First HAL Cruise-Underwhelmed by Nieuw Amsterdam

[iancal]

It is unclear to my why open seating dining would be such a challenge to HAL. We have had open seating numerous times on Princess, Celebrity, and NCL. It does not really require any new fangled gadgets other than the usual reservation seating plan.

 

Any cruise that we have been on where there was an issue with open seating was, in our opinion, completely down to disorganization and poor management. Having said that, 90 percent of our open seating dining arrangements have been perfect. On the last two cruises we had a standing reservation for 6:45. We had the same window table and the same team every night.

 

I have no doubt that open seating dining on HAL ships is well done and comparable to all other lines. Sounds like you just got a less than perfect dining room team.

[Lady Chew]

It is unclear to my why open seating dining would be such a challenge to HAL. We have had open seating numerous times on Princess, Celebrity, and NCL. It does not really require any new fangled gadgets other than the usual reservation seating plan.

 

Any cruise that we have been on where there was an issue with open seating was, in our opinion, completely down to disorganization and poor management. Having said that, 90 percent of our open seating dining arrangements have been perfect. On the last two cruises we had a standing reservation for 6:45. We had the same window table and the same team every night.

 

I have no doubt that open seating dining on HAL ships is well done and comparable to all other lines. Sounds like you just got a less than perfect dining room team.

 

We have had open seating on the Statendam, Prinsendam & Noordam, all within the past 18 mos. or so ... all the problems mentioned by the OP & others were very much present. Don't know exactly why it's such a problem for them, but it certainly seems to be fleetwide.

[Hawaiidan]

Looking at your past experiences, and your age of earily 30's, that the Holland America was not the fit you thought. More staid and set up to meet the needs of passengers who like to entertain themselves rather than be entertianed.. Beig bored after 11 pm !! wow... Holland is not a party ship with fellow passengers who like that. Too the med is so port intensive, most folks like to hit the rack before 10 !!... 9 being better for rest for the next port.

 

For me the qualities you found to bothering are the ones I found attractive ! I would thus not enjoy eihter mega-ships or round the clock parties and am greatful for no pool parties etc... just calm.

 

Stick to what you love.. and pick carefuly. all ships and all lines offer differing products for specific tastes:rolleyes:

[fatcat04]

Honest, balanced, and detailed review. Thank you. No flames from me and I can appreciate your honest criticisms as I have had some of the same even as a HAL cruiser.

[Petronillus]

I'm coming late to the discussion, but I don't find anything you said to be surprising or flame-worthy. I'll just chip in my own 2c based on 12+ years of HAL cruising:

 

It's sometimes hard to tell which is the cause and which is the effect, but HAL 1) is very "traditional" in the way it does things, and 2) appeals to an older crowd.

 

Many of the HAL oddities are better appreciated in the context of a company whose "DNA" stretches back to the days when even steamships had masts, and whose Golden Age was before the jet era. Despite now being part of a colossal leisure-cruising conglomerate struggling mightily to stay on or ahead of the curve in serving the needs of modern tourists, a lot of HAL's ways and means are still deeply rooted in a time when ocean travel was a necessary means of transportation, and not an idle pass-time.

 

It's always been my perception that newfangled shenanigans like open-seat dining, cruise directors, and music that requires electric instruments just don't fit well into HAL's worldview, and that they offer such things only because some stuffed suit at Carnival HQ has basically demanded that they do, on pain of keel-hauling. On the other hand, the things HAL does best are the things they've been doing well since passenger ships burned coal and were called ocean liners.

 

A HAL cruise isn't a "cruise" in the holistic sense of a unitary vacation experience; rather, it's a connected series of short ocean voyages to specified port cities. Even though it's a short hop from (say) Barcelona to Tunis or Lauderdale to San Juan, they go about it with the same mindset they had when they were still on the Amsterdam-New York run.

 

Personally, I love all those little anachronisms - they're what keep me coming back. I enjoy that feeling of slipping back in time a tiny bit, to an era when ships were ships; "out to sea" meant completely disconnected from the world; entertainment was self-guided; and dinner was a social event, not merely an opportunity to eat.

 

I'm also keenly aware that I'm probably the dinosaur in the room. ;)

 

How well thought out and how beautifully put!

