Best for Transatlantic Cruise

[kazu]

On 11/13/2019 at 6:59 PM, crystalspin said:

If you are not too prone to seasickness, and feel lucky, go for the Rotterdam! We have sailed to Alaska twice in a R class ship on the Lower Promenade (not in a Lanai cabin, although I did book one once for a TA that we had to cancel). 

 

No need to worry about seasickness on the Rotterdam unless the seas are REALLY rough.  I’ve done a TA on that ship and I would far rather be on her than the N Amsterdam any day of the week. (I’ve done a TA on the N Amsterdam and I honestly feel that the bigger ships do not handle a TA as well - JMO though after a few TA’s)

 

The Rotterdam normally has a lovely itinerary for it’s TA and assuming it hasn’t changed, it’s a great way to get to Europe 🙂 

 

 

[LuAnn]

Thanks for all the info. While we have done quite a few T/As and T/Ps we have never done a T/A on HAL before....and this spring will be our first T/A on the NS. And one of the reasons was that the cruise ended in Amsterdam...rather than Rome or BCN. 

 

While we did a T/P on HAL in '11...that was quite awhile ago. Wondering what the days at sea are like on the T/As....??? we have done the HAL R/T to HI out of our home port of San Diego....will the activities be similar? TBH I was glad I played Mah Jongg...as there didn't seem to be too much Trivia etc?....maybe I just missed things? 

 

Any "clues" as to what the daily sea schedules might include? We do enjoy Trivia and lectures and movies. Thank you!!! LuAnn

[smilesntravels]

On 11/11/2019 at 6:53 PM, FlaMariner said:

Just got off the Nieuw Statendam Sunday after our first transatlantic.......It was awesome. You can ask me anything.

 

I'd prefer to go TA on the Pinnacle class ships like the Nieuw Statendam.....Why?  Balconies are plentiful, are affordable and are a requirement for this cruise.....Also, the bigger ships have more stuff and more room.  

 

The 6 days crossing flew by.  Book it.

 

I agree with FLAMariner!  Having been on only one Hal ship so far, the Eurodam which we really liked, I would much rather go on a larger ship especially for a TA.  Every year I want to go on a TA and every year I say, okay next year :).  Anyway, there's more room, more stuff to do and more options.  I would think I would get bored faster on a smaller ship.  Enjoy!

[FlaMariner]

19 hours ago, LuAnn said:

Thanks for all the info. While we have done quite a few T/As and T/Ps we have never done a T/A on HAL before....and this spring will be our first T/A on the NS. And one of the reasons was that the cruise ended in Amsterdam...rather than Rome or BCN. 

 

While we did a T/P on HAL in '11...that was quite awhile ago. Wondering what the days at sea are like on the T/As....??? we have done the HAL R/T to HI out of our home port of San Diego....will the activities be similar? TBH I was glad I played Mah Jongg...as there didn't seem to be too much Trivia etc?....maybe I just missed things? 

 

Any "clues" as to what the daily sea schedules might include? We do enjoy Trivia and lectures and movies. Thank you!!! LuAnn

 

 

LuAnn:

 

We just got off our first TA last Sunday on the NS.....still having cruise ship withdrawal pains.

 

Activities were plentiful and our schedule stayed full during the 6 day crossing.....My recollection of activities during sea days would include:

 

9:30 Coffee chats with staff/engineers/entertainers etc

11am and 3pm lectures (always twice a day with 2 guest lecturers that were very good)

Kitchen tours twice/how to make towel critters

1pm America's Test Kitchen (every crossing day)

3pm Tea

daily activities I'm not sure of the time...

Trivia (it was daily at BillBoard onboard and heavily attended)

Bingo

Pickle Ball/ping pong

Afternoon Lincoln Stage matinee concerts

Movies every evening at the lido pool (plus great selection of free movies in your room)

 

Between all the activities above and hanging out at the Greenhouse Spa/gym and taking twice daily walks around promenade and/or sun deck and then getting to a different venue for lunch (lido, MDR, Pinnacle, Dive in, NY Deli, Dutch Cafe) reading a book in the Crow's Nest and then making it to 4pm happy hour at Ocean Bar and 5pm dinner in the MDR and later a show at the World Stage/BBKing/BillboardOnboard/RockRoom and on and on, the days flew by.....It was also great to have an extra hour most evenings as the clocks were frequently "turned back and hour".

 

I'm sure I left out other stuff so feel free to ask about anything else.

 

All good times......never a dull moment unless you wanted to create one!  Hope we do it again.

