Share your memories of sailing on the ms. Amsterdam.

[cruzingnut]

I'm incredibly sad that our beloved Amsterdam has been sold.  I knew some of the ships would go but not her.  So, I know that many of us have fabulous memories of cruises on the Amsterdam so please share them here. 

 

Our first time sailing on the Amsterdam was a trans Atlantic from Ft. Lauderdale to Civitavecchia, Italy.  I think it was a 16 day sailing and was our longest at the time.  I'd also never been to Europe (I wouldn't fly) so it was the perfect way to get there.  We absolutely loved the cruise; the elegance, the coffee bar (free at the time, located outside the Wajang Theater), the after dinner coffee's in the Explorers Lounge (also free). 

 

Since that cruise (our second on HAL), we've never stopped and have racked up 935 (actual) days on the Amsterdam alone.  Needless to say, she was our home away from home and the crew that we got to know well over the years became our extended family.  We will sorely miss her. 

 

Linda R.

ms. Amsterdam at anchor off Dravuni Island, Tales of the Pacific 11/20/19.

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by cruzingnut

[JJG99]

We also have fond memories of our 53n Tales of the South Pacific from Seattle to San Diego from 25th September - 17th November 2016 on board the Amsterdam.

Besides the wonderful Ports, the general vibe on the ship and the long term friendships that we made with many folks from all over the World, the big stand out for us was the Cruise Director-Gene Young. He is the best CD we have ever had on our 30 cruises- he kept a very happy ship, he was involved in everything and was genuinely very approachable and a super nice guy.

 

We have also cruised many times on the Maasdam, on the Rotterdam for the 38n VOV from Boston and the Veendam for the 50n South America/Amazon and RIO cruise in Feb.-March 2019 from Fort Lauderdale. All wonderful memories as we believe HAL has/had the best itineraries.

We will be sad to see them go 😭😭

[ski ww]

We were lucky enough to do two different segments of a world cruise on the Amsterdam. Singapore to Vancouver and two years later Singapore to Ft Lauderdale. 

 

[Crazy For Cats]

A few years ago we did the full Panama Canal from San Diego to FLL.  It was also our first Christmas/New Years Cruise.  It was absolutely wonderful.  Would have liked to do it again on the Amsterdam.  

[doone]

Very sad indeed, we sailed her to the Baltic's when she was pretty new.  Spectacular ship, she will be missed from the HAL group, but unfortunately it makes good business sense to sell off these older ships..................

[Indianadaytripper]

We have very fond memories on the Amsterdam after doing a few WC . Hoping to continue on Zaandam in 2022. 
  I remember one of a good in counter on the 2014 WC with A stranded small fishing vessel with 9 fisherman off the coast of Peru. We seen the fisherman waving shirts getting the attention of the Amsterdam. Captain Mercer position the ship upwind of the drifting fishing boat and sent out a security detail to assess their predicament. After giving them food and water the Captain contacted the shipping company owners with there position and we headed our way

[rafinmd]

I have only been on the Amsterdam twice but they were both long, 27 and 30 days.  The first was the last segment of the 2014 World Cruise, Cape Town to Fort Lauderdale.  My main memory is a huge itinerary change, missing most of African ports due to the Ebola crisis.  We were also originally due to miss Ascension Island but Captain Merson and the Chief Engineer fine tuned their pencils and decided we had just enough fuel to cruise by it safely.  The other unique port was St. Helena where I climbed Jacobs Ladder.  I'm not sure I could still do that.[

 

 

The other time was the first half of the 2017 Grand Asia.  I had booked it in combination with that years Prinsendam Transatlantic, and I had to fly from Hong Kong to Rome to make the connection.  We were held up for over 24 hours in Shanghai, reportedly due to a typhoon.  Hong Kong was the next port and I was getting very nervous, but Captain Everson really put the pedal to the metal and got me to the plane in time.

 

Roy

[ellbelle]

We sailed Amsterdam just once for a 14 day Alaska in 2010. We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and decided to combine it with our family vacation so our 14 year old daughter came along with us. Well, what could go wrong with a 14 year old hormonal girl on a 14 day cruise with few children on board?

 

Needless to say I played peacemaker the entire time and both she and my husband made it home alive. The ports were great and we took some great excursions including Taku Lodge from Juneau but it certainly was not the relaxing time I had expected. The day after getting home I booked a “do over” cruise on Westerdam for the last sailing of the Alaska season without our daughter, now that  was relaxing and drama free. 

