Poor review of Amsterdam

[gizmo]

I don't understand why the cabin was not taken care of until 2:00 or 3:00 p.m., but then the reviewer didn't mention what time he/she/they?

Valerie:)

 

I had this happen only once and the ship happened to be the Amsterdam. This was close to 4 years ago.

 

We left the majority of the time for breakfast about 8:00-8:30. I think we might have had room service 2 out 10 days but we left the cabin after breakfast to go on shore. I recall going on shore and returning around 2:30 - 3:00 and the cabin was still not cleaned.

 

I think the review was honest and well written. IMO the writer did not come off as a chrontic complainer. He wrote about the good and the bad.

[btobey]

Hi everyone,

 

I agree that food is a very subjective thing; I wasn't all that concerned about the reviewer's comments in that area. The main thing that concerned me was the idea that the ship was in shabby condition and in desperate need of refurbishing (or whatever the reviewer's exact words). However, seems like plenty of others here have had a different impression, which I'm very glad to hear. :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

It's funny how our perception can vary so much because I must be either the most non-observant person on the face of the earth (which I'm not;) ) or about the most low maintenance person on-board because I have never noticed ANY HAL ship is any disrepair at all.

 

I have read right here on these boards that this or that ship had worn carpets, worn furniture. frayed this or that and I have NEVER seen it once on-board:) .

 

So I really do think that some people are just looking for it. I think considering the thousands of people who are using every square inch of every ship every day of the week that they keep their ships in remarkable repair and tip top condition. Might there be the occasional slip? Sure, but overall I don't think anyone should worry about it affecting their cruise in any way, shape or form.

[hammybee]

I had this happen only once and the ship happened to be the Amsterdam. This was close to 4 years ago.

 

We left the majority of the time for breakfast about 8:00-8:30. I think we might have had room service 2 out 10 days but we left the cabin after breakfast to go on shore. I recall going on shore and returning around 2:30 - 3:00 and the cabin was still not cleaned.

 

We too have had this happen although it was not on HAL. I am a low maintenance cruiser and one of the few things that matters to me is that the cabin gets made up ealier rather than later. When I pursued why my cabin was not being made up until mid afternoon, I learned that in the scheme of things, my cabin was the last of a long line of cabins that needed to be made up every day by the cabin steward.

 

This is when it dawned on me (duh) that someone is always last and this cruise, was my turn.

[Brown Eyed Gurl]

I wouldn't take any review to heart. Everyone has such different opinions. Even if aspects of your cruise aren't so hot, focus on the positive, nothing is perfect.

I have seen wear spots, ripped carpeting, outdated decor, bland Lido food, and some not so clean areas on the Zaandam, but nothing that was horrible or that would stop me from sticking with HAL, and I'd even sail the Zaandam again! If something is wrong, let someone onboard know and give them the chance to correct it.

HAL has fantastic service and the best dining room food (although we order most everything made to order off the Vegetarian menu). We will be on the Amsterdam in May, I expect she will be similar to the Zaandam, since they are both smaller and older. I am confident the positives will outweigh any minor negatives.

[btobey]

So for those of you who have sailed the Amsterdam, I would love to hear what you LOVED about her! :)

[gizmo]

We too have had this happen although it was not on HAL. I am a low maintenance cruiser and one of the few things that matters to me is that the cabin gets made up ealier rather than later. When I pursued why my cabin was not being made up until mid afternoon, I learned that in the scheme of things, my cabin was the last of a long line of cabins that needed to be made up every day by the cabin steward.

 

This is when it dawned on me (duh) that someone is always last and this cruise, was my turn.

 

Exactly. I now ask the cabin steward to do my cabin early in the morning. :)

[kryos]

I was on the Amsterdam in January, loved the ship and crew, and had a great time. It is my favorite HAL ship.

I've sailed her twice ... once in January 2006 and again in the fall of 2006. No problems here either.

 

Reviews are very, very subjective. Two people can be on the same cruise, but both have different expectations and different tastes. One can love the cruise, while the other absolutely hates it.

 

Unless I see googles of bad reviews on the same ship, I don't worry too much about a bad review. Unless I see googles of great reviews on a ship, I don't assume everything is necessarily going to be good sailing. I just read the reviews, take note of certain things that could affect my perceptions and then go on the cruise with an open mind. I'll make my own evaluations according to my own tastes when I get back.

 

So ... go ... and enjoy your cruise!

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Boytjie]

We were on the Amsterdam on an RSVP charter at the beginning of September and did not see or experience most of what the reviewer mentioned as negatives.

