Cruise/Europe:Wounded!

Nieuw Statendam Cruise Review to Transatlantic

RJParker

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 32

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5

Verified Review

21 Night Passage To Spain & Mediterranean Rivieras (Ft. Lauderdale To Rome)

Sail date: April 17, 2022

Ship: Nieuw Statendam

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 10001

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

HAL is my perfect cruise line. Covid has made life miserable for everyone. Think twice b4 going to cruise Europe now. is my perfect agency!

Embarkation

1 out of 5

Worst ever! 3 hours of long lines, another required covid test after being made to take test 48 hours earlier. Fell backwards on up escalator but no report or assistance called. Whole process needs revamping

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Quality of food slipping. Pinnacle and Tamarind specialty restaurants outstanding!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Mostly decent

Children's Programs

Fortunately, no rugrats aboard on crossing

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Always A+ even though ship seriously understaffed. Always friendly and smiling

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Spotless

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

"Mini-suite size. Perfect, isolated section

Ship tip

WAIT another 6 months b4 Europe. Too many pitfalls

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

3 out of 5

Ponta Delgada, Azores

3 out of 5

Ceuta, Spanish Morocco, North Africa

3 out of 5

Cadiz (Seville), Spain

5 out of 5

Malaga, Spain

5 out of 5

Alicante, Spain

5 out of 5

Barcelona, Spain

5 out of 5

Magnificent city. Only negative Spain, Italy is graffiti everywhere!!!

Thumbs Up 0

Villefranche-Sur-Mer, France

5 out of 5

Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy

3 out of 5

La Goulette (Tunis & Carthage), Tunisia Did not visit port

Wind!!!

Thumbs Up 0

Palermo, Sicily

1 out of 5

Filthy, rundown. No reason to ever visit

Thumbs Up 1

Naples, Italy

1 out of 5

Filthy, rundown. Only reason to visit is Pompeii and Amalfi Coast, otherwise skip southern Italy

Thumbs Up 0

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

9 out of 10. A lot of confusion. Lack of Italian training??

3 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

Thumbs Up 0

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Dumfy75 2 years ago

We were also very disappointed with Naples, we’ve previously done Amalfi Coast, Pompeii and Sorrento from Naples but last time decided to stay in Naples itself. To me it’s definitely a port to access trips to other areas, unless I was missing something! Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

Thumbs Up 0

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javawoody 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your experience

Thumbs Up 0

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Other reviews of this sailing

I would say it was a GOOD trip not a Great trip.

Wonderful repositioning cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Barcelona on the fantastic Holland America Nieuw Statendam.

Smooth Sailing