Neptune Suite Questions & MS Amsterdam

I am hoping you experienced HAL cruises can help clarify a little bit about the Neptune Suites. I have a few questions so thanks in advance for reading! A little background first, we are regular cruises and it is me, my DH and DS (10). We have been fairly loyal to the Suites on NCL because of both the butlers and the varied dining options. However, the food quality on our last NCL trip was very uneven so we had thought about not cruising again.

However, we already had a Disney cruise planned in a suite which was non-refundable so we did DCL in Nov. That food was much better but it reminded us how much we do not like the traditional dining as well as the large main dining rooms. Unfortunately, even though we were eligible to have main dining room meals in our suite, the execution and food from there was so poor that we only had breakfast once and a couple of meals for our DS in the evening. For example, breakfast came 20 minutes early and they just kinda threw it on one of our tables. Also, although we love the concierge lounge, after 7 days the food in there was very repetitive.

So, we have tentatively booked the MS Amsterdam for a June Alaska cruise. It is unclear from HAL's website just how many food venues that are on that particular ship. Does anyone know the actual places I can get food outside of the traditional dining room for dinner.

It says that the Neptune Suites are eligible to order from the main dining room but in practice is that encouraged? We are happy to eat from a buffet or burger place a few dinners but I could see on this ship that we might want dinner in our suite a few nights. Also, we love have room service breakfast, and NCL does this great. Any feedback on how good the breakfast is on HAL from room service.

Also, in the Neptune lounge, how is the food and are there any beverages? DCL included bottle waters, soda, juices, etc. It was such a nice benefit.

Finally, we love classic ships, NCL Spirit is our absolute favorite. However, our TA is cautioning us agains the Amsterdam. She is concerned about the age of the ship. How is the girl holding up?

Thanks for any comments!

We love the PS and Neptune Suites on the Amsterdam.

PS and Neptune Suites get to have breakfast on the Upper Level of the main dining room. All other passengers have breakfast on the Lower Level. Times are from 7:30 - 9 AM on port days and 8 - 9:30 AM on sea days. The menu is the same for both levels and it is quite extensive.

HAL has a very extensive breakfast cabin menu and if you can wait until the main dining room opens for breakfast you can write in such items as Eggs Benedict waffles, etc.

The Neptune Lounge is continental breakfast with pastries, cold cereals, orange juice, cranberry juice, ice water, special coffee machine for espressos and lattes, cold meats and cheeses, fresh sliced fruits. The last time we were on her she still had a toaster for English muffins, bagels and toast. This is from 7 AM until about 10:30 - 11 AM. Then snack sandwiches are put out along with cookies and small desserts, cranberry juice, ice water and iced tea. Around 3 PM either pound cake slices or bunt cake slices and chocolates are put out. Around 5 PM until about 8:30 cold appetizers are put out. Yes there is repetition in the foods. No free bottled water or free sodas.

Your mini refrigerator will be stocked with bottled water and sodas -- but you have to pay for them.

Yes you can order dinner into your cabin from the main dining room. You will get the menus delivered to your cabin in the morning. The dining room requests that you place your dinner order within the first hour of the dining room opening (it opens at 5:15 for Open Seating). You can request whatever time you wish dinner to be served. Everything you order will be delivered at one time.

There is also the Pinnacle Grill for lunch (open on some days) -- $10 per person and dinner every night -- $29 per person. There is one night that the Pinnacle Grill will have Le Cirque -- $49 per person.

Besides the Lido buffet there is the Dive In at the Terrace Grill where you can get hamburgers and hot dogs at lunch time. Open at 11:30 -- free. Closes around 6:30 PM.

There is also the Canaletto -- Italian food -- located in the Lido -- open only for dinner -- $10 per person.

This is just a little help. Sadly I have to go and make dinner.

Hopefully others will chime in and supply all the various menus for you.

I am hoping you experienced HAL cruises can help clarify a little bit about the Neptune Suites. I have a few questions so thanks in advance for reading! A little background first, we are regular cruises and it is me, my DH and DS (10). We have been fairly loyal to the Suites on NCL because of both the butlers and the varied dining options. However, the food quality on our last NCL trip was very uneven so we had thought about not cruising again.

 

However, we already had a Disney cruise planned in a suite which was non-refundable so we did DCL in Nov. That food was much better but it reminded us how much we do not like the traditional dining as well as the large main dining rooms. Unfortunately, even though we were eligible to have main dining room meals in our suite, the execution and food from there was so poor that we only had breakfast once and a couple of meals for our DS in the evening. For example, breakfast came 20 minutes early and they just kinda threw it on one of our tables. Also, although we love the concierge lounge, after 7 days the food in there was very repetitive.

