Live from the Nieuw Statendam

[DrKoob]

Good morning fellow HAL cruisers! We are onboard the Nieuw Statendam currently parked in Grand Turk. Thought I would tell you all how things are going: 

 

Sunday,  we sailed on Holland America's (HAL) Nieuw Statendam from Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Florida. After two really great nights in our FLL AirBnB we got to board in the first group. We had heard that HAL was being really being a stickler about boarding times due to the pandemic and we were no exception. Our time said noon and at 11:15 I dropped Kathleen (my bride), Steve and Jamie (my brother and SIL) off at the port and took our rental car back to the airport. A quick cab ride back and we were ready to board right on time.

 

Our home for the next 10 days

Check-in took less than 15 minutes and would have been faster if you took out all the COVID stuff. As soon as we got on board our rooms were available so we went to drop off our carry on luggage and to unpack those. Originally we had a verandah stateroom on deck six. About two weeks before the cruise we got an e-mail asking if we wanted to upgrade to a Neptune Suite. Neptune Suites are the second highest level of suites on the ship and the cost to upgrade was amazingly reasonable so we grabbed it. The suite is AMAZING! More than 350 square feet (which is big for a cruise ship stateroom, with a monster bathroom and a huge living space.

 

You always hear folks say, "I don't need big room or a verandah because I am never it in." This is true until you get a stateroom/suite like this. Then you are in it because you have everything you need. And on this cruise (and others for awhile) this is the only place we can walk around without our masks on. And because it's just awesome!

 

Some facts about this particular cruise. First, due to COVID there are fewer than 750 cruisers on board. This is on a ship built to hold 3,214 passengers when at full capacity so to say that things feel empty is an understatement. I will say that there are some events (the Blues Club we were in last night) that can get crowded but we are doing our best to stay in our little pod of four.

 

We were supposed to have six ports of call on this cruise but that got tossed out the window yesterday when we could not land at Half Moon Cay, (HAL's private island). This was NOT due to COVID but to high winds. Half Moon Cay is a tender port and the winds and seas were just too high to put those in the water safely, so we skipped that port. I will give the activity staff high marks because they quickly adjusted and found lots of things for people to do. BTW: If you are a trivia buff, this cruise is for you. I think there is trivia scheduled about every three hours along with lots of other activities.

 

Still have five ports scheduled and as I type this we are tied up at the pier in Grand Turk. We (the four of us) are going off around noon to do a HAL shore excursion. We got two free with our cruise and this is one of those. Grand Turk will allow us to get off and just wander around.

 

Tomorrow we are in Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, then a sea day, then we hit Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba in that order, on successive days. Then it's two sea days and we are back in Fort Lauderdale. So far, everything is going great. More on the ship, the activities and the food in my next post.

 

Feel free to ask any questions you might want to know about. And if you are interested in seeing my pics you will need to go to my blog. I can’t link it here (due to CC restrictions) but I can tell you that if you Google Jim Bellomo it should be the first thing that pops up.

[mocruzer]

Wishing you a safe cruise and look forward to the updates.

[Himself]

Thank you for the report on the Nieuw Statendam. She is a wonderful ship.

[canadianbear]

Thanks for posting and taking us along!  Happy for you that you got the upsell to a Neptune suite.  Enjoy the perks.  
 

Your hotel in Key West sounded horrible considering their price you’d think it would be much better.  
 

Too bad you missed HMC but hope you get to the rest of the ports.  We love the ABC Islands. 
 

Enjoyed looking at your photos on the blog.  Thanks!  Have fun with your friends and cheers to a great cruise.  

[Nickelpenny]

I am right next to you on Ms Rotterdam!!!  😀

[DaveOKC]

We also were on the NS (last month) in a Neptune suite and REALLY loved it.  Nicest Neptune we have been in on all the HAL ships and especially like the bathroom (huge shower and nice size tub).

[dchip]

Thanks for the Live thread also the “link” to your blog. Wonderful photos!! I have the site bookmarked. Enjoy every minute of your cruise. 
 

[nooligans]

Thank you for this thread! We are also on the NS and are enjoying it as much as you.
 

We were on the Rotterdam last week and saw much better mask compliance there. We visit the NS guest services every day asking for better enforcement of the mask policy, but so far it’s not any better. The irony is that the Rotterdam crew are allowed off the ship, but not the NS crew- you’d think the staff and officers would be eager to get Covid under control!