[localady]

I'm coming late to the discussion, but I don't find anything you said to be surprising or flame-worthy. I'll just chip in my own 2c based on 12+ years of HAL cruising:

 

It's sometimes hard to tell which is the cause and which is the effect, but HAL 1) is very "traditional" in the way it does things, and 2) appeals to an older crowd.

 

Many of the HAL oddities are better appreciated in the context of a company whose "DNA" stretches back to the days when even steamships had masts, and whose Golden Age was before the jet era. Despite now being part of a colossal leisure-cruising conglomerate struggling mightily to stay on or ahead of the curve in serving the needs of modern tourists, a lot of HAL's ways and means are still deeply rooted in a time when ocean travel was a necessary means of transportation, and not an idle pass-time.

 

It's always been my perception that newfangled shenanigans like open-seat dining, cruise directors, and music that requires electric instruments just don't fit well into HAL's worldview, and that they offer such things only because some stuffed suit at Carnival HQ has basically demanded that they do, on pain of keel-hauling. On the other hand, the things HAL does best are the things they've been doing well since passenger ships burned coal and were called ocean liners.

 

A HAL cruise isn't a "cruise" in the holistic sense of a unitary vacation experience; rather, it's a connected series of short ocean voyages to specified port cities. Even though it's a short hop from (say) Barcelona to Tunis or Lauderdale to San Juan, they go about it with the same mindset they had when they were still on the Amsterdam-New York run.

 

Personally, I love all those little anachronisms - they're what keep me coming back. I enjoy that feeling of slipping back in time a tiny bit, to an era when ships were ships; "out to sea" meant completely disconnected from the world; entertainment was self-guided; and dinner was a social event, not merely an opportunity to eat.

 

I'm also keenly aware that I'm probably the dinosaur in the room. ;)

 

I think you will find you are among Dinosaurs here!

 

You were able to put into words something that has always kept me coming back to HAL but I'd not really recognized. Thank you for having the insight and ability to express that which I have always intuitively felt upon boarding. It allows me to actually relax and enjoy my vacation.

[kazu]

We have had open seating on the Statendam, Prinsendam & Noordam, all within the past 18 mos. or so ... all the problems mentioned by the OP & others were very much present. Don't know exactly why it's such a problem for them, but it certainly seems to be fleetwide.

 

don't feel bad Laura - the other cruise lines don't have it as well done as some would like to think. My retired TA friend has sailed a number of lines and done open seating - she won't do NCL again (and she was a huge fan) - will never RCCL again and did both at open seating. So I am guessing it is an issue a lot of time on a lot of cruises.:D there's a couple of others - she doesn't have many left to try and has always said when she does HAL she does fixed dining as they do it right:D (Just reporting - I wasn't there;))

[cruz chic]

I've been on the NA and even though I experienced some of what you had as problems, I didn't see them as a big deal. I just came off a Celebrity Millennium cruise today. It was a 5 day cruise and it wasn't cheap. If that wasn't my worst cruise I'm pretty sure it's close to it. I'll be happy to set foot on the NA again in Nov. Pretty sure I'll never cruise Celebrity again.

[Aquahound]

don't feel bad Laura - the other cruise lines don't have it as well done as some would like to think. My retired TA friend has sailed a number of lines and done open seating - she won't do NCL again (and she was a huge fan) - will never RCCL again and did both at open seating. So I am guessing it is an issue a lot of time on a lot of cruises.:D there's a couple of others - she doesn't have many left to try and has always said when she does HAL she does fixed dining as they do it right:D (Just reporting - I wasn't there;))

 

I have to disagree based on my own personal experience. Perhaps I have just been lucky, and that may very well be the case. But the whole reason I noticed the service to be so bad on this cruise was because it has been so good on my other cruises. Yes, there have been hiccups on other cruises, but the problem was consistent on NA, which is something I have never experienced before. For example, on my Summit cruise, we had bad service one night, but we avoided that particular server the rest of the cruise and had excellent service. Unfortunately, the same level of poor service was Open Seating wide in the MDR on NA.

