Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Our 6-7th cruise.  Great itinerary, wonderful food.  Entertainment was great.  Very interesting daily seminars. 

On the down side, Internet service was costly and terrible.  Lots of constant hidden charges, had to pay daily for bottled water, also daily service charge of $25.  Alll services were also marked up 15% even doctor charges.

Automatic bag transfer to airport was a disaster. They should just build those costs into the trip, rather than nickel and dime us to death.

Overall, though a wonderful trip

We began our cruise from San Francisco. Since it was "Fleet Week" we had a rare opportunity to see the "Blue Angels" soar through the sky. Another memorable experience was going through the Panama Canal.  Prior to going through the canal we attended a lecture relating to the history of all the unbelievable events that took place while building the Panama Canal.  We enjoyed snorkeling in Cabo .We enjoyed a our tour in Costa Rica (Tropical Train and Mangrove. The other ports we enjoyed walking and seeing some of the country.  There were 8 port days and 8 sea days. We would have liked more port days. However, the ship staff was excellent. We attended most evening shows. Enjoyed dining at three different specialty restaurants. We chose open seating and requested and received tables of 4 or 6 and met and enjoyed meeting some very interesting people.

My favorite part of the cruise were definitely the views of Alaska, especially Glacier Bay and the wildlife. We were able to see orcas, killer whales, sea otters and dolphins from the deck. The dining experience is wonderful, especially salmon. I also loved the shows performed by the singers and dancers of the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 This was my first cruise on Holland America ... I give it a 10 ! The ship was in fantastic shape with beautiful draperies and lush fabrics all over the ship ... The food was presented beautifully and was quite delicious ...I stayed in a Neptune suite number 7049 and it's worth the money !!!The room was quite large with many closets  and a beautiful spacious patio! The concierge suite was especially nice  at 7 AM  where we had cappuccino and croissant's every morning before breakfast at 9 AM ... I never felt crowded ever on the ship wherever we went there were very few people because the ship is so large...on a scale of 1 to 10 I give Holland America a 10.... I'm already planning my next cruise on Holland America !!!!!!!!!!

Overall, this was a good cruise.  I am not very picky so that needs to be factored in.  The crew was great, the food was good (not great), and the beautiful views of Alaska were great.  I only have one complaint.  The options for leaving the ship included one that provided for baggage handling thorough customs and a bus ride to the airport.  No baggage handling by the customer until you reach the airport.  We go a message the day before the end of the cruise that not enough people had signed up for this option and, therefore, it would not be offered.  At that point, no other options were offered and no reduction in the fee was offered.  We ended up dragging our bags through the whole process and still paying the price of the upgraded service.  Looks like "bait and switch" to me.

Nieuw Amsterdam is a beautiful ship and the staff was great! Breakfast in Lido needed more staff but the restraunts had wonderful staff. Entertainment was good but could have been better. Always something to attend but plenty of time to just relax.  Had a problem with our excursion that was booked thru . Our ship had to tender into Juneau so we missed our excursion even though we called and they said they would wait. Put us on next tour but missed out on the brewery tour. Said we would get a refund for that part.

This was a great ship with an awesome itinerary. The staff on the Niew Amsterdam was amazing. Everyone was so welcoming and their smiles were broad and seemed to be sincere. I selected this trip due to the itinerary which included Glacier Bay and Skagway. I was a little underwhelmed with Glacier Bay - it was OK. If I go to Alaska again, I will not into a stop at Glacier Bay. The train trips out of Skagway were great! The views are incredible. The evening entertainment was a little weak. Each act performed twice so there was not a lot of variety. Holland America has a great embarkation and disembarkation processes. The lines kept moving and the whole this was very organized. I was impressed with the full breakfast on disembarkation day as well as the fact that we signed up for a disembarkation time and could wait in a public area or in our room until that time. It was so great not to be rushed out of the room in the morning. The ship sailed out of Vancouver but we flew into Seattle and took the Amtrak Cascades from Seattle to Vancouver. The train was a very slow way to go. We took the bus on the return trip - much nicer than the train.

Alaska is huge and gorgeous, not to be missed.  I was glad to finally see Glacier Bay while there are still some glaciers left.  With lots of light and very little rain, I imagine mid-July is the best time to go.  I enjoyed each of the ports, though we arrived in Juneau too late to do several of the things I hoped to get to.

The ship is beautiful, cabins spacious (I had the cheapest one) and the service was excellent.  The food was very good, with a few exceptions.  I especially liked the daily change in ethnic (mostly Asian) foods at the Lido buffet.  I was not happy with some of the entertainment, activities and general culture onboard, but I think that's because they have to appeal to such a wide range of tastes, and of course they are always encouraging you spend more money. 

I had some issues with the charges and credits and the front desk personal was very unprofessional to help me to solve the issue.  The person at the main front desk person was smiling (it was fake smile) but no help at all.  Basically ruined my vacation for the small amount of charge. Did not even let me talk to the manager.  TV at the state room did not work and several attempts to fix the problem.  Food was sub-par and the entertainment was very poor.  The service personal was not very friendly compared to other cruise line and some were very rude when they serve.  Some were actually laughing at elderly who needed help.  I sent an email to the Holland America and I have not heard from anyone as yet.  I guess they really don't care.  I have been to many cruises with other cruise lines and I would never go back to this cruise again I am going to tell everyone I know to not to travel with Holland America.  I guess they tried not to give me a credit for lousy $200 compare to thousands of dollars that I spent on this trip. But they will get this bad review and more.  I strongly recommend not travel with Holland America ever.

