time and she was the BEST! Our room....well, if I had a complaint about the PS, you would need to shoot me! Of course, it was wonderful and spoiled us rotten! This is what was waiting when we walked in.

 

[Ricktan]

Make note of the picture of the dresser which I will mention later when I tell about the night the ship listed 14 degrees (I searched but couldn't find where anyone posted that!!) That is a story! After checking out the room (did I mention it was incredible??!!) we explored the ship then grabbed a bite at the Lido. The ship was wonderful with lots of smiling faces! We had a menu for the MDR in our room so knew that we had Prime Rib to look forward to so we saved room! The MDR was nice, seating was easy. Service...was dependable and pretty quick but will admit this was the one venue that the crew wasn't over the top friendly. I don't know if they were just overworked and too busy? They were nice but just didn't draw us in like everywhere else. We only ate in the MDR (main sitting) a few nights. The food was always great but the service was just "less" than everywhere else....just keeping it real! We enjoyed the casino after dinner (as we did most evenings). I was nervous about the smoke issue but shouldn't have been. They only allowed smoking in one area of the slots and since I play only tables it was never an issue for me. (or on my balcony!!) Guess we got lucky! Here's a couple pics of dinner

 

 

 

[Ricktan]

Our first morning we both had massage appts at the spa. (love the spa). Had ordered breakfast to be delivered and it was right on time and exactly what we ordered! Massage was great (hate the hard sell to buy products, though!) We arrived in St Tropez right on time (1:00). It was a tender port and the tender process was quick and painless. St.Tropez was okay...not my favorite port, very touristy, but nice. We walked around for awhile and then headed back.

The next day was Monte Carlo which I really enjoyed! We had booked a private tour guide and he took us to Nice and St Paul de Vence (one of my favorites or the whole thing!) We mentioned that we had eaten in St Tropez and weren't impressed. He was great....said, "you want good French food, I'll take you somewhere". He set us up at a place right outside St Paul and it was wonderful!! Exactly what I thought of when I think of French food! We saw some great vegetables at the market in Nice

 

 

DH mentioned that he should would like some of those tomato seeds (avid gardener) and our guide was like "no problem". Took us to a hardware store and my DH was in heaven...loaded up on different seeds.

 

Here's a pic of St Paul de Vence from the balcony of the restaurant we ate at

 

He took us to a great bluff to see Monte Carlo on our way back....look and you can see the NA

 

Monte Carlo

 

[Ricktan]

Livorno....we did a tour with 2 other couples from CC Went to Sienna (beautiful!) and had a wonderful day.

 

This was also our first night at the Pinnacle Grill. The food and staff were awesome and I can understand why people enjoy eating there. We decided that the lamb chops were our favorite thing!

 

 

Civitavecchia.....we have been to Rome and since this was so port intensive we choose to just walk into port and then come back to the ship to relax. They did have a shuttle that will take you from the ship closer to the town and drop you off so that was nice.

A few other things that I haven't mentioned. I thought for sure that I would buy the unlimited internet since I have to stay in touch with work but.....found out my phone carrier gives me free data and text overseas so I didn't need it! Every time we got into a port, I would just use my phone to do what I needed to do and then shut it down. It was wonderful to unplug for awhile! Our next stop was Naples. I had a private tour arranged. Was suppose to go to Sorrento and Positano and then drive all the way up the Amalfi Coast. Well, here is where we started to roll with the punches. When we got off, we found out that there were some really bad fires all up and down the coast (think CA on a smaller scale). Positano was totally closed off to traffic. So, he took us to Sorento and then to a winery that his friends owned who gave us a wonderful pasta lunch (the best of the whole trip!) lots of wine and a great tour! The Amalfi coast day was the one that I had said I was looking forward to the most and it ended up totally different than planned but turned into a wonderful day anyway!

 

The grape vines

 

The lamb chops

[DeeniEncinitas]

Enjoying your posts!

We have done 3 cruises doing 24 day Med Tapestry and never get tired of them. Doing our 4th Oct. 2016. Love The Nieuw! Did her inaugural in 2010, 2011, and 2013. This next cruise will be on her sister ship The Eurodam since The Nieuw will be I believe on our west coast doing Alaska.

So enjoy your cruise! The ports are wonderful. So sorry you did not have a chance to enjoy Barcelona! We stay a week prior to our cruises and So enjoy the atmosphere! This time we start in Venice and end in Barcelona!

Looking forward to your posts, but please take in the time of relaxation, and fun!

Then when you have nothing, and I mean nothing going on then send us CCers a post!!

