bernie5

From the second I am at the checkin desk I am all SMILES!! How can you not be smiling with the beautiful ship and sea surrounding you and an incredible crew catering to your every need. :)

Thank you for taking the time to write this comparative review.

Thanks to all of you for the fabulous info on the Falls. This helps so much with my Antarctica plans.

We are booked on the Amsterdam near the aft of the ship and would like to know if there is direct access to the aft area from this deck. If so, this would be great for us for scenic aft viewing as it appears the corners are open.

I loved the aft space on deck 6 and 7 during my Alaska cruise last year. This space is very protected from precipitation, wind, sun, and best of all it is usually empty! The stairway up to deck 9 is great for quick trips to the lido and pool bar.

The Amsterdam is a wonderful ship. Enjoy

I have sailed on the Zuiderdam and sister ships in the Neptune suites and Pinnacle Suite so I may be able to help. The Zuiderdam has not had the suite upgrade and you will find many picks online. The cabins are very open and spacious in my opinion and they have a wonderful veranda. There is a nice dressing area, wonderful bathroom and plenty of closets. For two it is plenty of space.

You also have the Neptune lounge to relax in during the day and the fabulous perk of breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill.

I love spending time in the cabin in the mornings and early evening just watching as we approach and depart the different ports.

The crew of the Zuiderdam were attentive, warm, happy group. I enjoyed the cruise immensely.

I do not know about the drink packages--sorry.

Hope this helps. search google images and you tube for pictures, etc.

Thanks, Is it a popular place for viewing, or are people more likely to use the Promenade and Lido decks?

I had the aft area all to myself most of my Alaska cruise last year. My cabin was aft on deck 7. Great that you can move from one side to the other and you are covered and protected from the rain. There is a staircase on deck seven that takes you to the pool above. Lido and pool bar are right there.

I really enjoyed the Amsterdam. Great ship

We will be on the zuiderdam in June in a Neptune and I am wondering what are the upgrades that need to be done? We were in a Neptune on the Neuiw Amsterdam last summer, what are the differences between the two Neptune suite?

Here is the link to the Holland America site

http://www.hollandamerica.com/news/NewsRelease.action?newsReleaseId=1303

If you search on HAL you will see pictures.

I have stayed in a Neptune on NA and thought it was smaller than on the Zuiderdam or Noordam---especially the aft balconies. Everything else was much the same.

Thanks, that is the post and charts I kept looking for! I will confirm with PCC but think you are correct.

I am looking at a cruise in Feb 2017 and would like to know if the Zuiderdam has undergone the Neputne Suite upgrades or will by Feb 2017. Searching this site I have not been able to find out this info and I do not see the Zuiderdam on the list for drydock. Has anyone been in a Neptune Suite recently? Thanks

On our BtoB Med tour 3 years ago we were excused from the drill on our mid-cruise turnaround in Rome. We were told when to be back on ship and had the entire day out in the countryside. It was fabulous. I would ask when you board. Certainly would not do it without permission! Good luck.

What I would do is use your cabin card in the casino on one of the slot machines. You have to set up your account the first time, but it is no big deal (mostly establishing a password). Then when you insert you cabin card it should ask you if you want to charge funds (to play on) to your cabin. You select the amount - lets say the $100 you just got - and then $100 will show up in credits on your machine.

 

Next, play a few pulls and when finished be sure the balance on your machine is deposited to your account. Now, take your cabin card to the casino teller and ask to clear out your casino account. You will be given the cash.

 

Now you can use the cash to tip whoever you want to and they get to keep all of it for themselves.

 

Now, to be perfectly frank, OBC is not supposed to be used in the casino, but from what I have experienced, HAL has no way of tracking this (others have reported this as well).

 

Any questions?

I will do this and report back if it does not work. I think I will try this on the first sea day and then have the Neptune Concierge print out my statement the next day. I might be able to see how the debit is applied and if it works. Maybe I will get lucky and win in the casino! Great plan, thanks

One of the fun things to do with leftover OBC is to buy a favorite bartender a bottle of wine. I know they share those at some of the crew gatherings below decks - and really appreciate something they don't have to buy for themselves.

