Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We love the Nieuw Amsterdam! We have taken three cruises on this ship and even though there were 6 years between some of the cruises, the ship is still in excellent condition! Well maintained and beautifully decorated. Our favorite specialty restaurant is the Tamarind. We recommend everyone splurge on this wonderful Asian fusion menu. And it has wonderful views, so go early enough to get a window table and watch the sunset! And if you don't want to pay the extra for dinner (it's only $29), check in on sea days for free lunch! Enjoy!

Beautiful, clean ship with great staff. Couldn't ask for more! There is always something to do or nothing if you prefer. Food is fantastic and the entertainment was great as well.

This was our 4th cruise with Holland America over a span of 13 years.  We have been on the Veendam to Alaska in 2004, Oosterdam to Mexico in 2008, Eurodam to New England/Canada Fall Foliage in 2014, and Nieuw Amsterdam through Panama Canal in  April 2017.  All the ships were beautiful!  Loved our Alaska and New England/Canada Fall Foliage cruises the most for the destinations. I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed with this last cruise.  I feel Holland is coming down in their standards.  Having only 650 hard-working crew to approximately 2000 passengers is not adequate. Service in Main Dining Room, was slow--had to continuously ask for water--2 1/2 hours for dinner most nights a little too long.  Entertainment less appealing than I have seen on other Holland cruises--they need to have more shows that would appeal to the majority of baby boomers, who travel Holland, would be my suggestion. The food, mainly Main entrees, prepared according to Michellin style restaurants with a lot of sauces and heavy on the seasonings, was just overkill in my opinion.  I did like the variety of soups, both hot and cold, and variety of appetizers and desserts.  Excursions are getting pricey for the value you get.  Did enjoy going in Puerto Chiapas and visiting the elementary school and having them perform their cultural dances.  Visiting the Banana Plantation was very interesting and our guide Angel was great.  Having a homemade tamale made in banana leaves was the best--better than the food on the ship.  Our room steward and wine steward were excellent.  Glad to see Holland still does the animal towels as I have heard that is stopping on other cruise lines.  Was a little taken aback that we did have to ask our room steward to change the sheets the first day as we discovered several brown stains on them.  He told us that happens from the laundry machines that wash the sheets and towels---not acceptable!!!  I did like the reasonable laundry package they offered for our clothes--unlimited for $7 a day for this 16 day cruise--no brown stains, clean and pressed and folded neatly.  Talking with many of our fellow passengers about Holland and other cruise lines that were traveled on, the general consensus was that many of the cruise lines like Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Holland are changing and not for the better--NCL was not liked by many.  It seems like the cruise lines are more interested in the cutting corners for the money and not interested in keeping up their reputation.  Unfortunately, I see Holland is doing this too and probably because they are owned by Carnival.

Touring Cartagena,Colombia's new and old sections of town was amazing as was cruising the entire Panama Canal. I've been to locks before, but nothing compares to this. I sat on my balcony with the door cracked open so I could listen to the guide. I set my TV on View from bow and got the whole narration.

Considering it was my first cruise it's hard to rate or compare it to anything. The wait staff was outstanding for the most part. I was a bit surprised at times to see they had run out of common food like spinach. Everything was very clean top to bottom on the ship.

I had always heard that Holland America was a cut above Royal Caribbean and Carnival, and after taking this cruise I can confirm that. The service was excellent. I would use this cruise line again.

Starting with *** I would never book with them again! I was told I would get $175 onboard credit. During the hour I was on the phone with January I was never told I had to do anything to receive my $175. Then when it's too late to get my credit January tells me I had to do something to receive it. I received $75 onboard credit. January then tells me I will receive the $100 after my cruise & it will be deposited to the card I paid with. She now tells me I have to fax a copy of my statement to them!!!

The ship is spotless, our balcony stateroom well equipped, the cabin staff excellent.

There was ample food: our favorites, the Lido and the Tamarind.Tamarind staff is tops.

The tours were good, relaxing and non-intellectual, just fun.