 

 

 

 

[knittinggirl]

We've done the Legend of the Seas, Rotterdam, Veendam and Zuiderdam.  Liked the Zuiderdam the best.   It's a little larger than the old Legend of the seas, and about 20,000 tons larger than the Rotterdam.   On the Rotterdam and the Veendam, if you want a private balcony, you have to invest in a suite.   On the Zuiderdam, they have balconies, signature suites and Neptune suites.    Our TA told us the Veendam had the largest Neptune Suites in the fleet!

 

While I  didn't notice this on the Rotterdam, when we were near Iceland, I heard a lot of creaking on the Zuiderdam while at sea.  They also had to turn off water one night to fix the pipes.  I've heard the Rotterdam was built for long voyages.  Unless things have changed, I love the Exploration Cafe near the dining room.  Both the Veendam and the Rotterdam had a fantastic library, but on the Zuiderdam and Nieuw Amsterdam, they'd sacrificed the library for that pitiful EXC department with those touch tables.  I didn't see very many people using the touch tables.  I tried to check them out, but lost interest after only a few minutes.  They're meant to dazzle, but failed with me.

 

The Voyage of the Vikings does a round trip from Boston, so no international flights.  But the cruise is over a month.  So, you have to either have a very understanding boss, or be retired.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by knittinggirl

[WisRiver]

We have done 5 TA repositioning cruises on HAL, Noordam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Koningsdam and Zuiderdam (2).  In addition we did a 35 day respositioning cruise from Buenos Aires to Boston on the Zaandam.  My favorites were the Koningsdam and Nieuw Amsterdam because of their size and variety of dining options.  The Koningsdam's Dutch Cafe and New York Pizza and Deli were excellent.  We did not miss the deck chairs on the Promenade Deck for these two ships.  We used the Promenade deck for walking.   If we wanted to sit outside we used the Lido deck with its excellent bar service. 

[wyobean]

We will be on the Veendam for 31 days starting 4-22-20 ending in Amsterdam. The price was great. This will be our first TA cruise. Really looking forward to it. We really don’t look at the ship so much. We look at the itinerary and price. We have liked all the HAL ships we have been on.

[Tampa Girl]

On 11/17/2019 at 12:12 PM, knittinggirl said:

We've done the Legend of the Seas, Rotterdam, Veendam and Zuiderdam.  Liked the Zuiderdam the best.   It's a little larger than the old Legend of the seas, and about 20,000 tons larger than the Rotterdam.   On the Rotterdam and the Veendam, if you want a private balcony, you have to invest in a suite.   On the Zuiderdam, they have balconies, signature suites and Neptune suites.    Our TA told us the Veendam had the largest Neptune Suites in the fleet!

 

 

 

The S and R class ships's balcony cabins are called Vista Suites.  They are hardly suites, but at least they earn double Mariner points.  They are a little larger (very little) than the balcony cabins on the Vista ships, and because the Veendam, Rotterdam and Amsterdam are smaller ships with less passengers, the cabins are usually more expensive.

 

For the poster who recommended the larger ships because they can handle the seas better - I question that.  We took the Ryndam on a TA.  It handled the seas beautifully.  And don't forget, the World Cruise and Grand Asia) is on the Amsterdam, and it did very well, thank you.  But since I've never been on a Pinnacle or Signature Class ship, I really can't compare.  I'm just not sure that the size of the ship is the determining factor.

[LuAnn]

Thanks everyone for your ideas re what to do on a T/A! TBH most days I'm running around ...from" pillar to post" trying to fit everything in...and it sounds like I'll be doing the same. We did have a wonderful T/P on HAL...and so many other fun cruises out of our home port SD...looking forward to our first T/A with HAL...and meeting more wonderful Mariners!!! :) Thank you again for your gracious answers!!! LuAnn

[Floridastorm]

Since I put up the original post would like to thank all for the excellent feedback for a Holland America TA. IMO it's so important, when you are spending your hard earned money for a long trip, to insure that the trip is not an unwelcome one. I realize that Holland America is a fine cruise line where just about any ship would be satisfactory. Have been on two of them myself. But, if we can hone those ships down to a couple then all is well. ☺️

[catl331]

We did two WB T-As, one a Viking Passage on the Eurodam and one southern-route on the Prinsendam.  We enjoyed the Eurodam one much more because it did not have the Prinsendam's 9 day stretch with only one port day in the Azores to break it up.  And we enjoyed the E-dam Tamarind twice!   We would not do a T-A with a long stretch of sea days again.

Edited December 9, 2019 by catl331