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Holland America Line

MS Nieuw Amsterdam

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Reviewed by: Ernie Roller
# previous cruises: 50+
Date of Trip: November 7, 2010
Itinerary: Caribbean - Eastern

I just disembarked the NIEUW AMSTERDAM today after her inaugural Caribbean cruise. A short review follows, and you are welcome to browse more than 350 photos I captured at the following link. I think I photographed just about every area of NIEUW AMSTERDAM and then some! http://gallery.mac.com/ekroller#100698

NIEUW AMSTERDAM had just completed her transatlantic crossing prior to my Caribbean cruise, and unfortunately experienced a breakout of noro-virus. Apparently it was severe enough that the entire ship had to be sterilized and this meant a delayed embarkation, which started at 4pm with a 10pm departure. We arrived at the ship around 6pm and basically walked right onboard. There were no lines or people to speak of. In fact the terminal was pretty deserted which felt strange. I have to admit it felt odd boarding the ship so late, and of course our first day of vacation was somewhat wasted. None the less we enjoyed an excellent first dinner onboard and the sail away from Ft Lauderdale although there was drizzle.

Because of the noro-virus, our cruise was impacted by a "Code Red" status until we departed San Juan (three days into the cruise). This was to ensure the virus was eradicated and there were no additional outbreaks. What "Code Red" status means is some minor inconveniences, which I completely understand since health and safety come first. What you can expect with Code Red is: no salt/pepper shakers on any tables; no sugar on tables; no silverware roll-ups on tables; no bread baskets on tables; no serving yourself in the buffet; no ice buckets in cabins; no jacuzzi's; no Hydro-therapy pool; no thermal suite; all pools drained the first day; no towels in the gym; no condiments laid out in the buffet, no self serve drink stations; and staff at all dining entrances pretty much forcing all that enter to sanitize their hands. Once we departed San Juan, everything magically appeared on the dining tables in the Lido and dining room, the jacuzzis were filled, the Thermal Suite and Hydro-therapy pool opened; towels were available in the gym, and an ice bucket appeared in the cabin. There was no letter in the cabin or announcement stating what was going on, people just seemed to know. There was also no announcement or letter stating that the Code Red had been lifted, things just began to appear. I think the crew was quite happy the Code Red was lifted, as it requires a lot more work on their part. As a passenger I was happy as well, as I like my towels in the gym and also looked forward to using the Thermal Suite and Therolasopy Pool

Overall the cruise was very enjoyable and I quite liked the ship. The only other HAL Vista Class I have sailed on was OOSTERDAM, and I didn't really care for the ship. There are enough subtle changes in decor and layout to NIEUW AMSTERDAM that I found her a much improved version of OOSTERDAM, although the ships share many similarities. As you probably know, HAL calls NIEUW AMSTERDAM a "Signature Class" ship. Personally I don't feel there are enough changes from the Vista Class to warrant the naming of an entirely new class, but that is just me. While I found just about all the public areas of NIEUW AMSTERDAM attractive, there were just a few exceptions. The gym with it's low mirrored ceiling and purple carpet has to go! I also missed the floor to ceiling windows, as the windows in this gym are only half height. Also the Manhattan dining room was way too red, and the lighting provided more of an Asian influence than Manhattan, which was supposed to be the theme. Lastly, the cabin corridors have very poor lighting (florescent) and are not attractive. They are improved over those on OOSTERDAM which reminded me of a hospital, but they don't compare to so many other ships that have fairly attractive corridors. I do like the art work in all the corridors, which are black and white photos of various Holland America ships and scenes. They are quite fun to look at on the walk to the stairs or elevators. These few design hiccups aside, NIEUW AMSTERDAM has a much more classy, elegant, and quality feel than other HAL ships I have sailed.

We dined in all the restaurants except for Canaletto, which is really just a small section of the Lido Buffet that they transform at night. I enjoyed all the cuisine and thought the service was really exceptional. In fact the entire crew of NIEUW AMSTERDAM seemed to be a very happy and content bunch. There were smiles and hello's from virtually every crew member I encountered. It was quite refreshing as many crew these days (on other ships) seem too busy or stressed to stop and say hello. Not so on NIEUW AMSTERDAM. The one exception to the excellent service was our dinner in Tamarind. It took two and a half hours for just the two of us, and the restaurant was not even full. Sometimes it would be a very long time between courses and frankly the entire service took way too long. The food though was quite good, and I can't really blame the wait staff for the slow service as they were very attentive. It might have been a problem with the kitchen? I loved Pinnacle Grill and could not have asked for a better meal. Everything in the main dining room was quite good as well (plus excellent service from the wait staff team). We had main sitting (2nd) and sat on the upper level at a table for two.