Happy Sailings on a wonderful ship!

Denise:)

[erewhon]

Enjoying your review and great photos. Thank you.

[Vict0riann]

Enjoying your review and great photos. Thank you.

 

Same here!:)

[Ricktan]

Enjoying your posts!

We have done 3 cruises doing 24 day Med Tapestry and never get tired of them. Doing our 4th Oct. 2016. Love The Nieuw! Did her inaugural in 2010, 2011, and 2013. This next cruise will be on her sister ship The Eurodam since The Nieuw will be I believe on our west coast doing Alaska.

So enjoy your cruise! The ports are wonderful. So sorry you did not have a chance to enjoy Barcelona! We stay a week prior to our cruises and So enjoy the atmosphere! This time we start in Venice and end in Barcelona!

Looking forward to your posts, but please take in the time of relaxation, and fun!

Then when you have nothing, and I mean nothing going on then send us CCers a post!!

Happy Sailings on a wonderful ship!

Denise:)

 

You are so lucky to have this 3 times! I wish we could have stayed for to next 12 days but can't stay gone that long yet!

[Ricktan]

Before I get too far from these first few days I did think of a couple of things.

 

We decided that we really enjoyed ordering breakfast to the room and/or the Pinnacle Grill. It was so relaxed in the morning with constant service. Such a nice pace to start the day. For those that are constantly asking, I too, agree that the PG breakfast is a perk!! We tried the Lido once and then we were done with that morning scene. It was just too crowded. We quickly learned that it was great if not the "peak" time of morning or lunch. I enjoyed the salad bar there for a quick lunch. I did see prepare sandwiches and they looked good but there were too many options for me to eat sandwiches!

I have already mentioned how great Joyce was in the Neptune Lounge. Her counter part was Dinelle and she was really sweet also. Well, on the day we were in Naples the fires affected several of the HAL tours also. I overhear a lady in the NL giving them the worst time because "the ONLY reason that she booked this cruise was because her husband had dreamed his whole life of driving up the Amalfi coast and now, they couldn't do that and she wanted to know what HAL intended to do about it!" Really? You truly can not please some people. How is Mother Nature now HAL fault, hehe?? Those two women had more patience then I do. Joyce told us that she will moving to the Koningsdam after this contract. She said that it is considered a huge honor amount the crew to be "invited" to be part of the Koningsdam crew. So for all of you booked on the first cruises and enjoying a NS, you will love Joyce!

[DeeniEncinitas]

Before I get too far from these first few days I did think of a couple of things.

 

We decided that we really enjoyed ordering breakfast to the room and/or the Pinnacle Grill. It was so relaxed in the morning with constant service. Such a nice pace to start the day. For those that are constantly asking, I too, agree that the PG breakfast is a perk!! We tried the Lido once and then we were done with that morning scene. It was just too crowded. We quickly learned that it was great if not the "peak" time of morning or lunch. I enjoyed the salad bar there for a quick lunch. I did see prepare sandwiches and they looked good but there were too many options for me to eat sandwiches!

I have already mentioned how great Joyce was in the Neptune Lounge. Her counter part was Dinelle and she was really sweet also. Well, on the day we were in Naples the fires affected several of the HAL tours also. I overhear a lady in the NL giving them the worst time because "the ONLY reason that she booked this cruise was because her husband had dreamed his whole life of driving up the Amalfi coast and now, they couldn't do that and she wanted to know what HAL intended to do about it!" Really? You truly can not please some people. How is Mother Nature now HAL fault, hehe?? Those two women had more patience then I do. Joyce told us that she will moving to the Koningsdam after this contract. She said that it is considered a huge honor amount the crew to be "invited" to be part of the Koningsdam crew. So for all of you booked on the first cruises and enjoying a NS, you will love Joyce!

 

 

You are doing it right! So relaxing enjoying a wonderful breakfast in your stateroom PS! We enjoy the Neptune Suites and suites. Being able to have the wonderful sea breeze and my fav the Amalfi Coast to look at is the best!

So you will be leaving Venice it looks like around 9 pm Wednesday! Never been in PS and maybe we might get an upgrade! So far both suites are still open!

Ha! Wishful thinking😄

Have a wonderful vacation!

Denise:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great start to your review.

Love those PS cabins. I see that the Nieuw Amsterdam has changed what they deliver to your cabin on Embarkation since we were last on her.

[Keith1010]

Enjoying your review.

