Nieuw Amsterdam - Mini Review

THE SUITE (PHOTOS ATTACHED)

Our cabin (7080) was a little larger than most Signature Suites since it's located right were the ship juts back out from the center. The extra space extends the cabin quite a bit and might have been better suited for additional square footage on the balcony, but it's also a great spot to store empty luggage.

Bed was comfortable and AC/heat both worked well.

Hardly heard any hallway noise in the evenings, nor anyone in the cabins next door or above.

Cabin was always attended to quickly in the mornings and in the evenings for turn-down service.

THE FOOD

Pinnacle Grill and Tamarind are amazing, both in quality of food and service.

Main dining room and buffet also had great service, but the food was hit or miss (which is to be expected for mass production). Also to be expected: the buffet area can be a madhouse at times and finding a table for larger groups can be a challenge. The main dining room was just the opposite: most table around ours were empty on the two nights we ate there.

ENTERTAINMENT

Billboard Onboard was great fun, especially the request shows later in the evening. It was great to see everyone sing along and have a great time with the two performers.

Only caught the illusionist on the Mainstage and was surprised at how great his show was.

Didn't spend time at BB King, America's Test Kitchen, or Lincoln Center Stage, but did walk by during performances and all appeared to have standing-room only (Lincoln Center Stage sounded incredible, so sorry to have missed that performance).

GREENHOUSE SPA

Like any cruise, spa treatments on board aren't cheap, even when they offer special discounts. What's worse is the up-sell on products after every spa appointment. However, we did make great use of the "discounted" spa pass that allowed daily access into hydro-pool, saunas, and ceramic-heated loungers (for $149 per cabin with two passengers).

What else would you like to know? Happy to answer questions if you've got 'em.

Thanks for the mini review - love the photos!

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

... What's worse is the up-sell on products after every spa appointment.

Yes, sometimes the hard-sell for spa products can be very hard indeed.

Thanks for the review and the photos.

Thanks for your review.

Thank you for your review and the pictures of your cabin and bathroom.

Is smoking allowed in the casino or any other indoor public areas?

Thanks for posting your review.

Thank you for your review and sharing your photos.

Thanks for the mini review - love the photos!

tlc1972 Thank you for the wonderful review! My husband and I will be on this ship the first week in December and we will be staying in the opposite SY Suite 7079. :D Very interested in this stateroom. Do you have any other photos of it? All I see are two.

We'll be in a Signature on the NA in about 6 weeks. Hoping for a Neptune upsell though, as we LOVE Neptune suites.

May have been on same cruise. Embarkation in Vancouver--has to be my favorite big city--was easy. Stayed at the Pan Pacific for two nights. Luggage taken from our room to the ship's stateroom, a Neptune Suite. The crew are the stars! Always friendly, polite, and efficient. I thought the food in the main dining room was very good considering it is banquet food. Loved grazing in the Neptune lounge that had two great concierges. My favorite music was BB King's and the Lincoln Center musicians. Only on board for four nights. Getting off the ship in San Diego was easy, but we came to earth with a thud. Stood in taxi line with a porter who came to the USA from Mexico thirty years ago. He has a son who works in the Pentagon. Two women were ahead of us, the next taxi arrived. It was driven by a black man, at which point the two women shouted that they would not let a black man drive them because they did not trust him. I stood and cried as my husband said, "we will be glad to go with you." The porter put his hand on my shoulder, and the black taxi driver never said a word. I am still upset.:loudcry:

On 10/5/2018 at 6:24 AM, TomBeckCruise said:

Is smoking allowed in the casino or any other indoor public areas?

Thanks for posting your review.

No smoking in the casino or anywhere indoors. Just a section at the back of the ship off the Lido Buffet area.

On 10/7/2018 at 9:07 AM, Iamthesea said:

 

tlc1972 Thank you for the wonderful review! My husband and I will be on this ship the first week in December and we will be staying in the opposite SY Suite 7079. 😄 Very interested in this stateroom. Do you have any other photos of it? All I see are two.

Sorry for late response. Our friends stayed in 7079 - it's the mirror image of our suite, which you should love. Unfortunately, I do not have any photos of the suite you booked, but trust me: it's really a great suite to have.

On 10/7/2018 at 12:47 PM, Dunelm said:

May have been on same cruise. Embarkation in Vancouver--has to be my favorite big city--was easy. Stayed at the Pan Pacific for two nights. Luggage taken from our room to the ship's stateroom, a Neptune Suite. The crew are the stars! Always friendly, polite, and efficient. I thought the food in the main dining room was very good considering it is banquet food. Loved grazing in the Neptune lounge that had two great concierges. My favorite music was BB King's and the Lincoln Center musicians. Only on board for four nights. Getting off the ship in San Diego was easy, but we came to earth with a thud. Stood in taxi line with a porter who came to the USA from Mexico thirty years ago. He has a son who works in the Pentagon. Two women were ahead of us, the next taxi arrived. It was driven by a black man, at which point the two women shouted that they would not let a black man drive them because they did not trust him. I stood and cried as my husband said, "we will be glad to go with you." The porter put his hand on my shoulder, and the black taxi driver never said a word. I am still upset.:loudcry:

Truly unbelievable behavior towards the taxi driver. What's wrong with people?!?

I do agree with you that the four nights came to an abrupt end in San Diego, but both embarking and disembarking were extremely easy (as was getting through customs in Vancouver airport). 

Thanks for sharing the info. 

Thanks for your review and photos!

8 hours ago, tlc1972 said:

Sorry for late response. Our friends stayed in 7079 - it's the mirror image of our suite, which you should love. Unfortunately, I do not have any photos of the suite you booked, but trust me: it's really a great suite to have.

Thank you so much!,

How is the noise level on the balcony, especially at night?  Also, what are the vibration levels--if any-- from the ship engines?

48 minutes ago, Nellsmom58 said:

How is the noise level on the balcony, especially at night?  Also, what are the vibration levels--if any-- from the ship engines?

We didn't get much chance to actually use the balcony, as the weather wasn't the greatest (rain and strong winds). However, I don't recall ever hearing anything when we did step out from time to time or any noise coming from the balcony while in the room. 

I also don't recall feeling any vibrations from the ship's engines, even when pulling in and out of port.

20 minutes ago, tlc1972 said:

 

We didn't get much chance to actually use the balcony, as the weather wasn't the greatest (rain and strong winds). However, I don't recall ever hearing anything when we did step out from time to time or any noise coming from the balcony while in the room. 

 

I also don't recall feeling any vibrations from the ship's engines, even when pulling in and out of port.

Thank you!

On 10/4/2018 at 3:47 PM, Aruba said:

Yes, sometimes the hard-sell for spa products can be very hard indeed.

Thanks for the review and the photos.

I tell them I plan on tipping over the included gratuity- every product the try to sell me drops their tip by $5