Just Returned: Nieuw Amsterdam Pinnacle Suite

[Himself]

Thank you for sharing your trip on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

[Au48]

Alright, folks. Time for the last installment of my trip report on the blog...

 

Sailing into Venice: http://pointsplanesandpassports.com/?p=1441

 

Homepage: http://pointsplanesandpassports.com

 

I will make a post in the next week with a full review of the cruise -- the food, service, entertainment, etc. Other than that, I will not be linking any future posts here, since the cruise portion of my trip has been covered. Feel free to follow the blog, as I head to Ireland after the cruise.

 

As usual, here's the text version of the latest post, sans pictures:

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May 12 – At Sea

 

After seven ports in eight days, we were pretty exhausted and ready for a day off at sea. We spent most of the morning hours before meeting the Dining Room Manager for a private tour of the kitchen. It was a pretty impressive operation. After that, we dined in The Pinnacle Grill for lunch before heading back to the balcony for a relaxing afternoon of the coast of Croatia. Dinner that evening was had again at Tamarind, where I had one of the best meals I’ve experienced — anywhere. More on that later.

 

May 13 – Venice, Italy

 

Another unique feature of this cruise was the overnight in Venice before we disembarked the cruise. Since the ship was set to arrive around noon, this allowed for the better part of a day and an entire evening in Venice where we could use the ship as our hotel room before disembarking.

 

The arrival into Venice was simply stunning. We had perfect weather as we sailed past St. Mark’s Square and the Grand Canal to the cruise port on the northwest tip of Venice.

 

The view from our suite’s balcony was just amazing.

 

Upon arrival in Venice, we had a quick lunch on the ship before exploring Venice for the afternoon. We planned to meet my Aunt and Uncle at San Marco around 5:30pm where we took the Vaporatto to the Lido. Before that, the two of use decided to cheese it up by taking a gondola ride. Though very expensive, we felt it was worth it for the experience – even if it was the ultimate tourist trap. After meeting the Aunt and Uncle and motoring our to the Lido, we explored the town for about an hour, which was highlighted by a trip to the beach club and Adriatic Sea, where my girlfriend was able to dip her toes into the water. We then shared a great meal of bruschetta, mozzarella, pasta, and pizza at a nice local restaurant named Pizzeria Ai Do Mati in Lido.

 

We decided to take the Vaporetto back to Pi’azzle Roma through the Grand Canal. This was a beautiful hour and five-minute run through the Grand Canal at night. It was well worth the extra time to get to experience motoring through the canal. We took the short, people mover back to the cruise terminal, where we boarded the ship to pack our bags and take in a final night’s sleep onboard the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

May 14 – Venice, Italy

 

We awoke to a beautiful, Venetian morning where we disembarked the ship around 7am, and had our driver waiting to take my Aunt and Uncle to Venice-Marco Polo airport for their flights back to Washington-Dulles via Frankfurt and London. The driver of the private mini-bus then took my girlfriend and I out to Treviso airport for our Ryanair flight to Dublin! We booked this transfer through Airports Shuttle Express, and the experience was first-class, all the way. The customer service was fantastic, punctual and friendly, and the mini-bus was exactly what we wanted. It really made for an easy transfer from the ship to the airport.

 

We were incredibly sad that our amazing cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam had come to an end, but eagerly awaited the adventure that awaited us in Ireland.

 

Next Stop: Dublin, Ireland

 

Coming later: A full review of the cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam

[RuthC]

I will make a post in the next week with a full review of the cruise -- ... entertainment, etc.

Thank you for planning to include that, as few reviewers do.

I'm especially interested in reading that portion of the review.

[Mr. Dog]

very interesting and like your blog. Thank U very much.

[Au48]

As promised, my full-fledged cruise review is now LIVE on my blog. You can access it in the links below. The website is full of pictures to go along with the text. It's rather long, so enjoy!

 

Cruise Review: Holland America Line's Nieuw Amsterdam: http://pointsplanesandpassports.com/?p=1150

 

Blog homepage: http://pointsplanesandpassports.com

 

I'll be posting this review in a separate thread in this forum, as well as submitting it to cruise critic.

[mhurdle127]

AU48,

Who was the piano bar entertainer aboard your Nieuw Amsterdam cruise? Any comments?

[mhurdle127]

AU48,

Who was the piano bar entertainer aboard your Nieuw Amsterdam cruise? Any comments?

[RuthC]

AU48,

Who was the piano bar entertainer aboard your Nieuw Amsterdam cruise? Any comments?

