Not the best cruise I’ve ever taken

Item: Nieuw Amsterdam
Rating: 4.6
Author: susanbie

Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

susanbie

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 32

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 11, 2021

Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 1073

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

This cruise was enjoyable, for the most part, and service was excellent. However, if you are at all leery of taking a cruise because of Covid, DO NOT TAKE THIS ONE. Holland America talks a good game concerning Covid precautions, particularly when it comes to mask wearing. In fact, “masks required” signs are everywhere, but the rule was never enforced, and passengers knew it, despite complaints from a number of passengers (according to guest services).

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Embarkation was quick and efficient.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Food was good, especially in the specialty restaurants. However, portions were enormous in the specialty restaurants. We took our leftover food back to the cabin and had enough for a full meal the following day!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

We’re not pool or casino people so we spent a lot of time playing trivia. We also attended the EXC talks, which were wonderfully informative, and the cooking shows.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Lincoln Center Stage performers were world-class. I wish I could say the same for the dance troupe, who seemed under-rehearsed and low-energy (especially the women). The comedians on board were very funny, and had very different shows.

Children's Programs

No kids.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Service was top-notch all over the ship. No complaints.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Ship was small enough to get around easily, and seemed very clean, even in the common areas. However, posted mask requirements in indoor areas were never enforced.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

In this age of Covid, please note that posted mask requirements were not enforced at any venue on the ship.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Grand Turk Island

3 out of 5

Most excursions were cancelled, so there was a very limited selection of tours.

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Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

5 out of 5

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Disembarkation was smooth, but we were a bit surprised that luggage was not scanned at all when carried off the ship.

6 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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Dinok 2 years ago

You want to wear a mask do so, if I don’t I won’t. They should not enforce mask just because of paranoid people like you who think mask actually protects you especially when you eating lol

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RetiredRay 2 years ago

Even though Holland is a bit more genteel than say (other cruise line) or the airlines, I can still see issues with trying to get some folks to mask up in close in venues. Would you like to take the chance of some possibly mood altered person taking offense at you trying to enforce masks if you were just service personnel? Glad the rest of the trip was good though.

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javawoody 2 years ago

Take a look at what is happening with the fights on airlines. Would you want in force the mask policy

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AuntPinkie 2 years ago

Appreciate your feedback.

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cruising2004 2 years ago

Thank you for sharing your experience.

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