Another great Nieuw Amsterdam cruise!

[Donny-Joe]

We just got back from our second Alaska cruise and our second Nieuw Amsterdam cruise (our first Alaska cruise was on the Disney Wonder). Expectations were high and were exceeded pretty much across the board.

 

I just wanted to share a few notes on things that people had asked about or that seemed noteworthy. Not so much a full review as a bullet list of thoughts and impressions:

 

• We traveled with three other families, all of whom were new to cruising. They all seemed to think the trip was great and the ship wonderful. It helped that the weather was mostly great and we saw tons of wildlife.
  
• Food was excellent, as on the previous cruise. I ordered a few things that I thought might be hard to execute well on a cruise ship, but all of them came out really well. Drink server at Canaletto seemed confused, but a very minor hiccup in otherwise great food and service.
  
• We got the drink package (included with Explore 4) and I must say I didn't care for it. It was nice to order basic drinks without having to think about cost, but we got fewer bottles of wine because it seemed so foolish to buy a bottle of nice wine when we could have a glass of acceptable wine for "free." None of us ever came close to getting $50/day out of it. Maybe an average of $25/day, since on port days we really only had 2 or 3 drinks each. I really wish they included some kind of incentive to order from the higher-priced menu, like a discount on drinks over $8 or bottles of wine.
  
• We had a chance to take in the BB King Blues Band on several nights, and man, the group that's currently on the NA is astonishingly good. If you like blues and R&B they really deliver.
  
• The stage shows with the ship's own cast were much improved from last time. Still kind of cheesy and the plot was paper thin, but the singing and dancing were very good, the sets were well done and the overall staging was pretty solid. It's not Broadway, but it was entertaining.
  
• Hamish was the CD, and he was very funny in his pre-theater banter and the various times we saw him doing trivia or the marriage game. He's the same CD who did the "Uptown Funk" video on the Oosterdam that was posted here a few days ago.
  
• Our nephew is 11, and he really liked Club HAL. He tended to spend most evenings there and seemed to be having a blast. His parents seemed to appreciate the break. He's a great kid, but a bundle of energy. :)
  
• We noticed the smell of smoke more while walking through the casino than we had on the previous NA cruise. It wasn't really a problem, just seemed slightly more present.
  
• Glacier Bay is amazing. Tracy Arm was really great, but Glacier Bay is even better. If you're planning an Alaska cruise, definitely take one that goes there.
  
• We did two flightseeing trips: the Five Glacier Seaplane trip and the Misty Fjords Seaplane trip. Both were excellent, if too short.
  

 

That's all I can think of right now. Thanks again to everyone who helped us and answered questions while we were planning!

[canadianbear]

Great review-thank you for taking the time. We've cruised Alaska several times and I could do it every year! What fun traveling with other families-sounds like all of you had a blast.

[kftw]

Thank you for letting us know about your cruise.

[erewhon]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and impressions of your Nieuw Amsterdam cruise.

[madera1]

Happy to hear of your good experience.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Crew News]

Thanks for posting your review. I hope your participation here on the CC HAL Forum contributed to your enjoyment

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

 

Glad you had a wonderful Alaskan cruise.

[puppycanducruise]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[MSWcruiser]

Thank you for your review. We are very excited about our upcoming NA cruise on the 30th! Did you notice if there were many younger children onboard? Also, would you say the cabana club and/or lido cabanas were utilized?

 

Thank you again and so happy to hear you enjoyed.

[SherriM]

Thank you for your review! Appreciate your input!

[Donny-Joe]

Thank you for your review. We are very excited about our upcoming NA cruise on the 30th! Did you notice if there were many younger children onboard? Also, would you say the cabana club and/or lido cabanas were utilized?

 

Thank you again and so happy to hear you enjoyed.

 

There were a fair number of younger children onboard. Not as many as Disney, unsurprisingly, but they were definitely present. On the second sea day, our nephew spent a good chunk of the day playing in the main pool with about 8-10 other kids his age he'd met in Club HAL. And when his parents were registering him for Club HAL we saw a handful of other kids and family groups come through.