 

Keith

[Ricktan]

Taormina. We decided to DIY this port. We grabbed a Hop On, Hop Off bus and rode it up into town. Although warm, we were blessed with great weather in all ports. We walked around town, ate a granite and then made our way back. This night was the Cabana Dinner. It was really good. There were only 4 couples and we were each put into a cabana that had been set up for dinner. This is when we met Rod, the Cellar Master. He was wonderful. I think the different wines were my favorite part of the dinner. However, it was a LOT of food. I throughly enjoyed it but have to admit....I probably wouldn't spend the money again to repeat it. Glad I did it once but once would be enough for me. Here's the menu

 

 

A starter

[Ricktan]

Sorry...I'm having a hard time getting that menu to go the correct way. I have it correct in photo bucket but I can't get it post correctly....ugh.....sorry!

 

Sea Day. Since this was so port intensive we were ready for some down time! Also, on the first gala night, we were exhausted and not up for a big production so we were looking forward to dressing up. Started the day off with massages which were wonderful!! Tried the Dive In for lunch. Had a hot dog and my only complaint was that my "toasted" bun was so hard on one side that I had to pull it off. But, it keep me from eating too much!! Since we had the Explore 4, this day also allowed us to use up more drinks since we had a lot more time. Enjoyed the casino and it was never too crowded. About 6 we decided to go and enjoy a glass of wine on the balcony and before getting ready for dinner. (8:00). Around 6:30 we noticed the really dark clouds moving in. My DH commented that the storm was moving very quickly since we were moving at a really good clip and the clouds were quickly overtaking us. Finally, around 7, the rain started to blow in so I said I was going in. Shortly after I walked in, I started to feel like I was leaning over. Remember that first picture in my first post with the dresser? It has lots of Waterford crystal and a bottle of Makers Mark sitting on it. I happen to glance over and saw it slowly start to slide. So, I ran over and opened the top drawer (which I had clothes in) and started to quickly throw pieces into the drawer. My DH opened the sliding doors and almost in an instant, it was as if someone just pushed us right over!! The ship listed drastically to the starboard side, which is the side our room was on. We dipped hard and fast and as DH managed to climb through the doors the last of the crystal went flying through the air and scattered all over the floor. The dresser fell over (I was still standing in front of it) and I had no choice but to hold it. My DH said "just let it go!" but I couldn't. Standing in the center of it, had I tried to go either way I wouldn't have been able to move fast enough so that it wouldn't have hit me. Ricky reached me in 2 steps (through the glass with no shoes on, I might add.....my hero!) He lifted the weight off me but I was also barefoot and just trying to keep my balance so I didn't really move. I don't know if we were holding up the dresser or if the dresser was holding us up!! We then suddenly dipped even further and the flower arrangement on the table (and everything else with it) flew through the air and shattered against the sliding glass doors. I have to admit.....at this point I had a couple bad thoughts flash through my mind....."is this ship going over....on TOP of my lifeboat???!!!" But, I took a deep breath and I looked my DH in the eye and calmly asked "Do I need to be worried about this?" Ricky was raised on the coast and in boats and is ex-Navy so I knew he would have an answer. He said, "not quite yet....but they have to get this thing turned into the wind and I'm not sure why that isn't happening". Within about the next 3/4 minutes both of our wonderful room stewards came barging through our door calling our names. Telling us not to move (we weren't going anywhere), one quickly grabbed our slippers while the other jumped between us to hold the dresser. About that time, an announcement was made, "Be stay calm and where you are. We are currently listing and the captain is own his way to the bridge. Please remain calm." Within the next 2 minutes you could feel the ship start to turn to the left and very slowly started to straighten up. the scariest part was just the amount of time that we were listing. It wasn't a quick over and then back up. It was an over, and then further and then just a steady leaning. (Many crew later told us that it was one of the worst they had been through) I'm guessing it lasted about 6 or 7 minutes. Our steward had been in our room about 30 minutes before hand dropping off laundry so they said they had immediately thought of us when it started because of all the glass in our room and they knew we were in there. The next announcement was "The Captain has us turning into the wind. An unforeseen storm with sustained winds of 68 knots (I think that is about 75/78 miles per hour? sorry if I have that wrong) hit us on the port side causing us to list. The Captain is correcting the situation. If anyone has suffered any injuries please report them asap to any crew member. If you need anything, please contact any crew member. " A couple of these announcements were made and the crew were amazing! They seemed to come from all directions, every where you turned. From what we heard, there were thankfully no major injuries. We were told that they would still have dinner but everything was running a little behind due to clean up. So while they vacuumed up our room, we went ahead and got dressed! Our surf and turf was wonderful! I read on here a lot that you don't get Maine lobster but we did and it was cooked to perfection. How they managed, after all that, to keep going and serve all those meals, cooked so well is a testament to how professional that crew really is!!

