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Recently off the Nieuw Amsterdam - A quick review with my views!

sayvan

By sayvan,
in Holland America Line

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2Long2NxtCrz

2Long2NxtCrz

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Thank you so much for the review. We've never cruised on HAL, but I booked the Nieuw Amsterdam for Alaska for hubby's 60th next August. So your review made me feel better.

 

I do have a couple of questions, if you don't mind?

1) Anytime dining. Can you make reservations in advance? I prefer to go at the same time, if possible, so that we can get to know the MDR staff, but I don't like how early or how late the fixed times are.

2) Signature Beverage Package. Is it true that coffees, juices, and water count against the 15 drink limit? I'm used to Royal and Celebrity, and just got off a Princess cruise and 15 "drinks" is pretty easy to hit in a day for me, mostly because I start with a couple of double macchiatos and have at least 4, maybe 5 sparkling waters every day and then at least three bottled waters. And that's before a single drop of alcohol.

 

Thanks!

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sayvan

sayvan

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1 hour ago, oakridger said:

Thanks very much for your detailed review @sayvan!

 

One small correction though.  The picture in post #47 captioned as "Ocean Bar" is actually looking down on the Atrium....you can see the line for guest services at the back of the picture.

 

~Nancy

You are correct.  I had that one in the wrong folder.  That one was taken looking down from outside the pinnacle bar.  Good eye! 
 

1 hour ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

Thank you so much for the review. We've never cruised on HAL, but I booked the Nieuw Amsterdam for Alaska for hubby's 60th next August. So your review made me feel better.

 

I do have a couple of questions, if you don't mind?

1) Anytime dining. Can you make reservations in advance? I prefer to go at the same time, if possible, so that we can get to know the MDR staff, but I don't like how early or how late the fixed times are.

2) Signature Beverage Package. Is it true that coffees, juices, and water count against the 15 drink limit? I'm used to Royal and Celebrity, and just got off a Princess cruise and 15 "drinks" is pretty easy to hit in a day for me, mostly because I start with a couple of double macchiatos and have at least 4, maybe 5 sparkling waters every day and then at least three bottled waters. And that's before a single drop of alcohol.

 

Thanks!

1. Reservations could be made on the app or the tv in the room. We went around 6 pm every evening and had no real issues.  
 

2. Yes this is in fact true and in my opinion a ridiculous policy of Carnival Corp. They are way behind other lines when it comes to this.  They do have an upgraded drink package that only limits alcohol drinks. That being said, we were never charged for juice on the lido. I agree Royal and Celebrity have better packages in this regard although I will say that the signature package on HAL pretty much covered everything with the $11 limit.  On Celebrity you do require the premium package for the better drinks in particular at the Martini Bar. 
 

You will love the ship! 

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iceman93

iceman93

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8 hours ago, sayvan said:

Next up for us we will be leaving in January for our first Disney Cruise on the Wish,

The Wish has definitely gotten mixed reviews (as have pretty much all Disney experiences since COVID), but I expect you'll find the entertainment and on-board activities superior to pretty much anything else out there.  Enjoy it, and I hope you'll return with a similarly even-handed review of that ship and line!

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Princess Fi

Princess Fi

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On 11/23/2022 at 5:28 PM, sayvan said:

Ok... Moving on to the food onboard.

 

This is a topic that is so subjective really... what I like you may not and what I dislike you may love... 

 

I've read so many threads about how the food on cruise ships has taken a turn for the worse. Honestly, I would love to know what folks are cooking and eating at home. I have zero complaints about the food. It was excellent wherever we went.  Plus I didn't have to clean it up afterward! 

 

The Lido buffet was great. Lots of options and honestly the sandwiches were some of the best I have ever had on a cruiseship. The pizza was hot and fresh and cooked to order. Yes,  there was a bit of a wait once you ordered but no big deal. Where else was I going to go right? The burger place however seemed to me to be disorganized and had extremely long waiting times. In fact, one time I waited close to 40 minutes for a burger.... I did find that a tad unusual from my previous experiences with burger joints on a cruise ship... but hey I'm not comparing,  remember? 

