Great food - terrible service

Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 30

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Nieuw Amsterdam

21 Night Southern Caribbean Wayfarer / Seafarer (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 18, 2017

Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8119

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

We love the ship, the food, the itinerary. But the service hs got down the drain. The waiters, in the restaurant, buffet, wherever, are bellow worse: they don't know how to serve, how to treat you, are rude, don't bring what you ask, complain when you come later,... don't know even English! Even one of our bags was broken at embarkation! The cleaning services were very poor also. The stward and helper, terrible!!! I had paid gratuites in advance and I got very very upset, because we didn't receive minimum service. Exception to Melanie, Guest Relations Officer, who was rerally nice and tryied to help us along the way. We were very desapointed. In the casino, we didn't receive one "good evening" although spending all my nights there...

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5
Everything ends too soon - food, entertainment... The shows are repetitive. One of them I saw 6 times!

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

1 out of 5
About cleanliness, I have wrote. The ship needs improvement. People also must be told not to use only handicap toilets and you should spare some tables for us, in wheelchair...

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ship tip

The open seating doesn't work. If you arrive after 8:30, you may not be served.

Ports of call

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5

Castries, St. Lucia

3 out of 5

Bridgetown, Barbados

3 out of 5

Fort-De-France, Martinique

3 out of 5

Daylight Cruise Past Mount Pelee

1 out of 5

Basseterre, St. Kitts

3 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

1 out of 5
We loose a day (or two, in this case) in the middle of the cruise when stoping in Fort Lauderdale, having to to customs, etc.

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

5 out of 5

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

5 out of 5

Kralendijk, Bonaire

5 out of 5

Willemstad, Curacao

5 out of 5

Oranjestad, Aruba

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 30

4 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

squadleaderc14    7 years ago

We cruised on NA last October and found the MDR service and the room stewards to be outstanding. We are counting down to our next NA cruise.

ItaVero    7 years ago

I don't have a lot of experience with Holland America - sailed with them twice (about a decade in between trips) and enjoyed it. MDR service is getting spotty - pretty much industry wide.

cbelc2    7 years ago

Well, you gave it 4 stars. So you showed up late to dinner. That upsets the apple cart. The buffet is mostly self-serve, but they should keep the tables cleared and food replenished. Luggage gets treated a little roughly on every cruise, every plane, etc. I hope they reimbursed you for breaking your bag. Spending every night in the casino might have prevented you from experiencing all the lovely evening activities. I never expect to win in a casino. They specialize in taking your $.

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