Nieuw Amsterdam January 4, 2015 onboard

Our arrival at the Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam check in at the Fort Lauderdale port was less than ideal. Odd and even cabin numbers were assigned to different sides of the room. The even cabin numbers had a special line for handicapped travellers who I presume took priority over other passengers. The odd cabin numbers had a line for 4 and 5 star Mariners as well as suite passengers, and they took priority over other passengers. The “regular” odd cabin line was backed up past all of the ropes they had out to designate where to line up. The even cabin numbers had a very short line up. There were quite a few vocal, unhappy passengers in the “odd” line as it took over an hour to get to the check-in counter. Then, there was an additional wait , but it was in a waiting room with chairs, until your number was called to board the ship. This definitely was not a good first impression for new Holland America cruisers. (We were told once we were onboard the ship that this was something new that Holland America was trying for this cruise, and that embarkation was usually not a problem.)

Once we boarded the ship, the cabins were ready, and we went straight to our cabin. Thanks to reading Cruise Critic, I knew that we could go to the main dining room for lunch. What an excellent idea! The service was as good as we have had on any ship, and the food was really tasty. We were ready to go to the cabin to unpack. Our suitcases were outside the door when we got back to the cabin. Our room stewardess, Eviana, came and introduced herself, and asked if we had any requests. Within minutes, she was back with the bucket of ice that we requested. She has continued to provide us with outstanding care, and is an asset to Holland America.

We chose an aft veranda cabin, and we love the location. The balcony is private. The view is spectacular. The cabin has everything that we require for our two week cruise, and we would not hesitate to book this category again.

In my opinion, the muster drill was an area of weakness. We all went outside to our muster areas. However, we were at the dock, and the noise from the dock, and the planes overhead made it difficult to hear the drill. The crowding of the guests made us realize how many people had not had a chance to freshen up before the drill (yes, I know that could happen if an emergency occurred and we needed the lifeboat). Anyone who was at the back of the group could not see the demonstration of how to put on a life jacket. Finally, people had drinks in hand, and treated it more like a social event. Perhaps, there is a way that Holland America could conduct the drill in some other area of the ship and then have passengers go outside to their muster station if they want to have passengers go to the actual muster station?

We took a quick tour of some of the ship before muster. We decided to book an extra night at Tamarind restaurant. Thank you to all of the Cruise Critic members who wrote about, and posted menus from, this restaurant. It was the perfect venue for our first night onboard. Everything from the time we entered the restaurant until we left was perfect. “M” and “M” provided five star service. The different types of satay, and spring roll appetizers were delicious. The sushi was good, although, because we are so picky, it will not be our choice for our next dinner there. The curry, and the tenderloin steak were fantastic! We did not have room for dessert, but other people were obviously enjoying their orders.

After dinner, we did a quick check of the casino. The machines were not very kind so we made our way to B.B. King’s Blues Club. The band is great, but, even though there is a dance floor, nobody was dancing. It seems strange to me that the venue is not packed with people dancing. We plan on spending more time there.

On our second night, we had open seating in the Manhattan Dining Room. We asked for a table for two, but the maitre’d must have misunderstood as he had us taken to a table where people were already seated. I hope they were not offended by our refusal to sit at the table, but I definitely felt awkward as we were taken back to the podium to get another seat assignment. We were seated in the inner ring along the railing. The appetizers and salad were good. The “jerk “ chicken was fantastic! It was both moist and flavourful (although not a traditional “jerk”), and the grilled pineapple was a real treat. Once again, the service was excellent, and we have requested the same table for tonight. I have to check the spelling of our wait staff’s names to ensure that I give credit to the correct people.

Today, was a fabulous, lazy sea day. The weather is perfect, and we couldn’t be more content.

Unfortunately, there has been a gastrointestinal outbreak onboard, and, as of lunch today, the service on the ship has had to change to try and minimize the spread of the virus. The number of passengers and crew affected were not given. Already, at lunch, there were passengers who were complaining. I felt very sorry for the crew who had to listen to them. (We went through this on our Celebrity cruise in April, and know how much added stress this places on the crew.)

As our first two days onboard have been so exemplary, I wanted to post this short overview now. I do not plan on posting more from the ship except to update passengers on the next sailing if there will be a delay in boarding due to deep cleansing when we arrive back in Fort Lauderdale.

