Photo Review of our Spring Break Aboard the Nieuw Statendam!

[Cruise Raider]

4 minutes ago, sailawaybellaluna said:

Thank you for reading along!

 

Supposedly our cabin was 228 sq ft, including the balcony. I think it's also important to note that the bathroom (particularly the nice shower), is a bit larger than most other cabins I've sailed in, so I think this accounts for a bit of that square footage! I don't mind a particularly small cabin, it was the layout (for 4 people) that was quite difficult for us.

 

That makes sense.  Travelling only as a couple, I try to look for cabins that don't sleep more than two because I don't like those extra beds hanging off the wall (I've caught my head on them once or twice) or even those that come down out of the ceiling (they can tend to squeak and creak).  

Thanks again for your review.  I really enjoyed it and it makes me want to go back to try HAL again after a long absence from sailing with them.  It's not that I didn't enjoy their product, I was just focused on obtaining status on a couple of other cruiselines.  Now that we've achieved that, I am looking for a little variety.  

 

[sailawaybellaluna]

I wanted to finish up my review with our last night in Fort Lauderdale.

 

After disembarking the ship (which was a very smooth process, BTW), we grabbed a large taxi to the Residence Inn Intracoastal / Il Lugano. What a GORGEOUS property! We were all absolutely thrilled with it!

 

Yes, it's about a $30 taxi ride / 20 - 25 minutes from the port, but it was exponentially nicer than our night at the Embassy Suites!

 

We had an enormous 1 - bedroom corner suite with balcony, dining room, and full kitchen. We had a lovely view of the intracoastal, and the room was less than $250. The service was excellent, as was the full breakfast included in the price...The beach is also just two blocks across the street

 

I will try and find some pics to upload!

 

 

[sailawaybellaluna]

On 5/9/2019 at 5:32 PM, 3kidsplayingball said:

I have enjoyed your review with so many details and pictures! I'm taking notes as we are looking forward to sailing with our (toddler) grandson next year!

You'll have a great time! Cruising with toddlers is so convenient, I love it! I do take our white noise sound machine to plug in to ensure a quieter atmosphere. And HAL provides Pack N'Plays, so I like to take my own sheet! 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Your night after the cruise at the at the Residence Inn sounds wonderful.

 

We have also stayed at the Embassy Suites Resort in Dearfield Beach  -- beautiful place.  Beach is right across the beach.  

 

Hope you find those pictures.

[lilybay]

I am wondering what sorts of outlets they have on the Nieuw Statendam. Are there USB's or only regular and how many and where? Thanks for any info. 

[*Miss G*]

13 hours ago, lilybay said:

I am wondering what sorts of outlets they have on the Nieuw Statendam. Are there USB's or only regular and how many and where? Thanks for any info. 

 

See this thread.

 

@sailawaybellaluna, thank you so much for another enjoyable thread.  Pictures and commentary were wonderful.

[anthonyy7]

Thanks for the review!  I board the NS in a few months, can't wait

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the review 

[podsnel]

Thank you so much for your review! We are sailing onboard NS Dec1st and it will be our first HAL cruise. I had actually booked the same cabin category- thank you for posting the pic, I was not expecting that much of an obstruction- I was able to switch to a standard verandah yesterday. REALLY appreciate your honesty, thank you!!! 🙂  PS- your kids are absolutely adorable- 

[shudie]

On 5/2/2019 at 9:50 AM, sailawaybellaluna said:

Thanks everyone for reading along up to this point...

 

After dinner we decided to stroll around the Promenade deck and enjoy the sunset. It was a gorgeous evening!

 

 

After strolling around, we decided to head back to the cabin and get the kids down so they could start getting on a relatively good schedule with the time change. The next morning we would be docking in Grand Turk and I was super anxious to get off early and snag chairs (for free!).

 

Here's a look at our cabin after the steward turned it down for us. Cozy. 🙂

 

 

Next up: Grand Turk!

 

Hello, great review and pics!

 

What type of cabin is this please? We are in a VB next year with 2 x kids, will be 9 and 10 x

[jm485]

Thank you so much for this wonderful review.  I thought I was excited to be boarding the NS in 11 days ... but now I'm positively delirious!  Your review is so even-handed, too -- it was really a pleasure to read and your photos are stunning.