 

Getting back to the Buffet,  I did think it seemed to close down earlier than I would have liked during the afternoon. I found that usually most stations were closed by 2:30,  give or take. This was a bit of a pain when returning after being in port for the day and it did limit what you could get for a late lunch. That being said, it was probably a blessing in disguise forcing me to have a smaller sandwich or salad. My waistline was appreciative of these odd shutdown times. 

 

My overall  buffet rating was 7/10. 

 

The main dining room.... 

 

We ate here most nights. We had anytime dining and really only had to wait a couple of times. I did find that there seemed to be a push to have people sit at a table with a group of others, which we did do on occasion but otherwise they would accommodate a request for two (just with a bit longer wait). The food was more than just fine. It was great in fact. The menu's had ample selection and yes cruise lines are now starting to charge for some things that used to be free on the menu...Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, Lobster etc, but considering all the losses during the pandemic they have to try and make that up somehow and it must be working cause they keep charging so people are paying! We did not see this as an issue. 

 

The service in the Main dining room was fabulous and we had 3 or 4 different servers throughout the cruise. These folks work very hard to provide us with a decent experience and they did succeed. 

 

The dress code for the most part (and I'm not about to debate dress codes) was casual and the classy nights was a mixture of everything. I will say that I was surprised to see many men and some woman wearing shorts in the main dining room. I could actually care less as that does not impact my experience in anyway and if it did then I'm the one who needs to take a look at himself,  but I was surprised to see how frequent it was in the main dining room. Seemed a tad out of the ordinary, whatever ordinary is theses days. 

 

Overall, main dining room experience 10/10! good job HAL

 

Specialty Restaurants.... We had the HIA package so we had one specialty restaurant on this cruise. We choose Tamarind. I can't say enough how much we enjoyed this. The service was spectacular and the food was even better. I had a freebie for it but I would not hesitate to pay to go to this restaurant on our next cruise. The options on the menu were plenty and our servers provided great recommendations.  I highly recommend this dining experience if you have not been. 10/10 for me! 

 

Up next Ports of call! 

Appreciate your honest review. We are mainly Celebrity cruisers. Have done a couple NCL and recently  did Princess in September.   Would like to try HAL but only with the upgraded drink package. The 15 limit for alcoholic and non alcoholic just doesn’t work for us. Princess has the 15 alcoholic limit and Celebrity has no limits. 

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goldmom

goldmom

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Thank you so much for your review.  We will be on the Nieuw Amsterdam soon.  The Seaview pool looks like a place we would want to hang out, so a couple of questions.

You mentioned to bring a towel.  Is there a place at the pool to get towels or do we need to bring towels from the room?

Also, are there any shaded areas or umbrellas at the Seaview pool?

Thanks!

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0106 "Live from...." Rare

0106

Posted
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3 hours ago, goldmom said:

Is there a place at the pool to get towels or do we need to bring towels from the room?

Also, are there any shaded areas or umbrellas at the Seaview pool?

There are towels available at the pool.  
 

There are tables in a shaded area but no shade for lounge chairs and no umbrellas.

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sayvan

sayvan

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8 hours ago, goldmom said:

Thank you so much for your review.  We will be on the Nieuw Amsterdam soon.  The Seaview pool looks like a place we would want to hang out, so a couple of questions.

You mentioned to bring a towel.  Is there a place at the pool to get towels or do we need to bring towels from the room?

Also, are there any shaded areas or umbrellas at the Seaview pool?

Thanks!

Yes… towels are available in three locations on the pool deck.  On either side by the doors and also to the side near the pool.  There is a covered area but that is was usually occupied by the many guests who enjoy a good smoke while on deck….. There are a some tables with umbrellas on either side of the deck. No umbrellas around the loungers tho. 
 