Thanks for your report, hope you keep on having a wonderful cruise.

Ah, the dreaded code red. We spent many nights in code red last year. Hopefully no new cases surface and it will be over in a couple of days.

Code red is SO hard on the crew- they work tirelessly scrubbing and cleaning. I felt so sorry for them serving passengers then off to clean and sanitize everything. We saw our room steward many times a day wiping down every railing and door handle with sanitizer. They are amazing people though- even after all the hard work they were always smiling and had GREAT attitudes.

Thank you for your report.

What an unusual way to check in for the cruise.

Enjoy the remainder of your cruise.

Thanks for the report.

That check in does sound "different".

Sorry to hear about the code red. I hope it can be controlled quickly.

Looking forward to more and/or your review when you return.

Thank you for checking in.

I hope HAL doesn't continue with the new check-in system. It certainly sounds like a mess.

Sorry to hear that the ship has gotten the Noro virus and you are in Code Red.

Hope the rest of your cruise is great.

Thank you for your report.

 

What an unusual way to check in for the cruise.

 

Enjoy the remainder of your cruise.

The check in sounds identical to what we had in for both our Nieuw Amsterdam cruises. There were two banks of agents, one on the left & one on the right. The left bank handled even numbers and special needs guests. There was a line for each, but the two lines were handled by the same group of agents. (If you think about how an airline queue works, you have the basis idea.) At the head of each of the lines was an expediter who collected your health questionnaire form, and gave you your boarding number / letter. They watched for the next open agent, and sent guests from their line when it was time.

The right hand bank of agents had the odd numbered cabins, and the Neptune Suite / 4&5 star Mariners. Again, two separate lines, with expediters, feeding a common bank of agents.

After you got processed by the agents, you went to the waiting area until your number was called. The early boarding people (suite guests, the 4*, the 5*, and special assistance guests waited in their appropriate areas, with the Neptune guests, and 4*/5* upstairs.) Everyone else waited downstairs. (This has been the procedure at Port Everglades for years.)

Ironically, we thought that the boarding process went down as smooth as that first shipboard cocktail. ;) We did wait a bit because we arrived early, before boarding actually started. However, the process went smoothly - from security, to wine check in, to room keys, to actual boarding.

Since the procedure was the same as the one we had - twice - I wonder if there was a mitigating factor of some sort? Computer problems perhaps? Large group of idiots, arriving at the same time? (You know how they can be. Their code requires them to lose track of their passports & IDs. And, since they are forbidden from reading any precruise information, they often bog down the check in lines.)

Or, it could have been the Butt In Line Guys & Gals. Nothing throws a spanner in the works like a couple of them, pushing past everyone, swearing that they were there first, and that they are certain that their number has been called.

Sorry about the embarkation - ours on the Westerdam was very smooth and I truly don't recall if they did the even/odd line. I think we hit a lull in the boarding process, ours was so quick.

But sounds like all is great afterwards - thanks for taking the time and Internet minutes to post from the cruise - and enjoy the rest of your two weeks!

thanks for the heads up re: norovirus. we are on the January 11th sailing so hope all is well by then.

Is it definitely Code Red? Could it be Code Orange?

Is it definitely Code Red? Could it be Code Orange?

Salt and pepper in MDR? Bread baskets on table? If not it's code red

The made no mention of Code Red or either Code Orange.

One hour to embark? Most times it takes matter of minutes. Of course you cannot tell to people to be at a certain time. Sod's Law! I always to try away from that period 12 noon to 2 pm. Bound to be .... for the majority. Best time is show up at around 3pm. Takes seconds. Even once I arrived to be the last and almost had to run! But delays on embarkation can happen to any cruise line. But I'd take that hour on the pier is better than anything an airport! UGG!!!!! :eek:

It is Code Red, and there is no self service, salt and pepper on the table, or bread. The crew and staff are doing everything they can to ensure the virus will be contained and eliminated. It's up to the passengers to make sure they isolate themselves for at least 24 hours after symptoms stop.

Service is still fantastic. We are happy to be onboard.

POA1, I am not sure what the problem was, but the people who were working the check-in were as frustrated as some of the passengers. I think that it was the elderly passengers, and the young children who found it the most difficult. Both were very vocal:D

POA1, I am not sure what the problem was, but the people who were working the check-in were as frustrated as some of the passengers. I think that it was the elderly passengers, and the young children who found it the most difficult. Both were very vocal:D

Good point. Not only can people slow down the process, but they can also make it miserable on those around them.

