LAFFNVEGAS "LIVE" from the Nieuw Amsterdam, First HAL Ship to Sail!!

[CruiserBruce]

3 minutes ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

A question for anyone who has used the luggage service from Seattle or Ft. Lauderdale--does the system recognize passengers who are eligible for no fee bags on the plane? Thanks!

As discussed on the West Coast Departures board frequently,  yes it does. The form asks if you are entitled to free bag(s).

[SusieKIslandGirl]

Thanks!

[boze9999]

5 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Have to admit that I have not heard a word about that.

Thanks for all your answers to all of our Questions! Safe travels home!

 

 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Evening from our last night on board the Beautiful MS Nieuw Amsterdam. 
First off WOW and WOW again. We just finished the BEST meal in at least 8 years in the Pinnacle. It was truly amazing. While the menu is the same the quality was way above what it had been in the past. Starting with a true Cesar Salad with egg yolk, actually barely poached egg on top and of course anchovies. It was delicious. Next was main entree, the steak was so tasty and tender I knew immediately they were not serving that grass fed beef from the Double RR Ranch. That was the start of the downfall in my opinion of the Pinnacle Grill. Even the baked potato was delicious, perfectly baked and just a good taste. When the Manager stopped by I mentioned that the steak was excellent, he said they ended the contract with Double RR and he too was very please when he tasted this new steak last week. 
I grew up Iowa where cows were corn fed not this grass fed stuff lol.

I did also ask if the Scallops were the Jumbo Scallops they state on the menu. What is funny they are stating the same thing they stated when this menu first came out and would state the scallops are not that big. They are the same scallops I had last night for Gala Night for Club  Orange. While I love Scallops I also love a good steak if it is tasty and tender and the new steaks in Pinnacle Grill are just that.

Then for dessert I had the Key Lime Pie which was good but I don’t think it sells well . The crust was soggy but over all it was still good. Tom had the Creme Brûlée, I tasted it. It was ok but not nearly as good as the Creme Brûlée we had at the Capital Grille in Seattle last Friday.

Overall the meal was an amazingly excellent way to end our cruise on a high note.

You know this whole cruise was shockingly normal. We forgot what that the world has gone through since March 2020. Granted crew were wearing masks but otherwise life on board the ship is really as we all remember it. 
Yes Hal has done cutbacks but they were doing this before the pause. Hopefully they will come to their senses about needing Wine Stewards. They pulled this stunt several years ago and decided to go back to having them. I also think they will get several complaints about the menus so that too will improve. 
Other than that it felt fantastic to be back on board and feeling normal again.

 

Unfortunately things have not gotten better while we were cruising so reality will hit us tomorrow. I pray that the ships can keep covid away or at the worse just a few cases because in reality they are expecting a few cases and have a plan. 
 

Tom is packed, I am about half way there. Wish we could just say to Hal,  wash all our clothes and store away our luggage for 5 weeks. 😃

 

Right now I am sure Captain Baijens is busy at the bridge because we our sailing through pea soup fog. We can barely see the water below us  , let alone 5 feet out from our balcony.

 

After returning from dinner on our bed was our pillow chocolates and two things I have not seen previously. One is a little booklet with blank pages called Holland America Line Journeys. Something like this would be nice at the beginning of the cruise to write down notes. But also good to take home to use as a small note pad. The other item is different. It has ship information on it with our itinerary and signed by Captain Jeroen Baijens but is a sticker. It is perforated to peel away. Not sure what one would stick it on. Not exactly a bumper sticker item. 
The one thing I really was hoping they would do was give us a certificate like, RCI, Celebrity even Carnival did stating we sailed on the first Hal Voyage after the pause. It had been hinted there would be some surprises for those of us on the first return to cruise sailing but that did not seem to occur. Unless it was that DAM Drink Card I never redeemed 😂

 

I want to Thank Each and Everyone of you for following along and contributing. As you know I do try to tell it like it is. I was expecting hiccups but they need to be commented on along with the good things. 
It was so wonderful to be back on board and amazing to sleep to the movement of the ship.

 

Now with any luck I will try to upload the photos.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

35 minutes ago, Dismomx5 said:

It looks like having breakfast in the room is not available on disembarkation day. That was always a nice relaxing way to start the (early!) day for us.

