Nieuw Amsterdam now becoming a Princess Ship

[OlsSalt]

Ha! Click-bait title - but it is true.

 

Just off the NA yesterday and we were told one of the Dutch royal family was coming on board for the next Caribbean segment to the FLL Southern Caribbean - no further details, but it was assumed naturally she would be using the Pinnacle Suite.

 

We really enjoyed this ship even thought this was our largest HAL ship, so far and wondered if we would. Not a fair test as we got a nice last minute Neptune Suite upsell so we had the best of all worlds - all the lovely space and privacy that comes with the Neptune Experience and this truly lovely ship had a lot of variety and new places to explore compared to the more utilitarian Vista ships. .

 

Yes, we also loved the Tamarind and the windowed Pinnacle dining room for breakfasts. All the music venues were top notch and well attended. The America's Test Kitchen programs were a vast improvement and again very well attended. Took a while to get used to the more crowded central pool area with the cabanas and fewer outdoor tables at this central pool outdoor Lido seating option, but this was quickly made up with the more extensive table seating space available on the full pool aft dec.

 

They definitely got the decor right on this ship - lovely coordinated colors, carpet patterns that finally made sense. Lovely artwork and got the sly joke about the huge "Big Apple" sculpture at the foot of the atrium steps foyer on Deck 3. The orphaned library off the Crows Nest was sad, but this was a short haul cruise with few sea days and there were plenty of other public lounge areas that were both quiet and secluded if one wanted a sea view reading space.

 

The surprise was the very large and underused full half of the Tamarind Restaurant, which would make a very nice library space should the PTB ever be motivated to take it out of its current Crow's Nest Siberia and reinstate the full library option.

 

This was the FLL Caribbean cruise to A-B-C- Islands along with Turks and Caicos and Dominican Republic along with HMC - a very worthy and low-key itinerary.

 

Water temps not as warm as we wanted and weather not totally inviting since it was very windy and occasionally rainy, but we did get in some very good snorkeling taking the ferry on our own to Klein Bonaire in at the Bonaire stop.

 

Now that we know the lay of the land I can see other good options for a more snorkel targeted return trip. For the first time we ran an over-age 70 restriction on some of the snorkel shore excursions.

 

Not crazy about the Manhattan dining room layout or decor, but food was fine and service throughout the ship was top of its game at all levels.

[Platoon Leader]

Thanks for the review. We love the NA and can't wait to board again.

 

Sent from my XT1650 using Forums mobile app

[OlsSalt]

Thanks for the review. We love the NA and can't wait to board again.

 

Sent from my XT1650 using Forums mobile app

 

She is now definitely on our list too, as well as the Eurodam and would love to do a transatlantic on either one of them. It was with a sigh of relief since our beloved smaller R and S class ships are slowly getting phased out.

[easyboy]

Took the bait, but no regrets!

Thank you for your feedback!

[erewhon]

Thank you for reviewing your cruise.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

We have been on the Nieuw Amsterdam several times and love that ship.

We ate quite a few times in the Tamarind and both sides of the restaurant were always busy.

Why do you say that the Nieuw Amsterdam is becoming a Princess ship?

[HALrunner]

We must have sailed with you and also are fresh off the NA. How exciting that the VIP guest is onboard this week!

Your recap is spot on and I am glad you mentioned the "orphaned" library. That is the perfect word to describe it's unfortunate situation. We were just on the NA at (American) Thanksgiving too and it was in much better shape. At that point they were running under a "self checkout" routine, but now there is just a sign that says "Enjoy the books and game while onboard, please return them to the shelves you found them at before the end of the cruise." Clearly this system is not working as the inventory is down by about 50% and the shelves are a total mess! I wanted to adopt the "orphan" and give her some TLC! A fellow passenger inquired and was informed that they will not be replenishing/replacing books. So it looks like the library is on it's way out:(

[Lady Arwen]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

We have been on the Nieuw Amsterdam several times and love that ship.

We ate quite a few times in the Tamarind and both sides of the restaurant were always busy.

Why do you say that the Nieuw Amsterdam is becoming a Princess ship?

He said that one of the Dutch Royal family would be boarding the ship on the next segment....hence "Princess" ship. Just a play on words.

[Copper10-8]

Ha! Click-bait title - but it is true.

 

Just off the NA yesterday and we were told one of the Dutch royal family was coming on board for the next Caribbean segment to the FLL Southern Caribbean - no further details, but it was assumed naturally she would be using the Pinnacle Suite.

 

..............................

 

Interested to know who that might be since the oldest daughter of the King is only thirteen

 

[OlsSalt]

Interested to know who that might be since the oldest daughter of the King is only thirteen

 

 

Good point, but short on the details and missed the name - could it be the former Queen and now Princess Beatrix herself, since she was the ship's god-mother? We were told there were 25 members in the Dutch royal family so I don't know how this breaks down then there is a transfer of power and still living relatives of the former monarch..

