Btimmer's Blog of the Nieuw Statendam Inaugural Voyage

[Btimmer]

 

 counter storage area

 

We are big sushi lovers, and our experience in Nami Sushi was over the top good.  We had 6 or 7 items including an awesome cheesecake dessert that was so light and fluffy.  The seaweed salad wasn't on the menu, but they prepared it for us.

 

The pic's are pure food pron.

Edited December 12, 2018 by Btimmer

[Btimmer]

The Knights (a British Tribute trio) were the evening entertainment on the World Stage.  They rocked to a full house!

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

The sushi looks wonderful!!

[Btimmer]

Here are some Christmas scenes from the Dutch Cafe.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I wish all the ships had the Dutch Cafe (as well as the Tamarind restaurant).

 

Great pictures.

[BJzink]

Re. the unbelievable claim for book loss per year  - I'm not sure that all the passengers who are complaining about the library loss are wanting the books as much as a quiet space with comfy chairs & a great view of the ocean.   I have my "reader" & take it to that space for the atmosphere.  My view of Mr. Ashford's actions is that people in the "library" are not spending money for alcohol, or in the shops, or casino, or ???  Same reasoning for making the "walking" deck unable to have the deck chairs. 

[pineappleprince]

Wonderful blog - thanks for the info and pics! I saw that you had mentioned posting videos of the cabins you visited on the cabin crawl - did I miss those somewhere or are they still to come?

[Btimmer]

2 hours ago, BJzink said:

Re. the unbelievable claim for book loss per year  - I'm not sure that all the passengers who are complaining about the library loss are wanting the books as much as a quiet space with comfy chairs & a great view of the ocean.   I have my "reader" & take it to that space for the atmosphere.  My view of Mr. Ashford's actions is that people in the "library" are not spending money for alcohol, or in the shops, or casino, or ???  Same reasoning for making the "walking" deck unable to have the deck chairs. 

Today I found a comfy and quiet space in the Rolling Stone Rock Room to spend two hours reading my latest Joshua Quinn thriller novel.  There are such places all around the ship.

 

Re: the narrow Promenade, I fully understand why it's narrow: per current marine standards,  the lifeboats need to be as low as possible for fast and easy deployment.  If they were placed on deck 1 or 2, they would lose considerably more cabin space and still have to have an access point.  While it takes more laps, Deck 11's track has nice virtual 360° views.  There are lots of lounge chairs in the aft section of the ship plus the two decks in the Lido, and on Deck 14 above the Criw's Nest.  Then there are the $$ lounges in the Retreat area.

[Btimmer]

1 hour ago, pineappleprince said:

Wonderful blog - thanks for the info and pics! I saw that you had mentioned posting videos of the cabins you visited on the cabin crawl - did I miss those somewhere or are they still to come?

They are still to come.  I have yet to process the videos. Thanks for your patience. 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Appreciate your taking the time to report on loungers and where the free ones can be found and about the track.  Is it a walking track or running track or can people do both?

[BJzink]

3 hours ago, Btimmer said:

Today I found a comfy and quiet space in the Rolling Stone Rock Room to spend two hours reading my latest Joshua Quinn thriller novel.  There are such places all around the ship.

 

Re: the narrow Promenade, I fully understand why it's narrow: per current marine standards,  the lifeboats need to be as low as possible for fast and easy deployment.  If they were placed on deck 1 or 2, they would lose considerably more cabin space and still have to have an access point.  While it takes more laps, Deck 11's track has nice virtual 360° views.  There are lots of lounge chairs in the aft section of the ship plus the two decks in the Lido, and on Deck 14 above the Criw's Nest.  Then there are the $$ lounges in the Retreat area.

Does the Rolling Stone Rock Room have big windows for sea viewing?  And, are the other areas you mentioned Ok for rainy or other inclement weather.  I don't like to be difficult, but I'm interested in a venue like the libraries are now...…….?anything there?

[Btimmer]

18 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Appreciate your taking the time to report on loungers and where the free ones can be found and about the track.  Is it a walking track or running track or can people do both?

One can do both with no problem.

[Btimmer]

Just now, BJzink said:

Does the Rolling Stone Rock Room have big windows for sea viewing?  And, are the other areas you mentioned Ok for rainy or other inclement weather.  I don't like to be difficult, but I'm interested in a venue like the libraries are now...…….?anything there?

Yes there are large windows in the RSRR and you are virtually at water level.  There are other seats across in the Billboard Onboard venue as well as the BBKing /Lincoln Center stage.  The Ocean Bar may be similarly outfitted.  I'll check out possible areas.

