Well designed, lots of storage with wall hooks that are lacking on most cruise ships.  Bathroom is small but large shower stall; only room short on storage capacity. Large and deep balcony furnished with two comfortable lounge chairs with separate foot rests and a small round table; a very enjoyable area.  Balcony access door swings rather than the customary slider and is easier to operate. One of the shelf guide wires on the wall below the TV set was damaged when I tripped on the bed spread and its connection and part of the wooden wall were pulled apart. This was repaired the next day so well that one would not know the wall had been severely damaged.  Very, very impressive. Storage space is plentiful and includes two wooden boxes placed underneath each bed but not very easy to pull out. (Warning! When packing on the last day do not forget to check those under bed drawers because we were so very close to forgetting a lot of used clothes we put there during the cruise). Eating in the cabin is not a comfortable experience due to the too small provided table; breakfast (only!) was quite a feat. Regardless you are paying the same amount in gratuities ($16.- pp/per day) as the Signature and above suites, you do not get the same amenities as they do, e.g. welcome bottle of bubbly or wine, a serving of canapes, etc.  It’s a suite but without the butler service. After so many cruises with a butler, this was the first time without; though they can be very helpful many times they can be intrusive and knowing when you are in, when you are out, when you get up, what you eat and drink etc. In one word there is a complete lack of privacy. So this time without one, it was quite enjoyable.

Our hotel was in the museum quarter, as a matter of fact its name is NH Museum Quarter (nhmuseumquarter@nh-hotels.com).  It was in a very good location facing a canal with very helpful staff; we could have purchased museums tickets through them, the best method if you only wished a general visit but remember you&rsquo;re taking your chances, that the day and time you want, may not be available, that&rsquo;s why and wanting to take advantage of every minute in Amsterdam we did pre-cruise museum tickets for Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum, a City tour plus a Canal cruise, all done through the internet and it worked out well, unfortunately we missed the Hermitage Museum! God willing next time! By the way, at the hotel you also can acquire bus, tram and metro &ldquo;day pass tickets&rdquo; for about 16 euros.
In general, we were disappointed with the organization of the museum tours, regardless the electronic guide that&rsquo;s provided as it was not user friendly and trying to quickly find various famous paintings of interest among so many people, many of them spending a long time in front of every painting proved difficult. Regardless, the paintings were superb, many of them unknown to us and some of the Van Gogh&rsquo;s were a real discovery. We had no idea how prolific he was over such a short time span. At the Rijks the Rembrandts were featured in a special showing of many unknown ones but also there were an enormous number of his sketches - interesting but boring unless you were there to match the sketches with the final painting. The City tour (by bus) was a good learning experience. The modern architecture is outstanding in its variety, especially the use of new materials and colours. It was very refreshing compared to the repetitive high rises that are being built in North America. So the bus tour is worthwhile but we don&rsquo;t recommend the Canal cruise; the boat was a glass box that on a hot day and that one was, makes you feel you&rsquo;re in a sauna and no water was available on board. It wasn&rsquo;t a very nice feeling going along those narrow canals and having to look up at the buildings that from that vantage point says very little (regardless whatever you hear from the loudspeaker) those were the same older buildings we had seen during the City tour but the message got thru mainly because there was a tour guide to whom you were able to ask any question which was then answered very clearly but the ship megaphones were deaf!  In case you would like a canal cruise take it at night and I am sure the light show will be stunning, 
Amsterdam was a city full of surprises! Never imagined there was a subway and a brand new, modern one at that, very wide avenues lined with cafes and sidewalk patio restaurants and many expansive parks and green spaces around every corner. Having the opportunity to go there again now that we know our way around, we would jump at the chance! And then, a visit to the Hermitage (Amsterdam) will be our number one priority for sure! 


Tour taken was the Oslo all inclusive that took 5 hours. It started with a fast tour of the downtown after which we headed to the Holmenkollen Ski Jump which has a long history hosting many Ski tournaments including the 1952 Winter Olympics; it is a tremendous structure that went thru many renovations, the last one after a complete demolition in 2011; it holds 70,000 spectators; unfortunately that day was extremely windy making it impossible to go to the top of the platform and have a panoramic view of the area; so the visit was cut short. After the ski jump we were driven to one of the most visited parks in Norway (more than 1 million every year) the Vigeland Sculpture Park named after Gustav Vigeland creator and designer of the Park, a Norwegian sculpture born in 1869 who died in 1943, shortly before the park was opened. The Park was much bigger that I imagined (has more than 200 sculptures made of bronze, granite and cast iron) and the Tour Guide really was an expert on every detail of it. This is a place that has to be seen in person because it is quite difficult to describe and not to overdo the erotic aspects. The center plaza that also is the center of the whole complex, is a huge obelisk covered with intertwined naked bodies of all ages and both genders; quite amazing and startling. The story of how it was transported and erected was interesting. After a very long, quick walk across the full width of the park,  we moved on to the Fram Museum in which the guide explained in a very detailed way the different expeditions Norwegians explorers had made to the Arctic and Antarctic Poles becoming the first explorers in the world to accomplish that feat. The maps and routes on display were very clear and precise as much as the Tour guide was. Fram is the name of the ship that made those trips and its the very one on display, we had the great opportunity of walking the decks and all through the whole ship which gave us a good feeling of how they were living and wondering how they were able to endure so much inside those quarters for as long as two or three years, much of the time stuck in ice. This visit was really a learning experience and an eye opener, but still there was more to come!   So we headed towards the fourth stop on the tour, The Historical Museum and The Viking Ship Museum whose exterior fa&ccedil;ade (dull and uninspired) doesnt reflect whats waiting inside. The building has a cruciform shape and on each of those wings you will find three Viking vessels:  the Oseberg Viking ship is located in the main wing, built around year 820 and in the other two wings, the Gokstad (year 900) and finally the Tune, discovered in 1867 making it the first Viking ship to be excavated and preserved in modern times. 
After this visit we were hoping to go to the Kon-tiki Museum but got short of time and headed back to the ship. Excellent tour and Tour guide. Reading the itinerary it is easy to realize that this tour was a very active and exhausting one so be aware. Without any doubt I highly recommend it.