That is such a great idea, thanks!

I love happy endings! These days we hear such terrible news each night---especially tonight. I was so glad to hear you found the suitcase.

Thanks for the update

Forgot to mention I already had OBC due to the terms of my initial booking and I know the new addition is just $100. I think I will watch my bill and turn extra funds over to the incredibly friendly and hard working crew before I leave. That would be perfect--even if I cannot name the recipient.

That is great info, thanks.

The market was down yesterday so I purchased Carnival Cruise stock. I am happy with HAL, I love her ships, and will continue to sail on HAL so I thought the perks would be nice. My financial adviser faxed the necessary info to HAL and I had a notice of more OBC before I got home.

What a terrible problem to have, right. How am I going to use it? I already have one Pinnacle dinner so will go at least once more. I will also do lunch a couple of times in the Pinnacle. I want the thermal suite package for the week and I know the daily service charge will be deducted. Information on casino deductions is conflicted on this board. Can you charge extra tips for the room stewards to your account? What will happen if I have money left over at the end of the cruise?

Thanks for any info. Looking forward to Alaska!

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences and in sites.

HAL just feels "right" for me when I sail on one of the ships. I want to be aware I am on the sea and feel connected to the ocean.

Love those aft-wrap cabins!

Breakfast from room service on the veranda

Walk the glorious sand beach at HMC

Have a wonderful voyage

Thanks for all the fabulous info. Any other pictures of the public spaces on the Amsterdam you have not posted? Love the food pics but was forced to stop looking at them when I started to gain weight.

Thank you!

A small professional group like this has no impact on anyone else on the ship. We likely wouldn't even know you were there unless we saw name badges. At most, I suspect perhaps there was a cocktail party one night for about an hour with either Silk Den or Pinnacle Bar was closed to others for that brief time?

 

None of us not a part of the group would be inconvenienced by your morning use of a meeting room. :) I think it's great you get continued Ed credits and a cruise..... ;) maybe even a tax write off? :D Sounds all good to me.

 

I did have a good time and racked up some CMEs at the same time. I will do it again most probably.

I would be upset -as the OP-if a group took over bars and venues of even worse if they acted snooty about the cruise. I would definitely complain. Several people gave great advice about contacting HAL.

I am glad this reminded me to search my Amsterdam cruise in September.

Jenny - I see that a medical seminar for anesthesiologists is scheduled to be on your cruise. In my experience, these medical groups are typically small, low-key, and unobtrusive, and do not impact the cruise negatively. Hopefully, that will be your experience as well.

I was part of a medical meeting on the Eurodam a couple of years ago with Northwest Anesthesia Seminars. We were maybe 50 people and met in a room early in the morning or on sea days. Certainly did not take over the ship or anything.

Your food pics make me so hungry! fabulous.

Do you have any pictures of the Thermal Suite/Pool? Thought that might be nice on a chilly sea day. Only 2 more months!

Thanks all of you for the last minute stories! I will need to live near a cruise port when I retire so I can jump on a ship in a "New York minute" as they say.

Let's say you live in a port city so travel is not an issue, when is the most last minute anyone has booked a cruise?

From the HAL website it looks like one could book a cabin for cruises that depart in two days.

That would be so fun! just pack and go somewhere!

Thanks for all the great pics.

I am having a problem with enlarging the pictures of the menus so I can read them. I click on the menu and the picture pops up on the screen but I cannot enlarge it. The room service menu was large enough to read on your website, so that one is great. What do you think I am doing incorrectly?

Does not look like the room service menu for breakfast has changed since last year. Great to know.

Do you remember if the aft deck on Navigation looked the same as aft decks on 2 and 3. Hope so. Looks like a great place to hang out with binoculars.

I seem to remember that someone mentioned there was to be a new room service menu coming out soon. Has anyone heard more about this?