Got Back Today from the Amsterdam--Review to Come!

The bags aren't even unpacked yet but I wanted to get on here and see how many smoking, crying babies, and jeans in the dining room threads I'd missed! :D

I'll try to get back in the next couple of days and post a more thorough review, but will start by saying this was a very interesting 12-day cruise, in more ways than one. Overall a good trip, but I definitely found some things lacking. So be on the lookout for my accounting of the good, the bad, and the downright perplexing things about sailing on HAL's flagship!

We will be waiting with bated breath to hear your review of your recent cruise on the m.s. Amsterdam

subscribing so I do not miss a word:)

Joanie

Welcome home. Looking forward to your report. As you might remember our friends Jos and Loes had to cancel due illness, so I can report to them what they might have missed.

Welcome Home.

Looking forward to your review.

I just returned from the Grand Asia/Australia cruise. Do not ever stay in cabin 3406. The air that is pumped from the vent is nothing but black, sticky, soot. During my 69 day cruise no one could fix the problem. I became very sick during this voyage.

Okay, here's the first installment of the review, just covering embarkation. We were the only ship in port in San Diego on December 2nd, and showed up around 1:00 PM to find not too many people or vehicles milling about. San Diego does seem to have an efficient set-up for cruise ship loading and unloading.

Our first problem came, unfortunately, with the first HAL employee we met. We went into the building and she directed us to a table with the forms to fill out stating whether or not anyone in the party has been sick. Our six year-old daughter was with us, and this HAL employee asked how old she was. We answered, and she then asked if she was home-schooled. We told her that no, she is in public school. The woman then asked if it was a school vacation period and we replied that no, we had taken her out of school but that she had a lot of homework from her teacher to complete during the voyage. This woman's demeanor changed from polite questioning to derision as she spat, "You are the kind of parents I hate, not letting the educational system do its job!" I can't believe I kept my cool, but honestly I was just stunned at her tone and her words. I told her that we had discussed the situation with our teacher and principal and they both agreed that as long as our daughter kept up with her work (this is only first grade, for crying out loud) that she'd definitely learn a lot on the cruise by seeing different places and cultures.

Anyway, we finished filling out the forms and the mean lady directed us to the check-in lines. I saw the sign for deluxe verandahs, penthouses, and four-star mariners and started heading in that direction, but she stepped in front of me and pointed toward the regular lines. "Check in is over THERE," she snarled. Again, I don't know how (or why) I kept my cool but I politely told her that we were in the penthouse suite so we were headed to the priority embarkation line. She looked at the sign then back at me and said that it was only for deluxe verandah suites. Now if you've ever done a HAL embarkation you've probably seen the sign I'm talking about. It lists the penthouse suites on top by cabin number, then a range of cabin numbers for the deluxe verandahs, then says 4-star mariners on the bottom. I told her it was also for the penthouses and she asked for our cabin number, which was 7002. She looked at the range of cabin numbers for the deluxe verandahs, didn't see 7002, and again told us we had to go to the regular line. She just wasn't looking at the top of the sign where the words "PENTHOUSE VERANDAH SUITE" or "CABINS 7001 AND 7002" were in big, bold letters.

Luckily at this point another HAL employee came over, because I think he saw things were clogging up a bit at the bottleneck point between the form-filling table and the entry to the check-in lines. I told him that we were in penthouse 7002 and that we were trying to get to our check-in area. He asked the other lady to get out of our way and ushered us right up to the front of the line.

From there, embarkation got better, at least for awhile. The other HAL employees we met were friendly, professional, and efficient. We got checked in quickly, including our Norweigian au pair, which was a relief because a couple of times we've had agents who aren't used to checking in non-Americans and who didn't know what paperwork to look for and/or fill out.

Anyway, our check-in agent walked us up the gangway only for us to be confronted by a lengthy line. The port operations folks were having trouble with the motorized gangway, as apparently it wasn't automatically correcting its height to match the ship's height as it varied with the tide. We waited with quite a few other folks in the increasingly hot gangway while a parade of technicians and managers walked over and scratched their heads.

Finally, without any complaining or prodding from us, the check-in agent asked us to stay put and she walked back down. She then came back to get us, asked us to follow her, and we boarded the ship via the crew gangway on the lower level. Again, this isn't anything we would have asked for, but it's the kind of unpublished special treatment HAL provides when you sail in the penthouse.

Unfortunately the next step backfired! Another special thing they like to do is to have one of the Neptune Lounge concierges or an officer in the hotel department meet the penthouse guests at the gangway to personally escort them to the Neptune Lounge. But we waited down in the A Deck lobby for over 30 minutes while the check-in agent repeatedly called up to see if anyone was coming to meet us. Finally she had enough, so the shoreside check-in agent walked us right up to the Neptune Lounge herself! As I expected, there was a long line of other suite guests keeping the concierge occupied with first-day requests for PG reservations, spa appointments, special requests, etc. The concierge apologized profusely, but we told her not to worry about it--we didn't need a special escort and were just happy to be aboard! Our room was ready, so we bade farewell to the check-in agent who treated us so well, and headed off to explore cabin 7002...

