Just off Nieuw Amsterdam

[canadarocks]

Now that the Crow's Nest is no more, where is Trivia held and where is afternoon Happy Hour, just at the Ocean Bar?

[stickey_mouse]

There is still a revolving NYC skyline chandelier in the atrium, but no staircase.

 

Mamaofami, I'm still trying to figure out why you thought there was a new chandelier?

[can_birdie]

Canadarocks, they did trivia in the Gallery bar and Billboard Onboard, though that may have been due to the younger crowd for the holiday sailing. There were often several bars doing happy hour, but which ones changed daily.

 

To be fair to Mamaofami, the chandelier is hard to see from deck one, and even looking straight at it from deck three it can be hard to discern what it is and that it is rotating (in my opinion, but that was the first time I'd seen it.)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[canadarocks]

Canadarocks, they did trivia in the Gallery bar and Billboard Onboard, though that may have been due to the younger crowd for the holiday sailing. There were often several bars doing happy hour, but which ones changed daily. Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Sounds great, thanks for letting me know. :)

[mamaofami]

The officer fixing the trains in the gingerbread village told me the rotating NY skyline was replaced by a new chandelier. As far as I could discern, it did not rotate.

[EllenSunny1]

Hi! Just got off the NA yesterday and can provide some clarity. It was my first HAL cruise though, so I have no frame of reference for any changes made.

There is still a revolving NYC skyline chandelier in the atrium, but no staircase.

The Crow's Nest (Deck 11 forward, but I think that's what it was previously) has been replaced with Explorations Central. As I'm not one for sunbathing, I spend a lot of time up here and loved it! Yes, there is a desk for excursions, but there are also interactive tabletops (touchscreen maps) with information about the ports of call and various things to do there. There is an Explorations Cafe that serves coffee/tea mostly, but also wine, beer, and champagne. They don't have a full bar. Lots of bookshelves around with many interesting titles, and several cupboards of brand new board games and puzzles. They have plenty of chairs and tables of varying styles/comfort levels, including two beautiful suede gaming tables that I loved.

Most of my evenings were spent at Billboard Onboard, and I can't say enough good things about this. Will and Ivy are a match made in heaven, and so lovely to talk to. This is Ivy's first contract, and Will's third. You can tell that she is new and he is more experienced, but they are both incredibly talented and I'd recommend them to anyone sailing on NA in the next few months.

I don't have a ton of pictures, but I made a point to visit every area of the ship so I should be able to answer most other questions.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

 

Is Billboard the replacement of the piano bar with two pianists?

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[stickey_mouse]

Is Billboard the replacement of the piano bar with two pianists?

yep!

[EllenSunny1]

yep!

 

 

 

How does it compare to the old piano bar? I adore Stryker but know he won’t be on these ships.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[mamaofami]

How does it compare to the old piano bar? I adore Stryker but know he won’t be on these ships.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Billboard is an open area right across a small corridor where the casino is. There were two pianos playing with great enthusiasm and the noise from the casino was in competition. The old piano bar was much much nicer. Not sure what they were thinking.

[EllenSunny1]

Billboard is an open area right across a small corridor where the casino is. There were two pianos playing with great enthusiasm and the noise from the casino was in competition. The old piano bar was much much nicer. Not sure what they were thinking.

 

 

 

Thx. I moved to Princess this year and a lot happier.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[stickey_mouse]

Billboard is an open area right across a small corridor where the casino is. There were two pianos playing with great enthusiasm and the noise from the casino was in competition. The old piano bar was much much nicer. Not sure what they were thinking.

I only have experience on the Noordam. While the piano bar was a nice looking space, it was a wee bit claustrophobia-inducing. And I hated the spectacle of poking your head in to search for seats. All eyes were on you while you tried to squeeze past people. I can see why they wanted to open the space up a bit. But it's a shame if it was poorly executed.

[RuthC]

How does it compare to the old piano bar?

Beyond what others have posted, be aware that Billboard on Board is a different concept than the former Piano Bars.

The piano players have sets during which they play from lists. Even during request hour, they play what has been pre-selected in Seattle.

 

It is not at all the old passenger selected ideas of what to do to have fun on any given night. The free-wheeling days of passengers having an idea for a theme, for example, and the musician carrying it out, are no more.

[mamaofami]

The new poster to this thread who just got off this ship is incorrect about the crows nest it is on deck 11, sharing space with Explorations Cafe. DH was there. Sorry, I am too tired to go back and look for her name.

[luv4cruises]

Beyond what others have posted, be aware that Billboard on Board is a different concept than the former Piano Bars.

The piano players have sets during which they play from lists. Even during request hour, they play what has been pre-selected in Seattle.

 

It is not at all the old passenger selected ideas of what to do to have fun on any given night. The free-wheeling days of passengers having an idea for a theme, for example, and the musician carrying it out, are no more.

 

IMHO, HAL’S Piano Bar was the best at sea. Often the only venue still lively after 10:00 PM on a HAL ship.

I was terribly disappointed in the dueling pianos on the K last year. As stated -no audience input as to hearing and singing along to their favorites. Now that the NA has been Koningsdamized I go with some disappointment and longing for what used to be in March!