 

So, we have tentatively booked the MS Amsterdam for a June Alaska cruise. It is unclear from HAL's website just how many food venues that are on that particular ship. Does anyone know the actual places I can get food outside of the traditional dining room for dinner. on that ship you should find the MDR, Lido, Pinnacle Grill (specialty), Cannaletto and the Dive IN of course. Outside of the MDR, you can go to the Lido for dinner as well as the Cannaletto ($10) and the Pinnacle ($29)

 

It says that the Neptune Suites are eligible to order from the main dining room but in practice is that encouraged? We are happy to eat from a buffet or burger place a few dinners but I could see on this ship that we might want dinner in our suite a few nights. Also, we love have room service breakfast, and NCL does this great. Any feedback on how good the breakfast is on HAL from room service. We have ordered off the MDR menu with no issue at all. Some suite passengers do course by course dining if it's available. Myself, I find it easier to have everything delivered and just eat as we choose. In the PS, I would certainly consider course by course but I don't think there is enough room in the Neptune. Our food has always arrived hot and the same as if we were in the MDR. I think the service level can differentiate to the suites so that's worth considering as you get answers to this.

 

Breakfast is well done. You can order a whole bevy of things. My eggs are generally cooked to my liking and if you have arranged to have your breakfast delivered when the MDR is open, then you can add things like eggs benedict if you are so inclined.

 

Also, in the Neptune lounge, how is the food and are there any beverages? DCL included bottle waters, soda, juices, etc. It was such a nice benefit. The food in the Neptune Lounge varies based on the time of day. You can do an easy continental breakfast in there if you are so inclined and at lunch there are nice munchies. After 3 come the chocolates and the typical hors d'hoeuvre things. There is always water and the coffee machine there. In the morning, fresh squeezed oj. In the afternoon and evenings, the water, iced tea & another cocktail juice.

 

Finally, we love classic ships, NCL Spirit is our absolute favorite. However, our TA is cautioning us agains the Amsterdam. She is concerned about the age of the ship. How is the girl holding up? The girl is one of the flag ships of HAL. She does World Cruises and has a lot of fans. I can't recall a single post complaining about washrooms, A/C, etc. She is kept in pretty good condition I think. Don't let the word old scare you. Remember good wines are aged :)

 

Thanks for any comments!

tried to help you a smidge above in red.

New Breakfast Cabin Menu

Preferred Time Frame

6 AM - 6:30 AM; 6:30 - 7 AM; 7 AM - 7:30 AM; 7:30 AM - 8 AM; 8 AM - 8:30 AM; 8:30 AM - 9 AM; 9 AM - 9:30 AM; 9:30 AM - 10 AM

Juices

Grapefruit; Orange:; Cranberry; V-8; Prune, Tomato

Fresh Fruit & Yogurt

Half Grapefruit; Sliced Bananas; Sliced Oranges; Mixed Fruit; Seasonal Melons; Stewed Prunes; Plain Yogurt; Fruit Yogurt; Greek Yogurt

Bakery

English Muffin(1); White Toast(2); Wheat Toast(2); Rye Toast(2); Danish(1); Croissant(2); Blueberry Muffin(1); Bran Muffin(1); Bagel (1)

Cereals

Corn Flakes; Special K; Cheerios; Raisin Bran; Granola; Fruit Loops; Frosted Flakes; Rice Krispies; Shredded Wheat

With: Milk; 2% Milk; Skim Milk; Soy Milk

Two Eggs

Scrambled; Sunnyside Up; Over Easy; Poached; Hard Boiled

Omelettes

Cheese; Ham & Cheese; Vegetable & Cheese

Egg Substitute

Scrambled; Cheese Omelette; Vegetable & Cheese Omelette

Egg White

Scrambles; Cheese Omelette; Vegetable & Cheese Omelette

Sides

Ham Slices(2); Sausage Links(2); Bacon Strips(2); Veggie Links(2); Turkey Links(2); Turkey Bacon(2)

Condiments

Assorted Jams; Half & Half; Honey; Butter; Margarine; Cream Cheese; Peanut Butter; Ketchup; Tabasco; Nutella; Orange Marmalade

Beverages

Regular Coffee; Decaf Coffee; Tea; Decaf Tea; Hot Chocolate; Milk; 2% Milk; Skim Milk; Soy Milk

If you can wait until the main dining room opens -- usually 7:30 on port days and 8 on sea days, you can write in anything you want like Eggs Benedict. Waffles, Chocolate croissants, etc.

