First Time Cruise on Holland America

Item: Nieuw Amsterdam
Rating: 4
Author: SherylTrent

Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

SherylTrent

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 14, 2016

Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10010

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

This was my first time cruising and I had a great time! The quick version is this: beautiful ship, great staff (especially the Lido deck cabaña staff), fun entertainment (comedian and juggler were awesome). The ship never felt crowded. The food was problematic for me - I'm dairy free and, while they knew that upon my arrival, none of the food staff knew what was in the food, there were no labels and 95% of it had dairy. For example, there were no desserts that were dairy free except plain fruit. The spa was beautiful but the staff less than helpful. Overall, a great cruise.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

The only time the Master Chef table was offered was the one night we had in San Juan. And the cooking class was set with only a few hours notice, so we couldn't do that either.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Huge cabin (2 could fit at the same time in the bathroom, king bed). Veranda was great - I've heard it is smaller than others on the ship but was fine for us. Tons of storage under the bed and 2 large closets for space.

Ship tip

We had as you wish dining but after the first night in the Main Dining Room I gave up (the wait staff had no idea if there was any dairy in any of the meals and had no options). Ate at Tamarind and it was amazingly good, highly recommend it.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

Grand Turk Island

3 out of 5

Don't do the reef snorkel. The reef is mostly dead with almost no life. The stingray experience was fun.

Thumbs Up 1

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

You don't have to take a paid tour, you can walk yourself and see most of the sites and go at your own pace.

Thumbs Up 4

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Best snorkeling at Coki Beach.

Thumbs Up 10

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

5 out of 5

2 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

Thumbs Up 0

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davidphs1955 8 years ago

I am allergic to citrus when I board the ship the first thing I do after we get our cabin is that I go to the the maitre D then tell him or her that I am allergic to citrus then my waiter brings me the next day's menu and I pick out the foods that I want and they make it without citrus even if the recipe calls for searches you just have to tell the maitre d that your dairy free and they will take care of it for you

Thumbs Up 1

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Other reviews of this sailing

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