Another discovery tour! But in a different way. The name was Stavanger by sea and it took around 4 hours. There are no buses involved in this one but a ship furnished with a selection for coffee, juices and snacks. Location of ship can be reached from the Nieuw Statendam docking by foot; embarkation was a mess and completely disorganize! We got there and found the ship&rsquo;s outdoor spaces packed with people, once at the boarding area, a huge line up waiting to get in; this is too long to explain so just to make it a bit shorter, we were able to get in but when we saw the crowds we decided to get off after we learnt that behind that ship  was another also loading passengers, so we went there, went in and happy to say, it was a smaller ship, not many people so it was very easy to move in and out or go up,  down or inside as you pleased. We left port at the same time as the big one and didn&rsquo;t see them again. The boat ride towards the area where all the attractions were is quite long (about 1 hour) and during the voyage we experienced an unbelievable and variable weather! Rain, strong winds, cloudy skies, full sun, it was quite disconcerting because you didn&rsquo;t know where to go or for how long you would be in whatever place you went. At any rate, once we arrived to THE area, the weather became very pleasant, even quite warm. The scenery was beautifully striking cruising slowly along the Lysefjord where is situated one of the most stunning natural wonders of Norway, the promontory called Pulpit Rock located 1500 feet far above; we stopped by the Vagabonds Cave a place where destitute people used to hide running from the tax collector and in front of a huge waterfall, so close that we had to move inside to avoid getting soaked! In general it was a very pleasurable tour where we had many different experiences. To be recommended? If you like nature, cruising without much pressure, being able to take some rocking from the ship and weather permitting, relax under the sun, this one is for you. There was no Tour guide just some info coming thru the loudspeakers, this means you are on your own. Back to the starting point, we walked back around the interesting harbour to the ship, trying as much as possible to enjoy all the sights! And getting ready for the next port.

The only excursion taken from Holland American was the mountain train ride in Flam. Priced about twice what it should be, it was really a trying time, lined up waiting for the train and then everyone rushing to get the best seats. It was a crush, the stop on the way up to see a huge waterfall was for only 10 minutes taking 8 of them to get off and back onto the train not only because the distance from our car to the water fall but also and primordially having to fight your way there amongst a dense and rude crowd. At the top on top! - Everyone had to stay on the train as the return started just 5 minutes after it arrived.  Fortunately we had a very nice and very funny couple sitting in front of us and that made the whole tour more enjoyable and memorable.
Note: We had private excursions in all other ports and these at good savings versus Holland&rsquo;s offerings and not having to deal with brusque and rude passengers. Those excursions (Oslo, Kristiansand and Stavanger) were reserved a couple of months before the cruise using Shore Excursions Group services that I highly recommend because of price, reliability and tour guides professionalism. They can be reached @ 1-866-999-6590 or www.shoreexcursiongroup.com



Tour taken was the Kristiansand Highlights lasting for 4 Hs. We headed towards the largest open air museum in Norway call the Vest Agder Heritage Museum consisting of a collection of 30 re-erected buildings. The entrance to the area is quite magical having an aura of mystery and beauty. You find a group of houses, kind of log cabins and their roofs covered with quite grown over with wild grasses, the interiors are quite Spartan and in a way, comfortable. We also got inside other two story houses built with clapboards in another area not far from the Vest Agder ones, a more modern part of the museum. The tour bus then took us to the seaside town called Hollen where we walked through a beautiful area with big white clapboard summer homes. All had well-manicured gardens full of flowers and at the end of it, we were able to buy two big delicious hot dogs, relaxing while eating them by the waterside. The tour bus then took us back to downtown where we found a more modern city; the neo gothic Kristiansand Cathedral, the fish market (enormous amount of different fishes on display), the Concert Hall, walking along the very wide pedestrian shopping main street area, and saw a MacDonalds not of their usual design but inside a building that looked more like a government one or even a Cathedral; quite unusual after that we headed back to the ship. Kristiansand has a University with a large Campus but we didnt get there.   The whole tour for us was having the chance to learn and see a completely unknown area of Norway and in many ways that is one of the main reasons you travel, learning how people in distant places live or lived. If you are one who thinks in that way, this is a tour for you otherwise book a different tour because Kristiansand has many other choices to choose from. The tour guide was quite good and with a very good sense of humour. 

It was in a very good location facing a canal with very helpful staff; we could have purchased museums tickets through them, the best method if you only wished a general visit but remember you’re taking your chances, that the day and time you want, may not be available, that’s why and wanting to take advantage of every minute in Amsterdam we did pre-cruise museum tickets for Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum, a City tour plus a Canal cruise, all done through the internet and it worked out well, unfortunately we missed the Hermitage Museum!Perhaps it was that there were too many “FIRSTS”: first time with Holland America, first time on the Nieuw Statendam first time in Amsterdam, first time in Oslo and all the other beautiful cities of Norway, so it is very easy for you to imagine how elated we were with this cruise, so happy and elated that we booked another one - more days and going to well-known places.

Nieuw Statendam Review

Canadians on Viking Lands

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Vista Suite with Verandah

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