 

But remember this also.....my beef isn't with HAL. It's with The NA. This was my one and only HAL cruise and I know better than to judge a whole line on one cruise on one ship. :)

 

We have had open seating on the Statendam, Prinsendam & Noordam, all within the past 18 mos. or so ... all the problems mentioned by the OP & others were very much present. Don't know exactly why it's such a problem for them, but it certainly seems to be fleetwide.

 

Oh, no. That's not what I wanted to hear. I was hoping it was just limited to NA, not a HAL problem.

[RuthC]

Welcome home, Loren.

I just came off a Celebrity Millennium cruise today. It was a 5 day cruise and it wasn't cheap. If that wasn't my worst cruise I'm pretty sure it's close to it. .... Pretty sure I'll never cruise Celebrity again.

When you have the time, and if you have the inclination, I would be interested in hearing more.

[sammiedawg]

I've been on the NA and even though I experienced some of what you had as problems, I didn't see them as a big deal. I just came off a Celebrity Millennium cruise today. It was a 5 day cruise and it wasn't cheap. If that wasn't my worst cruise I'm pretty sure it's close to it. I'll be happy to set foot on the NA again in Nov. Pretty sure I'll never cruise Celebrity again.

 

I agreed with the OP's observations on dining room service, anytime dining, based on our Veendam South America sailing in March. However, Holland America will still be our preferred line, Princess second. Overall they still have a good product at a reasonable price. Lack of followup with crushed pepper and lobster shell removal is not a deal breaker for me.

Holland America has probably cut staff to balance the costs of doing business. Fuel prices are at all time highs, the economy is weak and there are lots of cruise cabins on the market. My guess is other mass market cruise lines have done the same thing.

I agree with the pasted comment about Celebrity, one sailing 7 or 8 years ago, enough issues and problems to turn me off completely.

[cruz chic]

I agreed with the OP's observations on dining room service, anytime dining, based on our Veendam South America sailing in March. However, Holland America will still be our preferred line, Princess second. Overall they still have a good product at a reasonable price. Lack of followup with crushed pepper and lobster shell removal is not a deal breaker for me.

Holland America has probably cut staff to balance the costs of doing business. Fuel prices are at all time highs, the economy is weak and there are lots of cruise cabins on the market. My guess is other mass market cruise lines have done the same thing.

I agree with the pasted comment about Celebrity, one sailing 7 or 8 years ago, enough issues and problems to turn me off completely.

I've come home with a whole new love for HAL with all it's worts:D;). It really is a good fit for me. I find Princess to be pretty solid as well.

[cruz chic]

Welcome home, Loren.

 

When you have the time, and if you have the inclination, I would be interested in hearing more.

Thanks. Ruth I'll email you with what I wrote to Cow Princess. It's just a quick summary but there were plenty of sore points.

[erewhon]

Aquahound,

Great review and photos.

Thank you.

[Sherry H]

While Aquahound wrote a great review.......and..........I don't doubt anything he said.......I would like to share our experience.

 

We have sailed 41 days this past year on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We had "anytime dining" and not only had good food but WONDERFUL service!

 

So........for those of you with an up and coming cruise on the Nieuw Amesterdam..........take heart! Hopefully your experience will be as good as ours. Not trying to be a "cheerleader" here......just stating the facts as they were for us.

[GeriatricNurse]

I've been on the NA and even though I experienced some of what you had as problems, I didn't see them as a big deal. I just came off a Celebrity Millennium cruise today. It was a 5 day cruise and it wasn't cheap. If that wasn't my worst cruise I'm pretty sure it's close to it. I'll be happy to set foot on the NA again in Nov. Pretty sure I'll never cruise Celebrity again.

 

 

What happened? :confused:

[kazu]

I've been on the NA and even though I experienced some of what you had as problems, I didn't see them as a big deal. I just came off a Celebrity Millennium cruise today. It was a 5 day cruise and it wasn't cheap. If that wasn't my worst cruise I'm pretty sure it's close to it. I'll be happy to set foot on the NA again in Nov. Pretty sure I'll never cruise Celebrity again.

