A wonderful cruise!
Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean
Sail date: October 06, 2010
Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 14 years ago
Review summary
The ship was beautiful, well cared for, food was excellent. They do nickel and dime you for everything, from pop to shore excursions though. We were very disappointed in our room, since they changed us from our beautiful location on the 10th floor of the Panorama Deck at the front of the ship with a gorgeous view and spa privileges, to a room on the 4th floor with a balcony, however, the balcony had an obstructed view, and we lost our spa privileges and view. After complaining immediately upon arrival at 1pm, we were told we had to wait until the next day to see if any other rooms were available, then the next day we were told to wait until we reached the next port to see if anyone else was getting off, then we were asked if they wanted us to build us an extra room on the top of the ship for us. Finally we said it would be nice if they at least matched the spa privileges that the other room had, but after 3 days of waiting for some satisfaction they had not even done that. After the 3rd day or so, they finally moved some spa specialties into our room and informed us that we would have privileges to use the spa that were entitled with the previous room, but that they would not be able to move us to another room of equal or better quality, so we finally unpacked after our clothes. They finally admitted that this room, was indeed, a downgrade, not an upgrade, as it should have been if they were going to move us out of a room we booked and paid for almost a year in advance. Unfortunately, this confusion and bitterness made the beginning of our cruise a bit unsettling. I dare say Holland American needs to polish up its public relations end of its operations. We were pretty disappointed with the way we were treated with regards to this room situation. In the end, they tried to make up for it with some small amenities, but the damage had already been done.Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ports of call
Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy
Pros: The food, the ports of call, the service at the restaurants,and cabin stewards was fantastic!
Cons: The fact that we did not receive the cabin category that we paid for on the Panorama Deck, Spa Room, that we booked and expected to get, but were bumped out of.
Recommends Nieuw Amsterdam? Yes!
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