[Himself]

I was on her only twice.  I did a 7 day Alaskan cruise out of Seattle.  My second cruise was the 14 day cruise in her.  The year was 2011 and that year she went inside out of Seattle so we sailed between the Canadian mainland and Vancouver Island.  I thought she was the class ship of the Holland America line and I never changed my mind.  She was a lovely ship!

[StLouisCruisers]

The last HAL cruise we took was on the Amsterdam in August-September 2019.  It was the 14-day Alaska cruise round trip from Seattle and we celebrated our actual 50th wedding anniversary date while on that cruise.  Since this was our first time on Amsterdam we had no idea what to expect but we thought the Amsterdam was a beautiful ship and looked forward to sailing on her again.   Sadly that won't happen now.  ☹️

[USN59-79]

This thread brings back a lot of fond memories.  We have cruised 319 days on the Amsterdam, starting in 2002.  She always had great itineraries and even if we booked an inside cabin, we always had a large, comfortable space.  We particularly enjoyed Gene Young as the best CD in the Fleet.  In 2013 we were on the Prinsendam for 65 days in Europe, and he was the CD on that ship at the time.  We will very much miss both ships and their crews.

[Paulinda]

Our first HAL cruise was an Alaskan 7 day cruise on the MS Amsterdam.  It was freshly out of drydock and we loved the old time charm it possessed.   Because it was a smaller ship the Captain was able to get very close at the Hubbard Glacier.  It was an awesome experience and we were totally committed to Holland America ships after that.  We've done a number of cruises since but I guess the first one is always the best one remembered.  

[Horizon chaser 1957]

I feel honoured to have been a passenger on the Amsterdam’s last cruise as a Dam ship.

I will never forget standing on the forward deck on Deck 6 as she sailed into Papeete at dawn. Fantastical spikes of black rock rose  out of the jungle into the clouds. The sweet smell of flowers and the dawn chorus of birds washed over the ship. I was torn between getting ready to go ashore or standing on deck drinking in the sights, sounds, and fragrance forever.

Thank you, Grand Lady, for showing me the world!

[Oceansaway17]

I only sailed once on Amsterdam and that was my first trip to Alaska i. 2010. It was the unique 14 day r/t from Seattle and we docked in Anchorage for 15 hrs.

 

I am sad my Rotterdam 2021 Sept 1 way cruise out of Boston that would make 4 stops in Newfoundland and end in Montreal will now not happen.

That would have been a great itinerary and I sure hope another ship takes over.

I think Hal is going to greatly reshuffle next two years so stay turned.

[bcummin]

We fell in love with ms Amsterdam on the 2007 Grand Asia & Pacific Voyage.  The crew, staff, and officers were all most excellent.  We and our new friends were spoiled rotten.  Our eyes were opened to new cultures and landscapes.  Getting to repeat the first half of the Grand Pacific & Far East Voyage in 2014 was icing on the cake.

We will certainly miss the Amsterdam and all of her precious people.

May God bless each one of them in the years ahead.

Barbara

[Hflors]

I dreamed of sailing Amsterdam around the world and have eagerly followed the world cruises for many years.   I know I will never be able to afford one, but I can still dream.  I was lucky enough to cruise on Amsterdam only once, I didn't like the cruise for many reasons, but I did love Amsterdam.  I just can't imagine what the future will be like if Amsterdam doesn't do the world cruises.  Something very special is going to be lost, and I am saddened by this loss.

[dchip]

We were blessed to cruise the Tales of the South Pacific on the Amsterdam twice. Once in 2016 and again in 2019. We also cruised from FLL to SF in 2017 after she finished the World Cruise. Her crew was second to none. She felt like home from the minute we stepped onboard. I cried yesterday when I read the news that she was sold. 
 

Cheers, Denise

[MostlyLegal]

Sadly, I never had the opportunity to sail on the Amsterdam. However, one of my best cruises ever was to Norway on the Rotterdam out of Rotterdam. That is a fabulous sail away, with the water cannon boats taking the ship out onto the river Maas. I also enjoyed a wonderful Canada cruise on the Maasdam and a recent Caribbean cruise on the Veendam ( it was supposed to be to Cuba but...). I found all of these ships beautiful, graceful, and charming. 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruzingnut]

15 hours ago, ski ww said:

We were lucky enough to do two different segments of a world cruise on the Amsterdam. Singapore to Vancouver and two years later Singapore to Ft Lauderdale. 

 

 

 

You beat me to it!  I was thinking of doing this too but I need to dig through all my pictures to find these, lol!  Our first one was actually the 2010 "Wrong Way" World Cruise.  Remember that?  Sailing east the whole way around....that was rough with loosing hours all the time instead of gaining...  I have so much digging to do to get more stuff to share on here.

 

Linda R.