We found you needed the towels if you planned to sit on the wood bench decking around the pool. Made the mistake of wearing a yellow swimsuit and it was covered in soot which you could not see on the decking. Might have been a fluke situation but after that we always took a towel over with us when sitting around the actual pool. 

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sayvan

sayvan

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18 hours ago, iceman93 said:

The Wish has definitely gotten mixed reviews (as have pretty much all Disney experiences since COVID), but I expect you'll find the entertainment and on-board activities superior to pretty much anything else out there.  Enjoy it, and I hope you'll return with a similarly even-handed review of that ship and line!

Thanks… the Disney cruise will be with our Son and daughter-in-law and our 5 year old and 1 year old grandkids…. That alone should be fun… I do intend to do a bit of a live review (as possible) as we cruise from January thru to March… 4 different ships! 

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2Long2NxtCrz

2Long2NxtCrz

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19 hours ago, sayvan said:

You are correct.  I had that one in the wrong folder.  That one was taken looking down from outside the pinnacle bar.  Good eye! 
 

1. Reservations could be made on the app or the tv in the room. We went around 6 pm every evening and had no real issues.  
 

2. Yes this is in fact true and in my opinion a ridiculous policy of Carnival Corp. They are way behind other lines when it comes to this.  They do have an upgraded drink package that only limits alcohol drinks. That being said, we were never charged for juice on the lido. I agree Royal and Celebrity have better packages in this regard although I will say that the signature package on HAL pretty much covered everything with the $11 limit.  On Celebrity you do require the premium package for the better drinks in particular at the Martini Bar. 
 

You will love the ship! 

Thank you so much for your help! I guess our cruise is still too far out because I can't book anything except some shore excursions, but I'll keep checking.

 

I checked and the amount to upgrade to the better drink package isn't that much, so we'll probably do that just to avoid having to think about it. I get the drink package so I don't have to worry about signing slips or budgeting or even forcing myself to drink something I hate and I sure don't want to have to count how many waters or coffees or juices I have. Plus hubby really does love his top shelf whiskeys.

 

I'm looking forward to this cruise and trying HAL out. Hubby's a creature of habit and he was wondering why I was booking something other than Royal. But he loves Celebrity and then after our Discovery Princess cruise, he was like "Okay, I get it. This just gives us more options."

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oakridger

oakridger

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37 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

 I get the drink package so I don't have to worry about signing slips or budgeting or even forcing myself to drink something I hate and I sure don't want to have to count how many waters or coffees or juices I have. Plus hubby really does love his top shelf whiskeys.

 

 

The signing slips policy has unfortunately recently (end of October 2022) changed on some ships!!  😡

I just got off the Rotterdam a week ago and they had just started making people sign/scribble/look at slips for all drinks and the Dive In food. I immediately sent a message on Navigator "Tell Us" letting them know how much I really, really, dislike that policy.  If you have read Cruise Critic in the last month, I have expressed my displeasure with this several times.  It really frys me to go backward to this antiquated method for drinks package.  End of Rant!   I loved my cruises otherwise!!!   I hope HAL changes this back to no slip signing for drinks!

 

~Nancy

 

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2Long2NxtCrz

2Long2NxtCrz

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1 hour ago, oakridger said:

 

The signing slips policy has unfortunately recently (end of October 2022) changed on some ships!!  😡

I just got off the Rotterdam a week ago and they had just started making people sign/scribble/look at slips for all drinks and the Dive In food. I immediately sent a message on Navigator "Tell Us" letting them know how much I really, really, dislike that policy.  If you have read Cruise Critic in the last month, I have expressed my displeasure with this several times.  It really frys me to go backward to this antiquated method for drinks package.  End of Rant!   I loved my cruises otherwise!!!   I hope HAL changes this back to no slip signing for drinks!

 

~Nancy

 

Oh no! Why waste paper? Were they getting complaints that the bartenders weren't charging them right? That's the only reason that makes any sense. But that doesn't even make sense if you have a drink package.

 

I will hope that they discontinue this before we go next August.

