Review Dec 6th Nieuw Amsterdam Published

[cbr663]

My review of our Dec 6th sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam has been published: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=520563&et_cid=2531924&et_rid=17490080&et_referrer=Popup_Main.

 

Some highlights of the cruise:

 

- We really enjoyed the speciality restaurants. Tamarind still reigns as our favourite and now Canaletto has taken the second spot from the PG,

 

- The Lido Marketplace is a great improvement in service,

 

- The Dive In and Pizza are great improvements over previous venues,

 

- The Signature Shops have been improved since we last sailed on the NA. Tommy Bahama shop is a new addition,

 

- Tours were available of the Bridge, Engine Control Room and Crew Areas,

 

- There was little insistence on using hand sanitizer throughout the ship,

 

- We found the ship to be in top shape and spotless,

 

- Our cabin steward kept our cabin in fine condition and always serviced upon our return.

[ksqueak]

Thanks for posting this. I'm looking forward to my first cruise on the NA this fall.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

I took time to read your published review.

Although we have yet to have dinner in the Lido, I can't believe the few choices that were offered.

Glad you had a great cruise.

[Dashwood100]

My review of our Dec 6th sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam has been published: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=520563&et_cid=2531924&et_rid=17490080&et_referrer=Popup_Main.

 

- great improvement in service

 

- great improvements

 

- improved

 

- We found the ship to be in top shape and spotless,

 

- Our cabin steward kept our cabin in fine condition and always serviced upon our return.

 

Those kinds of words are music to my ears; we are on a B2B in March, Thank you.

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[cruz chic]

Thx for taking time to do your review. I enjoyed reading it. I've had them go over room service orders on some ship and not others. I don't think that's new.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Those kinds of words are music to my ears; we are on a B2B in March, Thank you.

 

I also thank the OP for the very positive report, as I'm on a B2B in February. ;)

[Cruiser 4 Life 66]

Thanks for your review. I'll be on the ship in less than a month. :D

[John Cruise]

I just did 3 weeks on NA and agree with every comment.

My only dislike were the ship production shows.

This is my favorite ship on HAL.

[CruiseRQA]

Glad to hear some positive HAL vibes. We are sailing on the NA in January and will update everyone on our return

[MusicalBear]

Thanks for the review as we will be sailing on her in Jan. into Feb. Looking forward to trying all of the specialty restaurants.

[Riversedge]

We will be sailing on this ship for the first time in March so greatly appreciate your review. Not surprised about the entertainment....we've come to expect less than stellar entertainment on HAL. We are taking friends who have never sailed on HAL so good to know that your experience was mostly positive.

[Cruizer Bill]

Thanks so much for your review, we appreciate the feedback.

 

You mentioned that on the second night the singers and dancers performed and that quite a few people left after 10 minutes. My wife and I have to leave early when the singers perform if the volume is too loud and they are screaming into the microphones. I wish they would tone it down and actually perform music the audience identifies with.

[cbr663]

Yes, others throughout the ship did comment to us about the volume of the shows being way too high. We also found the volume too loud and we think that the biggest drawback was that someone just had the performers singing the wrong songs. In one of the shows "Hero" by Mariah Carey was sung. You just knew as soon as the singer started that it was going to go off the rails, and it did.

 

Tony Pace was very entertaining. He had us laughing and arms waving and just all around enjoying the evening.

[Buckett]

Thanks for your review! Bf and I will be on the NA next month and are really looking forward to it. I booked Tamarind a while back, upon the recommendation of my TA. She said she loves it and to be sure to book early to make sure you get in. :D

[dakrewser]

Interesting. I found the NA's cast to be the best we've ever seen on HAL, while I walked on on Tony Pace after 10 minutes.

 

à chacun son goût !

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your review.

 

I read your highlights.

Happy you had a good cruise.

 

[retiredkid]

very much enjoyed reading your published review. Thanks so much for sharing. We are on the NA for the first time in April. Really looking forward to it. Especially now. :)

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

Keith

[jtl513]

- The Lido Marketplace is a great improvement in service,

Please explain or describe how the "marketplace" differs from the way the Lido has been before on the Vista and Signature ships with separate stations. Thanks Edited December 18, 2015 by jtl513

[RuthC]

Please explain or describe how the "marketplace" differs from the way the Lido has been before on the Vista and Signature ships with separate stations. Thanks

I know you didn't direct the question to me, but I would like to answer anyway.

I found no difference between the "Marketplace" and the "stations" concepts---other than the fact that under "Marketplace" there are no made-to-order sandwiches.

 

I did find service under this concept very good, but that had nothing to do with the change in verbiage.

[CarolRoy]

Thanks so much for your review, we appreciate the feedback.

 

You mentioned that on the second night the singers and dancers performed and that quite a few people left after 10 minutes. My wife and I have to leave early when the singers perform if the volume is too loud and they are screaming into the microphones. I wish they would tone it down and actually perform music the audience identifies with.

 

We also were on the same cruise. We also left after 10 minutes into the show. We did the HAL survey online and told them about the way too, too loud shows. We also left after 10 minutes during the crew's cultural show. It was not interesting for us to spend our time in the show room.

[cbr663]

Many CC posters have noted that the shows are much too loud. It leaves me wondering why the powers that be just will not turn the volume down a notch? It must be a simple thing to do, isn't it?

[RuthC]

It leaves me wondering why the powers that be just will not turn the volume down a notch? It must be a simple thing to do, isn't it?

One would think so.

 

I find that the overly loud approach is consistent throughout the entertainment venues, including the overhead music throughout the ship. I conclude that "too loud" is a deliberate decision that is unlikely to change until there's a significant drop in liquor sales in the venues with the loud music.

[wntgoislnds]

I couldn't agree with you more Ruth. The loud music throughout the ship really put us off. Such a simple fix but obviously no one is listening to our complaints.