wonderful experience
Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean
12 Night Mediterranean Empires (Venice Roundtrip)
Sail date: May 04, 2015
Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 8164
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 9 years ago
Review summary
We have done numerous cruises and agree this was one of the best. We spent extra nights in Venice, and being there at night when the city is quieter is magical. The ports are all excellent. Istanbul is awesome, but more crowded that when we were there 5 years ago, we did a tour thru Shore Excursions (bought the 3 pack, Athens, Santorini and Istanbul, and we were pleased with them all, excellent guides). Oai is one of the most beautiful places with gorgeous views and the tour included a stop at a winery that was very nice: no pressure to buy, and they served olives, bread, tomatoes and cheese.
We had to skip Lesbos due to high waves, and Argostoli was a cute town, but not much there.
the Nieuw amsterdam had an awesome crew: our room stewards were great, very attentive and we had fixed dining, with a fun group of people and our waiters took good care of us. Very patient with my elderly mother who is hard of hearing. even the servers in the Lido were helpful and patient. We were impressed with the room service this time, always prompt, and the order was always complete (something that has been a problem on the Eurodam in the past) and they even sent things we forgot to order, like brown sugar and raisins for the oatmeal. We were pleased with everything. The entertainment has improved (a new contract group for the song and dance stuff, much better) but some of the stuff still geared toward an older group.
We had an aft cabin, some + and some negative aspects. Far to walk to everywhere in the ship (but I didn't gain weight!) nice size balcony with a stunning night view in Istanbul, we saw the entire harbor. But I did notice more vibrations, and some noise from the lido deck above in the am and at night when they moved chairs.
would recommend!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
We did seating with a large group at late dinner and had a riot, but people liked as you wish dining as well. Lido can be chaotic at lunch and they stop serving full lunch at 2p port days, but still have a terrific salad bar. The Dive In hambergers and chicken sandwiches are good.
Ports of call
Istanbul, Turkey Did not visit port
Mytilene, Lesvos (Lesbos), Greece Did not visit port