Actually we were given the Room Service card tonight so I would guess we could also order Room Service.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

21 minutes ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

A question for anyone who has used the luggage service from Seattle or Ft. Lauderdale--does the system recognize passengers who are eligible for no fee bags on the plane? Thanks!

On the form to sign up for luggage direct there was an option to notate you had no luggage fees , such as stating First Class or if your airline credit card covered luggage fees or if you pre paid it.

[canadianbear]

Lovely way to end your cruise with such a great meal in the Pinnacle.  Safe travels home and thank you for allowing us on your cruise.  Enjoyed the “ride!” 

[quack2]

If the crew has the good sense to wear masks, can I assume passengers showed their respect by wearing theirs?

[DAllenTCY]

I presume that the sticker is intended for one's luggage.

 

Maybe some day in the future, I'll have a bunch of them on my carry-on bag.  Those might even be more impressive than a pin.

 

Your posts have been enlightening, educational, and always encouraging.

 

Thank you for making this week pass by so quickly.  It seems to me as if you boarded yesterday.

 

See you and Tom in San Diego.

 

Sincerely,

David

 

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by DAllenTCY

[quack2]

5 hours ago, atexsix said:

UGH, I hate the disembarkation packet!  I always want to scream when I see it!

 

Sorry your cruise is ending, how bittersweet to see the luggage, I looked on marinetracker and can see you inching closer and closer to Washington.

It's the cruise line's way of saying they have new best friends coming abord tomorrow.

[dchip]

Thanks so much for taking us along. I really enjoyed sailing along with you.

 

Princess always had a book and you got a sticker with every cruise. We had them for years but now they have been discontinued. I think that is what HAL’s Journeys may be. 
 

Safe travels home,

Denise

[ksmaxey]

21 minutes ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Good Evening from our last night on board the Beautiful MS Nieuw Amsterdam. 
First off WOW and WOW again. We just finished the BEST meal in at least 8 years in the Pinnacle. It was truly amazing. While the menu is the same the quality was way above what it had been in the past. Starting with a true Cesar Salad with egg yolk, actually barely poached egg on top and of course anchovies. It was delicious. Next was main entree, the steak was so tasty and tender I knew immediately they were not serving that grass fed beef from the Double RR Ranch. That was the start of the downfall in my opinion of the Pinnacle Grill. Even the baked potato was delicious, perfectly baked and just a good taste. When the Manager stopped by I mentioned that the steak was excellent, he said they ended the contract with Double RR and he too was very please when he tasted this new steak last week. 
I grew up Iowa where cows were corn fed not this grass fed stuff lol.

I did also ask if the Scallops were the Jumbo Scallops they state on the menu. What is funny they are stating the same thing they stated when this menu first came out and would state the scallops are not that big. They are the same scallops I had last night for Gala Night for Club  Orange. While I love Scallops I also love a good steak if it is tasty and tender and the new steaks in Pinnacle Grill are just that.

Then for dessert I had the Key Lime Pie which was good but I don’t think it sells well . The crust was soggy but over all it was still good. Tom had the Creme Brûlée, I tasted it. It was ok but not nearly as good as the Creme Brûlée we had at the Capital Grille in Seattle last Friday.

Overall the meal was an amazingly excellent way to end our cruise on a high note.

You know this whole cruise was shockingly normal. We forgot what that the world has gone through since March 2020. Granted crew were wearing masks but otherwise life on board the ship is really as we all remember it. 
Yes Hal has done cutbacks but they were doing this before the pause. Hopefully they will come to their senses about needing Wine Stewards. They pulled this stunt several years ago and decided to go back to having them. I also think they will get several complaints about the menus so that too will improve. 
Other than that it felt fantastic to be back on board and feeling normal again.

 

Unfortunately things have not gotten better while we were cruising so reality will hit us tomorrow. I pray that the ships can keep covid away or at the worse just a few cases because in reality they are expecting a few cases and have a plan. 
 

Tom is packed, I am about half way there. Wish we could just say to Hal,  wash all our clothes and store away our luggage for 5 weeks. 😃

 

Right now I am sure Captain Baijens is busy at the bridge because we our sailing through pea soup fog. We can barely see the water below us  , let alone 5 feet out from our balcony.