Our cabin was 7143, which was an aft facing balcony, category VA. I had read on the message boards that these aft cabins were no larger than a standard cabin. This is incorrect. Our cabin was quite a bit longer than an average cabin. We had a ton of space on both sides of the sofa and also on both sides of the bed. Basically we had a lot of extra floor space and we really enjoyed that. When we passed other cabins on the side of the ship, they looked so small compared to ours. This cabin actually felt more like a mini-suite than a standard cabin because of all the extra interior space. The balcony as well seemed a bit longer than those average balconies on the side of the ship. Overall the cabin was well appointed and our cabin steward was excellent. The bed was supremely comfortable, perhaps even more so than on Silversea which was my favorite to date. We bought along quite a few DVD's and there is a DVD player built right into the flat panel TV which was handy. The bathroom was spacious by cruise ship standards, and included a small tub. The cabin had great sound proofing and there is little foot traffic in the aft end of the ship. We did have plenty of creaking but that was due to the ship's movement.

Something that surprised me on this sailing compared to other HAL cruises was the nightlife. While not a party till 4am atmosphere, it was was much more festive and active than other HAL cruises I have taken. I enjoyed most of the main shows in the Showroom At Sea, and thought the singers and dancers were very talented. The four male singers were exceptional. They had great chemistry, and their show called "Cantaré" received two standing ovations. If you know the group Il Divo, this style of show was very similar. After the late main show, I was quite pleased to find several of the bars full of activity along with the casino and even the Northern Lights nightclub. One night there was even a pub crawl that was well attended and looked like a lot of fun. On the 6th night, there was a Chocolate Buffet up by the Lido Pool which was well attended. HAL won over my partner because they were making one of his favorite things, Cotton Candy! He was in heaven.

Weather wise this was one of the worst Caribbean cruises I have experienced. I often take a Caribbean cruise in November or December and usually the weather is perfect. Not this time. It was cloudy or rainy for the first half of the cruise, then the weather finally began to improve when we hit San Juan. The seas had quite a swell the entire cruise, and we rocked, rolled, pitched, bounced, and thumped our way through the Caribbean! NIEUW AMSTERDAM moved around quite a bit, and I would be curious if other ships in the Eastern Caribbean experienced so much movement? I honestly felt like I was on a transatlantic crossing more than a Caribbean cruise. I was also surprised at our speed. We were averaging over 20 knots most of the time, and last night we hit over 22 knots traveling from Half Moon Cay to Ft. Lauderdale. The maximum speed of the ship is 24 knots. We had an aft facing cabin which of course means more movement, but it was really quite excessive at times. Closet doors would swing open and bang shut, drawers would slide out, things in the bathroom would fall over, and this was for the entire seven days! I personally loved it as I enjoy the movement, but my partner got seasick twice. I can't blame it all on the aft cabin either, as the movement was felt all over the ship, but probably more so in our aft section. It was quite entertaining to watch the pool water slosh out and soak the surrounding decks. I was surprised they didn't drain the pools as they have done this on other ships with much less motion. Even while docked, our cabin "bounced" quite a bit. When the swells would slam against the stern of the ship, the entire back end would shutter and it felt like an earthquake. I really started to question the design of the Vista Class as I have not experienced this on other ships, and I have sailed in aft cabins before. Of course in identical sea conditions who knows how the other ships would have fared?

I won't get into the ports as they were pretty standard. Grand Turk, San Juan, St Maarten, and Half Moon Cay. Special mention must go to Half Moon Cay. It's a wonderful spot and by far the best cruise line private beach island with the exception of Disney's Castaway Cay. It came very close though, and I have experienced all these islands (Princess Cays, Great Stirrup Cay, Coco Cay, Castaway Cay, Half Moon Cay, and Labadee). HAL should be very proud of the experience they have created. The beaches are wonderful, everything is clean and well kept, and there is still plenty of unspoiled beauty on the island. The barbecue layout was great too! There are also plenty of scenic spots and a few great bars with amazing views and music. We really enjoyed the pounding surf at Half Moon Cay and rode the waves for over an hour. Honestly these kind of waves are very unusual for the Bahamas and Florida, and it felt more like Hawaii or California. Our day at Half Moon Cay also provided the best weather of the entire cruise. Sunny skies, low humidity, and warm. Upon leaving Half Moon Cay we experienced some of the roughest seas of the cruise. The swells were really something as we sailed North. Once we turned West and headed past Nassau towards Florida the swells subsided and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.

Disembarkation went as smoothly as embarkation, and we were off the ship and enjoying breakfast at Lester's Diner in no time. Lester's is a bit of a cruise tradition for us (either before or after a cruise). We only live a short distance from Ft. Lauderdale in Miami so we were home and facing reality before we knew it.