Perfect for Solo Adventurers
Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
14 Night Eastern Tropical Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 19, 2019
Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 10003
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
I am a 36 year old solo female traveler and had booked Holland America because it does NOT have the crazy party atmosphere. I was very happy with that, even though it does tend to be an older crowd. I had no issue with this. Holland America tends to have the look and feel of a more old school traditional cruising experience (think Titanic, maybe not quiet as fancy). I liked that there was more peace and quiet, and yet we still cruised to all the locations all the other cruiselines do. I absolutely loved the cabin I was in, and the service from all the crew was phenomenal. I'd recommend this for anyone wanting to travel alone, want more quiet/down time and if you enjoy a more traditional kind of cruising experience. There were only a handful of other young couples that I saw, so not much mingling/meeting others for me, which I was ok with. I wish more cruiselines would make it easier/more affordable for solo travelers, because we always get hit with the supplemental fee. Luckily in this case, the fee wasn't astronomical, otherwise I wouldn't have booked it! The only "downside" I'd say is that Grand Turk is still rebuilding and doesn't have much to do since there's still a lot of destruction from the 2017 Cat 5 hurricanes. It's definitely a place that is reliant on tourism, and doesn't have the funds to really build much up to see and do. There are some pretty beaches worth seeing, but that's about it. The downtown area didn't have much open, and there was still a lot being rebuilt. That's not the fault of the cruiselines, and I know they still have to make port there under contracts and to assist with the tourism flowing there. It was still nice to tick mark Turks and Caicos off my bucketlist even though it wasn't as nice as I'd been hoping it'd be!Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Be one of the first people off the ship right when it docks to beat the crowds to the locations you want to see.
Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)