Dining Room Breakfast Menu (Also in the Pinnacle for PS and Neptune Suite Passengers or the Kings Room or Upper level of the dining room on the R Class ships)

Something Simple:

Cold Cereals: Cornflakes - Cheerios - Special K - Raisin Bran - Shredded Wheat - Rice Krispies - Frosted Flakes - Fruit loops - Granola - All Bran - Bran Flakes -- served with your choice of milk -- add sliced banana on request.

Breakfast Parfait - layers of creamy Greek yogurt, fresh berries and granola

Hot Cereals: Old-Fashioned Oatmeal - Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal - Cream of Wheat - Creamy Grits -- served with sliced banana, raisins, brown sugar, maple syrup, milk, or half & half on request

Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich - scrambles egg and Cheddar cheese served on a toasted English muffin. Add sausage patty, hickory smoked bacon or ham slice on request.

Bagel and Lox - a freshly toasted bagel served with slices of cold smoked salmon, cream cheese, sliced onion and capers.

Greenhouse Spa Selections:

Cottage Cheese and Fresh Fruit - a small bowl of creamy cottage cheese lightly dusted with cinnamon, served with your choice of sliced banana, strawberries, blueberries or diced melon.

Swiss-Style Muesli - a mixture of low fat yogurt, fresh fruit, milk, toasted hazel-nuts, oatmeal and honey.

Frittata Italiana - healthy without sacrificing flavor, egg whites combined with low-fat cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil, then lightly baked and served with whole grain toast.

International Classics:

All American Breakfast - two jumbo eggs, cooked to order, served with hash browns, hickory smoked bacon or sausage and toast.

Eggs Benedict - toasted English muffins, layered with Canadian bacon, two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.

Eggs Royal - toasted English muffins, smoked salmon and two poached eggs with creamy hollandaise sauce.

Eggs Florentine - toasted English muffins, topped with sauteed spinach and two poached eggs draped with hollandaise sauce.

Corned Beef Hash and Eggs - home-made corned beef hash topped with two eggs cooked to order and served with a side of toast.

Kippered Herring - served with two scrambled eggs and smothered onions.

Dutch Breakfast - the Uitmijter, a classic open-faced sandwich with thick white bread, sliced ham, Gouda, and two eggs sunny side up.

Japanese Breakfast - hot miso soup, steamed white rice, tamagoyaki and boiled salmon served with a cup of hot green tea.

The Full English Breakfast - two jumbo eggs scrambled, English banger sausage, English back bacon, baked beans, hash browns and a grilled half tomato

Scandinavian Breakfast - smoked salmon and pickled herring, served with hard-boiled egg and slices of dark rye bread.

Three Egg Omelets:

All omelets are served with hash browns and toast. Egg whites or egg substitute available on request.

Denver Omelet - green bell pepper, onion, ham and a mixture of Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Swiss cheese.

Garden Vegetable Omelet - tender asparagus, sauteed spinach, diced tomato and sliced button mushrooms with creamy goat cheese.

Southwest Omelet - diced sweet roasted bell peppers, tomato, green onion, and Monterey Jack cheese, topped with avocado, sour cream and fresh salsa.

My Choice Omelet - build your own omelet with any of the following: ham, bacon, sausage, smoked salmon, mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, asparagus, Cheddar, Jack, Swiss, goat or Gruyere cheese.

Hot Off the Griddle:

Belgium Waffle - thick, crisp Belgium waffle topped with your choice of warm strawberries, apple-cinnamon or plum compote.

Cinnamon-Sugar French Toast - thick slices of egg bread French toast, dusted with cinnamon-sugar. Served with whipped butter and hot maple syrup.

Stack of Pancakes - three fluffy pancakes stacked high. your choice of buttermilk, banana or blueberry. Served with whipped butter and hot maple syrup.

From the Bakery: toast - English Muffin - Bagel - Roll

Baked Fresh Daily: Butter Croissant - Chocolate Croissant - Raisin Bun - Cheese Danish - Fruit Danish - Danish of the Day - Blueberry Muffin - Muffin of the Day - Coffee Cake. Served with butter, margarine, jam, jelly honey, Nutella or cream cheese on request. Fresh baked sugar-free pastries upon request.

