Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

the entertainment was sad .. i here took 12 cruses so far all at the same time of the year .. far better than the shows on this boat .... all else were good the last stop we did not get to do this island ....i have been to once before .. and you need to do something diffrent is is almost always  a no go ..... you need to stop trying that island .... 

The weather, the relaxing atmosphere were very nice.

I really believe something needs to be done with the initial safety drill. It seems like people who arrive on time are penalized while waiting for people who are late or don't arrive at all. I am glad to have the drill, but there must be a more efficient way to manage it.

With so many people using the buffet in the Lido, it was often difficult to find tables.

Overall I appreciate the excellent personnel on Holland America. The two shore excursions we took were very good.

The cabin was nice. The food was good. The service was very good.They have a 3:00 tea time that was nice. We have one main complaint The ship has no Mini golf,no climbing wall, only one upperdeck pool and limited lounge chairs. We were unable to go up on the upper deck and enjoy the daily sun. All lounges were full whenever we tried. They have a basketball court. can you see many seenior people (70-80) playing basketball all day. They lack activities to occupy the passengers during the day All but one lounge stayed open after 11:30 and it was for the younger passengers.We were not the only ones to express the same.we talked to others who said the same thing. We are not interested in sailing on that ship again.

ALL we can say is that it should have been longer, ALL the crew was the BEST , are dinner servants , Mr. Suryo and Aris  was the best, always happy, kind, helpful, clean and nice to talk to. Thank you Mr. Suryo and Mr. Aris for making our trip the best. Mr. &  Mrs. Raymond Boggi

Holland America had top of the line services.  From our stateroom to breakfast with chandeliers, the Nieuw Amsterdam had it all.  Our room stewards were always on top of our needs and the concierges in the Neptune Lounge were very helpful and always smiling. 

a few glitches, but all was wonderful.  I had an enjoyable week. one member had an accident so that is what made a few days ''interesting'. I have nothing further to write about.

We have cruised on the Nieuw Amsterdam before and always enjoyed it greatly. This time we booked a Neptune Suite "C" but by the time of our cruise were upgraded to a "B" Suite which was situated at the rear of the vessel and had a 50 foot wrap-around balcony. Fantastic!!

We were very impressed with the staff, the service, the ship, and the food. We felt a lot of the on-board activities, however, were about shopping and this was not our primary goal. 

The staff on this ship was top notch. Everyone was smiling, happy to be there to serve you. Every person that passed us said hello. The food was good in the at the buffet. Very good at the dinning room and excellent at the Asian menu (Tamarine?) restaurant. 

The age bracket is older, so the ship doesn't have those active lifestyle type of amenities (i.e. Rock climbing wall or water slide).  Our cruise was not sold out and the ship is smaller so we never waited in a line for anything (like Carnival).  Overall a he ship is in great shape, but probably needs a soft remodel in a few years. I would recommend to a friend!  

The restaurant crew was awesome, Augustina and Irvan.....the show with the entertainers from the ship was horrible, but the other entertainers was great. The ship cruise director was toOoo flamboyant for us.... (We are from a different older generation and not on the same page as these guys).... the Islands were great, the ship beautiful. disappointed us because I did not print out my info til last minute and lost out on $50 OBC..... plus we were told we would get $100 for being a Veteran and never got info regarding how to collect it Terri Rider never followed through....I think they should give you $50 OBC either way not just if you looked at their websight..... so probably won't go thru again.  Gary Bravo

Stoping at the various ports.  I liked the opportunity to meet the people  who live at the different places.  The food was good.  The guy who took care of our room did an amazing job.  I have no complaints.  The only improvement I would suggest is to make it easier to get ice and water during the night.

We really loved the cruise.  The weather could not have been better, but we've been on many cruises this time of the year and the weather always seems to be good.  The addition of Holland America's new "BB King Blues Club" is awesome, we spent every night there.  The food was great, but this was our 7th Holland America Cruise and the food is always great.  Holland America's Half-Moon Cay is probably the nicest beach that we've ever been too; it's nice, gentle slope into the sea is easy to navigate if you are like me with a disability.  I'm always impressed by the crew who offer to carry my plate in the Lido Restaurant; I've never had that happen on any other cruise, and I've been on Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and Majesty Cruises (now out of business).  We have pretty much decided to stick with Holland America in the future.  The ships are well maintained, the crew seems to care, and there is none of that tomfoolery at the pool that you see on Carnival and Norwegian.

Half Moon Cay was great private beach. Very clean, plenty of lounge chairs at no cost. Lunch provided was good. Went horseback riding in the ocean, staff was great. We traveled with another couple. We went on one shore excursion at every port. They were all well worth the cost. Tendering process to and from the ship

 went well and was very efficient. This was our first time on Holland American. It was a much older senior crowd than expected, average age was 65+. There were only 11 kids total on the ship so kids weren't a problem. All the staff were very friendly and accommodating. We would go again.