 

Regrettably HAL has gone forward with implementation of the dueling pianos on all ships being refurbished, without gathering feedback from their clients.

Royal did this a few years ago- deciding without research to implement flexible, rotating dining on all their ships ala Quantum of the Seas. The program flopped and they had the good sense to discontinue the implementation of that program.

 

I hope HAL wakes up and gathers feedback before they change things in the future.

It took HAL years to finally implement a smoking policy that eliminated smoking on balconies despite feedback from guests and knowledge of restrictive smoking policies implemented much earlier on all other mainstream cruise lines.

 

Can’t wait to walk the beautiful promenade deck of the NA ( another favorite eliminated on the K and the NS), and snorkel in the beautiful waters of the Caribbean but will miss the Piano Bar, Northern Lights, and the Crow’s Nest!

 

74 days and counting!

[RuthC]

IMHO, HAL’S Piano Bar was the best at sea. Often the only venue still lively after 10:00 PM on a HAL ship.

I fondly remember the days when the Piano Bar didn't even open until 11:00 PM, and was still going strong at 2:00 AM. Then, even better, were the days when it opened at 10:00, but still went straight through until 2:00.

The musicians then had a vast repertoire, and it was almost impossible to request a song they didn't know---even going back to the late 1800's, and right up to the present. It was a lot of fun in those days. Lots of camaraderie developed among the regulars. And there were lots of regulars who closed the joint every night in those days.

[bUU]

.... without gathering feedback from their clients.

When did they announce that they won't gather feedback? And was it announced by someone who is actually authorized to speak for the cruise line or just some random crew member who cannot be accountable for what they say?

 

This post may have been entered by voice recognition. Please excuse any typographical errors.

[can_birdie]

The new poster to this thread who just got off this ship is incorrect about the crows nest it is on deck 11, sharing space with Explorations Cafe. DH was there. Sorry, I am too tired to go back and look for her name.

 

 

 

Perhaps I am wrong, and the crow's nest is still up there, but I am new to HAL (and to cruising in general) so I'm not even sure what the crow's nest is... A bar or lounge area, or something different altogether? I did spend a lot of time up there and don't recall seeing any signs for it, nor did I see it on the signs near the elevators that I consulted frequently. Again, I may have just missed it, but I'm not even sure what it is!

[can_birdie]

IMHO, HAL’S Piano Bar was the best at sea. Often the only venue still lively after 10:00 PM on a HAL ship.

I was terribly disappointed in the dueling pianos on the K last year. As stated -no audience input as to hearing and singing along to their favorites. Now that the NA has been Koningsdamized I go with some disappointment and longing for what used to be in March!

 

 

If the same duo is still there for your cruise, they do listen to to the audience a fair amount, especially towards the end of the sets. This may not be something that happens on all ships, but Will and Ivy do a good job of making sure they play songs that their audience wants to hear.

[luv4cruises]

If the same duo is still there for your cruise, they do listen to to the audience a fair amount, especially towards the end of the sets. This may not be something that happens on all ships, but Will and Ivy do a good job of making sure they play songs that their audience wants to hear.

 

Thank you! Fingers crossed that Will and Ivy are still on the NA in March!

[kazu]

Thanks for the great review Carol. And al of the info.

 

Glad you and your friends enjoyed the cruise :)

[UTRocket]

Less than 50 days till sail day. We are on a 21 days Caribbean cruise, east west tropical does any have daily sheets for the Neiuw Amsterdam?

 

UTRocket

[TwoGuysPBC]

That makes me sad but I suppose there is a good reason. Are you able to comment on whether there were changes to the suites?

 

We are booked for March in a Sig. Suite and most research I have found shows that all suites received new furniture, bedding, carpets, marble table tops, new marble dual vanities and back splash / mirrors in the bathroom. Also a very large TV has moved off of the desk and onto the wall across from the bed / above the sofa.

[Sea girl 23]

I only have experience on the Noordam. While the piano bar was a nice looking space, it was a wee bit claustrophobia-inducing. And I hated the spectacle of poking your head in to search for seats. All eyes were on you while you tried to squeeze past people. I can see why they wanted to open the space up a bit. But it's a shame if it was poorly executed.

 

For the amount of people that were usually in the old style Piano Bar(a lot) it wasn't enough room. I love the openness of Billboard Live.

[*Miss G*]

We are booked for March in a Sig. Suite and most research I have found shows that all suites received new furniture, bedding, carpets, marble table tops, new marble dual vanities and back splash / mirrors in the bathroom. Also a very large TV has moved off of the desk and onto the wall across from the bed / above the sofa.

 

Thanks TwoGuys! We are booked in March too. We look forward to the upgrades!

[missyflov]

Were the veranda cabins refurbished- new carpeting and furniture? Fingers crossed. Thanks for the review!

 

I was on NA for Christmas and New Year's. I had a veranda room, not a suite. The furniture was all new except the desk area. The carpet was new too. It was extremely clean and comfortable. It did not appear that the bathroom had been updated except for the countertop and some glass shelves which looked completely new.