 

On the NA, it was always helpful to see Queen Beatrix's statue bust around the corner from the elevator foyer, to know which direction to turn to get to the Queen's Lounge.

 

This claimed "visit by a princess" was mentioned in passing on our way out. But it made me very curious how any sort of special "celebrity" passenger visit gets handled, though the Dutch royal family has long been known for their more informal manner.

 

Back to the Tamarind during our two visits, only one half of the dining room was partially full - very happy diners for sure but no one was on the other side. We did have 8pm reservations so perhaps it was a lot fuller at the earlier dining hours.

 

I got my chance to O.D. on sushi -taking the 12 piece main entree option the second night. Glad I only ordered their enticing flavored sorbets for dessert that night. Wish I were munching on the appetizer shrimp chips and sambal trio again right now. DH declared the duck breast was the best he ever had. And the Thai beef salad was all I hoped it would be. Yes, we became fans of the Nieuw Amsterdam.

[Krazy Kruizers]

He said that one of the Dutch Royal family would be boarding the ship on the next segment....hence "Princess" ship. Just a play on words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you

Now I understand.

[Copper10-8]

Good point, but short on the details and missed the name - could it be the former Queen and now Princess Beatrix herself, since she was the ship's god-mother? We were told there were 25 members in the Dutch royal family so I don't know how this breaks down then there is a transfer of power and still living relatives of the former monarch..

 

On the NA, it was always helpful to see Queen Beatrix's statue bust around the corner from the elevator foyer, to know which direction to turn to get to the Queen's Lounge.

 

This claimed "visit by a princess" was mentioned in passing on our way out. But it made me very curious how any sort of special "celebrity" passenger visit gets handled, though the Dutch royal family has long been known for their more informal manner.

 

......................................

 

Could be right and could be the former Queen; I'll see if I can find out

[Copper10-8]

Good point, but short on the details and missed the name - could it be the former Queen and now Princess Beatrix herself, since she was the ship's god-mother? We were told there were 25 members in the Dutch royal family so I don't know how this breaks down then there is a transfer of power and still living relatives of the former monarch..

 

On the NA, it was always helpful to see Queen Beatrix's statue bust around the corner from the elevator foyer, to know which direction to turn to get to the Queen's Lounge.

 

This claimed "visit by a princess" was mentioned in passing on our way out. But it made me very curious how any sort of special "celebrity" passenger visit gets handled, though the Dutch royal family has long been known for their more informal manner.

 

......................

 

Looks like it's Princess Margriet, sister of former Queen Beatrix and aunt to the current Dutch King. She was born in Ottawa Civic Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada after the family had fled German-occupied the Netherlands during WWII. The maternity ward of Ottawa Civic Hospital in which Princess Margriet was born was temporarily declared to be extraterritorial by the Canadian government, making it technically international territory. This was done to ensure that the Princess would derive her citizenship from her mother only, thus making her solely Dutch, important since she was/is in the line of succession to the Dutch throne.

 

Princess Margriet was the Godmother of the earlier Nieuw Amsterdam III (1984-2000)

[avian777]

Looks like it's Princess Margriet, sister of former Queen Beatrix and aunt to the current Dutch King. She was born in Ottawa Civic Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada after the family had fled German-occupied the Netherlands during WWII. The maternity ward of Ottawa Civic Hospital in which Princess Margriet was born was temporarily declared to be extraterritorial by the Canadian government, making it technically international territory. This was done to ensure that the Princess would derive her citizenship from her mother only, thus making her solely Dutch, important since she was/is in the line of succession to the Dutch throne.

 

Princess Margriet was the Godmother of the earlier Nieuw Amsterdam III (1984-2000)

 

As always, Copper10-8, your Post was spot on. Thank you for your invaluable insights.

Smooth sailing ...

[OlsSalt]

Thanks for the sleuthing, copper.

 

Looks like HAL and Princess Margriet have a long and happy relationship. The Rotterdam is called "her ship" too, as well as another online note she christened the Oosterdam. http://www.hollandamerica.com/news/NewsRelease.action?newsReleaseId=1278

[rkacruiser]

Good review, OlsSalt; thanks for writing it. I agree with your observations.

 

The decor of Nieuw Amsterdam is much more to my taste than the Eurodam's.

 

Knowing the lounge Stewards rotate among venues after each cruise usually, but our Stewards in the Ocean Bar and in Silk Den could not have been more professional, friendly, and very guest-oriented. I was impressed with the Lido Restaurant's staff as well.

 

The practice of offering juices, water, and coffee to guests seated in the Lido Restaurant as the staff as time to do so is one change HAL has made that is for the better.

 

I did my part to help out what is left of the Library by leaving a couple of books. HAL is making a mistake with this decision, in my opinion.

[OlsSalt]

We left two Caribbean port and history books behind too ..but in the Neptune Library (book shelf?). Couldn't bear to abandon them in the tattered Crow's Nest Library.

