Just back today Amsterdam 09/05

[borfaloo]

Well my wife and I just returned from our first ever cruise and it was INCREDIBLE!!!!!! We found all of the staff on the Amsterdam to be kind and warm-hearted. The ship itself is in good condition with great care and attention being lavished on her (including painting the deck railings in the Ketchikan drizzle). We had the cheapest stateroom on the ship and were surprised how spacious it was. We had a wonderful day in Glacier bay and then the weather closed in for Juneau and Sitka. I must admit the photographers were pretty aggressive and reported this on my comment card.



I do agree that the soda that you are provided with when using the soda card did taste watered down except for any we got from the bar at the stern of the lido deck. this came straight out of cans. This cruise had 290 folks from the Red hat society, which made it an interesting trip. When talking to a member of the crew we found out that this week the entire ship had been chartered out to a single group!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Well there does not appear to be any chocolate on my pillow tonight.

Better plan the next cruise, to Hawaii,any suggestions?



Sean

[dakrewser]

Aha! WE've hooked another one. The addiction will continue to grow. But it is such a nice addiction!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome home.

Glad you enjoyed your first cruise. Alaska is beautiful.

Having been on the Amsterdam, she is grand and one of our favorite ships.

[daju22]

Sean,

Thanks for posting about the Amsterdam. We're sailing in November for 17 days to South America on her.

Not much is said on these boards about this ship and I was worried that she is not up to par. So glad to hear that you had a wonderful cruise! Alaska is so beautiful and was our first cruise, but on Royal Caribbean (Radiance). She is also a fantastic ship, and we are hooked on cruising now.

Thanks again and any more information would be appreciated.

Judy

[Leslieswiger]

Thank you for your report on the Amsterdam. We also will be doing the twenty day Coastal Explorer from Valparaiso - Seattle.:D Do you have any idea just how much of the "SOE" was completed on the Amsterdam?:confused: Thanking you in advance for your time and interest in the above. Leslie

[Himself]

How is it sailing out of Seattle and on to the open sea? Do you sail between Vancouver Island and the mainland or do you sail out on the open Sea on the West side of Vancouver Island? I have saided out of Vancouver B.C. but never out of Seattle. I am considering it.

Himself

[borfaloo]

The Amsterdam was wonderful. All of her public areas were spotless and the staff were very attentive. It did seem like the crew were cleaning her up a little, we watched them use floor cleaners/ floor polishers on the decks and on the sports deck all of the markings for shuffleboard etc were being refinished.

We also spent a few nervous moments watching a crew member paint the outside railings on the sport deck ( 9th floor) secured by a very thin looking tether and standing on a very narrow platform.

The Amsterdam is an outstanding ship which gives the sense of elegance all of my fellow cruisers have mentioned without feeling stuffy or over formal.Dining was very good at the LaFontaine and we also enjoyed breakfast and lunch in the Lido. Having said that if you do lunch at the Lido expect to have a shortish line if you are there any time after 12.30.

As my wife said ' This is the experience that we will use to measure all others up against'

Sean

[borfaloo]

I think we went up the outside of Vancouver Island as I recall seeing Dungeness spit and Port Angeles ( used to live there) The seas were ok.. 1-1.5ft on the way out,which is good for the straits.. the largest seas we encountered were on the way home between ketchikan and Victoria which according to the cruise log channel on tv were 'rough' 4-12 ft waves. We heard a couple of what we assume to be wave 'slaps' big booming noises but other than that it was easy enough for us to sleep. We were in 1801 which is way at the front of the ship on dolphin deck so if we could sleep through it then most people could.

You should enjoy your trip. The amsterdam is a great ship.

Sean

[sail7seas]

Welcome Back. So happy you enjoyed your first cruise. You picked a wonderful ship to 'begin your love of cruising'.


Are you already thinking about what will be your second cruise???

Thanks for posting your nice comments.

[Krazy Kruizers]

When we sailed out of Seattle we had great weather along the Dungeness split all the way to Vancouver. But coming down from Vancouver to San Francisco we hit wind and rain and some rough seas - we didn't mind it. Time of the year was First part of October.

[garydm]

Sean-Do you recall who the Hotel Manager is now on Amsterdam? Thanks.

Gary

[borfaloo]

Sorry I do not recall the name ...

I will hunt through the disaster zone that is my luggage and see if I can find that info on any paperwork.

Sean

[bepsf]

As my wife said ' This is the experience that we will use to measure all others up against'

Welcome home and thanks for posting!

I'm boarding Amsterdam this Sunday, so its good to hear that you had a great cruise! And welcome to HAL - you're a Mariner now!

[borfaloo]

Well we are considering our second cruise already !!!
Probably going to be Hawaii. I am considering the December 2005
on you guessed it ............the Amsterdam. Anyone got some other
options ??

Sean