Nieux amsterdam or Silhouette

Hoping someone can help me decide. An oceanview cabin on silhouette is $150 more pp then nieux amsterdam and having trouble deciding.

I like the intenerary on amsterdam better but I like the look of silhouette better.

Can anyone provide insight on the 2 ships to help me decide.

Thanks

I was on the Zuiderdam (sister ship to the Amsterdam) and didn't like it as much as the S-Class ship.

Deck Area

The Silhouette has much more open deck space with a bit of variety (near pool, far from pool, lawn, etc) while the Amsterdam has a large area at the back of the ship with a small area near the front. The total area may not be that different but when at the back you are pretty much there with everyone else.

Pool Area

The pool area on the Amsterdam isn't as open as on the Silhouette. The Amsterdam also doesn't have a solarium area.

Dining

I thought they were different but liked both (main dining room and buffet). Both very classy and well laid out.

Common/Bar areas

The Amsterdam will be a lot darker and less open than the Silhouette and won't have the large atrium area in the centre. The bars and other areas seemed a lot smaller and cutoff from the rest of the ship.

If it seems that I like the S-Class ship better, I do. That being said if having to decide between the Amsterdam and the Silhouette I would put a lot into price, itinerary and such. If the Amsterdam had a better itinerary and price I'd probably choose it.

You can search the board for other comments but I found the HAL experience to be pretty good. Service and food were top notch and the cabins are nice. To me the ship is just one part of a cruise and the ports/cost are equally important.

When considering price, are you comparing apples to apples? Ever since X launched the various 1,2,3 go promos I find that once I factor in the drinks or tips or shipboard credit that HAL hasn't been close to what the cost of sailing on Celebrity would be. Make sure you compare all the details if the price is a factor.

You should also post this on the HAL board to get "their" opinion as well.

We have not cruised HAL

Cannot say we are that interested between the difference in Average Pax Demographics (older) and their old school Smoking Policy... I don't see us sailing with them anytime soon

Only thing that perks my interest is their BB King Lounges now on many of their ships... And their being the line of record for the Legendary Blues Cruise

But then again that is a Charter Cruise... so a whole other ball of wax

RICKT makes some good points when it comes to pricing... There is good value to be found in Celebrity's various Promos (123Go - Pick Your Perk - All Inclusive). The current All Inclusive is particularly a good one if you are looking at Concierge Class - Aqua - or a Suite ( Classic Alcohol Pkg for 2 - Daily Grats for 2 - and $ 300 OBC for the cabin). On a 7 Night Cruise that can really add up... $ 394.45 x 2 + $ 87.50 x 2 + $ 300 = $ 1,263.90

Cheers!

Kind of like comparing a BMW to a Mercedes or a Toyota to a Honda.

For decisions like these, I recommend reading the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and going with your gut.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

We really, really didn't like the Zuiderdam but fell hard for Solstice. I honestly can't rave enough about the S class.

The smoking policy alone keeps us off HAL. We found their ships to feel dark, enclosed and the public spaces to be chopped up.

We didn't like the Zuiderdamn either, but it's been a while and it was heading right into drydock and had too many deferred maintenance issues. Nieux Amsterdamn is an evolution of Zuiderdamn with quite a few changes, it's only real sister is Eurodamn.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

I prefer not to cruise with passengers with an average age of 75 who 95% go to bed at 11 PM...therefore, HAL, I'm out. :cool:

I prefer not to cruise with passengers with an average age of 75 who 95% go to bed at 11 PM...therefore, HAL, I'm out. :cool:

As much as we hated our HAL cruise, the passengers were older on our latest Princess and Celebrity cruises. Might have been the 7 day vs 12/10

I sailed Zuiderdam and Silhouette- what drove me from X right into the " decks" of HAL, were some things X changed- to " attract a younger bunch of people"! Loud music, canned music all over the place and so such things- the lack of a propper prommenade deck was also helping with the HAL decicsion.

Anyway- Silly is a great ship- no question about it!

Zuiderdam is older a bit dark in places, but a very nice ship also. Big plus- the prommenade deck- wrap round the whole ship! Since Silly has NO prommenade deck thats earns the name, it can get a bit crowded on the upper decks!

We found the Service and the food sometimes better then on board X- ships!

The older bunch of people- I don´t really care.

HAL stands for a more relaxed and " calm, classy " cruise experience.

Will ban X totaly - no I would not- my next cruise is on board Millenium- but HAL is definatey an alternativ to X!

