nieuw amsterdam b2b Dec 4 - 18th

[porrah]

This was our second HAL cruise, the first being on the Zuiderdam a year ago. As we did last year, we stayed the night before in Fort Lauderdale - near to Total Wine of course. Sunday we were at the terminal at 11 a.m. and swiped our card to board the ship at 11.55 a.m. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the ship - the public washrooms were nearly always immaculate which is rarely the case. Our first week we visited Half Moon Cay, Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay and Costa Maya. In Costa Maya we had a very enjoyable trip (Mayan Experience) with The Native Choice. We went to the ruins, had an excellent guide, then went to a Mayan Community for lunch.
The first night out things were a little lumpy - no sleep for me. We found the NA to be rocky at the best of times. There was always a vibration in the Crow's Nest, and it was always cold in there (the rest of the ship was fine). Our second week took us to Grand Turk, San Juan, Sint Maarten and Half Moon again. You really must discover the discount liquor store in the SJ terminal - unbelievable prices.
The food on the NA is great.There are obviously some things which do not suit every palate. Ours was the tenderloin steak in the Tamarind, didn't like those breadcrummy looking things and had to scrape them off. The Pinnacle was just as good as we had been told it would be.
We had booked a VE and ended up with a V on deck 8, near the stairs. Wonderful for making the early morning coffee run - with a few sticky buns thrown in. The cover of the footstool under the desk is a very sturdy tray as we soon found out.
Entertainment was rather ho hum. We enjoyed the piano bar, trivia, and thought the cruise director J.C .was excellent. He was enthusiastic, visible around the ship (unlike the captain), and generally did a great job. The showroom left a lot to be desired. The ship's singers and dancers went through the motions but I'm afraid I can't say their shows were wonderful. There was only one visiting entertainer a week, so it was the ship's entertainers, one visitor, and a late night crew show.
We had a great time and love the crew and their attitude and friendliness. This is not the case on all ships. Yes, we will probably return to HAL sometime. If anybody knows a less rocky ship than the NA please let me know! (don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible but did seem to bob around a bit more than expected)

[tangerinebunny]

We were along for the western portion of your cruise and I agree about the movement. I wore flats on formal nights and still rocked. And I actually had to lie down on the last day to avoid seasickness. And that's first for me.

We like the NA too and had a good cruise, but if it's true that HAL is saving money by not utilizing the stabilizers as much as in the past, it's going to hurt their return clientele. On the other hand, we all understand that even HAL can't control the waves.

[RMLincoln]

There was only one visiting entertainer a week, so it was the ship's entertainers, one visitor, and a late night crew show.


This sounds like a BIG cut back to me. We've usually had at least two and maybe three. Is this the new norm even for longer cruises, one visting entertainer per week?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for the report.

Yes -- HAL is cutting back in the entertainment department.

We also noticed that our ship -- Noordam -- rocked more and learned that to save fuel -- used the stabilizers less.

[Typhoon1]

We like the NA too and had a good cruise, but if it's true that HAL is saving money by not utilizing the stabilizers as much as in the past, it's going to hurt their return clientele.

If they think they are saving money, it's going to cost them money in the long run.

[Charles4515]

We were along for the western portion of your cruise and I agree about the movement. I wore flats on formal nights and still rocked. And I actually had to lie down on the last day to avoid seasickness. And that's first for me.

We like the NA too and had a good cruise, but if it's true that HAL is saving money by not utilizing the stabilizers as much as in the past, it's going to hurt their return clientele. On the other hand, we all understand that even HAL can't control the waves.

I was on the eastern portion and the rocking was the worst I recall on a cruise in years. The swells did not seem that bad to have that kind of motion. The week you did the western I was doing a western on another ship and there was very little motion on our western.

As others say I thought the entertainment left a lot to be desired.

The dining was excellent but with the rocking ship and substandard entertainment I would hesitate booking HAL for a while.

[yvrnavigator]

With regards to the stabilizer, movement of the ship; I thought I recently read in one of the boards that there was more movement on most ships at a certain time this last couple of months sailing in the Caribbean due to some strong winds etc.
I really can't imagine that a line like HAL would not use the stabilizers to safe money.
If it was the case, wouldn't we hear much more about this as it would seem a big deal to me?