I asked him that on his review thread. He didn't know. :(

[kellysbonnie]

Hi Sage, we are leaving on Nov. 2nd and have The Pinnacle Suite on the Noordam #7046!!! How awesome that it is your favorite. I'm so excited. Any info. or help you have time to contribute would be great. I haven't asked anyone but I saw we have priority boarding. Is there somewhere we go at the port so we don't wait in that long line. Not complaining but it would be nice!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hi Sage, we are leaving on Nov. 2nd and have The Pinnacle Suite on the Noordam #7046!!! How awesome that it is your favorite. I'm so excited. Any info. or help you have time to contribute would be great. I haven't asked anyone but I saw we have priority boarding. Is there somewhere we go at the port so we don't wait in that long line. Not complaining but it would be nice!

 

As you enter the terminal, a person will give you a number -- remind that person that you are in the PS and they will give you the letter "S" instead of a number.

After you go through Security, you will be directed to the area where all the PS, Neptune Suites, Handicapped people, 4 star and 5 star Mariners check-in.

Once you are checked in you will go upstairs and wait in a special area. Around 11:30 either someone from the terminal or one of the concierges will escort you onto the ship.

[kellysbonnie]

Thanks so much, Krazy Kruizers! So, is it better time wise than the long line that we usually wait in?

[PermanentHoliday]

Hi , thanks this thread has been very useful. I have a hold on the PS suite for Alaska and before we commit to the very expensive price tag, I'd like to know how much more $ should we budget for drinks and other specialty restaurants ?

 

We have been on MSC Cruise Divina before and their yatch Club which is their VIP package included all drinks , alcohol and top restaurants .

 

So for the PS Suite, I'd like to know anyone's opinion about hidden costs.

 

Thanks

[dakrewser]

Hi , thanks this thread has been very useful. I have a hold on the PS suite for Alaska and before we commit to the very expensive price tag, I'd like to know how much more $ should we budget for drinks and other specialty restaurants ?

 

We have been on MSC Cruise Divina before and their yatch Club which is their VIP package included all drinks , alcohol and top restaurants .

 

So for the PS Suite, I'd like to know anyone's opinion about hidden costs.

 

Thanks

 

There are no "hidden" costs (read the New to HAL thread for all costs) but there are also no "freebies" specifically for the PS.

[SilvertoGold]

Be careful, this is an older thread. Things have been changing fast and furiously on HAL, so be aware that something could have changed by now.

Edited January 12, 2016 by SilvertoGold

[Au48]

Hi , thanks this thread has been very useful. I have a hold on the PS suite for Alaska and before we commit to the very expensive price tag, I'd like to know how much more $ should we budget for drinks and other specialty restaurants ?

 

We have been on MSC Cruise Divina before and their yatch Club which is their VIP package included all drinks , alcohol and top restaurants .

 

So for the PS Suite, I'd like to know anyone's opinion about hidden costs.

 

Thanks

There were still the standard extra fees for specialty restaurants, etc.

 

We did receive a drink package (from our TA), so that was nice, but it's not (to my knowledge) included for PS suites. We may have had a night in Pinnacle or Tamarind comp'd, but nothing else.

 

I wouldn't call the premium restaurants and drinks "Hidden fees" though -- we knew they weren't included going in, and we did not expect them to be included.

 

ETA: We did request for appetizers to be brought to the room on several occasions. There was no cost for this except for the time we ordered appetizers off the Tamarind Menu to have on the verandah. We fully expected to be charged for this (and we were), and frankly we were just glad they allowed us to order these to our room.

 

I think it's all about managing expectations. As long as you know that even though you may be purchasing the largest suite onboard, it doesn't mean that it's an all-inclusive affair.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Au48

[kftw]

Enjoying your review.

[Ricktan]

Hi , thanks this thread has been very useful. I have a hold on the PS suite for Alaska and before we commit to the very expensive price tag, I'd like to know how much more $ should we budget for drinks and other specialty restaurants ?

 

We have been on MSC Cruise Divina before and their yatch Club which is their VIP package included all drinks , alcohol and top restaurants .

 

So for the PS Suite, I'd like to know anyone's opinion about hidden costs.

 

Thanks

 

We stayed in the PS for our Med cruise and are doing so again on our upcoming Alaska cruise. The price you pay for your room is just that.....your room. How much you need to budget for drinks and/or specialty restaurants depends on how much you drink and how often you want to pay for dinner. The cost of your room has no affect on this unless you have some special offer from HAL such as the Explore4 or some other promotion. Hope this helps!