 

Thanks for following along.

[Btimmer]

6 hours ago, BJzink said:

Re. the unbelievable claim for book loss per year  - I'm not sure that all the passengers who are complaining about the library loss are wanting the books as much as a quiet space with comfy chairs & a great view of the ocean.   I have my "reader" & take it to that space for the atmosphere.  My view of Mr. Ashford's actions is that people in the "library" are not spending money for alcohol, or in the shops, or casino, or ???  Same reasoning for making the "walking" deck unable to have the deck chairs. 

BTW, I definitely don't disagree with your observation about HAL's desire for money to be spent on alcohol.  There's a bar in every venue.  And the shops are definitely more upscale and we've had NO deck sales.  The casino on Deck 3 is right in the main traffic way and has been busy every time I pass through however I tend to avoid it due to the cigarette smoke.

[Krazy Kruizers]

26 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

One can do both with no problem.

 

Thank you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Appreciate your taking the time to answer all our questions and checking on things for us.

[cat shepard]

Yes thank you! You, Sherita and Ann are our “folk at the scene”, so to speak.

[beachbunny6]

Tim, THANK YOU for taking your time to do this blog for us!  You and your efforts are really appreciated!  Can't wait to meet you on board next week!

Bon Voyage!

~Barbara~

[Palm Bay Cruise Couple]

Thank You for Blogging your journey on the Nieuw Statendam, not only are we enjoying the blogs, but being that you are in an Inside Spa stateroom, makes it all the more interesting. We are anxiously awaiting for the ship to arrive in Fort Lauderdale so that we can embark on the 19th of December for 11 Days and we will be residing in 10011 for that 11 days.  For that Holiday cruise we will be traveling with our daughter and her husband and enjoy the holidays at sea.  Could you tell me exactly what Amenities are included in the cabin.  We have sailed on the Koningsdam for it inaugural U. S. cruise in a Outside Spa Stateroom, 10002, and enjoyed the cabin, but didn't take advantage of the available amenities, our fault, and we are not first time cruisers.  Hoping You enjoy the cruise and I will look forward to reading your blogs.

[Btimmer]

In our Inside SPA cabin 10008, there are two exercise mats, and a Bose speaker (very nice for playing Christmas music from my phone).  They also provided us with slippers, robes, 3 bottles of vitamin water, bath salts (not usable in a shower) and a luffa sponge.  There is also a wooden slat mat in the shower, but we've not used that.  As 5 star Mariners we each get one free day in the spa on deck 9, and my wife used hers yesterday. Beyond that, the room appears to be just like the other inside staterooms we toured.

 

That being said, we love the location.  We can walk aft down the hallway right out into the upper Lido deck with lounges, deck chairs, the NY Deli & Pizza; or go down a winding staircase to deck 9 and the Lido buffet.  The jogging/walking track is one floor above us.

 

Thanks for the compliments and I hope the above helps. See you on the 19th.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Enjoying your reports.

[puppycanducruise]

Great thread.

Wonderful pictures and information.

Thank you.

[Sonora5]

This is really fun to read. Thanks.

 

I agree with those who yearn for a book trading shelf. To make book trading fun, check out bookcrossing.com

 

On our recent cruise on the Oosterdam there were bookshelves in the Crow's Nest that people were using to trade books and magazines. The magazines I left were scooped up right away.

 

Daniel Madeira taxis is the bomb. Love them.

[Btimmer]

Here are a few pictures from throughout the ship of areas where one can read.  Many are on Deck 2, where during the day, the music venues are quiet.  The aft deck is pretty nice and sheltered.  The Crow's Nest has a lot of seating and can be pretty busy.  The two Lido pool areas have seats, Lounge recliners, and sofas with perhaps a bit more noise.

 

Deck 2 just outside the Main Dining Room

 

Ocean Bar, Deck 2 (2 areas)

 

Rolling Stone Rock Room

 

Dueling Pianos area

 

Above BBKing nightclub

 

Dutch Cafe

 

Aft deck starboard side (also on the port side)

 

lido pool area

 

Crows Nest starboard side.  Matching  space on the port side

 

Lido Lounger

 

All in all, quiet seating can be found throughout the ship.

Edited December 14, 2018 by Btimmer

[Boatdrill]

On 12/8/2018 at 11:38 AM, cruisingnewtoit said:

I wish the pool was bigger 

It used to be bigger but people were walking off the ships with parts of the pools...about 2.5 million worth...

so it had to be smaller.  🙂