Most of the OV rooms on HAL/Zuiderdam will have bathtubs instead of showers. Please realize that HAL has a ship named Amsterdam, as well as the Nieuw Amsterdam. EM

I think you were asking about the Nieuw Amsterdam and not the Zuiderdam. We have been on both the Zuiderdam and Nieuw Amsterdam (along with 3 S-Class Celebrity ships) and the NA was much better than Zuiderdam. Slightly larger, not quite as dark. When we were on the Zuiderdam there were tiles broken or gone, windows in the shops broken, and an overall neglected feel. There was none of that on the NA as it was fairly new and very comparable to the S-class. Here is my comparison of S-class vs. Nieuw Amsterdam:

Pro's / Con's:

NA has a wrap-around promenade deck, an aft pool, and is probably more sedate than X (although demographics were about the same). NA is a little more of a traditional cruise experience. X ships are much brighter and open and better designed. NA seemed to have more "intimate" spaces as they like to call them but I found them too small.

Food is comparable on both. Really liked Tamarind on NA but X has more speciality restaurants if you want that. Service also good on both.

Cabins are nicer and prettier on X...very plain on NA. As someone mentioned most cabins on NA have tubs if that makes a difference.

Entertainment better on X, however I really like the Piano Bar on NA. They also had a bartender on NA named "Boozie" who would ask your name and remember everyones name the rest of the cruise. Never seen anything like that.

In our experience we would probably select an S-class ship if prices were comparable but would not hesitate to go again on the NA.

Thank you all for responding. Great perspectives to help me decide. Will post on HAL board also.

I agree with the comments from Kitty. The HAL ships feel very closed in, no atrium, spaces chopped up, everyone in bed by 10 ( and that was on a 7 day spring break cruise). Service and food were comparable. We love the S class ships.

I prefer not to cruise with passengers with an average age of 75 who 95% go to bed at 11 PM...therefore, HAL, I'm out. :cool:

I agree--except I think 9 pm is closer to the time the lights go out:p

The bluehairs need their rest.

We have not cruised HAL

 

RICKT makes some good points when it comes to pricing... There is good value to be found in Celebrity's various Promos (123Go - Pick Your Perk - All Inclusive). The current All Inclusive is particularly a good one if you are looking at Concierge Class - Aqua - or a Suite ( Classic Alcohol Pkg for 2 - Daily Grats for 2 - and $ 300 OBC for the cabin). On a 7 Night Cruise that can really add up... $ 394.45 x 2 + $ 87.50 x 2 + $ 300 = $ 1,263.90

 

Cheers!

I believe the OP said he/she is comparing Ocean Vew pricing, rather than the higher priced ones where those inclusions would apply.

I was on the Zuiderdam (sister ship to the Amsterdam) and didn't like it as much as the S-Class ship.

 

Deck Area

The Silhouette has much more open deck space with a bit of variety (near pool, far from pool, lawn, etc) while the Amsterdam has a large area at the back of the ship with a small area near the front. The total area may not be that different but when at the back you are pretty much there with everyone else.

 

Pool Area

The pool area on the Amsterdam isn't as open as on the Silhouette. The Amsterdam also doesn't have a solarium area.

 

Dining

I thought they were different but liked both (main dining room and buffet). Both very classy and well laid out.

 

Common/Bar areas

The Amsterdam will be a lot darker and less open than the Silhouette and won't have the large atrium area in the centre. The bars and other areas seemed a lot smaller and cutoff from the rest of the ship.

 

If it seems that I like the S-Class ship better, I do. That being said if having to decide between the Amsterdam and the Silhouette I would put a lot into price, itinerary and such. If the Amsterdam had a better itinerary and price I'd probably choose it.

 

You can search the board for other comments but I found the HAL experience to be pretty good. Service and food were top notch and the cabins are nice. To me the ship is just one part of a cruise and the ports/cost are equally important.

 

When considering price, are you comparing apples to apples? Ever since X launched the various 1,2,3 go promos I find that once I factor in the drinks or tips or shipboard credit that HAL hasn't been close to what the cost of sailing on Celebrity would be. Make sure you compare all the details if the price is a factor.

 

You should also post this on the HAL board to get "their" opinion as well.

Are you talking about the Amsterdam or what the OP mentioned Nieuw Amsterdam?

 

RICKT makes some good points when it comes to pricing... There is good value to be found in Celebrity's various Promos (123Go - Pick Your Perk - All Inclusive).

 

The current All Inclusive is particularly a good one if you are looking at Concierge Class - Aqua - or a Suite ( Classic Alcohol Pkg for 2 - Daily Grats for 2 - and $ 300 OBC for the cabin). On a 7 Night Cruise that can really add up... $ 394.45 x 2 + $ 87.50 x 2 + $ 300 = $ 1,263.90

 

Cheers!

I believe the OP said he/she is comparing Ocean Vew pricing, rather than the higher priced ones where those inclusions would apply.

True enough.

