An elegant, lovely cruise.

Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 52

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Nieuw Amsterdam

7 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 27, 2011

Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 13 years ago

Review summary

We have always enjoyed Holland America cruises for their gracious service and their catering to an older traveller. This cruise had many more very young children than ever seen before, as well as teenagers, but all were extremely well behaved and didn not intrude on our cruise in anyway., The food is superb and presented & served beautifully, both in the dining room and in the Lido Buffet. The entertainment was great, a singing program entitled "CANTARE" was just as wonderful as listening to the Three Tenors. Dancing, staging, the Magician and the Comedienne were all very enjoyable. The one Holland America snorkeling tour I took on Grand Turk left a lot to be desired. The two tours booked through were very nice, but I wouldn't recommend visiting "Hell " on Grand Cayman, there's really very little to see...a 10 minute stop was more than enough! I did mention elsewhere that the description that the tours left from port side was not true, both tours required walking and/or riding to the departure point, which in some cases, may not only be inconvenient but impossible for handicapped travellers. We had beautiful weather and calm seas, and overall, felt very satisfied at the entire experience!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Grand Turk Island

3 out of 5
Same as above, except the prices for anything are excessively ridiculous!
Don't Miss: There is very little to do.

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

5 out of 5
Lots of tours to Mayan excavations that are interesting.Otherwise, it's very flat, with more scrub than "jungle", and again, water activities are the coolest way to visit. It gets VERY hot!

George Town, Grand Cayman

3 out of 5
Lots of tour options, and anything to do with the water or snorkling is probably your best bet, although duty free shopping is fun1

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

3 out of 5
Other than a tender ride to get to the beach, although many options are offered, it's a little island with nothing much to do,beside swim, unless you pay a great deal of money for the activity.

Pros: The ship is beautiful, quietly elegant, and understated.

Cons: We missed the program of making crafts!

Recommends Nieuw Amsterdam? Yes!

Was this review helpful? 40

1 Comment

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

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