Sorry to hear about the code red. Stay well!

Thank you for taking time to give us your report.

Hope you find the rest of your cruise goes smoothly, and everyone stays well!:)

It is Thursday night in Cozumel on the NA. Code red is still in effect. Everyone seems to be in a good mood. The poor crew is constantly cleaning around the ship. They really are terrific people. The weather has been excellent and I haven't heard any complaints about the code. The outside jacuzzis were closed on Tuesday when on Code Red was announced and the Thermal pool was closed on Wednesday. Other than that and the fact that there is no self-service, everything is fine on the ship.

The embarkation was a real mess in FLL. I usually don't arrive until after 12:30 from my hotel and usually sail right through the process. On January 4, at 12:30 there was a line-up outside and it took over 45 minutes to get on board. At the time of my embarkation, the odd line was the shorter line. It makes no sense whatsoever. Why is HAL tinkering with a process that has always worked well before?

We have just arrived in Key West. Code Red has been lifted, although they will continue with some extra precautions such as no salt and pepper shakers on the table.

Life onboard continues to be great. Dinner at formal night last evening was delicious. Service everywhere has been excellent. This segment has been great. I hope the next one is just as good.

There are no special procedures outlined for embarkation of passengers tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale. I hope it will go smoothly for everyone.

Thank you for the update! I'm happy to hear embarkation won't be delayed tomorrow, and that hopefully we can start off without any code red. The weather's not looking too great tomorrow - chance of showers pretty much all day, so I hope it's nice enough to enjoy sailaway! See you Wednesday at the Meet & Greet, if not before :-)

Sue/WDW1972

Now that you have returned, we would love to hear about the rest of your cruise!

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Now that you have returned, we would love to hear about the rest of your cruise!

 

 

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I believe the OP said he is on a B2B cruise, so he's back at sea.

I believe the OP said he is on a B2B cruise, so he's back at sea.

Oh whoops! Missed that!

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We have just arrived in Key West. Code Red has been lifted, although they will continue with some extra precautions such as no salt and pepper shakers on the table.

 

Life onboard continues to be great. Dinner at formal night last evening was delicious. Service everywhere has been excellent. This segment has been great. I hope the next one is just as good.

 

There are no special procedures outlined for embarkation of passengers tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale. I hope it will go smoothly for everyone.

Sounds like they moved up to Orange. Hopefully that lifts soon (for the crew's sake). On our B2B with GI stuff everyone had to leave the ship for several hours on turnaround day for deep cleaning. Boarding was delayed for about an hour and a half.

We found it odd that they put containers of paper salt and pepper packets on the tables during the Code as people were touching other packets when they pulled one out. I would think salt and pepper shakers would be safer.

I was on this cruise for the 7 day western cruise portion that just ended. It was in fact code red, whatever that means. The salt and pepper shakers were removed, the lido deck food was served completely by the staff & they wore gloves like you might see in a Subway restaurant. Sanitizer was proffered by staff upon arrival at restaurants.

This was my second cruise. The first was on the Disney Fantasy, which always handed out sanitizing wipes when entering any dining area, so I was surprised that sanitizer wasn't always used on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

On the first two days and to a lesser degree on the last day of this trip, people just walked in without doing anything to clean their hands, which I found to be a little disgusting, especially since I had to handle serving spoons etc after them. I didn't even realize there was sanitizer at first because it was off to the side instead of front and center. I think if sanitizer was always insisted upon, the code red probably could have been avoided altogether.

They never said that the GI illness was norovirus specifically. One person at our table of 10 got sick and was asked to stay in their quarters for a day or two. They had an initial temperature of 99 degrees.

Towards the end of this cruise I noticed several people coughing like they had some kind of respiratory illness that seemed to be unrelated to the GI.

The staff was great throughout everything.

We are still on the ship. Great day at Half Moon Cay. We are not in any code now. We did not have to leave the ship in Fort Lauderdale, but stayed in the lounge. There were some problems with cards getting scanned, so we had to stay longer. It was comfortable, and there were refreshments so no complaints from me.

We have some groups onboard this time. So far, there has been no impact on my cruise. If anything of interest happens, I'll try and post depending upon my internet minutes. I will write a review once I am home.

All is well onboard.