Not as great as last year’s New Years Cruise...looks like Holland America is scaling back

Nieuw Statendam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

aek0914

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 57

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

14 Night Eastern & Tropical Caribbean Holiday (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 29, 2019

Ship: Nieuw Statendam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11052

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

We had higher expectations of the cruise since we took this exact cruise last year and were very impressed. It seemed that Holland was reducing in some areas....no flowers in the lido or main dining...high tea was poorly served and the sandwiches offered were unimaginative...just wheat and white bread...servers pouring across the table, etc. The sushi was very nice but the servers were confused as to who was doing what and the food delivery did not flow properly. Servers were polite...but had to ask several times for tea, sake...servers always thought some one else was getting it.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

They were acceptable...not as great as last year

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Same show “Humanity” on the main stage as last year...the comedy Tommy and Calin were supposed to be “Hilarious” ..not! They were silly and not funny....the other shows were all about sing along...

Children's Programs

No children with us

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

The carpeting in our room was “tired” and needs replacement.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

See note above regarding the carpet

Ship tip

Main Dining is fine...don’t need the up charge for specialty dining...the Sushi is very nice and is a la carte pricing

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

3 out of 5

Not interesting...big pool...a lot of small souvenir shops...the bicycle taxis are not worth the money..it isn’t that far to the end of the pier

Thumbs Up 0

San Juan, Puerto Rico Did not visit port

Not interested in the tours....

Thumbs Up 0

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

4 out of 5

Engaged a tour away from the boat..economical and very nice ...saw the whole island and made the major stops for half the price of a ship excursion

Thumbs Up 1

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

4 out of 5

Half Moon. Ay is great...except we only had a few hours there...tendered at 1000 and last tender left at 2:30...seems we could have stayed a couple hours more since the next port was Fort Lauderdale and an easy sail from Half Moon

Thumbs Up 0