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oakridger

oakridger

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Exactly!  What a hassle for everyone involved!  I got two explanations.  As you mentioned it was to "show proof of purchase" and the other was inventory control.  In my world in 2022 computers do a pretty good job on inventory control....way better than someone recording thousands of scraps of paper every day!!  

🙄

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sayvan

sayvan

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1 hour ago, oakridger said:

Exactly!  What a hassle for everyone involved!  I got two explanations.  As you mentioned it was to "show proof of purchase" and the other was inventory control.  In my world in 2022 computers do a pretty good job on inventory control....way better than someone recording thousands of scraps of paper every day!!  

🙄

I’ve also heard that one of the reasons is because people were challenging the limit on drinks.. thus if you sign then no challenge.  I’d rather they just remove the limits… carnival corp is way behind the rest of the industry on this…  but hey that’s another thread all together… 

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DENIE Holiday Sharing Rare

DENIE

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1 hour ago, sayvan said:

I’ve also heard that one of the reasons is because people were challenging the limit on drinks.. thus if you sign then no challenge.  I’d rather they just remove the limits… carnival corp is way behind the rest of the industry on this…  but hey that’s another thread all together… 

Couldn't agree more.  We just sailed with Oceania (I know, different market, different concept), but once you bought the upgraded package, there were no limits and no slips.  Even our most recent Celebrity cruises were that way as well.

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nicksmom67

nicksmom67

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On 11/23/2022 at 5:28 PM, sayvan said:

Ok... Moving on to the food onboard.

 

This is a topic that is so subjective really... what I like you may not and what I dislike you may love... 

 

I've read so many threads about how the food on cruise ships has taken a turn for the worse. Honestly, I would love to know what folks are cooking and eating at home. I have zero complaints about the food. It was excellent wherever we went.  Plus I didn't have to clean it up afterward! 

 

The Lido buffet was great. Lots of options and honestly the sandwiches were some of the best I have ever had on a cruiseship. The pizza was hot and fresh and cooked to order. Yes,  there was a bit of a wait once you ordered but no big deal. Where else was I going to go right? The burger place however seemed to me to be disorganized and had extremely long waiting times. In fact, one time I waited close to 40 minutes for a burger.... I did find that a tad unusual from my previous experiences with burger joints on a cruise ship... but hey I'm not comparing,  remember? 

 

Getting back to the Buffet,  I did think it seemed to close down earlier than I would have liked during the afternoon. I found that usually most stations were closed by 2:30,  give or take. This was a bit of a pain when returning after being in port for the day and it did limit what you could get for a late lunch. That being said, it was probably a blessing in disguise forcing me to have a smaller sandwich or salad. My waistline was appreciative of these odd shutdown times. 

 

My overall  buffet rating was 7/10. 

 

The main dining room.... 

 

We ate here most nights. We had anytime dining and really only had to wait a couple of times. I did find that there seemed to be a push to have people sit at a table with a group of others, which we did do on occasion but otherwise they would accommodate a request for two (just with a bit longer wait). The food was more than just fine. It was great in fact. The menu's had ample selection and yes cruise lines are now starting to charge for some things that used to be free on the menu...Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, Lobster etc, but considering all the losses during the pandemic they have to try and make that up somehow and it must be working cause they keep charging so people are paying! We did not see this as an issue. 

 

The service in the Main dining room was fabulous and we had 3 or 4 different servers throughout the cruise. These folks work very hard to provide us with a decent experience and they did succeed. 

 

The dress code for the most part (and I'm not about to debate dress codes) was casual and the classy nights was a mixture of everything. I will say that I was surprised to see many men and some woman wearing shorts in the main dining room. I could actually care less as that does not impact my experience in anyway and if it did then I'm the one who needs to take a look at himself,  but I was surprised to see how frequent it was in the main dining room. Seemed a tad out of the ordinary, whatever ordinary is theses days. 

