Just back from Nieuw Statendam

[albingirl]

We had a great time.  We were supposed to continue on for 2 weeks on the Rotterdam, but my husband got sick with a non-covid illness.  Thank goodness for insurance.  In summary, food in the main dining room was excellent, as well as the service.  We had a mid ship balcony which worked out well.  Good cabin stewards except I miss the twice daily turndown, mostly because of the wet towels left on the floor all night.  We took a drink package and thought that Jonathan and Paul and Rochelle in the Panorama bar were excellent.  Ship probably had 1550 passengers, due to alot of casino deals.  Sadly, we are not casino players to get the great deals we kept hearing about.  Loved the Dutch Cafe and the staff there was once again, excellent.  Olivia at the front desk in the MDR was wonderful and able to accomodate our request for a table for 2.  The shows were great, and we particularly liked the BB King shows.  Ate in the Tamarind and loved it and liked the Canaletto, as well.  As far as the ports went, we love the beaches.  Barbados, St. Lucia, and St Kitts found us on gorgeous beaches.  Half Moon Key was great, too.  St. Kitts was our only ship excursion; the rest of the time we took shuttles.  My only complaint about the ship was how many times I had to stand in line at guest services to straighten out erroneous charges on our account.  Also, the door slammers were out in full force on this ship.  Otherwise, it was a wonderful trip and I was sorry my husband needed medical attention.  He will be fine and we look forward to a healthier future with hopefully more traveling.  

[0106]

First,I hope your husband is on his way to recovery.  
 

Did you try to use the Navigator app to get your issues resolved.    I had an excellent response time using it on theZuiderdam in February.  Just wondering if it differs from ship to ship.

[albingirl]

1 minute ago, 0106 said:

First,I hope your husband is on his way to recovery.  
 

Did you try to use the Navigator app to get your issues resolved.    I had an excellent response time using it on theZuiderdam in February.  Just wondering if it differs from ship to ship.

 

1 minute ago, 0106 said:

First,I hope your husband is on his way to recovery.  
 

Did you try to use the Navigator app to get your issues resolved.    I had an excellent response time using it on theZuiderdam in February.  Just wondering if it differs from ship to ship.

Thank you.  Did not use the app to resolve the issues but I think it would have been complicated.  I have no idea. I used the app to check the charges, though. 

[doone]

Thanks for the review of the Nieuw Statendam, my sister was on this ship in February and had a great time as well.

 

I also hope your husband is on the mend and you can book another cruise soon..........

 

 

[albingirl]

4 minutes ago, doone said:

Thanks for the review of the Nieuw Statendam, my sister was on this ship in February and had a great time as well.

 

I also hope your husband is on the mend and you can book another cruise soon..........

 

 

Thank you.

[CruiserBruce]

25 minutes ago, albingirl said:

 

Thank you.  Did not use the app to resolve the issues but I think it would have been complicated.  I have no idea. I used the app to check the charges, though. 

The communication via on the app couldn't have been better on our KDAM cruise earlier this month.

[albingirl]

1 minute ago, CruiserBruce said:

The communication via on the app couldn't have been better on our KDAM cruise earlier this month.

Well, then, I may have missed the boat on that one.

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

The communication via on the app couldn't have been better on our KDAM cruise earlier this month.

Bruce can you also manage your table selections for the MDR from the app or will I still need to go the the MDR on embarkation .  Thank you

[CruiserBruce]

15 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Bruce can you also manage your table selections for the MDR from the app or will I still need to go the the MDR on embarkation .  Thank you

We didn't try on the app. In the past, the Neptune Lounge staff could arrange that for us. The concierges seemed to have lost the ability to do more than a request,  but we were very happy with the table we were assigned. Having 700 on board one cruise and 900 the next probably made it easier.

 

We are on a 18 day cruise in July. We are considering the early request process for seating for that cruise. Need to do some research on that. Have you done that in the past? How?

 

The other interesting note...they changed the table numbers in the MDR at our turnaround day!

[Mary229]

7 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

We didn't try on the app. In the past, the Neptune Lounge staff could arrange that for us. The concierges seemed to have lost the ability to do more than a request,  but we were very happy with the able we were assigned. Having 700 on board one cruise and 900 the next probably made it easier.

 

We are on a 18 day cruise in July. We are considering the early request process for seating for that cruise. Need to do some research on that. Have you done that in the past? How?

 

The other interesting note...they changed the table numbers in the MDR at our turnaround day!

When I have chosen fixed dining, table for two , I was always immediately assigned.  This time it simply says: early confirmed, request table for 2.   I assume I need to go to the MDR and confirm my table for 2.  I have seen the lines and I really don’t like wasting my first day standing in line.  When we do anytime dining we may call for a single nights reservation or simply show up for the open dining room
 

We are not Neptune so that may be a totally different experience.

 

I really like the ease of apps for mundane tasks, I guess it is a work in progress 

[johnlcruise]

2 hours ago, 0106 said:

irst,I hope your husband is on his way to recovery.  
 

Did you try to use the Navigator app to get your issues resolved.    I had an excellent response time using it on theZuiderdam in February.  Just wondering if it differs from ship to ship.