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report, we will be on the NA in February. I have found rocking is more dictated by the seas then the ship.

Kirk

[sail7seas]

With regards to the stabilizer, movement of the ship; I thought I recently read in one of the boards that there was more movement on most ships at a certain time this last couple of months sailing in the Caribbean due to some strong winds etc.
I really can't imagine that a line like HAL would not use the stabilizers to safe money.
If it was the case, wouldn't we hear much more about this as it would seem a big deal to me?


How would the passengers know for sure if the stabilizers were out? :confused:
With all our cruising, I have no idea when they are deployed or not.

[CruiserBruce]

I think you can tell by the reaction of the ship. If a roll starts, than holds in a position (out of normal) for a few seconds longer than you would expect, I believe that is a sign the stabilizers are working. Otherwise you would, instead of the "hold", expect a roll back a fairly equal or greater amount to the other side.

[potsie57]

wow, I'm getting a little nervous about the rocking and movement on the NA. We are going in Jan. I am very, very prone to motion sickness, I get sick on planes, trains, amusement rides and cars if I sit in the back seat. I have been to the Doctor and got Rx's for the patch and zofran, I also am bringing dramamine. Hopefully, it was just the seas during this cruise, I would hate to think that HAL would turn off stabilizers to save money....yikes!!

[amster65]

Pulled this from an old post on another website.

OK, there have been lots of recent postings on here about RCCL not using the stabilizers anymore to conserve fuel. Please do not listen to all the negative remarks about these wings on the ship. They are there for a reason and they will be used according to ships protocol. The are under the water and most likely will never be seen - so without knowledge from the captain that they are in use - you won't know. The seas get rough from time to time and there is nothing a ships captain can do to give the passengers a smooth ride 100% of the time.

· There is a difference between wave and swells - swells can cause waves which you see on the top of swells, but swells range from 5 to 20 plus feet and that is what you are feeling on the ship.
· Stabilizers will cause the ship to consume about 10% more Fuel - TRUE - BUT - Stabilizers can also help the ship save on fuel by allowing to cut the swells without increasing the engine output
o Stabilizers will consume more fuel on smooth seas than on rough seas. If the ship has little effort needed to cut ocean swells, there is not much work on the engines to continue ships movement, but in rougher seas, stabilizers will allow the ship to cut through those swells also allowing the ship to save fuel, they are a win-win solution for larger vessels allowing them to stay upright while allowing for smoother cruising.
· Stabilizers can be used when the ship is sailing at higher speed
· Stabilizers are made completely for passenger comfort - FALSE - they help keep the ship upright in rough seas - but creates a better cruise environment for the passengers as far as movement. One must also remember that dependent of which way the ship is cutting into the swells will also determine the use of the stabilizers.

[tarstravels]

We were on the NA cruise to Eastern Caribbean, leaving Ft L on Dec 11th. I, too, felt the 'rolling' of the ship more than I have on other cruises. Everyone in our party commented on it...we have been on other cruises with much higher seas but with less rolling...so I do think it has something to do with the ship. The seas actually looked rather calm to have that much movement.

[gelo7]

Thank you for your review.

[Himself]

Perhaps there were sea swells that caused the rockiness. I was on this ship last Februay and experienced none of the rockiness. Thank You for your report.

[agtsw]

We also were on this b2b Dec 4 cruise. There was some motion, more than last December when we were on the same ship. I noticed the winds for the entire two weeks were consistently 20 - 30 knots and there were days with noticiable swells. I don't think the problem was with the ship but rather with the weather.

[Loucat]

I am not too impressed if HAL is cutting back on use of stabilizers to save money. YIKES! I just read another thread on HAL fans who never mentioned motion in the ocean. We are sailing in January, which should be calm. IMHO having sailed back from the Western Caribbean route, it never failed that the trip was wild with wind and rough seas. The ships were fine and never noticed movement.

[DSLibrarian]

We were on the Dec 4-11 segment. There was a LOT of rocking the first night out of Ft. Lauderdale. So glad we brought along the duct tape so we could tape the drawers shut under the bed!! Until then they kept slamming open and shut!!