Eastbound Panama Canal 3 week cruise
Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America
22 Night Panama Canal Eastbound (Vancouver To Ft. Lauderdale)
Sail date: September 29, 2018
Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 10016
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
Overall, this trip filled the need for a cruise. We are grateful for every cruise we have been on but as the cruises add up as well as the years, we often get spoiled with the service offered by some lines as well as not offered by others. HAL was about as good as we had expected, but lacked in some areas. Lacking were the MDR and Lido eating areas. It appeared that the ship had basically 1 week of menues and tried hard to disguise it with different names for the same product. I was impressed with the captain's concern for the passengers well being. He cancelled 2 ports which we may have had to go on other lines. We believe his call was spot on and thank him for his judgment call. As usual our cabin stewards were excellent and they were basically out of sight most of the time, but able to be reached when necessary. Room service was awesome for being on time always coming at the beginning of the allotted time. Food was warm and beverages (hot) were not the best but were still palatable. The adult only pool was dirty through the entire trip and during the beginning was an ash collector for the smoke stacks. Actually, the whole back deck area was often showing a residue of ash from the funnels. This seemed to clear up through the cruise, but the pool still needed a major cleaning in order for it to be swimmable. Again, I said I would be hard with my judgment calling, and that is what it was, my judgment only. Will we ever sail HAL again? Possibly, but not for a couple of years. With just a little polish, HAL could become the premium cruise line it once was. That would be a blessing as it is sad that Celebrity seems to have the premium slot to itself.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Don't come hungry!
Ports of call
Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia
Manzanillo, Mexico Did not visit port
Huatulco, Mexico Did not visit port
Puerto Chiapas (Tapachula), Mexico Did not visit port
Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica Did not visit port
Enter Panama Canal At Balboa Did not visit port
Exit Panama Canal At Cristobal
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida