Just off Nieuw Statendam

[KroozNut]

We just completed a 7-day sailing to the W Caribbean on Nieuw Statendam and enjoyed every aspect of the cruise. But rather than submit a lengthy review that most people won't read, I'll try to answer any questions anyone has about our particular experience, so fire away!

[oaktreerb]

Did you get chocolates in the room every night, only on gala night, or never?  Was there any reference to the tiles?

Glad you enjoyed the cruise!

[Suncitycruiser1925]

How was the Rock Room Band?  We were on the NS February 25th sailing and the band was outstanding.  It was their last week of their contract, so I am wondering about the new band.  Thanks.

[pirate cruiser]

We got tiles in Dec.  I think chocolates 3 or 4 nights.

[brovol]

was the internet good?  streaming possible?

 

Did ship seem crowded?  Hot tubs crowded, or available? 

[KroozNut]

16 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

Did you get chocolates in the room every night, only on gala night, or never?  Was there any reference to the tiles?

Glad you enjoyed the cruise!

Thanks.. We received chocolates on two nights of the sailing, along with towel animals; not every night. We received our two tiles in our cabin the next to last day of the cruise.

[KroozNut]

15 hours ago, Suncitycruiser1925 said:

How was the Rock Room Band?  We were on the NS February 25th sailing and the band was outstanding.  It was their last week of their contract, so I am wondering about the new band.  Thanks.

The RS Rock Room band was awesome in our opinion. They brought down the house each night they performed (which was not every night).

[KroozNut]

4 hours ago, brovol said:

was the internet good?  streaming possible?

 

Did ship seem crowded?  Hot tubs crowded, or available? 

We had the 'Surf' package that came with our HIA. It was okay, but not great by any means. Very slow much of the week, especially for downloading or uploading anything. Emailing was hit or miss. Web surfing was okay. We ended up using WhatsApp for all of our communication back home, which worked out well. We did not stream..

In general, the ship did not seem crowded, but lines were long at popular buffet stations; like the omelets to order station for example, and sometimes Guest Services (depending on time of day). The RS Rock Room and BB King's were packed during most performances, so had to get there early for good seats.

Hot tubs at the Sea View pool aft did not seem crowded. We did not hang out at the Lido pool area, so not sure about those. We did notice a lot of kids in the Lido pool though.

[YXU AC*SE]

Did your internet experience vary at all with time of day?   I'm doing a Rotterdam TA this fall, and I am unf probably going to need to bring my laptop with me -- given the six-or-so hours in hand w/ the time difference and me being very much a morning person, 05h10 in the Lido having a coffee isn't out of the question for me.   Scott. 

[WATERSHY]

Are there USB charging outlets in cabins? How many?

[Mosaic]

Yes there are.  It varies per cabin type.

[KroozNut]

1 hour ago, YXU AC*SE said:

Did your internet experience vary at all with time of day?   I'm doing a Rotterdam TA this fall, and I am unf probably going to need to bring my laptop with me -- given the six-or-so hours in hand w/ the time difference and me being very much a morning person, 05h10 in the Lido having a coffee isn't out of the question for me.   Scott. 

I didn't notice any real differences with internet based on time of day, but I did notice that most of the emails I received popped into my inbox in the middle of the night, or wee hours of the morning. Perhaps due to less people using the network at that time? ... not sure. I never was able to send an email out.

[KroozNut]

49 minutes ago, WATERSHY said:

Are there USB charging outlets in cabins? How many?

Yes, I didn't count them, but there were enough for our needs.

[Vic The Parrot]

Did you bring a gallon of paint and a chisel to scrape off the "NIEUW" ? 😎🤓 

 

Welcome back, and glad you enjoyed it. 🙂

[PaperSniper4]

On 3/27/2023 at 3:48 PM, Mosaic said:

Yes there are.  It varies per cabin type.

This is for USB outlets?

 

 Doug

[mcrcruiser]

How were the dinner selections & the meal quality? How would you rate dinner service on a scale from 1 to 10over the course of your cruise?