 

After returning from dinner on our bed was our pillow chocolates and two things I have not seen previously. One is a little booklet with blank pages called Holland America Line Journeys. Something like this would be nice at the beginning of the cruise to write down notes. But also good to take home to use as a small note pad. The other item is different. It has ship information on it with our itinerary and signed by Captain Jeroen Baijens but is a sticker. It is perforated to peel away. Not sure what one would stick it on. Not exactly a bumper sticker item. 
The one thing I really was hoping they would do was give us a certificate like, RCI, Celebrity even Carnival did stating we sailed on the first Hal Voyage after the pause. It had been hinted there would be some surprises for those of us on the first return to cruise sailing but that did not seem to occur. Unless it was that DAM Drink Card I never redeemed 😂

 

I want to Thank Each and Everyone of you for following along and contributing. As you know I do try to tell it like it is. I was expecting hiccups but they need to be commented on along with the good things. 
It was so wonderful to be back on board and amazing to sleep to the movement of the ship.

 

Now with any luck I will try to upload the photos.

The sticker needs to be trimmed but is to be placed in the journey's journal they gave us!

 

[atexsix]

34 minutes ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Good Evening from our last night on board the Beautiful MS Nieuw Amsterdam. 
First off WOW and WOW again. We just finished the BEST meal in at least 8 years in the Pinnacle. It was truly amazing. While the menu is the same the quality was way above what it had been in the past. Starting with a true Cesar Salad with egg yolk, actually barely poached egg on top and of course anchovies. It was delicious. Next was main entree, the steak was so tasty and tender I knew immediately they were not serving that grass fed beef from the Double RR Ranch. That was the start of the downfall in my opinion of the Pinnacle Grill. Even the baked potato was delicious, perfectly baked and just a good taste. When the Manager stopped by I mentioned that the steak was excellent, he said they ended the contract with Double RR and he too was very please when he tasted this new steak last week. 
I grew up Iowa where cows were corn fed not this grass fed stuff lol.

I did also ask if the Scallops were the Jumbo Scallops they state on the menu. What is funny they are stating the same thing they stated when this menu first came out and would state the scallops are not that big. They are the same scallops I had last night for Gala Night for Club  Orange. While I love Scallops I also love a good steak if it is tasty and tender and the new steaks in Pinnacle Grill are just that.

Then for dessert I had the Key Lime Pie which was good but I don’t think it sells well . The crust was soggy but over all it was still good. Tom had the Creme Brûlée, I tasted it. It was ok but not nearly as good as the Creme Brûlée we had at the Capital Grille in Seattle last Friday.

Overall the meal was an amazingly excellent way to end our cruise on a high note.

You know this whole cruise was shockingly normal. We forgot what that the world has gone through since March 2020. Granted crew were wearing masks but otherwise life on board the ship is really as we all remember it. 
Yes Hal has done cutbacks but they were doing this before the pause. Hopefully they will come to their senses about needing Wine Stewards. They pulled this stunt several years ago and decided to go back to having them. I also think they will get several complaints about the menus so that too will improve. 
Other than that it felt fantastic to be back on board and feeling normal again.

 

Unfortunately things have not gotten better while we were cruising so reality will hit us tomorrow. I pray that the ships can keep covid away or at the worse just a few cases because in reality they are expecting a few cases and have a plan. 
 

Tom is packed, I am about half way there. Wish we could just say to Hal,  wash all our clothes and store away our luggage for 5 weeks. 😃

 

Right now I am sure Captain Baijens is busy at the bridge because we our sailing through pea soup fog. We can barely see the water below us  , let alone 5 feet out from our balcony.

 

After returning from dinner on our bed was our pillow chocolates and two things I have not seen previously. One is a little booklet with blank pages called Holland America Line Journeys. Something like this would be nice at the beginning of the cruise to write down notes. But also good to take home to use as a small note pad. The other item is different. It has ship information on it with our itinerary and signed by Captain Jeroen Baijens but is a sticker. It is perforated to peel away. Not sure what one would stick it on. Not exactly a bumper sticker item. 
The one thing I really was hoping they would do was give us a certificate like, RCI, Celebrity even Carnival did stating we sailed on the first Hal Voyage after the pause. It had been hinted there would be some surprises for those of us on the first return to cruise sailing but that did not seem to occur. Unless it was that DAM Drink Card I never redeemed 😂

 

I want to Thank Each and Everyone of you for following along and contributing. As you know I do try to tell it like it is. I was expecting hiccups but they need to be commented on along with the good things. 
It was so wonderful to be back on board and amazing to sleep to the movement of the ship.