[arzz]

Yes this is surprisingly sad for us.  We have never done a world cruise but have enjoyed many extended, and short cruises on the Amsterdam.  

 

Our first such Amsterdam adventure was the 2008 Grand Asia (booked in the afterglow of our 2007 Grand Antarctica cruise on the Prinsendam).  To be sure that we would be happy in our chosen cabin for 65 days we booked a seven day Alaska cruise in May that year while there was still time to make a change if necessary!

 

There were Caribbean cruises, the Panama Canal, more Alaska, the Tales of the South Pacific in 2015 and our infamous choice in 2014 to use the Grand Asia cruise as our “Slow Boat to China” (Seattle to Shanghai) to meet a three week ground/riverboat tour of China.

 

Watching the Prinsendam leave the fleet was difficult because of the spectacular experiences we had aboard her, now we watch the Amsterdam leave during this inexplicable topsy turvy version of the world as we know it.  

 

When we retired our new vocation became travel, mostly through cruising (in my mind the most comfortable way there is to tour).  Recent events make it clear that we will have to find a new retirement vocation (at least for the next couple of years).  Our hope is if and when the world finally rights itself that there is still some cruising going on out there - and that the venue is still a recognizable cruise experience.

 

Stay healthy everyone.  I still come to this forum every day to read the posts.  I really enjoy the virtual company of our fellow travelers.  The Amsterdam may be leaving the fleet but nothing will take away the 3D technicolor memories of hundreds of days at sea.

[Ichiban Nekko]

On 7/16/2020 at 10:34 PM, arzz said:

Yes this is surprisingly sad for us.  We have never done a world cruise but have enjoyed many extended, and short cruises on the Amsterdam.  

 

Our first such Amsterdam adventure was the 2008 Grand Asia (booked in the afterglow of our 2007 Grand Antarctica cruise on the Prinsendam).  To be sure that we would be happy in our chosen cabin for 65 days we booked a seven day Alaska cruise in May that year while there was still time to make a change if necessary!

 

There were Caribbean cruises, the Panama Canal, more Alaska, the Tales of the South Pacific in 2015 and our infamous choice in 2014 to use the Grand Asia cruise as our “Slow Boat to China” (Seattle to Shanghai) to meet a three week ground/riverboat tour of China.

 

Watching the Prinsendam leave the fleet was difficult because of the spectacular experiences we had aboard her, now we watch the Amsterdam leave during this inexplicable topsy turvy version of the world as we know it.  

 

When we retired our new vocation became travel, mostly through cruising (in my mind the most comfortable way there is to tour).  Recent events make it clear that we will have to find a new retirement vocation (at least for the next couple of years).  Our hope is if and when the world finally rights itself that there is still some cruising going on out there - and that the venue is still a recognizable cruise experience.

 

Stay healthy everyone.  I still come to this forum every day to read the posts.  I really enjoy the virtual company of our fellow travelers.  The Amsterdam may be leaving the fleet but nothing will take away the 3D technicolor memories of hundreds of days at sea.

Roz - We have fond memories of that 7-day Alaska cruise all those years ago and meeting you then! Although we never got to take any "Grand" cruises, we were fortunate to have been on all four of the ships leaving the fleet shortly. We look forward to the day when 'Hermit Life' is in the rearview mirror and we can board a Dam Ship.  All the best, Cat & David

[dchip]

The last photo I took on the Amsterdam   12/2019

 

 

[rkacruiser]

5 hours ago, dchip said:

The last photo I took on the Amsterdam   12/2019

 

And who would have ever thought it would be?  My good Lord, how the world has changed!

[JimnKaren]

I have bragged about it before, I hope to brag about it again. The crews on Holland America Lines ships are fantastic. We too, were on last year's 51-day Tales of the South Pacific. The crew members were obvious with their pride being on that ship.

As with our many days on Veendam, Maasdam and Rotterdam, we will miss those fine ships. Only 35 days on Zaandam and none on Volendam as yet. We'll get there though.

Jim

[Vict0riann]

We did a 2-week Alaska cruise on Amsterdam last year and were all set to try for another next year.  Captain Schuchmann was on board (as a passenger), getting acquainted with his next assignment.  He disembarked later in the cruise, heading for the Netherlands to train for a ship with azipods (he had been on Prinsendam before).   I wonder what he will do now.

 

A few photos.

 

Amsterdam in Juneau with her sister ship, Volendam.

 

 

Captain Card's painting of Amsterdam.

 

 

The atrium

 

 

The mural in the Explorer's Lounge

 

 

The beautiful mosaic floor in the Explorer's Lounge

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2020 by Vict0riann