The condition of the ship looked fine and clean - even in areas more heavily used during this charter. If that is what retirement homes look like, it aint that bad! We were told that our charter's average age for passengers was much lower that the usual HAL average and it was hopping till the early morning hours so it did not resemble a retirement home.

Our cabin was spotless and Andy - our steward - somehow always knew when we were out and did what he had to do while we were away even though we had an irregular schedule and one of us slept later than the other.

I did not find the food in the dining room to be bland or luke warm. The only complaint we had was that on the first few evenings the wine stewards took to long to taek our orders (but that could also be due to the nature of the charter, the RSVP charters keep them very busy :) )

We had an outside cabin so no refrigerator so cannot comment on wires taped down - but did see that on formal night where photographers were working.

The charter had its own entertainment, so I could not comment on the HAL Entertainment.

We had a great cruise on the Amsterdam. But I have seen comments from others on that same cruise that had somewhat different opinions and you almost want to ask: were we on the same cruise? :confused:

[finally66]

Zaandam twice, Amsterdam once, two Carnival. Both HALs were great , both Carnivals were good! Staff has always been excellent. Food is always good, sometimes excellent. These ships have periodic refurbishment and as such will show some wear and tear as they approach their time. Have never seen one dirty or frayed however.

[jtl513]

We have been on five HAL cruises and have booked two more, including the SAME Amsterdam cruise as you, 4/27/08. The only HAL dining room meals that I would ever rate as "poor" were on the Amsterdam in '02: I had a steak that was badly overcooked and some crab legs that were mushy and flavorless. Since that was my first cruise and I didn't know any better, I just ate them and said nothing. Now, of course, I would send them back and order something else.

 

I checked the posting history for "wingsrcl" and it appears that her/his cruising experience has mostly been on Cunard and RCCL. Perhaps s/he simply went on the Amsterdam expecting perfection on the basis of others' reviews. I wouldn't worry at all about the condition of the Amsterdam! :D

[CaliJohn]

At least he liked the Queen's Lounge show. Since my daughter was the production singer on that cruise I feel a little better...

[scottydawg]

I hope this encourages more folks to write reviews when they return from their cruise(s). It will give everyone more information to digest instead of just the very few reviews per year found here.

[Grammakel]

Funny, we were on the Amsterdam, Alaska cruise 8-31 thru 9-7, and were REALLY happy with the ship. Not too much signs of wear and tear, but maybe we were a little more rowdy than we thought!!;)

 

Our cabin, and everywhere else, was spotless...Like Copper stated, the only time we saw cords taped down was on formal night photos so that no-one could trip on them. We did not have a frig in our room, but my Sis and BIL did, and theirs was just fine...looked pretty new.

 

My sister has cruised a lot, and she was thrilled with the Amsterdam...she usually cruises Carnival or Princess. She stated that the ship seemed a little small, but larger rooms than she expected, and the food was many times better. We all four just loved it. We thought the atrium was very pretty, and good prices in the shops, I was expecting lots higher prices. Staff was very nice, could not do enough for us. We enjoyed the library, LOTS of books, movies, and never any trouble getting to a computer.

 

Only problem, not really a problem, was that if you don't drink alcohol, you have a hard time getting anything else to drink in the dining room, except water or coffee. And I loves me diet coke!

 

I really think you are going to LOVE your cruise! Go in with a positive attitude, and you will do just great.:D

[arabrab]

It's funny how our perception can vary so much because I must be either the most non-observant person on the face of the earth (which I'm not;) ) or about the most low maintenance person on-board because I have never noticed ANY HAL ship is any disrepair at all.

 

I have read right here on these boards that this or that ship had worn carpets, worn furniture. frayed this or that and I have NEVER seen it once on-board:) .

 

We sailed on the Maasdam a few years ago, a trip and ship which we VERY much enjoyed. However, we did notice that there was rust on a number of railings, the carpet was stained in a number of places in the cabin and in the halls, the bathroom showed significant wear (but was nice and clean), there were gouges in some of the wall material, and our sheets had been darned to repair a tear. None of this ruined our cruise -- it was still wonderful, but people posted trip reports rather regularly before and after our cruise noting that the Maasdam was in fabulous shape. Maybe people's expectations of what constitutes great shape differ -- or maybe some people are having such a good time on a cruise that they simply never notice defects like these unless they (literally) trip over something. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that the dirt experience inside the cabin sensitized the OP to the other wear and tear issues that otherwise might have escaped notice.

 

I thought that the OP wrote an excellent review, and I don't have any reason to believe that it wasn't his (her) experience.