 

We had a retreat cabana (actually 3, because we had 11 people and that was the only way to get access for all of us), but we were the only ones who had it booked for the week. It was actually pretty great; better, we thought, than when we booked one on the NA in the Caribbean. The wind was much less of a problem and we spent a fair amount of time in the cabana on the Glacier Bay day. The family cabanas on the corners are the ones to get; they have clear views behind and to the sides (though part of the view forward is through plexiglas). And it's a good jumping-off point to get down to deck 10 or up to the front observation platform if you want a more panoramic view. We had the cabana stewards all to ourselves and they were great. I can't speak about the Lido cabanas; I didn't notice whether they were in use, but didn't really check.

[Himself]

We just got back from our second Alaska cruise and our second Nieuw Amsterdam cruise (our first Alaska cruise was on the Disney Wonder). Expectations were high and were exceeded pretty much across the board.

 

I just wanted to share a few notes on things that people had asked about or that seemed noteworthy. Not so much a full review as a bullet list of thoughts and impressions:

 

• We traveled with three other families, all of whom were new to cruising. They all seemed to think the trip was great and the ship wonderful. It helped that the weather was mostly great and we saw tons of wildlife.
  
• Food was excellent, as on the previous cruise. I ordered a few things that I thought might be hard to execute well on a cruise ship, but all of them came out really well. Drink server at Canaletto seemed confused, but a very minor hiccup in otherwise great food and service.
  
• We got the drink package (included with Explore 4) and I must say I didn't care for it. It was nice to order basic drinks without having to think about cost, but we got fewer bottles of wine because it seemed so foolish to buy a bottle of nice wine when we could have a glass of acceptable wine for "free." None of us ever came close to getting $50/day out of it. Maybe an average of $25/day, since on port days we really only had 2 or 3 drinks each. I really wish they included some kind of incentive to order from the higher-priced menu, like a discount on drinks over $8 or bottles of wine.
  
• We had a chance to take in the BB King Blues Band on several nights, and man, the group that's currently on the NA is astonishingly good. If you like blues and R&B they really deliver.
  
• The stage shows with the ship's own cast were much improved from last time. Still kind of cheesy and the plot was paper thin, but the singing and dancing were very good, the sets were well done and the overall staging was pretty solid. It's not Broadway, but it was entertaining.
  
• Hamish was the CD, and he was very funny in his pre-theater banter and the various times we saw him doing trivia or the marriage game. He's the same CD who did the "Uptown Funk" video on the Oosterdam that was posted here a few days ago.
  
• Our nephew is 11, and he really liked Club HAL. He tended to spend most evenings there and seemed to be having a blast. His parents seemed to appreciate the break. He's a great kid, but a bundle of energy. :)
  
• We noticed the smell of smoke more while walking through the casino than we had on the previous NA cruise. It wasn't really a problem, just seemed slightly more present.
  
• Glacier Bay is amazing. Tracy Arm was really great, but Glacier Bay is even better. If you're planning an Alaska cruise, definitely take one that goes there.
  
• We did two flightseeing trips: the Five Glacier Seaplane trip and the Misty Fjords Seaplane trip. Both were excellent, if too short.
  

 

That's all I can think of right now. Thanks again to everyone who helped us and answered questions while we were planning!

 

This is my favorite ship.

[MSWcruiser]

There were a fair number of younger children onboard. Not as many as Disney, unsurprisingly, but they were definitely present. On the second sea day, our nephew spent a good chunk of the day playing in the main pool with about 8-10 other kids his age he'd met in Club HAL. And when his parents were registering him for Club HAL we saw a handful of other kids and family groups come through.

 

We had a retreat cabana (actually 3, because we had 11 people and that was the only way to get access for all of us), but we were the only ones who had it booked for the week. It was actually pretty great; better, we thought, than when we booked one on the NA in the Caribbean. The wind was much less of a problem and we spent a fair amount of time in the cabana on the Glacier Bay day. The family cabanas on the corners are the ones to get; they have clear views behind and to the sides (though part of the view forward is through plexiglas). And it's a good jumping-off point to get down to deck 10 or up to the front observation platform if you want a more panoramic view. We had the cabana stewards all to ourselves and they were great. I can't speak about the Lido cabanas; I didn't notice whether they were in use, but didn't really check.

 

Thank you so much! This is very helpful.