We only had one minor SNAFU with room service the first day which was addressed quickly by the staff. Everything else met or exceeded our expectations. My wife has numerous food allergies and the dining staff went out of their way to insure that she was not only safely fed but also had as close to the same dining experience as the rest of our party. Many thanks to Nino and his great wait-staff!! 

The hospitality of the crew was outstanding. The quality of the dining experience was simply superb. Everything about this cruise was about your feeling welcomed and relaxing. This is a first rate experience. 

We cruised to Alaska and loved the itinerary.The New Amsterdam is a beautiful ship based on a Manhattan Art Deco theme. The staff was helpful and friendly, and the ship seemed reasonably well maintained and clean.  The thing I liked best were that there were lots of lounge areas near windows where passengers could curl up and read a book or just look out the windows. (It was often too cold to go on deck, so this was a big plus.)

We were in a large Neptune suite at the aft of the ship and the accommodations were wonderful!  Unlike other cruise lines, we did not have our own butler to service the suite, but there were two concierges at the Neptune Lounge to serve in this capacity. The only downside of our aft location is that we were not located near the Neptune Lounge, so it was a little more inconvenient to utilize those amenities.  There are a couple of things we were disappointed with that I wanted to mention. First, there were several large groups on the ship on this particular sailing that comprised 2/3 of the passengers onboard, and it was my understanding that one of the groups alone had over 900 passengers. Consequently, we were told that not only could we not have the late seating for the dining room, but all the seatings after 6:45 pm in the "As You Wish" dining area were reserved for the groups. If we wanted to make dining reservation, the only times we were offered were at 5:30 pm, otherwise it was first come, first served. We were in a suite, which usually grants more flexibility in dining preferences, but that was of no use in this situation. We were basically told we had to eat by 6:45 pm or go to the buffet or eat in our room. I felt this was totally unacceptable, and passengers should have been made aware of these limitations at the time of booking. I think Holland America dropped the ball on this one, and all my discussions with the concierge, cruise relations, and the maître-d led nowhere, so my only resort if to reach out to Holland America on the review boards!

The cruise was lovely. Our trip was only spoilt by the company's choice of flights from the UK to Vancouver. They failed to allow sufficient time for connections on the outward journey, which resulted in our luggage being delayed for a day. It also made the journey rushed and  stressful. When I raised this complaint with cruise 118 & Holland America, they disregarded my comments.I believe they do not take customer satisfaction seriously and would choose to use other operators in future

We had the best time! However, the cosmetic side of the suite, was unacceptable! Torn wallpaper, shower head, looks as if it had never been cleaned. After repeated requests, I was given a New one. The Middle Eastern server in the Pinnacle, is Racist and Rude. Several guests founded him disturbing! The gentlemen working in the observation area, never acknowledged us. After speaking to the mgr about the issue, his concern was; can I get you something now. No apology given! I feel as though, I didn't get what I paid for since my suite had hole in the wallpaper and was torn. The maintenance guy had to come and unstop my toilet 3 times, spilling water from the toilet on the floor and leaving it. Never asking for anyone to clean it up. 3 times this happened. How disgusting!! Internet was horrible! It kept bumping me off... At least 100 times. If my cell bill gets charged, I expect Holland America to pay.

IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS SUNNY AND IN THE HIGH 60'S THE

SECOND WEEK IN MAY. THE SHIP IS IN GOOD REPAIR AND NO PROBLEMS

WERE NOTED DURING THE 7 DAY CRUISE. SERVICE IN THE NEPTUNE SUITE

SECTION WAS PERFECT AS ALWAYS. FOOD WAS TYPICAL HOLLAND AMERICA .  THE ONLY NEGATIVE WAS THE LONG CUSTOMS AND SECURITY LINES AT THE VANCOUVER AIRPORT. NEXT TIME WE WILL GO FROM

SEATTLE.

AT VANCOUVER

This was our 1st time on Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam.  Needlessly to say the reputation of Holland did not disappoint at all.  The crew was fabulous. Going to Alaska for the 1st time meant a lot to us. So we wanted to make sure all things went well and that started with booking with . We had a great time and the price was great as well.  We'll definitely book again.

Loved our experience with Holland America!  We have cruised many times, and this one met all our expectations.  The itinerary, ship, staff, food and entertainment was great.  Due to a schedule change on our end, we boarded the ship in Cartagena instead of Ft. Lauderdale, and departed out of Cabo San Lucas instead of San Diego.  Holland America was so accommodating and great to work with!   Their staff made a potentially difficult situation a great experience.  We will definitely cruise with Holland America again.  Thanks for a wonderful vacation!!

The ship was great.  The rooms were big, lots of storage.  The on board activities were great.  Didn't like how they shut down both sides of the buffet for 1-1/2 hours before lunch and 1-1/2 hours before dinner.  Be nice to stagger them.  The staff was great.

The ship,was very comfortable and the service was excellent. It was nice to have places like the Exploration lounge and the Crow's Nest to have a quiet area to read and relax.

it is amazing how a bout of food poisoning can ruin a wonderful cruise. It did for us. In room dining --bad!

entertainment - shows marginal but best time with cruise director and show host with trivia. 

Best music- bob kings blues club! Wow!

lido- spectacular changes! Great selection. 

Cabins- phenomenal stewards!  Superior furnishings!

disembarkation-  Hellish process if your flight home leaves before 11 am!   If it does, YOU have to carry your own bags OFF THE SHIP!  That means you have to get in long snaking lines before you get off the ship. IT IS A NightMare,  add winsult to injury you are greeted by a line of entertainers on land thanking you for cruising!

this is a change for holland and not for the good.