Ms Amsterdam vs. Ms Nieuw Amsterdam

[OdoyleRulez]

Hi,

 

After reading the "best" rated ships on cruise critic awards, we went looking for an Alaska cruise.

 

We then booked on the Ms Amsterdam. Silly me just realized these are two different ships and the Nieuw Amsterdam is the high rated one (#3 overall and more importantly - #1 for food). The prices for the two cruises are very similar, however the Nieuw doesn't go to Alaska until next year.

 

Has anyone had experience between the two? Should I cancel and wait for next year?

 

Thank you so much to anyone than can advise here!

[RuthC]

The Amsterdam and the Nieuw Amsterdam are very different ships.

 

The Amsterdam, one of the two Holland America flagships, is an R-class ship. She is mid-size, at least by HAL standards. She is a classic, traditional ship, and is used every year for the World Cruise. Personally, if it's good enough for the World Cruisers, it's good enough for me. ;)

I've sailed the Amsterdam many times, including to Alaska as recently as last year. I found her fine.

 

The Nieuw Amsterdam is the newest ship in the fleet (at least for now). She is the Signature Class, and is currently HAL's largest vessel.

I can't speak from experience about this ship as it's the one ship in the fleet I haven't sailed yet. I will be on her this fall.

 

Which you choose depends on how quickly you want to go to Alaska, and what you want in a ship. Larger means more people sharing space, and ports.

Service, and style of cruising, will be very similar on both ships.

I wouldn't put off going to Alaska. Who knows if you will be able to make the trip next year?

[CruiserBruce]

Been on both ships. RuthC sums things up nicely. Both are nice ships. I would be happy on either, in a heartbeat. I won't pass up the opportunity to go to Alaska.

Edited May 31, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[take us away]

Ruth is spot on. The Amsterdam (A'dam) is a bit older and smaller so does not have the speciality restaurants that your will find on the Nieuw A'dam which is a bit 'glitzier' but still elegant.

 

Have sailed many times on the Amsterdam and the food has been great so not sure why the difference in ratings. Could be the extra restaurants on the NA'dam which do have great food, especially Tamarind.

 

Have a philosophy that life is short so go for it when you can! Try the A'dam this year and maybe the N-A'dam next year.

[CruiserBruce]

Ruth is spot on. The Amsterdam (A'dam) is a bit older and smaller so does not have the speciality restaurants that your will find on the Nieuw A'dam which is a bit 'glitzier' but still elegant.

 

Have sailed many times on the Amsterdam and the food has been great so not sure why the difference in ratings. Could be the extra restaurants on the NA'dam which do have great food, especially Tamarind.

 

Have a philosophy that life is short so go for it when you can! Try the A'dam this year and maybe the N-A'dam next year.

 

Am I missing something- the only restaurant N. Amsterdam has that Amsterdam doesn't have is Tamarind. Nice place, we like it. But Amsterdam has the others- Canneletto and Pinnacle.

[Himself]

I have been on both ships and like both of them very much. You cannot go wrong with the Amsterdam. She is a beautiful ship, as is the Nieuw Amsterdam. The Amsterdam carries about 1350 passengers while the NA carries 2106.

[bonvoyagebites]

I have never been on any other HAL ship, but just today got off of the Amsterdam in Vancouver (it just sailed away a few minutes ago). The ship was pretty small compared to other ships I have been on. In my humble opinion, it depends on what you seek. The Amsterdam was small, and was not crowded. Very rarely was there anyplace that we had to deal with crowds. Dinner there was no waiting, the decks and public areas were always easy to deal with.

 

Again, I am unable to compare / contrast with the other HAL ships, but I enjoyed the smaller crowds. I had my three teenage sons with me, and maybe wouldn't suggest it for a cruise with younger family members, but it was quite enjoyable.

 

There will be a review upcoming very soon. We have a few more days of vacation, so I may not be on top of things until we get back home. Check out our blog soon for reviews, pictures, and videos.

[bonvoyagebites]

... By the way... when we booked, we also did not realize that they were two separate ships, so don't feel badly. . . . . We found it odd that they had two ships named so similarly.

[Copper10-8]

Hi,

 

After reading the "best" rated ships on cruise critic awards, we went looking for an Alaska cruise.

 

We then booked on the Ms Amsterdam. Silly me just realized these are two different ships and the Nieuw Amsterdam is the high rated one (#3 overall and more importantly - #1 for food). The prices for the two cruises are very similar, however the Nieuw doesn't go to Alaska until next year.

 

Has anyone had experience between the two? Should I cancel and wait for next year?

 

Thank you so much to anyone than can advise here!

 

Both nice ships however.........NADM has something AMDM does not; Tamarind Asian-Fusion restaurant, only found on two out of the current fifteen ships. For that reason, and that reason only, I would pick NADM over AMDM. Do Alaska on AMDM this year and NADM in 2016

[Krazy Kruizers]

If you really want to go to Alaska this year, you won't be disappointed in the Amsterdam. She is a lovely ship.

Who knows -- maybe you won't see everything on this Alaskan cruise (and you won't), you will want to book the Nieuw Amsterdam for Alaska for next year.

We have sailed on both ships and love both of them.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Duplicate]

Edited May 31, 2015 by Krazy Kruizers

[serendipity1499]

We sailed the Amsterdam in 2003 & the New Amsterdam in 2012..The Amsterdam is our 2nd favorite ship in the fleet.. Prinsendam is our favorite..

 

As others have said, only difference is the New Amsterdam is newer , larger & glitzier (sp?), has the PanAsian restaurant, & carries more passengers..

 

We enjoyed both ships, but on the longer cruises, the Amsterdam can get into ports which the New Amsterdam can't get into..I agree with others, don't cancel your cruise..Stay with the Amsterdam this year & perhaps you will be able to go again next year & try the New Amsterdam..