[iflyrc5]

Thanks so much for taking us along on your cruise.  We are boarding on Feb 2 and plan to be on for 6 weeks.  If you get an opportunity please ask the number of guests they plan on having for the next cruise.   I do have a couple other questions if you don't mind.  What is the "early" fixed dining time and is there one or two shows on the World Stage each night and what are the times?

 

Looking forward to your reporting as we will be doing these same ports twice over our 6 weeks - we can't wait to join the ship!

[mocruzer]

35 minutes ago, nooligans said:

We were on the Rotterdam last week and saw much better mask compliance there. We visit the NS guest services every day asking for better enforcement of the mask policy, but so far it’s not any better. The irony is that the Rotterdam crew are allowed off the ship, but not the NS crew- you’d think the staff and officers would be eager to get Covid under control!

Has HAL provided masks and if so, what kind?  

[AKJonesy]

2 hours ago, DrKoob said:

 

I just read several very lengthy threads on other HAL cruises with people talking about the testing and then those turned away at the pier and those tested positive on board and had to move to the covid wing.  For those who tested positive at the pier at least they didn't have to find out onboard and then get moved to quarantine, IMHO.  We are trying to gather as much intel as possible to make the best decision for us on whether to book soon or to wait things out a bit.

 

Can you comment:

1. Was there pre board testing at the pier

2. Was there mandatory on board testing

 

Thanks and enjoy your cruise.  

[smlnd]

I was really hoping that someone would do a LIVE thread on the current NS cruise.  Thank you for starting it and I look forward to your posts.  We board Feb. 13th with the same schedule of ports (in reverse order).  If you don't mind, would you be willing to say how much the upsell to the Neptune Suite was?  We are already in a Vista Suite and we felt like the upsell to Neptune they offered us was too high (and our travel agent agreed).  Enjoy your large cabin and bathroom (with tub).  Have a wonderful cruise!

[gdy0354]

If you happen to go thru the casino, could you please ask what the Black Jack table minimum $ bet is.

Thx

[jbecker6469]

16 minutes ago, gdy0354 said:

If you happen to go thru the casino, could you please ask what the Black Jack table minimum $ bet is.

Thx

$6.00

 

[ottahand7]

Thanks you for the terrific photos of a NeptuneS.  We are booked in one for our 2/13 cruise.  The bathroom is lovely and it will make up for the cramped looking balcony compared to other NS we have had.  We like to dine on the balcony.     Thank you for the headcount on the ship.   I am hoping it will be low when we are onboard just to be able stay spaced out.   We are looking forward to the pics of the rest of the ship and food.   

[rkacruiser]

7 hours ago, nooligans said:

Thank you for this thread! We are also on the NS and are enjoying it as much as you.
 

We were on the Rotterdam last week and saw much better mask compliance there. We visit the NS guest services every day asking for better enforcement of the mask policy, but so far it’s not any better. The irony is that the Rotterdam crew are allowed off the ship, but not the NS crew- you’d think the staff and officers would be eager to get Covid under control!

 

This post concerns me.  There have been many, many posts on this Message Board about the inconsistency of the cruise experience on the ships of Holland America Line.  Has such inconsistency of the management expectations of "usual cruise experiences" now extending into the procedures to mitigate Covid issues for guests and crew currently sailing?  

[CruiserBruce]

42 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

This post concerns me.  There have been many, many posts on this Message Board about the inconsistency of the cruise experience on the ships of Holland America Line.  Has such inconsistency of the management expectations of "usual cruise experiences" now extending into the procedures to mitigate Covid issues for guests and crew currently sailing?  

Its probably more about those for whom the rules don't apply, and the lack of desire of the employees to be put in the enforcement role. I see it every day, and in most places.

[rkacruiser]

1 minute ago, CruiserBruce said:

Its probably more about those for whom the rules don't apply, and the lack of desire of the employees to be put in the enforcement role. I see it every day, and in most places.

 

I hope you are correct.  But, it's the ship's management that determines if those guests who choose to be of those who think the rules don't apply to them to correct their thinking.  

[idiebabe]

3 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I hope you are correct.  But, it's the ship's management that determines if those guests who choose to be of those who think the rules don't apply to them to correct their thinking.  

I haven’t seen a problem on my Cruises with those acting entitled in not wanting to wear their Mask.  What I did see at times was  someone getting up from their table in Lido to get something and forgetting to Mask up (guilty myself once or twice but not by intent) or someone getting up to go get the Trivia paper/pencil in Billboard. In the Main Stage a few slipped it down when the lights went dim.   I did see Crew remind people.  We had 1923 passengers on our Rotterdam Cruise and almost 1600 on NS.   They have 750 Onboard now.   This is why I asked how lax have they become that this is a big problem with only 750 passengers Onboard!  