I love that app. Used it on the Koningstam and Statendam this past year. Anytime I have an issue I would use the app. And usually by the next day they would contact me, taking care of the issues. I also used it to complement outstanding crew members. By the next day these people had been recognized and I knew this because every time I did the supervisor of that dept. would reach out to me.

To make a long story shorter. I used the app. to ask why about something about the Chiefs Tabel that we will be going to later that week.  Next night when we were at dinner in one of the specialties restaurants. The Food and Beverage Director came to our table, thanking us for the suggestion and his team thought it was a good idea. 

[Mary229]

@albingirl  I hope you are now safely home and your husband is on his way to recovery.  Thank you for your report 

[Florida_gal_50]

Sorry to hear your husband got sick but glad he’s feeling better.  It’s not good to hear about all the erroneous charges.  They must be sharing the koningsdam Commodore 64 computer.  I’ve have 4 major credit cards that I use a lot.  American Express sees most of my charges.  I’ve had it for at least 20 years.  I have an average of about $2 k per month go on there.  Not once have a had an erroneous charge.  I think it’s safe to say they have millions and millions of customers.  Why can’t hal keep its accounting clean?  My other credit cards have had very few incorrect charges.

[Florida_gal_50]

34 minutes ago, johnlcruise said:

I love that app. Used it on the Koningstam and Statendam this past year. Anytime I have an issue I would use the app. And usually by the next day they would contact me, taking care of the issues. I also used it to complement outstanding crew members. By the next day these people had been recognized and I knew this because every time I did the supervisor of that dept. would reach out to me.

To make a long story shorter. I used the app. to ask why about something about the Chiefs Tabel that we will be going to later that week.  Next night when we were at dinner in one of the specialties restaurants. The Food and Beverage Director came to our table, thanking us for the suggestion and his team thought it was a good idea. 

Last time I was on the koningsdam in November I heard crickets when using the nav app.  Used it again this month with much better results, especially when complimenting various crew.  I was super impressed with the laundry.  I can’t eat without getting something on me even if I feel like I’ve covered up every spot.  I dropped some tomato based sauce on a yellow cotton jacket.  Sent it to the laundry noting it on the form.  I was shocked that they were able to get it out.  I sent the comments thru the nav app and I got a call thanking me and telling me how nice it was to say that about the laundry.  

[albingirl]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Sorry to hear your husband got sick but glad he’s feeling better.  It’s not good to hear about all the erroneous charges.  They must be sharing the koningsdam Commodore 64 computer.  I’ve have 4 major credit cards that I use a lot.  American Express sees most of my charges.  I’ve had it for at least 20 years.  I have an average of about $2 k per month go on there.  Not once have a had an erroneous charge.  I think it’s safe to say they have millions and millions of customers.  Why can’t hal keep its accounting clean?  My other credit cards have had very few incorrect charges.

true, I have never had so many incorrect charges.

[albingirl]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Last time I was on the koningsdam in November I heard crickets when using the nav app.  Used it again this month with much better results, especially when complimenting various crew.  I was super impressed with the laundry.  I can’t eat without getting something on me even if I feel like I’ve covered up every spot.  I dropped some tomato based sauce on a yellow cotton jacket.  Sent it to the laundry noting it on the form.  I was shocked that they were able to get it out.  I sent the comments thru the nav app and I got a call thanking me and telling me how nice it was to say that about the laundry.  

Yes, love the laundry.  I spill everything on my clothes and am very sloppy....must be talking and laughing out loud. 

[albingirl]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

@albingirl  I hope you are now safely home and your husband is on his way to recovery.  Thank you for your report 

Thank you. Very kind.

[albingirl]

Also, forgot to add about masks.  I wore my mask at all times and was very taken aback at how many decided not to.  Two days before we disembarked, there were covid cases onboard, and the Captain asked us all to wear masks.  Didnt help that some people always had to comment beforehand about my mask wearing and refusal to go into crowded elevators with unmasked people.  Ok,  I get it...masks may not prevent covid, but we did not come home with covid.  Thankfully.

 

[Florida_gal_50]

13 minutes ago, albingirl said:

true, I have never had so many incorrect charges.

It was terrible on the koningsdam this month.  I literally had $100’s of extra dollars charged to my account.  There is no excuse for that. Just sloppy.  They should reverse these charges to their personal account.  That would bring a quick end to it I bet.

[Florida_gal_50]

8 minutes ago, albingirl said:

Also, forgot to add about masks.  I wore my mask at all times and was very taken aback at how many decided not to.  Two days before we disembarked, there were covid cases onboard, and the Captain asked us all to wear masks.  Didnt help that some people always had to comment beforehand about my mask wearing and refusal to go into crowded elevators with unmasked people.  Ok,  I get it...masks may not prevent covid, but we did not come home with covid.  Thankfully.

 

I’m a mask wearer too.  I limit my exposure to people as much as possible.  Touch wood but so far I have not had covid 🤞and neither has anyone in my immediate family.  I know tons of people outside that that have had covid.