We always enjoy Holland America Crusies

Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

slgrauer

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 59

Overall rating:

5 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean Holiday (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 26, 2017

Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6146

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

We really love the Holland America ships. Super clean, very friendly staff, very attentive, you feel like a queen (or king) for a week.

Food is amazing, lots of dinning options too. Try the other restaurants on board if you had the extra cash, they are worth it.

We got the Signature Beverage Package and it was great. There was no way we could drink all the drinks allotted to us each day, but it was nice not having to "think" about a bill at the end of the trip. We will do this again.

Excursions are good, but we wish that they were longer! 2 hour excursion is just too short.

We were disappointed that the ship could not stop in the Bahamas due to rough seas. We understand that this happens. Be aware that this can happen. It almost happened on our last cruise but we got lucky. Not so lucky this time. It was a bummer of a way to end the cruise.

Holland America has an older customer. I could count on one hand the amount of children I saw all week. This is great if you are looking for a more mature and quieter cruise. Keep in mind however that they activities and entertainment tend to be for the older crowd as well.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Amazing food and great dining choices for all your meals.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Plenty to choose from to participate in or do nothing at all and sit by the pool!

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Some of the entertainment is geared towards an older crowd.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All the staff is soo very nice. You will feel like a queen (or king) with everything you need or want at your fingertips.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Beautiful ship and amazingly tidy and clean.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

We loved it! Comfortable, attractive and very clean. We enjoyed room service breakfast on the verandah every morning. Very happy that there is no longer smoking permitted on the verandahs so we can enjoy the fresh ocean air.

Ship tip

Try to eat at the other restaurants onboard! The food is amazing and fun to try something different. For example, I had Peking Duck for the first time in the Tamarind. The additional charge is not that much for the quality of food you will be eating.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

consider taking the Ft. Lauderdale land and sea tour after your cruise. Not only will they bring you to the airport with your luggage, but you will learn more and see more about Ft. Lauderdale.

Thumbs Up 5

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5

There is a Margartia-ville right in the cruise dock area that has a swim up bar in the pool, a DJ, gift shop and you can hang out there all day! We didn't know this and will try to do it next time.

Thumbs Up 19

San Juan, Puerto Rico

3 out of 5

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

3 out of 5

Keep in mind that this stop does NOT have a cruise ship dock...you may not be able to stop here if the weather is bad. They will not be able to safely launch the boats to shuttle you back and forth. This happened to us and it was very disappointing.

Thumbs Up 3