Holland America - Nieuw Amsterdam Reviews

We have never had a more relaxing vacation. We were spoiled by all of the staff on New Amsterdam

Very old no entertainment per day all comediennes who weren’t that good No music by pool Food wasn’t like it was on our other cruise with you Suite room attendants were excellent finally found a great wine steward and were waiters after a disastrous first night

Our 4 stop Caribbean Cruise was made into a 3 stop. We were unable to dock @ Grand Turks due to high winds & the winds slowed our passage combined with the limits of one functioning propeller. San Juan was ok, St. Thomas more interesting, Half Moon Cay a HAL tourist stop with a magnificent beach! Overall, an acceptable cruise, but nothing too outstanding!

Loved it!

Given the circumstances, the cruise was good.

My friend and I enjoyed our recent HAL cruise to the Caribbean. The ship, the amenities, and the service were excellent. We thank our travel agent Nikki Tracey for making our trip so easy.

HOLLAND-AMERICA’S NIEUW AMSTERDAM was a real delight as there was always something to participate in, great food to enjoy and many decks to just lay on and do nothing but soak up the warm, 80’s Caribbean sun and let the waters wash away all cares. The seas were calm, the many islands not full of other visitors and because of the holiday our ship not over-crowded. Our staterooms with veranda were spacious, well appointed, very neat, clean and always quickly attended to by our cabin attendants. They served a wide selection of delicious prime meats, seafood, salads, Asian food, breakfast choices and delightful deserts. The crew was Dutch, staff Indonesian and all very helpful and friendly. I invited my cousin, his wife and 14 y/o son to join me on this, our first-time cruise with HAL, and it was over the top for all of us. As a former Travel Agent and world traveler I would highly recommend this Holland-America Line and plan to sail with them again in the near future. I assure you 100% satisfaction!

We were disappointed with the dining room food. As to the rest of the cruise it was just okay.

For me the best stop was half moon key

Holland America has the best staff, dining, entertainment, and destinations. Can’t wait to go on another HA cruise.

It was not up to the standards that we’ve become accustomed to with Holland America. Variety of issues: * sanitizers, we’re few and far between on this ship. There were none outside the Dining Rooms and only 2 that I saw on the Lido Deck. I also walked by a storage area where a room was filled with them. A lot of people were coming down with colds including me. * No flowers in the Dining room and sparingly throughout the ship. *no signage on the Lido Deck as on other HA ships indicating where lines began. Servers on the Lido deck were generally not that helpful. * shows were just OK * not enough things to do on board.

Food good, customer service lacking. Difficulty with room card, numberous trips to CS. Entertainment lacking. Dancers were high school level. Pool service good, pool areas clean. Boarding and deboarding excellent.

My wife and I are experienced travellers. We have been to Mexico and Chile, and every country in Western Europe plus Russia — all on our own and never with a guide. Because my mobility is limited because of a back injury we thought we would try a cruise for the first time. We expected a mixed population but were surprised that the great majority of the passengers on the Niew Amsterdam were, like us, seniors. Those we met were generally agreeable; most of them had been on cruises many times before and all who had been outside of North America had only travelled on guided tours. Although seniors ourselves we felt part of a different generation. The Niew Amsterdam was clean, tidy and efficiently run, with the staff eager to please and be of help with any problem. Meals were plentiful and served buffet style in a large dining room that was open most of the day. The food was freshly made with various choices but the experience of eating itself reminded us of eating at a school cafeteria. We were surprised that the other restaurants on board were not included in the price of the cruise. The food and service at the two we choose for dinner were very good and somewhat expensive but no more expensive than similar places in Vancouver. Many activities were available during the cruise. All that we experienced — like the one on fitness my wife attended — were geared to selling some product, with the sales pitch quite aggressive. In fact, we found that much too much of the cruise was devoted to selling something or some activity to the passengers. We found this not only unpleasant but sometimes absurd: for example, the ship offers wi-fi but one has to pay to use it; when I asked for a ginger ale with my lunch at the buffet restaurant I was charged $5. Holland America sent me a number of e-mails regarding the cruise, but none included the prices of services offered, services which included daily room fees and charges for docking which I find part and parcel of being nickel and dimed during our trip. In all, we did not enjoy the cruise and will not go on a cruise again."

OK Room was smaller than appeared on brochure. Entertainment was ok. Daytime activities included too many that involved selling stuff.

The staff was amazing, the events were awesome and the scenery was beyond beautiful.

I think, this was the right length of time and size of ship for our first cruise. We weren't overwhelmed by the size of the vessel and the number of passengers on board. We met a lot of nice people. We made the right choice by going to the open seating for dinner. Here we had a lot of laughs with the other table guests. Like doing anything for the first time, it's a learning experience. The best decision was to upgrade to a balcony stateroom. We enjoyed the views as we sailed up the Inside Passage. We were underwhelmed by the entertainment. We thought there could have been a couple more acts and really, better acts. We didn't think much of the comedian. (and I feel we have a pretty broad sense of humour). We aren't frequent travelers, so it will be a while until we decide if we will sail again, but at least this trip has "got our feet wet". We appreciate the assistance Avoya Travel putting the trip together and will be keeping an eye on what specials come up in the future.