[HeatherInFlorida]

............... None of this ruined our cruise -- it was still wonderful, but people posted trip reports rather regularly before and after our cruise noting that the Maasdam was in fabulous shape. Maybe people's expectations of what constitutes great shape differ -- or maybe some people are having such a good time on a cruise that they simply never notice defects like these unless they (literally) trip over something. I........................

I thought that the OP wrote an excellent review, and I don't have any reason to believe that it wasn't his (her) experience.

 

I think my post might have been a little unclear. This is basically what I was actually suggesting .... that I didn't notice any disrepair because the ship was clean and we had such a wonderful time we didn't have time to pick apart every little thing.

 

Also, I recognize these are all ships at sea and there will be a little rust here and there, salt spray clouding some windows, etc. I discount minor wear and tear.

 

I agree that OP's review was very well written and more than fair.:)

[iancal]

Cruise reviews are based on opinions, perceptions, past experiences, expectations, etc. They are seldom wrong per sae, it is just that each passenger has a different view. One of our all time favorite ships/cruise lines, Mercury, has had some bad reviews. We would jump at the chance to get back on that ship. Others would jump ship. To each his own.

[Copper10-8]

Cruise reviews are based on opinions, perceptions, past experiences, expectations, etc. They are seldom wrong per sae, it is just that each passenger has a different view. One of our all time favorite ships/cruise lines, Mercury, has had some bad reviews. We would jump at the chance to get back on that ship. Others would jump ship. To each his own.

 

That's a good post! Sometimes it is hard to believe one has been on the same cruise and ship as someone else! We all have different priorities and values. Reviews are subjective! You called it........to each his own!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Cruise reviews are based on opinions, perceptions, past experiences, expectations, etc. They are seldom wrong per sae, it is just that each passenger has a different view. ..................

 

This is true. However, some reviews are fairer than others and I differentiate between reviews that are written 100% fantastic or 100% "horrific". I ignore reviews on either end. No cruise, no matter how great or how bad, is 100% anything.

 

This review was fair.

[iancal]

The problem with posting a review is that there are some folks who think that their favorite cruise line is like the holy grail or some deity. They worship it and fend off all criticism with evangelistic zeal and utter disbelief.

[misterdrew]

I've just returned from an Alaskan cruise aboard the ms Amsterdam

 

The only ship I can compare her to, is the msc opera, which I sailed transatlantic in April.

 

The msc opera was without doubt the most spotless ship EVER!, so clean it was clinical. This ship is almost new of course, so you expect it. Also, they have the antibacterial soap machines everywhere on this ship.

 

The Amsterdam is more traditionally furnished, and is also very clean - just not clinically so, like the Opera. I didn't see anything of disrepair etc. The fitting is more traditional with darker furnishings than the more modern Opera - this is down to each person's individual taste as to which you prefer.

 

You will have no issue with the Amsterdam - it's a lovely ship!

 

I found the colours used in the corriders of the lower decks and of the bathrooms made the areas look dated - colours are beige's and browns - very odd. Cabins are comfortable and well furnishied - I would go back on board again, in a heart beat !

 

Drew

[boards]

We were on the Amsterdam in May/June thru the Panama Canal and we enjoyed everything about the ship. We did see one spotted rug going into the Exporation Lounge area that was not too nice, but other than that we found it to be very good.

[HeatherInFlorida]

The problem with posting a review is that there are some folks who think that their favorite cruise line is like the holy grail or some deity. They worship it and fend off all criticism with evangelistic zeal and utter disbelief.

 

You noticed!!!!!:D :D :D ;)

[Roz]

Iancal,

 

Your post is priceless. Do I like HAL? Yes, of course. Is it the holy grail? Heck, no.

 

Heather,

 

I agree with you that no one cruise can be 100% fantastic, nor 100% horrific. I toss out the A++ grades and the Fs, and look at the inbetweens and try to discern patterns. For instance, are numerous reviewers commenting on slow dining service or lukewarm food.

 

Roz

[FlorenceItaly]

The problem with posting a review is that there are some folks who think that their favorite cruise line is like the holy grail or some deity. They worship it and fend off all criticism with evangelistic zeal and utter disbelief.

 

 

Especially some folks who have never tried another cruiseline. Don't get me wrong, I love Holland America. It is probably my favorite, mainly due to the crew. They are very special. I just returned from a Carnival cruise earlier this month(yes, Carnival) and imo, the service in the dining room, and the food in the dining room, was so much better than HAL. The casual dining really lacked in comparison, but the service was flawless and the food wonderful.

 

Marie