 

 

The MDR asst manager told us that a quick estimate was that they lost between 500-600 dishes. He said everyone in there stayed calm initially but then when the list got worst, 2 moms jumped up screaming, "my kids" and running. He said that the panic then quickly started to spread through the room. The water in the spa came out of the pools and then leaked down into the Shops, closing them for the next 24 hours. The mid ship elevators on the starboard side were out for a couple of days, finally opening back up a few days before the end of the cruise. The Lido....all the tables and chairs went flying to one side and the pool had over half the water dump out which flooded out the area where Canaletto is located (it closed for the next 24 hours also). They drained the remaining water in the pools out in order to clean up the broken glass in it. However, within 36 hours everything back in place! I couldn't believe how well they handled all! And, as I told my DH and our new friends, we now have an adventure to share! I will share the rest of our specialty dining and my summary tomorrow.

[Daisyloo]

Wow, Ricktan! What an amazing story! Scarey. it's good to know the crew is there to look after us.

Enjoying your review.

[tassietravellers]

Wow love your attitude, it sure must have been scary, but at least you were still able to enjoy your cruise with minimal disruptions. Plus you have such a tale to tell now! :-)

[DeeniEncinitas]

Ricktan!

OMGOSH!!!

Reading and felt every moment!!

Soooo glad you are safe, and all paxs are ok! Our crew is so wonderful, and seem to always have control?

I am happy both of you are fine also!!!

I think I would of grabbed the Makers Mark first! ha:)

Not trying to make fun of the situation at all believe you me!

We have been in a similar situation back in 2006 on The WindStar!

Came out of nowhere heading from Athens to Santorini, listed port side and I was in the shower! It was a very nasty storm!

On the lighter side you have some tales to always talk about of this cruise!

Love the photos!

Denise:)

[Ricktan]

Wow, Ricktan! What an amazing story! Scarey. it's good to know the crew is there to look after us.

Enjoying your review.

 

 

I can NOT stress enough just how wonderful the crew really were!

[Ricktan]

Wow love your attitude, it sure must have been scary, but at least you were still able to enjoy your cruise with minimal disruptions. Plus you have such a tale to tell now! :-)

 

I'm a firm believer that attitude will make or break your vacation. And for the next couple of days, no matter where you went, everyone was talking about it......"where were you", "did you see the Lido", we were in the bar"......people suddenly had something to talk about to each other! I only heard one person who, even though she had won a free cruise at bingo, say, I'll never cruise again. I was like, Really? If you have a fender bender, would you never ride in a car again? She even was coming around, though, after the next few good days....

[Ricktan]

Ricktan!

OMGOSH!!!

Reading and felt every moment!!

Soooo glad you are safe, and all paxs are ok! Our crew is so wonderful, and seem to always have control?

I am happy both of you are fine also!!!

I think I would of grabbed the Makers Mark first! ha:)

Not trying to make fun of the situation at all believe you me!

We have been in a similar situation back in 2006 on The WindStar!

Came out of nowhere heading from Athens to Santorini, listed port side and I was in the shower! It was a very nasty storm!

On the lighter side you have some tales to always talk about of this cruise!

Love the photos!

Denise:)

 

Hahah. Everyone was laughing at list of things so don't worry about making fun! :) and trust me, the Makers Mark was the first to go into the drawer!:D

[Mtn2Sea]

If CC had a Review of the Year, I'd nominate yours! Great report. Glad you made it through the storm without any serious damage.

[kazu]

Really enjoying your review. WOW on the listing! that's quite the story.

 

Your pictures are just lovely.

 

Thanks so much for sharing and looking forward to more :)

[puppycanducruise]

Wow.

I'm loving your review.

Your pictures are wonderful.

Glad the crew were wonderful after that storm, and that you are okay!

Looking forward to more! Keep it coming.

[cptlapcat]

Is this the incident you are talking about>

[makai 7]

Thanks for the great description of the incident.

However... if you and your husband were able to notice the squall line moving towards the ship, why didn't any of the bridge officers notice it coming?

This seems like some basic seamanship - why wasn't anyone paying attention?

 

There is always more than one "captain" on board in addition to the master of the ship, and there should be people paying attention to the weather at sea.

 

Makes me wonder about our crossing - will there be such a lack of attention on the bridge during 5-6 sea days???