[Cyberhwk]

5 hours ago, jbecker6469 said:

$6.00

 

 

Yeah, I heard about this.  So instead of 3-to-2 they start charging 6-to-5.  But now even that isn't bad enough for casinos, now they try to pay you even less than 6-to-5 on a <$10 bet.  YUCK! 🤮  This cruise is effectively nearly free for me as part of their Players Club, but to be honest I'm really not sure how much I'll be playing.  I'll have to scout more when I get on.

[Alabaster Cruiser]

On the same cruise.  Guest services told us 847 passengers on this sailing.  Have seen no problems with mask compliance.  We don't go to many of the "shows" though so I have no idea how it is there.  Casino people are being very compliant.

[DaveOKC]

On our NS Dec. cruise most people followed the mask rules, but some were dumb about it.  One guy came INTO church service wearing a mask, but once there, in a crowded room, he took it off!  Put it back on when leaving the service.  What kind of sense does that make - perhaps he thought no one would see him in there???

 

[DrKoob]

Second report:

Many of you may not know that we are long-time cruisers with more than 30+ cruises in our past. And of those, 20+ have been on Celebrity Cruise line ships. While we have sailed on Holland America before (this is our fifth time), I thought their ships were "fine." Like in, "that place is just fine." We always liked Celebrity ships better. Until two things happened. First, Celebrity put all their money into the new Edge class of ship and stocked it full of their "revolutionary" infinite verandah staterooms. (To be honest, this is just an outside stateroom with a window that opens and closes...and not always at your discretion). They also made it so that a great deal of the people on the ship had certain areas they could not get into. For instance, the only forward looking spot (to see what's in front of the ship) on an Edge class vessel if you are not in a suite is...the gym. That's just wrong. Sailing into Stockholm or through the Panama Canal I can't even imagine not being able to take pics from around the entire ship.

 

As I said in the headline, I may now have a new favorite "big" ship. I put those quotes around it because to be honest, this ship is not that big. In October 2019 we sailed on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas which is TWICE as big as the Nieuw Statendam. But let's talk about why I am loving this ship. BTW: Celebrity Flora in the Galapagos will always be our favorite small ship.

 

First, the design is better than any I have seen on a HAL ship before. Everything is  just beautiful, without a hint of gaudy. The crew and the service have been amazing. Easily an equal to any Celebrity cruise we have taken before. Of course that may be because of our reduced passenger load but as of now, just about every waiter/server/manager/etc. that I have come in contact with more than once...knows my name. Seriously.

 

(BTW: Correction needed. We had been told that there were only 750 or so passengers on board but we found out that there were actually 900. 750 of us departed Fort Lauderdale on Sunday while the other 150 or so were already on board from a previous cruise.)

 

I have loved all the public rooms we have been in and since I showed you our stateroom yesterday, you can see my pics of the rest of the ship by going to my blog. Due to CC rules, I cannot link it directly but if you Google my name (Jim Bellomo) it should be the first link you get.

 

Yesterday we were in Grand Turk where I took some pictures that were so good they really surprised me. I did not think there would be anything that great to shoot in Grand Turk—but there was! And today we spent most of the day in the company of our buddy Seth and some of his Sail With Seth group touring Amber Cove and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. More about that and our visit to Grand Turk tomorrow, because thankfully—we have a SEA DAY and I can get some more photos processed and some more writing done.

[DrKoob]

On 1/25/2022 at 11:16 AM, Nickelpenny said:

I am right next to you on Ms Rotterdam!!!  😀

Hey, you are still there today...lean out and wave! 😜

[DrKoob]

On 1/25/2022 at 11:35 AM, nooligans said:

Thank you for this thread! We are also on the NS and are enjoying it as much as you.
 

We were on the Rotterdam last week and saw much better mask compliance there. We visit the NS guest services every day asking for better enforcement of the mask policy, but so far it’s not any better. The irony is that the Rotterdam crew are allowed off the ship, but not the NS crew- you’d think the staff and officers would be eager to get Covid under control!

We haven't really experienced the lack of mask enforcement but then we are being VERY careful. We won't get on an elevator if anyone one is on it (that's my bride--I never do elevators on cruise ships--keeps my slender figure in check 😜). We won't sit at a table next to anyone else. But to be honest I have only seen one person not actively eating or drinking without a mask on. We have had some really loud people talking over entertainment and shore excursion guides. One night in BB Kings with the music going strong, all we could hear was the guy yelling at his friends two tables away. Crazy.