Amsterdam 12/20/17 Panama Canal Holiday Adventure

We flew into San Diego the day before the Amsterdam sailed for the 15 day Panama Canal Holiday Cruise. Based on feedback from other members on this board we stayed at the Best Western. It was an excellent location and allowed us to walk right up to the ship. Such a wonderful experience. We were also able to walk over to the USS Midway and took that tour. That was an excellent choice as we both enjoyed the ship.

Embarkation onto the ship was interesting. Two HAL ships were in port,the Amsterdam and the Oosterdam. Both ships shared the same baggage drop off area and security screening lines. It was up to passengers to verify that your checked bags went to the correct ship. We arrived fairly early, around 10:30, and the staff in charge didn’t seem to know what to do with the people. They let us know that security was not yet ready to start screening so we needed to take a seat. A few minutes later we were being told to line up for screening by section in the prescreening area. Again the two ships were using the same security lines so this did slow things down a bit but wasn’t too horrible for us. From reports from other passengers the lines became very long and very slow. We were on board by 11:30 and unpacked our carry on bags before lunch in the MDR. Our checked bag came long after we set sail. I actually was beginning to think that our bag made its way to the Oosterdam so I was a bit concerned. Later it did finally arrive. The bag was marked for alcohol with a letter inside saying that they went through the bag. Since this was a “priority” bag I felt as though they could have called me much earlier and the bottle of mouthwash that was seen as alcohol could have been cleared.

The ship appeared to be in good shape and I never got the feeling that she needed to be in dry dock anytime soon, except of course for the cabin upgrades. We took advantage of a last minute upsell offer to a Neptune and landed in cabin 7019. Pictures have been shared. I will say that you could hear movement form the lido deck at all hours although never loud enough to wake us up. We did miss the USB ports by the bed but I was prepared and charging devices was never a problem, except when DH unplugged my devices to charge his own. Our cabin stewards were very attentive and always asking if there was anything that we needed.

The ship was decorated for the Christmas holiday. It was much more subdued than what we expected. We have been on the Nieuw Amsterdam as they started to decorate for Christmas and that set our expectations. I guess the budget cuts were made evident once again. There were decorations to be sure but a few trees here and there, along with some garland. The also they had the atrium decorated with gingerbread houses and a railroad running around. This made for a perfect lighting of the Christmas tree ceremony. The served hot chocolate and cookies. There was singing and snow did fall in the atrium. HAL got this one right.

A few things were a bit unusual on this cruise. The first of which was that the shops did not open until 11 am the day after we sailed. They wanted to have a grand opening and that really did miss the mark. The shops did not have much that would appeal to men for souvenirs and no ships ceramic mug. The second thing was the Captains toast. It was just the cruise director and the Captain. There were no other officers present and no popping of the extra large champagne bottle. As a side note the captain did seem to be out of element when speaking in public. A third thing that seemed odd was that there was no reception for 4 & 5*/Neptune Suite where you had a chance to meet some of the officers.

Christmas Eve on the ship was a nice experience. They had a late show, 11 pm, with the singers and dancers as well as some of the crew. The crew totally stole the show. Their singing and enthusiasm was evident. They were sharing a part of themselves and their culture. It truly was a magical moment. They also had a late night buffet that went until 1 am and it was packed. The next day Santa came on board to give gifts to the kids, all 88 of them. This too was well done. The video of Santa working out, gambling, getting drinks and a spa treatment was very funny.

The biggest complaint that I do have for this cruise is HAL excursions. The first port was Cabo San Lucas, a tender port. We were instructed to meet in the Queens Lounge (auditorium) on the starboard side. As people entered they were give their tour sticker and instructed to wait until their excursion was called so that they could go ashore on the same tender(s). This worked well. Future excursions the same set of instructions applied except that they gave you stickers after your group was called. This caused congestion. At one point the HAL excursion rep said that if we didn’t clear the aisles they would stop calling excursions as they were concerned for passenger safety. I was surprised that they blamed passengers for a situation they created. Why they didn’t have us go off ship to find our excursion is mind boggling. If this is to be the new future of HAL excursions I’ll pass. The other “excursion” item they messed up is the clam shell rental.Now the HAL policy is to take your ticket to a water ports office to get another piece of paper to claim your clam shell. Talk about making something that was simple and worked mad messing it up!.. I did notice a lot of clam shells went unsold. I booked mine before the last price increase. I did let HAL know that if this procedure and pricing were permanent I would no longer book a clam shell. For what it’s worth we booked 6 excursions and only one was worth the time and money.

In our opinion the entertainment on the ship was terrible. The singers and dancers were not untalented but the songs and dances were under par, even for HAL. To add insult we saw most of the shows before and they were done better! The only bright spot we found was the comedian, George Casey.

The food on the ship was typical for HAL. Most of our meals were in the lido as we skip the MDR. We did book Canaletto and Pinnacle Grill and they were good. Although I will probably only book them once a cruise in the future.

Going through the Panama Canal is something that is amazing to watch. We did a partial transit on the Zuiderdam and that was fun. This full transit was fun as well and the weather mostly cooperated with us. It was cloudy and that helped keep the temperatures down. It also rained a bit but not enough to ruin anything. That night we each received a certificate documenting that we did the full transit. I thought it looked nice and would be suitable for framing if one were so inclined.

For anyone who says that HAL ships are too quiet after 10 pm have not sailed on New Years Eve. They opened the Queens Lounge at 11 pm for a countdown party. They provided hats, noise makers, paper string to toss along with champagne. It was packed and again there was a late night buffet that went until 1 am! After we welcomed in the New Year we went to the Crows Nest to see what might be going on. The person playing the music (really can’t call him a DJ) was taking requests for the first time on the cruise mainly since there were so many officers present. If he would have used a playlist from an Ipod or other device the “mixes” would have been superior. Fortunately the the drinks flowed and we chatted with a group of people until 3 am. I haven’t stayed up until midnight, let alone 3 am, for years. The only challenge was that they scheduled cleaning of our balcony at 9 am on New Years Day!

We did have a stop at Half Moon Cay. The captain came on the speaker early to let us know that they stop would be cut short by an hour thanks to the coming storm. It took them an hour to get the first tender away. By the time the last tender came back it was a wonder that no crew got hurt. The seas were tossing so badly that it took about an hour before everything was put back onto the ship. I took a short video of the waves crashing over the rocks where the tenders dock. The seas that night were very rough and at times we both thought that we would be tossed out of bed! Hindsight being 20/20 they probably should have cancelled the stop at HMC in favor of heading towards Port Everglades. I can’t help but wonder how much stress would have been alleviated had the Amsterdam gone to port a day early giving passengers a chance to get home before the airports got shut down and people got stuck in airports. I’m not sure if it would have been possible but would be curious to know.

The last night of the cruise, HMC Day, we did receive an 8 x 11 heavy paper that had all of the Cruise Log information detailed. I thought that this was nice and hope that HAL has listened to complaints from other cruisers.

In the end it comes down to would I do a holiday cruise again. Yes I would but the itinerary would need to warrant the risk of inclement weather and the price would need to be really good as well. Will I book with HAL again, of course I will but I am now more open to exploring other options when selecting our adventures. In future bookings I will stay away from Neptune upgrades unless it is a location I want, like corner aft cabin. The lounge itself isn’t worth the extra price tag in my opinion.