The gym is first rate, and the trainer, Dee, professional.

Our only negative is the cost and quality of internet service. Far too expensive. Good hotels provide wifi at no cost.

All in all, a great experience which we will do again.

Overall this was a great experience. In general, a more mature and calmer crowd with on-board events catering to the average age guest. Food and service were overall excellent. The only issue occurred with open seating- often a wait which I have never experienced before and very difficult when you have a large party. The staff did not tell us until the 3rd night that tables were bolted down and therefore we would always have to be split up- but they always worked to get us side by side! My only other issue is with medical. Care was below standard for an ankle sprain, and then 2 days later wanted to charge $45 to "open" the clinic just to purchase an ace wrap (not offered/supplied during initial visit), even without further medical advice needed. Also be warned- during a 24 he period at sea with no port of call, medical is only "open" for 6 hours and will require the emergency opening fee for anything in the other 18 hours, in addition to the standard fees for service and supply charges. Working in orthopedics I am appalled at the hours and level of care provided.

Every part of the cruise was my favorite. I enjoyed my whole cruise. The staff was the best,people were very nice, entertainment was the best. I enjoyed the blues club and bingo.The food was delicious. Ports were nice and very organized.I had the best time and looking forward for my next cruise with holland american.

crew were all helpful and friendly.  Loved the ports of call (Half Moon Cay, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Key West).  Spa was good, but pushed product too much.  The BBKing Club was EXCELLENT!  Stay away from the slot machines; they are a ripoff.  Tables were ok, especially roulette and craps.  Food was very good and abundant (it WAS a cruise, remember).

MY WIFE AND I ENJOYED THE SHIP AND PORTS OF CALL. GRAND TURK WAS OK BUT ST. MARTEEN WAS FABULOUS. THE SHIP WAS IMMACULATE AND ALL THE CREW AND STAFF WERE GREAT. I THOUGHT THAT THE FOOD ON THE LIDO DECK FOR BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WAS A MUCH BETTER SELECTION THAN THE DINING ROOM. THERE WERE NO LONG WAITS TO DISEMBARK AT ANY PORT ESPECIALLY ON OUR RETURN TO FT. LAUDERDALE AND CLEARING CUSTOMS. I WOULD SAIL WITH HOLLAND AMERICA AGAIN.

Embarkation: a nightmare with no one giving any direction as to what we were doing and what was supposed to happen next. There was a lot of sitting around and no reason given why. Then, hurry to the next checkpoint. Not great for seniors with mobility issues.

Cabin: Nice, but needs updating and repairs.

Meals: Fair. The chef has a really strange idea of popular desserts. The "Baked Alaska" and "Black Forest Cake"  had no resemblance to the real things. The food was average with a few exceptions. The Lido dining area was hectic and crowded.

Christine the Shopping Guide Presentation:  We left her "presentation" after about ten minutes. It was really cheesy and not in line with what I'd expect from a fine cruise line. My friend won the so-called "Diamond" Pendant and when it was delivered several days later, one could see it was worthless junk. No wonder it wasn't presented right away.

Service and Staff (in general): Outstanding! Very friendly, courteous and helpful. The great service was a highlight of the trip. Loved free room service, too!

Photography Staff: The staff at the Photo Gallery were incredibly rude. My husband and I were stunned by the bad manners and bad service. There was only one package offered and it was overpriced. $40 per photo, with no discounts for multiple photos. Between the bad prices and rude staff, we ended up with NO photos. This had a negative impact on our whole cruise experience.

Shore Excursions: Tendering was fast and efficient in Juneau. The Sled Dog visit was great. Petting the puppies was so much fun!  The Skagway Train & Bike was good. The Skagway Streetcar tour was OK. It was warm and sunny, so there was no mist at the Misty Fjords.

Disembarkation went smoothly and was well organized.

All in all, I would think twice about going on a HAL cruise again. It just wasn't as special as I had hoped.