On the Side:

Hickory Smoked Bacon - English Bangers - Pork Sausage Links or Patty - Carved Honey Glazed Ham - Corned Beef Hash - Turkey Bacon - Turkey Sausage links - Morningstar Farms Vegi Links - Hash Browns.

Fruits and Yogurts: Fresh Fruit Plate - Half Grapefruit - Sliced Banana - Stewed Prunes, Apricots or Kadota Figs - Assorted

Beverages: Coffee - Tea - Decaffeinated Coffee and Tea - Whole, Low Fat and Skim Milk - Chocolate Milk - Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice - Apple Juice - Cranberry Juice - Grapefruit juice - Grape Juice - Pineapple Juice - Prune Juice - Tomato Juice - V-8

Available 24 hours:

Smoked Atlantic Salmon - pickled red onion, capers & cream cheese

Mesclun Garden Greens - tomato, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts & blue cheese crumbles

Triple Decker Club Sandwich - sliced turkey, ham, bacon, tomato & lettuce served on toasted bread of your choice

All American Hamburger - broiled 1/4 pound beef patty on a sesame bun with dill pickle & coleslaw - add cheddar or Swiss cheese

Open faced Omelet - ham & cheese or vegetables

Selection of assorted cheese with crackers

Apple tart with whipped cream

Chocolate cake with raspberry sauce

A plate of chocolate chip cookies with a glass of milk

Fruit salad - selected fruits in season

Available from 12 noon until 10 PM:

Appetizers & Soups:

Bay shrimp cocktail with cocktail sauce

Smoked Atlantic Salmon

French onion soup baked with Gruyere cheese

Soup of the day

Salads:

Mesclun Garden Greens

Chef salad - mixed greens, ham, salami, swiss cheese, turkey, hard boiled egg - choice of Italian or blue cheese dressing

Caesar salad - tossed with Caesar dressing, croutons & parmesan - add bay shrimp or grilled chicken breast

Sandwiches & Burgers:

All are served with a choice of potato salad or potato chips

Triple decker club sandwich

Broiled California chicken breast sandwich on multi=grain bread with avocado & honey mustard sauce

Grilled tuna melt - tuna salad & Swiss cheese on rye bread with pickle spears

Thai Vegetarian wrap - eggplant, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts & cilantro rolled with rice & green curry sauce in a tomato tortilla

Steak sandwich - sirloin steak on sourdough bread sauteed with onion & bell pepper

All American Hamburger

Entrees:

Seared salmon steak - dill-lime fusion, broccoli florets, carrot batonnet & country mashed potatoes

Penne Primavera - tossed in marinara sauce with Italian roasted vegetables - add grilled chicken breast

Pizza:

margarita (tomato sauce & cheese)

Pepperoni

Vegetarian (mushroom & bell pepper)

Desserts:

Apple tart

Chocolate cake

Creme caramel surrounded in berry compote

Fruit jello

fruit salad

Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce

Selection of assorted cheese with crackers

KK and kazu have answered your questions very well. We have sailed on the Amsterdam 8 times and it is our favorite ship. She is the flagship and one of the older ships and I would describe her as comfortable. Nothing flashy or glitzy. 1380 passengers. Definitely not as many dining venues as you see on Norwegian. We eat in the MDR or the Pinnacle Grill as since you get the menus in the Neptune Suites, you can pretty much decide daily how or where you want to dine. I'd say give her a try- this year her Alaska cruises are 7 days.

No worries about the Amsterdam, she is a beautiful ship and she is ageless.

Finally, we love classic ships, NCL Spirit is our absolute favorite. However, our TA is cautioning us agains the Amsterdam. She is concerned about the age of the ship. How is the girl holding up?

She's holding up much better than this "old girl" is. ;)

I spent 14 days on the Amsterdam as recently as this past August/September. The ship was in fine shape. As others have said, she's one of the two fleet flagships, and is kept in great form. She just finished a Grand Pacific cruise, and will be heading out on the World Cruise next month. The Amsterdam is kept very nicely to please those very experienced guests.

KK and kazu have answered your questions very well. We have sailed on the Amsterdam 8 times and it is our favorite ship. She is the flagship and one of the older ships and I would describe her as comfortable. Nothing flashy or glitzy. 1380 passengers. Definitely not as many dining venues as you see on Norwegian. We eat in the MDR or the Pinnacle Grill as since you get the menus in the Neptune Suites, you can pretty much decide daily how or where you want to dine. I'd say give her a try- this year her Alaska cruises are 7 days.