 

Good luck & hope you enjoy your cruise..

[RuthC]

We found it odd that they had two ships named so similarly.

The Amsterdam is named for the city in Netherlands.

The Nieuw Amsterdam is named after the former name of New York City (when it was a Dutch colony). If you can say there's a theme in the décor, then it is based on New York, e.g. the Manhattan Dining Room, and the centerpiece in the atrium.

[Banditswife]

The Amsterdam is named for the city in Netherlands.

The Nieuw Amsterdam is named after the former name of New York City (when it was a Dutch colony). If you can say there's a theme in the décor, then it is based on New York, e.g. the Manhattan Dining Room, and the centerpiece in the atrium.

Thanks Ruth C- when looking at pics of Nieuw Amsterdam I noticed New York type things. You have just explained why. I guess I thought the NA'dam was named after the original A'dam. I've been reading all I can about NA'dam since we'll be sailing her next year.

[sevenseasnomad]

We sailed Amsterdam last July to Alaska. 2nd time in Alaska & was more enjoyable than the 1st time. Fantastic. There aren't enough adjectives in the English language to describe it. We did a B2B with the same itinerary. Everything we missed during the first week, we got to do 2nd time around, so it felt like two very different cruises. Service could not have been better. We enjoyed it so much we wished we could have done a third week.

 

If you go on the Amsterdam, be sure to ask what time the Atrium Clock strikes. On our last day, we discovered too late that it only plays one time a day---at 3 p.m. on our cruise---and it was past 3! We did hear/see a part of its machinations when we boarded and just happened to be at the front desk.

 

I can't address NA for you, as we don't sail on her for the 1st time until this July, but we have been on Eurodam, her sister ship. IMO, Tamarind was fabulous the first time we ate there (April 2013), but terrible to the point I found nothing on the menu that appealed when we tried it the second time (April 2015). Clearly, whether a certain ship has an alternative restaurant or not shouldn't be THE deciding factor on booking a cruise, at least IMHO.

 

I like the suggestions of several previous posters: Go twice, this year on Amsterdam, next year on NA. You can't go wrong in booking to Alaska, no matter how many times you go.

[trophy_23]

We have sailed 14 nights on the Amsterdam in Alaska and loved every minute of it. As mentioned it never felt crowded, the only thing you will miss out on is the Tamarind specialty restaurant. We have not been on the NA, but have sailed 24 nights on the sistership Eurodam and also loved it. It is quite a bit larger than the Amsterdam, and felt slightly more crowded at times, but I wouldnt hesitate to sail on either again.

[OdoyleRulez]

Wow - Ruth and everyone else... thanks so MUCh! Cannot believe I got this many replies in less than 24 hours.

 

Sounds great - I live in Seattle and we have enough asian infused restaurants here/portland. It was Le Cirque that really got me sold on Holland. I also am really looking forward to the culinary classes, which it appears the set on the Nieuw (sponsored by Food & Wine) is a little nice, but not an issue.

 

I cannot wait for this cruise. I have been on Carnival and Princess and enjoyed the food on both for the most part. The food options (especially room service menu) on Holland look way better too.

 

Other questions since there are so many of you generous experts:

 

1) Anyone been to the Le Cirque night and to the NY and/or Vegas Le Cirque that can compare?

 

2) Anyone done the helicopter/dog sled excursion? How was it?

[RuthC]

1) Anyone been to the Le Cirque night and to the NY and/or Vegas Le Cirque that can compare?

I went to Le Cirque twice on my recent Volendam cruise (I've never been to one on land).

 

The first time was not a good experience. Everyone at the table had food undercooked significantly. Service was good enough, but not over the top grand. We did let them know about the meat. They were apologetic, but no attempts to make it up in some fashion were made.

The second visit was much better in terms of meat cooked to taste. It was a lovely meal, but I didn't find it any better than a good meal in the Pinnacle.

 

I don't find the value in the increased cost of Le Cirque vs. Pinnacle.

[madera1]

We too have sailed on both and just got off the Amsterdam yesterday. We loved the decor of the Pinnacle on the Amsterdam and layout better than the one on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Another difference between the two ships is that you have the BB Kings Blues on the larger ships so a little more entertainment variety. I also thought the clock in the atrium was beautiful even if we never realized it was functioning.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Modern_Viking]

Am I missing something- the only restaurant N. Amsterdam has that Amsterdam doesn't have is Tamarind. Nice place, we like it. But Amsterdam has the others- Canneletto and Pinnacle.

 

You are correct. :) That is the one extra restaurant N. Amsterdam has that Amsterdam doesn't have.

[blueboro]

I have not been on the Amsterdam but I believe you will find many more balconies on the NA at a much more reasonable price than on the Amsterdam. And I would not go to Alaska without a balcony personally.

[BellBoys]

We have sailed on the Amsterdam one last year and twice on the N. Amsterdam (2013 and again this year). The main difference in the Pinnacle Grill onboard the Amsterdam is that there are no outside windows, we do enjoy that especially cruising in Alaska. The Pinnacle on the N. Amsterdam has a large bank of windows to enjoy the scenery as its state light out later in the day.

 

Enjoy!

[catl331]

My fav. is Amsterdam. Hubbie's is N Amsterdam. I liked the decor of the smaller ship as it reminds me of what I thought Titanic might have looked like. I cringed when I read someone suggest they should make the ship look more modern. Most ships now look like resort hotels.

 

Two times to Alaska and we did not have a balcony. Two times it rained quite a bit and was not warm. Once was in July. Never knew Sitka had a mountain right there behind the town. Never saw any animals from the ship. BUT, still had a good time!