Loved the cruise but would have liked to have more time at each port.  The cruise itself was wonderful.  Staff were very accommodating and the food was plentiful.  And the alcoholic beverages were reasonably priced.  I just would have preferred to have more time at each port.  Not enough time is given to explore each port town as I would have liked.  But overall we had a very good time and would do it again.   

Your survey form is buggy. You may not be getting accurate readings. Had to do it again!

The trip itself was a wonderful experience.

Website could be more intuitive. 

Email for second boarding pass not received.

We should have been notified before we arrived that the cruise parking was going to be closed for a week following the ship's departure.  We had to pay a large fee to get our car back the next day.

We received this cruise as a gift. The port of call was absolutely amazing and we had a blast! The service we received on Holland America was exceptional to say the least but this cruise line unfortunately failed at keeping our attention. The days at sea were very laid back as there wasn't much to do other than lounge by the pool and relax. Entertainment on the ship was essentially non existent! If yourself and other guests accompanying you are active and like various entertainment options this probably is not the ship for you. On the other hand if you enjoy a smaller ship that's laid back with an older demographic you may enjoy it. Overall it was a great vacation but I would choose a different cruise line when booking for ourselves.

Holland America still remembers the little things...and trust me...it makes a difference! The service is top notch! The ships are extremely clean and comfortable. The on/off processes are so simple. But most of all - people are friendly and always smiling!

If I had not been on previous cruises, I would have thought this was very good.  However, there were several downsides.

1.  The Canneto specialty restaurant is not very good.  First, it is barely separated from the noise and bustle of the buffet lines.  The food was mediocre. 

2.  The house wines available ranged from the less than $35 a bottle undrinkable wine to drinkable but expensive.  The Canneto red wine should be used for cooking not drinking.

3.  Unless you were poolside before 7 am there were no chairs/lounges available for the entire day.

4.  Food service in the main dining room was unbelievably slow.  There were plenty of waiters but very few kitchen staff.  One evening my wife and I had to wait almost an hour for the main course.  One breakfast, it took 45 minutes to get two egg orders.

5.  The noise level in the main dining room was over 85 db (I actually measured it.)  They put no effort into sound dampening, so conversations across the table were either difficult or impossible.

6.  Evidently, the ship is now docking at a "cheaper" slip in St. Thomas.  So the dock is 2 1/2 miles from Charlotte Amelie.  Sadly, the ship didn't change the maps they provided so that many people tried to walk.

7.  This is minor but irritating.  We had one very rough night at sea.  However, there are no clasps on the drawers or closets.  So we were kept up all night with drawers and closets slamming.

8.  The entertainment (with the exception of BB kings blues club) was mediocre.  A juggler for evening entertainment?  Really?

9.  There were language difficulties, especially when calling on the telephone.  Room service orders would have to be repeated three times and in every delivery something was missing or wrong.

10.  We had to beg to have two comfortable chairs on our veranda.  The one straight back was impossible for my wife and myself.  We really imposed on our steward who had to sneak one from a vacant room.

On the positive side:

 Our room steward was efficient and very pleasant.  

 The rooms were cleaned twice a day and they were spotless.

 The ship was clean and very well maintained.

Cruise was great, even though didn't have an adequate relationship with RSVP Cruises (or Atlantis Cruises from what I've been told).  In fact, the correct itinerary for this cruise was never corrected or posted, even on this request for a review.  Based on this, I probably will not use when booking for any RSVP or Atlantis cruises.  And you folks don't know the potential you are missing by not being adequately aware of or servicing this extremely popular gay cruise market.  However, I will book future (non-gay) cruises with , thanks to and because of the excellent service and knowledge of one of your best, if not the best, agent, Thomas Houser.

Wonderful cruise staff wonderful as always . Dinning excellent . This was our second New Year's Celebration on HAL . We met new friends an a old friend "Greg the Piano Man "  Excellent time ! There was an excellent mix of young and older folks families and singles . Now heading on a 10 day HAL cruise 27Feb16 .