Nieu Amsterdam pros and cons

[PatLuv]

Good morning. Well,since our much anticipated cruise and land trip to Alaska was cancelled for this month,we had booked a cruise for August next year on the Ryndam.Then Covid 19 happened.  I thought better of it,and discussed it with hub,and we decided flying may not be a good idea yet next year. So I rebooked our trip for a 2 week east west Caribbean on the Nieu Amsterdam with the Have it all perks,and got a Signature Suite on 6th floor midship. We're doing this for our anniversary in January. I've been reading about all the possible new things that may be taking place,and we'll be fine with it..We already live in Florida,and will enjoy all the nice weather.

[dobiemom]

Pro - Tamarind! 😋

[Krazy Kruizers]

We love the Tamarind Restaurant on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

[fatcat04]

Our last two cruises were on NA (and the one cancelled in March due to Covid was too) and we just love the ship. Can't wait to get back to her. Great size, full promenade, she has a Tamarind which is our favorite, lovely decor. Deck 6 and a SS is a great choice too, our favorite cabin category on the Vista/Signature ships. Have a wonderful 2 weeks!!

[Roz]

I can't think of any cons, only pros.

[Aquahound]

My very first HAL cruise was a Signature Suite on Nieuw Amsterdam, and we loved it!  There are many pros.

 

We cruised her sister ship, Eurodam, this past summer and if I were to list one con, it would be the lack of a cocktail lounge with softer music where you can actually talk to others.  The only soft music is Lincoln Center Stage, but that's more like a performance, so no talking.  

 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Aquahound

[Himself]

I love the Nieuw Amsterdam.  Has a definite New York Theme to it.  I am biased toward Signature Class ships.  There are only two of them__The Nieuw Amsterdam and the Eurodam.  Both have the Sild Den Bar and the Tamarind.

[DFD1]

Nice ship. Great promenade deck. We've sailed her twice and look forward to doing so again.

[DFD1]

2 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

My very first HAL cruise was a Signature Suite on Nieuw Amsterdam, and we loved it!  There are many pros.

 

We cruised her sister ship, Eurodam, this past summer and if I were to list one con, it would be the lack of a cocktail lounge with softer music where you can actually talk to others.  The only soft music is Lincoln Center Stage, but that's more like a performance, so no talking.  

 

 

 

Sadly, the loss of good, listenable music seems to be system wide. That's a big minus for HAL in my book.

[Crew News]

Pros:  Tamarind and NY Pizza

 

Cons:  No indoor pool Taco Bar for afternoon nachos

[mamaofami]

I was on a short cruise on New Amsterdam and loved the ship. No cons.

[molemaui]

I agree . Tamarind was outstanding. Ate there twice in. 7 days. 

 

N Y Pizza disappointing. Aft deck location where the smokers are. Combine that with prevailing winds, it is a most unpleasant wait for your pizza. 

 

Otherwise, nice ship

[MISTER 67]

No cons, along with the Eurodam our favorite HAL ships.

[DFD1]

2 hours ago, molemaui said:

I agree . Tamarind was outstanding. Ate there twice in. 7 days. 

 

N Y Pizza disappointing. Aft deck location where the smokers are. Combine that with prevailing winds, it is a most unpleasant wait for your pizza. 

 

Otherwise, nice ship

 

I agree. The pizza bar is ordinary at best.  Nice having it on the aft deck, but the product could be much improved.

[PatLuv]

Thank you for all the great feedback. We've never tried Tamarind and have a good amount of obc this time,so we're going to give it a try.

[billbunger]

3 hours ago, molemaui said:

 

 

N Y Pizza disappointing. Aft deck location where the smokers are. Combine that with prevailing winds, it is a most unpleasant wait for your pizza. 

 

Otherwise, nice ship

Not trying to start a smoking thread here but:

 

Hmmmmmmmmmm, we did a B2B2B cruise on the Niew Amsterdam and had lots of NY Pizza and Dive-in burgers sitting at tables on the aft Lido deck port side. NY Pizza is on the port side of the deck and the smokers section is on the starboard side of the deck. We are not understanding how you could smell smoke from all the way across the deck especially when the ship is at sea and clipping along at 15 - 18 knots. In fact when we have been on the port side Lido deck on any HAL ship we have never smelled smoke coming from the starboard side smoking area.