But... I mentioned all of Celebrity's Promos cause they come & go so frequently and often overlap

Right now Oceanviews as part of the All Inclusive Pkg are getting the regular 123Go Perks (with Extras added on for Europe Sailings)

http://www.celebritycruises.com/htmlpage/123go-all-inclusive

Besides, who knows the OP may just find the detailed price breakdown of how the AI offer is applied by Celebrity for Concierge & above to be a worthwhile splurge... There is a lot of value to be found in $ 1,263.90 per cabin for many Celebrity cruisers

Cheers!

Duplicate post

We are going to go with silhouette. Thanks for all your help.

We are going to have to book an inside though. I've always done balcony so hopefully won't be too bad.

I tried the link with the 1 2 3 go specials , but our sailing is jan 26th and there doesn't appear to be that promotion till February....or am I not doing it properly?

Re-consider the inside cabin ---- you don't get the "good amenities" with inside......

I posted a comment on another post relative to Nieuw Amsterdam vs Silhouette -- Nieuw Amst cabins are better laid out & better storage than the Celeb S-ships....

There is alot of wasted space on the S-class ships == alot of bars & other places are "off limits" to the "regular cabins"....

Does it REALLY matter that much there are older people on HAL ships who turn in early??? Like, so what??? You are not ever going to meet everyone!!

We have been on 3 of the S-class ships (Solstice, Silhouette, Reflection) and going on HA Nieuw Amsterdam (their largest & newest ship) in February.

I would choose the ship where I can get the "most" cabin for least money!!!! And look at the itinerary!!

Hoping someone can help me decide. An oceanview cabin on silhouette is $150 more pp then nieux amsterdam and having trouble deciding.

I like the intenerary on amsterdam better but I like the look of silhouette better.

Can anyone provide insight on the 2 ships to help me decide.

Thanks

Hi rance,

My wife and I have cruised both of these ships and here is my take on things:

Nieuw Amsterdam:

--Nice wrap around promenade deck

--Pretty good food

--Dark and Traditional decor

--Warm, Asian crew with very good service

--Excellent itineraries

--You must self-entertain as not much is going on

--HAL people don't like hearing this, but the average age is very old*

--Cabins are dark and functional; excellent beds

Silhouette:

--New, large and Modern

--Excellent food and great alternative restaurants

--Nice flow to the buffet

--Diverse and professional staff

--Bright and excellent cabins with great bathrooms

--Officers are visible and fun

--Basic itineraries

--Celebrity has always made us feel "special" on their ships

At 86,000 tons the Nieuw Amsterdam is about a 8.8 on the Mac-O-Meter

At 122,000 tons the Silhouette is about a 9.3 on the Mac-O-Meter

Given a choice, I would cruise the Silhouette every time.

* Longer, off season cruises always attract the older crowd. All seven day cruises during Holiday seasons will attract much younger crowd.

Enjoy!

Kel:)

Thanks again...I am horrible at decisions.

Another factor is celebrity is western caribbean while HAL goes to st Thomas and st Maarten.

Will the weather be noticeably warmer doing the Hal eastern route?

Thanks

It IS a tough call, especially if the itinerary is better on NA.

We have cruised Solstice on X, and my only cruise on HAL was the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise on NA. So since it was a full charter and VERY different from a typical cruise, I can't comment on the usual demographics or activities (think ALL music ALL the time -- it was AWESOME!).

As for the ships, overall I enjoyed Solstice much more. The design is gorgeous, and I love the contemporary feel. We were in Aqua class with a huge balcony on the angle.

Having said that, there were a few things I enjoyed about the NA. My sister and I had a verandah cabin that was fine for us. More storage overall, and more convenient storage for sure, than our cabin on Solstice. The bathtub was nice, not because we took baths, but for more space.

I also enjoyed the full promenade deck for walking, as others have mentioned. I really missed that on Solstice.

But my favorite part of the NA experience (well, other than the music and the amazing camaraderie on the ship) was getting the pass to use the Hydro Pool and Thermal Suite. We used it at least once a day; it just melts any stress away. Sooooo relaxing.

We only ate in the MDR once on NA and were not impressed, with the food or the decor (so much RED!). The buffet, in our opinion, was not as good as X and laid out much less efficiently. They did have a great snack bar near the indoor pool that had amazing salmon burgers. On this cruise, meals were just sustenance to build up energy to dance to more music, so it was not a big deal for us!

The entire back deck was taken over by a huge stage, with the pool covered up to allow the crowd to gather, so I can't comment about that area. Lots of pics in my photo albums linked in my signature, if you are interested.

I'm sure you'll have a blast whatever you decide!

Thanks sue.

Your photos look great. Music cruise sounds like it would be a lot of fun.