 

Living in NJ, I can tell you that those beach "tents" have become quite controversial.  A number of towns now allow them only at the back of the beach, so that they don't block water access.  Stepping around a blanket shaded by an umbrella is one thing, but on some beaches, the tents were being set up in a way that pretty much required you to walk right through someone's "campsite" to reach the water.  Crazy!

 

 

[sailawaybellaluna]

On 6/26/2019 at 1:43 AM, shudie said:

 

Hello, great review and pics!

 

What type of cabin is this please? We are in a VB next year with 2 x kids, will be 9 and 10 x

Thanks for reading along. Sorry for the delayed response - we were on our summer vacation and I'm just now back to checking CruiseCritic.

 

We were in a VH category cabin (Obstructed Balcony), #4052. It was very tight for our family of 4, and our kids are 3 and 9.

[sailawaybellaluna]

On 6/26/2019 at 8:59 AM, jm485 said:

Thank you so much for this wonderful review.  I thought I was excited to be boarding the NS in 11 days ... but now I'm positively delirious!  Your review is so even-handed, too -- it was really a pleasure to read and your photos are stunning.

 

Living in NJ, I can tell you that those beach "tents" have become quite controversial.  A number of towns now allow them only at the back of the beach, so that they don't block water access.  Stepping around a blanket shaded by an umbrella is one thing, but on some beaches, the tents were being set up in a way that pretty much required you to walk right through someone's "campsite" to reach the water.  Crazy!

 

 

Thank you for reading along! I've been off CruiseCritic for a few weeks so I'm just seeing your post now. I assume you've finished your sailing on the NS? I hope you had a fantastic time!

[canadianbear]

On 5/16/2019 at 7:19 AM, sailawaybellaluna said:

I wanted to finish up my review with our last night in Fort Lauderdale.

 

After disembarking the ship (which was a very smooth process, BTW), we grabbed a large taxi to the Residence Inn Intracoastal / Il Lugano. What a GORGEOUS property! We were all absolutely thrilled with it!

 

Yes, it's about a $30 taxi ride / 20 - 25 minutes from the port, but it was exponentially nicer than our night at the Embassy Suites!

 

We had an enormous 1 - bedroom corner suite with balcony, dining room, and full kitchen. We had a lovely view of the intracoastal, and the room was less than $250. The service was excellent, as was the full breakfast included in the price...The beach is also just two blocks across the street

 

I will try and find some pics to upload!

 

 

 

I silently was following along and really enjoyed your travels.  We started traveling with our kids when they were 7 1/2 months old but never on a cruise, sadly.  They are in their early 30’s now and luckily in 2008 we all had our first cruise on HAL and all have continued enjoying cruising.  

 

Did you happen to find your photos yet of the Residence Inn?  I’m always looking to try different hotels when in Ft Lauderdale.  Lately we’ve been addicted to the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas -great hotel & location by the way! 

[sailawaybellaluna]

8 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

 

I silently was following along and really enjoyed your travels.  We started traveling with our kids when they were 7 1/2 months old but never on a cruise, sadly.  They are in their early 30’s now and luckily in 2008 we all had our first cruise on HAL and all have continued enjoying cruising.  

 

Did you happen to find your photos yet of the Residence Inn?  I’m always looking to try different hotels when in Ft Lauderdale.  Lately we’ve been addicted to the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas -great hotel & location by the way! 

Thanks for reading along! I'm so happy you were all able to start cruising together back in 2008!

 

I'm afraid I still can't locate the interior photos, but here is a photo from our balcony and the view we had at the Residence Inn! The rooms were enormous and immaculate!

[scotslizzy]

What a great review and as we are sailing on NS in Sept  it just brings it that much closer !

 

Scotslizzy

[canadianbear]

Wow, that’s quite the view from the hotel!  I’ll definitely check it out next time we cruise from Ft Lauderdale.   Thanks! 

[quilty964]

Thanks for your great review!  We were on our first cruise in June - the Westerdam to Alaska for 13 days - was great!  We usually go to Cozumel for a winter vacation, but are thinking about a cruise in February.  This trip sounds wonderful!!  

 

[rwams]

Thank you for your review we will be boarding in May next year for a trip to the Baltic.  Looking forward to it.