This was our second Holland America cruise, after being on Norwegian and Royal Caribbean ships for a few years. I had wanted to come back to HAL because I remembered the excellent food, great service and beautiful decor of the Zuiderdam. In most ways this cruise lived up to my expectations. Except for one night I was very pleased with the food. We dined in the Pinnacle Restaurant for a celebration dinner and it was exceptional, from s'amuse bouche to decadent dessert. The busy Lido buffet was great for breakfast with made to order omelets and a different version of Eggs Benedict every day, also made to your order. 

The pizza at the Lido pool area and the burgers, hotdogs and fries amidships were really good, far exceeding what I had experienced on other ships. 

We made dining room table reservations immediately upon boarding the ship and enjoyed delightful table companions, which definitely enriched our experience. 

I enjoyed the shows, performed by talented singers and dancers with live backup band, very high energy and always professional. 

I did not miss things like wave pool, rock climbing or ice rink found on the big ships. I liked the cooking demonstrations especially. 

We purchased two shore excursions through which we enjoyed very much. However, the ship personnel were not helpful when we asked simple questions on how to find the starting point for the tour. We had to walk a short distance or take a taxi to get to the location, rather than being met by a guide at the pier. 

After having sailed on larger ships, I found the smaller Nieuw Amsterdam rocked and pitched noticeably more. There was annoying vibration in the dining room which is all the way aft, even on the upper level, when the ship traveled at close to top speed. Our cabin was also at the very back of the ship on deck 8. We were given this cabin as a "guaranteed" selection; we did not choose it. I had heard that these were prized because of their privacy, which was true. However it suffered from noice and motion. Our table companions told us this was true in other parts of the ship, on lower decks, as well. We were directly below the Lido pool area, so early every morning and evening we heard the crew moving deck chairs, scraping and bumping around. 

One of my favorite things about Holland America ships is the many quiet places one can sit with a book. The library has a good selection of materials. 

I also liked the Silk Den for a before dinner drink with new friends, and the Crow's Nest day or night.  

So, another Holland America cruise? Probably, but next time I want to choose my own cabin.

The food and some entertainment was wonderful.  The players for Holland American on this cruise were awful and the lyrics could not understand. Having the Catholic Mass daily was acceptable except for the place when it was crowded.  Your cruise conference attendees had rented to much space to accommodate the Mass on the last day and that was a Sunday service.  Your details on the cruise were difficult to understand and we were given a chance to see future cruises information and a luncheon at the same time, impossible to attend both so we did not attend either one.  Getting off the ship was a nightmare should have called us off in a better manage manner.  Customs and your ship were not on the same page, you wanted to get rid of us so you could prepare for the next cruise.  You offer to many options for paying, feeing, etc and it was to complicated for us old dummies. Just charge us one fee, then add the extras later.  What you offer for a price on a cruise is not what we pay for. You hide all the port fees etc., and that is unnecessary. 

Crew were wonderful and polite. 

Favorite part was the friendly staff that catered to all our needs and made it a pleasant holiday.  The ship though was too small and did not have a lot of activity for mid 30 to mid 40 aged people.  There is def potential to offer lot more things than what we had.  And the big ports like St.Maarten should have been a full day vs. 8am-2:30pm.   It's too short of a time to do anything on land.  Lastly the food quality was not that good compared to other cruises. 

The New Amsterdam is a nice ship.  Nothing fantastic.  It lacked activities, and food was disappointing.  Average age of the guests had to be 65.   Beds were excellent, The size of the bathroom was excellent.  There was a large closet for hanging close, but the room lacked drawer space.  You could fold down shelves in the closet.  Service was good.  All in all this would not be our top choice for a cruise line again. 

this was our 12th cruise, 2nd on Holland America. The Nieuw Amsterdam is a beautiful ship. Small enough to navigate easily yet had plenty of things to do and venues to eat in. The staff was fabulous, by the end of our first day they remembered our names!  The food was great and we really enjoyed the made to order pizza late at night at the pizza shop. As with the first HAL cruise, we spent every night at the BB King club. Best entertainment at sea, they rocked. We have already booked our march HAL cruise and have started looking at fall 2017. 

I was dissappointed with the activities that were available to us during the day. We were unable to get into 2 ports out of 4 so we were stuck on board for 2 extra days.. They should have had a dj playing raggae music by the pool during the day. Live steel pan music was great but for only 40 minutes was too short a time. The kitchen tour was misleading. I know that there was more to it since we had professional cook on board. You could have done kaeoke during the day to entertain guests too. There could have been a dance party (just playing dj music for guests at night.

    The live band was great! The room was too small to house the amount of guests watching them.The variety of food was very good. The wait staff was excellent - attentive and gracious. Loved the "day" elevator mats! My favorites were: Kevin, Darren, Checep. and Made. They were always smiling and willing to accommodate me.

The Nieuw Amsterdam is a beautiful ship and extremely clean. The service staff from the dining room stewards, wine stewards and room stewards plus everyone else we came in contact with were outstanding! The weather was bad so we could not dock in Grand Turk or tender to Half Moon Cay. This was disappointing, but certainly no fault of HAL, so I will not down grade for that. The only thing that prevents me from rating this cruise a five star was the surly and outright rude embarkation staff.  They need some serious retraining in customer service. All in all, I will be very pleased to cruise on HAL and Nieuw Amsterdam again!