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Oosterdam or Nieuw Amsterdam

caribbeanboy

By caribbeanboy,
in Holland America Line

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OlsSalt

OlsSalt

Posted
Posted

Not even close for us - it would be the Nieuw Amsterdam  - for one reason only - you get  the Tamarind Restaurant and more interesting overall ship's layout.

 

However, for us it is always itinerary first, then the ship.   Osterdam is fine and very serviceable. Both have the wonderful larger sized verandah cabins (SS, SY, SZ  etc Signature class) which we think are the best in the fleet, if you were considering this cabin class - below Neptune but above regular verandah. 

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CruiserBruce

CruiserBruce

Posted
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1 hour ago, ski ww said:

Have not been on the Oosterdam, but loved the NA, in the end I don't think it matters. We also pick itinerary & then ship. What ever ship you're on enjoy your cruise.

 

Agree. If you haven't been on both, I don't think you will need to wonder what you missed. Enjoy your cruise.

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aotmc

aotmc

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Posted

 

First, offering a different view: the Tamarind is no reason for me to pick a ship. I like it, but I can go with out it for a sailing. I have plenty of dining options at home that are comparable, as well as plenty of dining options on board that I enjoy in different ways than the Tamarind.

 

The major thing I do prefer with the Vista Class (Oosterdam), is the size. They are not terribly smaller than the Signature Class (NA), but feel much less crowded to me. They have about 100 less staterooms. Of course, depends on if your sailing is at capacity or not.

 

Things I always consider when comparing two cruise options:

1.) Ports visiting & how many days are sea days vs. not.

2.) Price per night (inclusive of travel to/from. ex: I can drive to Baltimore, I'd have to fly across country for a pacific cruise)

3.) Smoking policy (I am not a smoker, and it triggers my asthma... but if I were a smoker, this would also affect my choice)

4.) Size of ship, passenger count relative to size, etc. 

5.) Activities on board, ship amenities, & food options (this applies more if I am comparing two diff lines)

6.) Other ships in port at the same time, and tendering. This wouldn't stop me, but it would be a tie breaker for me. I don't care for crowds, so if I look it up and there are several large ships in port the same day, I avoid. I also don't love tendering, but like I said, it wouldn't matter much unless it's a tie breaker between two options.

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OlsSalt

OlsSalt

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, aotmc said:

......

6.) Other ships in port at the same time, and tendering. This wouldn't stop me, but it would be a tie breaker for me. I don't care for crowds, so if I look it up and there are several large ships in port the same day, I avoid. I also don't love tendering, but like I said, it wouldn't matter much unless it's a tie breaker between two options.

 

This is the real tie breaker for me .......takes time to research this, but probably more payoff value for this than any other factor if your dock partners are any of the larger ships, or more than one other ship. 

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ATC

ATC

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4 hours ago, fatcat04 said:

According to a report from Nov. 10, NAs casino is smoke free now. 

 

 

Last summer someone REPORTED that the Koningsdam was non-smoking. I was happy since I was going to be on it in Nov/Dec for 24 days. Of the 24 days three were non smoking and the Casino still stank on those days. On smoking days the smell was noticable in the music venues one deck below.

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fatcat04

fatcat04

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19 minutes ago, ATC said:

Last summer someone REPORTED that the Koningsdam was non-smoking. I was happy since I was going to be on it in Nov/Dec for 24 days. Of the 24 days three were non smoking and the Casino still stank on those days. On smoking days the smell was noticable in the music venues one deck below.

Maybe we can get more confirmation of the smoking policy on NA as the Caribbean season progresses. 

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fatcat04

fatcat04

Posted
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On 11/25/2018 at 3:43 PM, GreenSmoothieCruiser said:

We were on the Nieuw Amsterdam this past week and the casino is 100% non smoking. The only smoking option is one side of the pool with a small section of tables.

Thank you for reporting back. 

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