Amsterdam and Rotterdam (sister ships) are HAL's co-flagships. :)

In addition to Pinnacle Grill and MDR, there is Canaletto which is Italian food and is located as a section of Lido.

She's holding up much better than this "old girl" is. ;)

I spent 14 days on the Amsterdam as recently as this past August/September. The ship was in fine shape. As others have said, she's one of the two fleet flagships, and is kept in great form. She just finished a Grand Pacific cruise, and will be heading out on the World Cruise next month. The Amsterdam is kept very nicely to please those very experienced guests.

Me too, Ruth, me too. :D:D

Hi All,

You are all so helpful. Thanks for the feedback and the information. I think we would love the Amsterdam, she seems like just the kind of classic ships we love. I could care less about mini-golf and wave machines, although my DS does like those :D.

I can't get over the feeling that we aren't going to be happy with the dining. Especially when Kazu reminded me that the suite isn't that big. We haven't sailed in a suite that didn't have a dining room table. (First world problem, I know). I think we might be better suited in a Sky Suite on Celebrity, where there would be a small dedicated suite dining room.

Thanks again.

Hi All,

You are all so helpful. Thanks for the feedback and the information. I think we would love the Amsterdam, she seems like just the kind of classic ships we love. I could care less about mini-golf and wave machines, although my DS does like those :D.

 

I can't get over the feeling that we aren't going to be happy with the dining. Especially when Kazu reminded me that the suite isn't that big. We haven't sailed in a suite that didn't have a dining room table. (First world problem, I know). I think we might be better suited in a Sky Suite on Celebrity, where there would be a small dedicated suite dining room.

 

Thanks again.

Just to be clear, the suite is plenty big enough but I don't like waiters having to hang around. My post was in regards to course by course dining versus room service. In the penthouse, there is a pantry where they can prepare things and keep an eye on things without being in sight all the time.

There is no dining room table in the Neptune Suites although there is indeed a table in the living area and the balcony which can be used for dining.

There are lovely dining room tables in the Penthouses.

I am a bit confused as to your comment on the Sky Suites on Celebrity. We had one when we sailed on Celebrity (Century) and it did not have a small dedicated suite dining room. In fact the room was smaller than the Neptune Suites on HAL. Must vary from ship to ship?

It sounds like the best option on the Amsterdam would certainly be one of the two Pinnacle Suites. They have a dining table that seats eight, and a butler's pantry in which the stewards can prep.

One time on the Maasdam when we had dinner in our suite, Room Service wheeled in a table which is where we ate. I don't know if that is possible on all ships but one could ask. If you are really worried about your dining experience, perhaps you should continue with that which you are familiar on NCL.

Just to be clear, the suite is plenty big enough but I don't like waiters having to hang around. My post was in regards to course by course dining versus room service. In the penthouse, there is a pantry where they can prepare things and keep an eye on things without being in sight all the time.

 

There is no dining room table in the Neptune Suites although there is indeed a table in the living area and the balcony which can be used for dining.

 

There are lovely dining room tables in the Penthouses.

 

I am a bit confused as to your comment on the Sky Suites on Celebrity. We had one when we sailed on Celebrity (Century) and it did not have a small dedicated suite dining room. In fact the room was smaller than the Neptune Suites on HAL. Must vary from ship to ship?

Oh, this does effect my thought process. I though you were saying there wasn't enough room for a proper meal. As this is Alaska, I don't think we will be dining on the deck, though. Maybe :D. The dates we are looking at, all the Penthouses are booked.

As for Celebrity, they are adding suite dining rooms as of 4/15 to all their ships. It is a new addition, I am guessing because of all the suite guest trying to get into the Aqua Cabin restaurant.

As as for doing NCL again, I don't think we will sail that line again for a while given how much better the food was on Disney. DCL's main dining room was quite good, given how many people they were serving. And the specialty dining was amazing. Besides, after 10 NCL cruises it's time to start trying other lines.

Thanks again for all the feedback. You are all such a nice group.

I realized after coming back to the board to do a little more HAL research that I never told all you wonderfully helpful people that we did end up booking the Amsterdam for Alaska. We are very excited to experience this flagship ship as we love older sailing ships. All your great comments on the options I would have for food were helpful.

Thanks again.

Wishing you a wonderful Alaskan cruise on the Amsterdam.

Thanks for sharing with us you have made a booking.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise. :)

Amsterdam; Neptune Suite & Alaska = a beautiful vacation. Enjoy!!