My extended family of 13 (4 couples, 5 teenagers) took a 7-day Caribbean Cruise from HAL Nieuw Amsterdam in early Jan.
My wife and I had just taken a 10 day cruise in December on Carnival Venezia. It’s very interesting to compare the 2 trips. HAL clientele definitely skewed older, whiter, quieter, and better behaved. NA being the smaller ship, it didn’t have as many “extracurricular” ...
We have done 61 cruises including this back to back on the Rotterdam. We have sailed on various cruise lines, it has been 10 years since we sailed on HAL.
The Rotterdam is larger than what we like but booked a suite to enjoy the small Club Orange dining room. And the extras.
Our good experiences:
Embarkment total chaos but we were on board at 11:30a.m.
The Lido was fine for lunch on ...
The Eurodam and the Jewel of the seas are almost identical in size. The Jewel has a more customer friendly central area that can be used to host music and dance events, too. It has a larger outdoor pool with far more sunbeds than the Eurodam. The Eurodam has a more enclosed, covered pool area as if it was designed for overcast, chilly North Sea sailings. The Jewel also has a solarium type warm ...
I swear that cruise lines encourage (or at least allow) employees to slack off, or more likely, weaponize incompetence on the first and last days of the cruise. After a smooth embarkation we were aghast that not only was the maître d’ not available to fix the incorrect dining assignment we had been given, but we were told to stand in two long lines that were both the wrong line. It turns out ...
As we were on our first cruise ever we chose the Niew Amsterdam because it is a mid-size ship. We spent a wonderful week. Embarkment and disembarkment went very smoothly and rapidly as a wheelchair was required for one of us. Easy process. No line!
Once onboard, we were directed to Lido Market for lunch.
PROS:
Cabin, excellent food, very diversified more so very fresh, many specialty ...
We took the two week cruise offered, which started December 30. We were at the start of this cruise a 3 star Mariner. We have always liked Holland America, and this has been our 11th cruise on this brand. That said, I have to say we have noticed small but important changes which because we are in a suite they are not that important, but if you do not have the perks of the suite, then you may have ...
On a cruise in January 2024 on the Nieuw Amsterdam. The ship was clean and our room stewards, Hendra & Eva, were attentive and kept our room clean and organized. While not top-notch, the food was pretty good. The chiefs were out and about making sure the serving staff was hoping and taking care of the guests.
The itinerary was good and we did excursions in Turks and at Half Moon Cay, ...
First cruise with HAL and had a great time. Will post photos here along with daily programs.
This is more ocean liner than fun ship and that’s one of the reasons we liked it. Public areas felt more intimate and more like a resort. Ship was spotless and well maintained.
Yes, definitely a more mature crowd, so not for everyone. Important to do your research and ask questions so you can ...
This was a completely full ship and had a large Church group onboard. It never felt too crowded and HAL did a good job of setting up the Church group's activities so they did not interfere with other passengers. I had one minority annoying experience with a group member being invasively friendly and proselytizing. I eventually deflected them by telling the I was "not on their team" and am Wiccan ...
First, let me tell you, had been on Eurodam in March 2023 on partial transit through the Panama Canal and was disappointed in entertainment or lack of, food, and missing fresh flowers. On the December 27th 11 days in the Eastern Caribbean everything was as it should be. Fresh flowers were seen around the ship, the food was delectable, and the entertainment was good especially the comedian. The ...