[PSR]

4 hours ago, Crew News said:

Pros:  Tamarind and NY Pizza

 

Cons:  No indoor pool Taco Bar for afternoon nachos

 

So there's no Taco Bar at all? Even at the Lido?

[molemaui]

3 hours ago, billbunger said:

Not trying to start a smoking thread here but:

 

Hmmmmmmmmmm, we did a B2B2B cruise on the Niew Amsterdam and had lots of NY Pizza and Dive-in burgers sitting at tables on the aft Lido deck port side. NY Pizza is on the port side of the deck and the smokers section is on the starboard side of the deck. We are not understanding how you could smell smoke from all the way across the deck especially when the ship is at sea and clipping along at 15 - 18 knots. In fact when we have been on the port side Lido deck on any HAL ship we have never smelled smoke coming from the starboard side smoking area.

 

First I'm so happy you didn't smell any smoke. I'm not an anti smoking guy -just pointing my experiences. Next time I'll be sure to note weather, wind speed/direction and number of smokers so perhaps my observation will have more validity in your eyes. 

[SumoCitrus]

I can only think of two cons and the pros vastly outweigh them:

 

1. No gelato

2. Smaller casino (I often found the blackjack table full)

 

But the ship is my favorite overall. 

[Crew News]

3 hours ago, PSR said:

 

So there's no Taco Bar at all? Even at the Lido?

 

On my seven Nieuw Amsterdam cruises, there were limited Mexican items (no chopped onions, olives, diced tomatoes, melted cheese, etc) as part of the Lido Market Pasta Station but only the chips are "serve yourself" with the toppings assembled by the servers.

 

 

[PSR]

3 hours ago, Crew News said:

On my seven Nieuw Amsterdam cruises, there were limited Mexican items (no chopped onions, olives, diced tomatoes, melted cheese, etc) as part of the Lido Market Pasta Station but only the chips are "serve yourself" with the toppings assembled by the servers.

 

Thanks for the info. We really like the taco bar, but having servers do it might be better under the current situation. We saw some interesting self-serve techniques on the pool deck on our last cruise: putting something back, touching the serving part of the utensil, etc.🙄. Good thing we had already gotten our portions.... 

[shank63]

The smaller ships are more comfortable for us, the crowds and lines in the Lido were stressful.  However, the happy hour bars were not overrun.  Overall, mostly pros, view cons.

[Aquahound]

15 hours ago, billbunger said:

Not trying to start a smoking thread here but:

 

Hmmmmmmmmmm, we did a B2B2B cruise on the Niew Amsterdam and had lots of NY Pizza and Dive-in burgers sitting at tables on the aft Lido deck port side. NY Pizza is on the port side of the deck and the smokers section is on the starboard side of the deck. We are not understanding how you could smell smoke from all the way across the deck especially when the ship is at sea and clipping along at 15 - 18 knots. In fact when we have been on the port side Lido deck on any HAL ship we have never smelled smoke coming from the starboard side smoking area.

 

Considering the pizza stand is connected to the Sea View Bar, which is in the center of the deck, not starboard side like on Vista Class, I think it's a far fetch to say "all the way across the deck."  

[billbunger]

54 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

Considering the pizza stand is connected to the Sea View Bar, which is in the center of the deck, not starboard side like on Vista Class, I think it's a far fetch to say "all the way across the deck."  

Yes the bar is in the center on the Nieuw Amsterdam and NY Pizza is on the port side of the bar right by the Lido port side automatic door, it truly is on the other side of the deck AKA “all the way across the deck” from the smokers section.

[Cruzaholic41]

2 hours ago, billbunger said:

Yes the bar is in the center on the Nieuw Amsterdam and NY Pizza is on the port side of the bar right by the Lido port side automatic door, it truly is on the other side of the deck AKA “all the way across the deck” from the smokers section.

 
I think you’re missing the point. Sea View bar allows smoking and it is more mid ship than starboard.