 

Who knows, maybe the "Princess" will get to enjoy them now should she venture down to the Neptune Lounge. From photos she looks like a very amiable and approachable person. I suspect it will be a good time had by all on her HAL cruise.

[CruisinNana]

What kind of plugs are next to bed in Neptune Suite! USB or electrical?

[OlsSalt]

What kind of plugs are next to bed in Neptune Suite! USB or electrical?

 

I don't think there were any plugs right next to the bed, nor any USB outlets. There is a gooseneck reading lamp. Though there were outlets close by for the coffee maker. However, there were multiple plug areas - by the coffee maker, by the front closet desk area, a shaver outlet in the bathroom, and more outlets in the dressing nook for the hair dryer..

 

(We also did not look for USB ports, so someone else may know more since we had our own USB adaptor.)

 

The in-room coffee maker was very nice. Very nicely laid out room with 6 closets and a small dressing area/vanity nook.

 

No obvious instructions for the coffee maker, but it was pretty simple once we figured it out. We could have asked the steward, but a few trial and errors got it going.

 

It has a built in water tank, so there is zero fuss. Just plug it in, turn the on switch, pick out your little color-coded coffee "pod" - (decaf, expresso or regular), open the top of the coffee maker (not the coffee pod!), slip the intact pod into the pod shaped slot on top, pick out the size cup you want (small or full), close the top, push the flashing cup size button you want - small or large, and in a few minutes a very nice cup of coffee. Blinking lights tell you the next step to take.

 

There was also a Bose "something" we never figured out nor asked about that was close to the coffee maker and window desk area near the bed. Very large screen TV to view either from the chairs by the coffee table or across the room from the bed.

[bUU]

What kind of plugs are next to bed in Neptune Suite! USB or electrical?

I'm not sure when your cruise is, but there are apparently going to be "fixture" improvements applied to the ship during its scheduled dry dock in late Fall. Perhaps that will include some electrical socket improvements.

[Vict0riann]

Looks like it's Princess Margriet, sister of former Queen Beatrix and aunt to the current Dutch King. She was born in Ottawa Civic Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada after the family had fled German-occupied the Netherlands during WWII. The maternity ward of Ottawa Civic Hospital in which Princess Margriet was born was temporarily declared to be extraterritorial by the Canadian government, making it technically international territory. This was done to ensure that the Princess would derive her citizenship from her mother only, thus making her solely Dutch, important since she was/is in the line of succession to the Dutch throne.

 

Princess Margriet was the Godmother of the earlier Nieuw Amsterdam III (1984-2000)

 

Wow! So interesting.:) But do you think we might say she is an "honorary" Canadian?

[Copper10-8]

Wow! So interesting.:) But do you think we might say she is an "honorary" Canadian?

 

I bet ya she be honored to be one :)

[sail7seas]

Looks like it's Princess Margriet, sister of former Queen Beatrix and aunt to the current Dutch King. She was born in Ottawa Civic Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada after the family had fled German-occupied the Netherlands during WWII. The maternity ward of Ottawa Civic Hospital in which Princess Margriet was born was temporarily declared to be extraterritorial by the Canadian government, making it technically international territory. This was done to ensure that the Princess would derive her citizenship from her mother only, thus making her solely Dutch, important since she was/is in the line of succession to the Dutch throne.

 

Princess Margriet was the Godmother of the earlier Nieuw

 

 

Amsterdam III (1984-2000)

 

GREat post, Copper. Very interesting.

 

We were booked to be there but i had to have heart surgery and couldn't go. :(

Edited February 11, 2017 by sail7seas

[CruisinNana]

I don't think there were any plugs right next to the bed, nor any USB outlets. There is a gooseneck reading lamp. Though there were outlets close by for the coffee maker. However, there were multiple plug areas - by the coffee maker, by the front closet desk area, a shaver outlet in the bathroom, and more outlets in the dressing nook for the hair dryer..

 

(We also did not look for USB ports, so someone else may know more since we had our own USB adaptor.)

 

The in-room coffee maker was very nice. Very nicely laid out room with 6 closets and a small dressing area/vanity nook.

 

No obvious instructions for the coffee maker, but it was pretty simple once we figured it out. We could have asked the steward, but a few trial and errors got it going.

 

It has a built in water tank, so there is zero fuss. Just plug it in, turn the on switch, pick out your little color-coded coffee "pod" - (decaf, expresso or regular), open the top of the coffee maker (not the coffee pod!), slip the intact pod into the pod shaped slot on top, pick out the size cup you want (small or full), close the top, push the flashing cup size button you want - small or large, and in a few minutes a very nice cup of coffee. Blinking lights tell you the next step to take.

 

There was also a Bose "something" we never figured out nor asked about that was close to the coffee maker and window desk area near the bed. Very large screen TV to view either from the chairs by the coffee table or across the room from the bed.

Great information. Thanks so much! On the Koningsdam, there were USB ports and electrical plugs on each side of the bed. Very convenient!