Good to read your comments. We were aboard the same cruise and though our four stars were clearly visible on our docs, were repeatedly told to use the main check in line unless we were deluxe suite guests or four star mariners.

When we pointed out the four stars she allowed us through. Must have been the same lady. We could only assume that we somehow did not fit the expected, stereotypical demographic of an HAL four star cruiser. Certainly your appearance and that of your family would have also confused her since you did not appear to have one foot in the grave.

This itinerary was new to us and we loved it -- especially since it was normally a ten day itinerary stretched to a relaxed twelve days.

Yes, you picked up on my Pinnacle Grill/infants thread alright! I usually don't complain but we were really surprised by the self involvement/rudeness of the family in question which, quite frankly, is not our normal HAL experience. (and for the record I was not so upset that I posted the thread before leaving the ship, as it might appear by the posting date of the thread -- I left the ship on the morning of the 12th and flew home from Cabo San Lucas due to a family emergency)

I will be watching for the rest of your review.

My DH really enjoyed watching the pleasure that your daughter got from the dolphins tour out of Topolobwmpo.

The bags aren't even unpacked yet but I wanted to get on here and see how many smoking, crying babies, and jeans in the dining room threads I'd missed! :D

 

I'll try to get back in the next couple of days and post a more thorough review, but will start by saying this was a very interesting 12-day cruise, in more ways than one. Overall a good trip, but I definitely found some things lacking. So be on the lookout for my accounting of the good, the bad, and the downright perplexing things about sailing on HAL's flagship!

Hopefully your report will come soon!

:)Thank you, Iceman, for sharing your Penthouse with us for the wine tasting! It was delightful getting to meet other CC'ers, and a pleasure to make your acquaintance. It was fun seeing the Penthouse, and disappointing returning to our own meager cabin!

I missed the thread on the screaming kids, but I believe I know which ones they are. I look forward to reading your posts!

Dynaglyde Dynashore and Dynamite

Jimmi Ann (Dynaglyde)

very interesting so far - we are on Amsterdam in June for 14day Alaska - I dont like the way your cruise has started!!

So let me continue this mini-review with a few words about the physical condition of the ship. In a word, we thought it was wonderful. I often remarked to myself that I couldn't believe the ship was about to go into dry dock, given how clean and well-maintained everything was. I can only guess that the dry dock is intended more for behind-the-scenes items, propulsion upgrades, or some such thing. The only two things I noticed that needed some attention were the deck chairs on the walk-around promenade, which did look like they needed replacing or a heavy coat of new varnish, and the teak deck up on the sports deck which was weathered and warping.

Our last two cruises had been on Vista class ships, so I was both eager and apprehensive to go back to a smaller ship. I came away feeling that I would gladly sail any class of HAL ship, as each has advantages and disadvantages. The layout of public areas on the Amsterdam felt very logical, and it was quite easy to walk from one end of the ship to the other. But we found that we did miss Vista touches like the Northern Lights, the waterside Pinnacle Grill, and the external glass elevators.

I will say that the Amsterdam's decor and furnishings were definitely worthy of her flagship designation. We thought the color scheme was subdued and classy, and the general "feel" of the ship was comfortable and sophisticated.

We had very smooth seas throughout our voyage, but the couple of nights the ship swayed a bit we did hear the usual creaking and snapping from the walls and ceiling. Our other cabin complants were minor, for instance the clock in our master bathroom was so LOUD when clicking the minutes that we had to close that bathroom door in order to sleep at night! There was also an occasional poop smell in the master toilet (no, not from our use! ;)) that was pretty nasty, but then it would go away. The last half of the cruise we also put up with weird gurling sounds coming from our toilets and drains--it actually sounded at times like water was pumping up from them, but it never actually did. Still, the sound itself was pretty disconcerting!

Some pleasant surprises were a new kind of latch on the closet doors and drawers that really closed them solidly, a penthouse sound system that functioned perfectly (believe it or not, that's a first!), balcony doors that both closed completely but were also smooth and easy to open, and well-labeled light switches that greatly helped us figure out quickly what switches controlled which lights.

Now if I only I could say the ship's staff also lived up to the Amsterdam's billing as a flagship, but that will have to wait for the next installment...

For the amt of $$ Im sure you put out for the Penthouse, so far you have a remarkable attitude about things! We only have a Deluxe Suite (we are eating rice and beans for a year to pay for this trip) and my expectations are fairly high on service and cabin conditions. Just reading what's happened to you so far, I would have blown a gasket! My hat's off to you.

Iceman93 - Thanks for opening up your cabin for the wine-tasting. We enjoyed meeting you and your family both at the wine-tasting and at the Pinnacle Grill.