 

Overall, main dining room experience 10/10! good job HAL

 

Specialty Restaurants.... We had the HIA package so we had one specialty restaurant on this cruise. We choose Tamarind. I can't say enough how much we enjoyed this. The service was spectacular and the food was even better. I had a freebie for it but I would not hesitate to pay to go to this restaurant on our next cruise. The options on the menu were plenty and our servers provided great recommendations.  I highly recommend this dining experience if you have not been. 10/10 for me! 

 

Up next Ports of call! 

 

On 11/23/2022 at 5:28 PM, sayvan said:

Ok... Moving on to the food onboard.

 

This is a topic that is so subjective really... what I like you may not and what I dislike you may love... 

 

I've read so many threads about how the food on cruise ships has taken a turn for the worse. Honestly, I would love to know what folks are cooking and eating at home. I have zero complaints about the food. It was excellent wherever we went.  Plus I didn't have to clean it up afterward! 

 

The Lido buffet was great. Lots of options and honestly the sandwiches were some of the best I have ever had on a cruiseship. The pizza was hot and fresh and cooked to order. Yes,  there was a bit of a wait once you ordered but no big deal. Where else was I going to go right? The burger place however seemed to me to be disorganized and had extremely long waiting times. In fact, one time I waited close to 40 minutes for a burger.... I did find that a tad unusual from my previous experiences with burger joints on a cruise ship... but hey I'm not comparing,  remember? 

 

Getting back to the Buffet,  I did think it seemed to close down earlier than I would have liked during the afternoon. I found that usually most stations were closed by 2:30,  give or take. This was a bit of a pain when returning after being in port for the day and it did limit what you could get for a late lunch. That being said, it was probably a blessing in disguise forcing me to have a smaller sandwich or salad. My waistline was appreciative of these odd shutdown times. 

 

My overall  buffet rating was 7/10. 

 

The main dining room.... 

 

We ate here most nights. We had anytime dining and really only had to wait a couple of times. I did find that there seemed to be a push to have people sit at a table with a group of others, which we did do on occasion but otherwise they would accommodate a request for two (just with a bit longer wait). The food was more than just fine. It was great in fact. The menu's had ample selection and yes cruise lines are now starting to charge for some things that used to be free on the menu...Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, Lobster etc, but considering all the losses during the pandemic they have to try and make that up somehow and it must be working cause they keep charging so people are paying! We did not see this as an issue. 

 

The service in the Main dining room was fabulous and we had 3 or 4 different servers throughout the cruise. These folks work very hard to provide us with a decent experience and they did succeed. 

 

The dress code for the most part (and I'm not about to debate dress codes) was casual and the classy nights was a mixture of everything. I will say that I was surprised to see many men and some woman wearing shorts in the main dining room. I could actually care less as that does not impact my experience in anyway and if it did then I'm the one who needs to take a look at himself,  but I was surprised to see how frequent it was in the main dining room. Seemed a tad out of the ordinary, whatever ordinary is theses days. 

 

Overall, main dining room experience 10/10! good job HAL

 

Specialty Restaurants.... We had the HIA package so we had one specialty restaurant on this cruise. We choose Tamarind. I can't say enough how much we enjoyed this. The service was spectacular and the food was even better. I had a freebie for it but I would not hesitate to pay to go to this restaurant on our next cruise. The options on the menu were plenty and our servers provided great recommendations.  I highly recommend this dining experience if you have not been. 10/10 for me! 

 

Up next Ports of call! 

We have HIA also.  How did you reserve your specialty dinner?  Can you do it in advance? Or wait until you are onboard?  Can you  tell this will be our first HAL cruise on January 8th 2023

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tutumomickey

tutumomickey

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4 minutes ago, nicksmom67 said:

 

We have HIA also.  How did you reserve your specialty dinner?  Can you do it in advance? Or wait until you are onboard?  Can you  tell this will be our first HAL cruise on January 8th 2023

We have HIA for our January 8 NA cruise. booked specialty dining and it automatically applied the credit.

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