 

TIA

[KroozNut]

5 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

This is for USB outlets?

 

 Doug

Yes, in response to USB outlets in cabins. They have them on Pinnacle ships, including Nieuw Statendam.

[KroozNut]

4 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

How were the dinner selections & the meal quality? How would you rate dinner service on a scale from 1 to 10over the course of your cruise?

 

TIA

We thought dinner selections and meal quality were both excellent. As far as dinner service goes, it depended slightly on which dining venue.

For us, service was very good in all venues, but slightly better in the specialty restaurants, i.e., Tamarind, Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto. Overall about an 8-9 across all venues.

But we all know how subjective opinions about food quality and service are, so YMMV.. 🙂

[seagarsmoker]

3 minutes ago, KroozNut said:

We thought dinner selections and meal quality were both excellent. As far as dinner service goes, it depended slightly on which dining venue.

For us, service was very good in all venues, but slightly better in the specialty restaurants, i.e., Tamarind, Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto. Overall about an 8-9 across all venues.

But we all know how subjective opinions about food quality and service are, so YMMV.. 🙂

Agree 100% with your assessment. Compared to our last cruise (11/22), this cruise on the NS (3/23), we thought the variety and quality of food for both dinner and lunch were better.  We ate at two of the specialty restaurants and both Canaletto & Pinnacle were both excellent.  

[Iamthesea]

Would you, or anyone else on this thread, happen to know if HAL has Vitamin Water Zero?  I love the Lemon flavor and have had it on all Celebrity ships.   I cannot remember having on HAL.   As far as I know, it does not come in any other packaging other than plastic, so I am not sure how HAL would handle it. 

[KroozNut]

40 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

Would you, or anyone else on this thread, happen to know if HAL has Vitamin Water Zero?  I love the Lemon flavor and have had it on all Celebrity ships.   I cannot remember having on HAL.   As far as I know, it does not come in any other packaging other than plastic, so I am not sure how HAL would handle it. 

I cannot comment first hand on this because we always got our water from the tap in our cabin, or on the Lido deck from the dispensers (filled our own water bottles). Which in our opinion is as good or better than any bottled water available on the ship.

That being said, the only 'packaged' water we observed available onboard was in aluminum cans, in different sizes for purchase. No plastic bottled water available on HAL ships anymore.

[Iamthesea]

Thank you!  Vitamin Water Zero isn't a plain water.  I like to drink the Lemon on a cruise, or on any vacation, for that matter.  Helps with the GO, if you know what I mean. 😁  I did find a powdered version that mixes with plain water, but they do not appear to carry the Lemon flavor.  Although I do support the move to go "plastic free", it is also cutting down on many products that were once available.  Oh well!

 

 

 

 

Edited March 30, 2023 by Iamthesea

[flatcircle]

20 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

Would you, or anyone else on this thread, happen to know if HAL has Vitamin Water Zero?  I love the Lemon flavor and have had it on all Celebrity ships.   I cannot remember having on HAL.   As far as I know, it does not come in any other packaging other than plastic, so I am not sure how HAL would handle it. 

I haven't seen it on any of the HAL ship since they eliminated the plastic bottles.  I bring along Mio -- it's a liquid & comes in a variety of flavors, including lemon.

[albingirl]

How were the ports.  Wish you did a full review so we could get a better sense of your experience, including cabin selection and ports.

[Iamthesea]

2 hours ago, flatcircle said:

I haven't seen it on any of the HAL ship since they eliminated the plastic bottles.  I bring along Mio -- it's a liquid & comes in a variety of flavors, including lemon.

I have a bottle of lemon MIO in my refrigerator that I used for flavoring the liquid I had to drink last week for my colonoscopy.  I just about get sick every time I see it. 😫😂  Besides, MIO is only a flavoring and does not have the vitamins nor the "GO" ingredient that I am looking for.  Thank you for the suggestion, though.