While any day on a cruise ship is better than a day at work, we were very disappointed by our cabin's condition as well as the overall staff disarray. (By the way, friends were on the prior Grand Voyage which ended on December 2nd. We compared notes and they felt much the same about the upkeep of the ship.) Walking into our cabin, we were confronted by the overwhelming smell of stale smoke. It took far more effort than necessary on our part to get our cabin including the carpet and drapes thoroughly cleaned. The cabin furnishings were in bad shape - peeling and chipped furniture, broken closet, and rusting bathroom door frame. To make matters worse, we had problems receiving "mail" such as the invitation to the Mariners' luncheon. We requested an invitation 3 times but it never showed up. I could go on and on but needless to say service quality was low. This was partially due to what appeared to be understaffing and "fill-in" managers.

The other thing that we noticed compared to other cruises was the lack of activities on-board. The cruise director Jayme - professional and personable - admitted to us that he was understaffed by three people.

We travel a lot and have been on nearly 40 cruises. Friends and family often ask us for recommendations. Given our experience on the Amsterdam, we are going to be very cautious in recommending HAL.

You folks definitely have my attention. We are booked on 2012 Amsterdam World Cruise. The price is right, but I most certainly do not want to experience a staff shortage and associated poor response.

Comments reported by folks coming off the WC are particularly troubling since I believed HAL put its best foot forward for that itinerary

Your comments are appreciated.

Ralph

You folks definitely have my attention. We are booked on 2012 Amsterdam World Cruise. The price is right, but I most certainly do not want to experience a staff shortage and associated poor response.

Comments reported by folks coming off the WC are particularly troubling since I believed HAL put its best foot forward for that itinerary

Your comments are appreciated.

Ralph

After speaking "off the record" with individual managers on our cruise, we got the impression that the extended world and grand voyage cruises are fully staffed and that the on-board management for those cruises are all experienced individuals who left for vacation when the grand voyage ended on December 2nd and will be back in January.

So be on the lookout for my accounting of the good, the bad, and the downright perplexing things about sailing on HAL's flagship!

Just stick to the truth Iceman, and you'll be fine.

Looking forward to reading the rest of this review :D

Is there self-laundry on the Amsterdam? If so do you pay for laundry soap? THANKS

Is there any pattern to figure out when a HAL ship will be sailing with a large number of staff members (stewards, etc.) who are new to the ship? I take it that this sailing was both understaffed and the staffing was not up to par. Although I've been on 13 HAL cruises, I've never encountered more than a few new staff at any time. Certainly not a whole contingent. I know when I was sailing transatlantic last year on the Noordam, some experienced crew members were moving over to the Nieuw Amsterdam when she was launched, which makes sense, but I understand that it would be seasoned staff from many ships that would be moving over. Do staff contracts run out and kick in at specific times of the year, or does it vary? I've been very fortunate on every cruise, both long and lengthy with well seasoned crew members. Just curious.

Is there self-laundry on the Amsterdam? If so do you pay for laundry soap? THANKS

I was on last May. Wash was $2. in quarters (get from front desk), liquid soap included. Be sure to follow directions and only press the soap dispenser button once. I learned the 'hard way', pressed twice to get 'extra clean', only to not have all the suds rinsed out. Had to rewash to get out the suds. The dryer was free. Some folks hand washed items in their cabin and then used the ship dryers. There are also irons and boards to use in the laundry rooms.

Now if I only I could say the ship's staff also lived up to the Amsterdam's billing as a flagship, but that will have to wait for the next installment...

Sorry to hear that several other passengers also had problems with the service on the ship. (see my 12-17 post "Amesterdam Review-not whaat I expected) I thought it might be because we were down on the Dolphin deck, but if you had issues in the penthouse, sad. My wife reminds me that they gave us a bottle of wine to appologize for sending us to the Crows Nest in formal wear to renew our vows on the wrong night. Let's see, a $23.00 bottle of wine for which they charged us an $18.00 corkage fee. Wow, five whole dollars.

We have decided to cancel the 28 day cruise we booked while on board, guess we will just eat the deposit unless things improve a lot.

One of the best parts of the trip was the wine tasting in your stateroom, thanks so much for your hospitality.

You do not pay corkage fee on ship's wine only on wine you bring on board. Did you let the wine steward know that it was given to you?

You do not pay corkage fee on ship's wine only on wine you bring on board. Did you let the wine steward know that it was given to you?

Yes and he said "You bring it from your cabin, you pay corkage. The only wine exempt from corkage is that you order at the table or as a package from the ship."

Either things have changed (always possible), or you had an uninformed wine steward. I've never paid corkage for wine supplied by the ship (i.e. as a gift from shoreside folks (TA) or as a complimentary gift from HAL). I just give it to my cabin steward and it appears at my table. I did have to argue with the Front Desk about it once, but after I made it clear that the bottle was provided from the ship's stash, and was not brought aboard by me, there was no corkage.

Again, maybe things have changed. YMMV.