 

what a shame - sorry to hear you didn't have a good cruise - I would be interested to hear more too if you are willing to share. Curious if it compares to my experience on Celebrity;)

[COLLEYBERRY]

Hi Aquahound - Completely off topic but I just had to let you know that I remember you from that fantastic thread you started looking for the owner of a camera you found. I followed it here and on the scuba board as well. It was so much fun to read all the replies as people narrowed down the possible owner. Really gave me a warm fuzzy feeling about humanity as everyone was trying so hard to help you find the owner. I must admit I was a little disappointed when it ended...it was better than any mystery novel I've ever read. :) That turtle video went viral and I remember seeing Jay Leno feature it on his show. Good times!

 

Anyway, sorry your cruise on the NA wasn't a homerun but I hope it was at least a triple. :D

 

 

I am going off topic for a bit as well.:)

 

Thanks so much Diane...did a little investigating of my own researching this remarkable story.....it seems we have a hero in our midst folks :)

 

Kudos to you Paul, truly outstanding... what an extraordinary tale !! If the turtle only knew.:D

 

Because I so love a happy ending ....have you and the owners of the camera met face to face.?? I read a meeting was to take place.

 

Again well done !

Regards Colleen

[LindaM]

I've been on the NA and even though I experienced some of what you had as problems, I didn't see them as a big deal. I just came off a Celebrity Millennium cruise today. It was a 5 day cruise and it wasn't cheap. If that wasn't my worst cruise I'm pretty sure it's close to it. I'll be happy to set foot on the NA again in Nov. Pretty sure I'll never cruise Celebrity again.

 

We were not impressed with Celebrity, either. I am wondering if they are putting their focus on their newer class of ships, treating Millennium/Constellation/Summit like the poor cousins. We had never been on a ship with such poor dining selections. The only thing that saved dinner was the charming waiter!

[Aquahound]

I am going off topic for a bit as well.:)

 

Thanks so much Diane...did a little investigating of my own researching this remarkable story.....it seems we have a hero in our midst folks :)

 

Kudos to you Paul, truly outstanding... what an extraordinary tale !! If the turtle only knew.:D

 

Because I so love a happy ending ....have you and the owners of the camera met face to face.?? I read a meeting was to take place.

 

Again well done !

Regards Colleen

 

Well, thank you very much. Yes, we did meet. He and his family happened to have a cruise booked out of Miami, so they traveled up to the States early and made a day trip down to Key West. It turned out, they too were Cruise Critic members.

 

If you haven't seen the video yet, search Sea Turtle Finds Lost Camera on YouTube. You'll see the actual video from the camera and the NBC news story of my interview. :)

[COLLEYBERRY]

Well, thank you very much. Yes, we did meet. He and his family happened to have a cruise booked out of Miami, so they traveled up to the States early and made a day trip down to Key West. It turned out, they too were Cruise Critic members.

 

If you haven't seen the video yet, search Sea Turtle Finds Lost Camera on YouTube. You'll see the actual video from the camera and the NBC news story of my interview. :)

 

 

You are welcome.:) I did see the the video(delightful) and NBC interview during my research...plus some worldwide articles. You handled yourself very well on camera( better than the turtle LOL) .....a fun story with a great outcome. Thanks for providing the final chapter.:)

 

Colleen.

[cruz chic]

what a shame - sorry to hear you didn't have a good cruise - I would be interested to hear more too if you are willing to share. Curious if it compares to my experience on Celebrity;)

I've just emailed you with the email you have listed here.

[cruz chic]

We were not impressed with Celebrity, either. I am wondering if they are putting their focus on their newer class of ships, treating Millennium/Constellation/Summit like the poor cousins. We had never been on a ship with such poor dining selections. The only thing that saved dinner was the charming waiter!

Good to hear others had the same experience. I talked to others on the cruise including newbies that would have no other experience. I didn't find anyone that was happy about the experience. I'm sorry that Celebrity has no interest in providing a good cruise. They do some things well, but most not.

 

OP, I'm sorry for the thread drift.

[kazu]

I've just emailed you with the email you have listed here.

 

Thanks Lorene:)

[Aquahound]

Good to hear others had the same experience. I talked to others on the cruise including newbies that would have no other experience. I didn't find anyone that was happy about the experience. I'm sorry that Celebrity has no interest in providing a good cruise. They do some things well, but most not.

 

OP, I'm sorry for the thread drift.

 

That's ok, because other than the mention of Celebrity, your words perfectly describe the Nieuw Amsterdam. ;)