 

Now with any luck I will try to upload the photos.

Lisa, you're reporting is top notch, it was a pleasure to follow and look forward to meeting you in September.  Have a safe trip home.

 

Bruno

[atexsix]

34 minutes ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Actually we were given the Room Service card tonight so I would guess we could also order Room Service.

I tried it once on a disembarkation day and the service was terrible, I think they are just too rushed with staff needed elsewhere.

 

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by atexsix

[DAllenTCY]

I note that only 820 crew were listed on your form.

 

Normal ship compliment for crew should be close to 100 more than that.

 

David

[Boytjie]

Lisa, thank you for your live posts!

 

So glad to hear you had a great meal at the Pinnacle Grill, I can't wait for ours on August 15th. 😉

 

Safe travels back home and "welcome back" to the world of Delta. 😞

 

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by Boytjie

[LAFFNVEGAS]

21 minutes ago, ksmaxey said:

The sticker needs to be trimmed but is to be placed in the journey's journal they gave us!

 

Wow, I had no idea but that totally makes sense, although don’t think it needs to be trimmed if I peel it where I can see it is perforated it will fit exactly in that Journeys booklet. Just wish they would have started 38 cruises ago. When I look at my previous cruises on the Navigator app it is sort of like playing Wheel of Fortune that or finding my year of birth in a form I am filling out. 😂

I have cruises Princess quite a bit but more so since 2017 have heard talk of those books but never saw them.

[zgscl]

2 minutes ago, DAllenTCY said:

I note that only 820 crew were listed on your form.

 

Normal ship compliment for crew should be close to 100 more than that.

 

David

Supposedly they ramp up to 80% quickly and then 95 or 100 shortly there after. I wonder how many crew will be added. I can’t imagine there were 100 wine stewards 

[DAllenTCY]

Carnival Cruise used to give you little stickers, too for your collection....in a small folder.

 

I received 3 of them and then they were discontinued. 

 

Nine cruises, later, I still have only 3.

 

 

David

[Copper10-8]

Tom/Lisa, safe travels back to Vegas tomorrow! Thanks for writing your blog!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I am sure I will still be adding more as I think of it but I do not remember the Elemis Lotion being in the dispensers only hand soap at the sink and the shampoo, conditioner and body soap in the shower. My last cruise on the Eurodam we still had the small plastic bottles with the hand cream to bring home. So sadly no more toiletries to bring home. I guess this goes sling with the no plastic bottles.

Oh and that reminds me, I may have to go with the bottled water or just plain ship sink water. With each new can of water I opened the taste became more tinny tasting. I still have an unopened can in the fridge I will leave because it tastes that bad. The tsp water on the ship is actually not that bad, it just needs to be cold to drink it.

[T8NCruise]

20 minutes ago, atexsix said:

I tried it once on a disembarkation day and the service was terrible, I think they are just too rushed with staff needed elsewhere.

 

 

We have always gotten room service breakfast on disembarkation day - never a problem so far.

[rajkr74]

Again another outstanding "Live From The Nieuw Amsterdam" report.  Thanks Lisa for taking the time to report on your cruise, post great pictures and answer dozens and dozens of questions readers have posed to you.  Very unselfish of you to take the time out of your cruise to keep us all informed on the startup cruise for HAL....Thanks.

Rick & Joyce

[atexsix]

4 minutes ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

I am sure I will still be adding more as I think of it but I do not remember the Elemis Lotion being in the dispensers only hand soap at the sink and the shampoo, conditioner and body soap in the shower. My last cruise on the Eurodam we still had the small plastic bottles with the hand cream to bring home. So sadly no more toiletries to bring home. I guess this goes sling with the no plastic bottles.

Oh and that reminds me, I may have to go with the bottled water or just plain ship sink water. With each new can of water I opened the taste became more tinny tasting. I still have an unopened can in the fridge I will leave because it tastes that bad. The tsp water on the ship is actually not that bad, it just needs to be cold to drink it.

Perrier here I come 😁

[zelker]

Thanks for sharing the week with us ... am so looking forward to sailing back up to Alaska 4 weeks from tomorrow.  Safe travels home.