Review of Nieuw Amsterdam Nov 22-29, 2015

[cruisingxpert]

I commented in another thread that I was returning to HAL after a 3yr+ absence. I did 6 HAL cruises over a 4 yr. period and have done 7 Oceania cruises in the past 3.5 years. Before you get ready to flame me, let me say that, overall, this was a great value cruise.

 

My priorities for a cruise are;

Being served great food - a comfortable bed - floating on water and watching the wake. All equally important - maybe food is a higher priority.

 

I booked an aft veranda VB 7134 and a Retreat family cabana. I usually book or upsell to a Neptune Suite but decided this time to be economical and hope the Family Cabana would be a good alternative to the Neptune perks. It was.

 

Embarcation was a breeze. On the gangway going up to the ship we saw the baggage handlers heaving the suitcases onto the ship - reminded me of that you tube video about "United broke my Taylor guitar". Our room was ready and our bags - unbroken - arrived shortly after. Room was clean - bed was comfortable(check one box) and balcony had the view of the wake that I crave( check 2nd box)

 

We then went to MDR for the lunch -now open to anyone- and had a pleasant lunch - carrot cake dessert was delicious.

 

After that I went to the Retreat Cabanas to see our family cabana. It had been raining off and on so nobody but the attendants were there. Retreat Cabana was a great decision. Relaxing - cold water supplied, Champagne(sparkly stuff) brought around every afternoon - fresh fruit replenished -peanuts - Evian misters if you asked(Thanks POA1) The attendants were great. Brought menus every day to take your order for lunch. Gave us a little souvenir before we left. Can't say enough good things about them and the cabanas.

 

I had booked the Tamarind -2 reservations and 1 Pinnacle before I came onboard. I also booked a reservation for dinner in San Juan at Nonna Cucina so I didn't check for the Chefs Table til that evening. I didn't think we would do that but I checked with the Pinnacle because some people said they didn't have them on 7 day cruises. When I asked they already had 11 of the 12 max confirmed and the Mgr told me they have the dinner on all Signature Ships. Wish I had gone early and booked it.

 

Entertainment:

 

Went almost every night. The Ventriloquist and the comedian were very good. The HAL singers were so- so - none of them had a great voice. There was a piano player one night who was well past his prime - if he ever had one. Didn't stay long for him.

The HAL piano player in the piano bar was Damian and he was a good singer and even better pianist and very personable.

 

Cruise Director : Mario Vines

We got off to a bad start with Mario at TRIVIA. We decided to go to Trivia because we had enjoyed it on Oceania. We arrived about 4 minutes late and he was on question 5 already. When he finished, we asked if he could repeat questions 1-4. He said he was from a military family and they were always on time and No, he wouldn't tell us the 1st 4 questions. OK. The next day we arrived 10 minutes early and he arrived 5 minutes late.

During the session, we noticed that he read the first 6 questions to a table that had arrived late. We stopped going to TRIVIA.

 

I have to say that our impression of Mario improved through the week. He is a hard worker - saw him in a cooking contest with Damian, the piano player, leading the dancing on the Pool Party night, came into the piano bar and sang an impromptu song - good singer. Has a wonderful radio announcer voice for Announcements.

 

We did the cooking class and had lunch in the Pinnacle. Have to say we tasted what we made and everyone agreed it was better than what we got served by the Chef in the Pinnacle. Lots of wine may have coloured our opinions:D. Well worth the $29.

 

Tamarind Restaurant lived up to the hype. Very pretty and enjoyed the food. Pinnacle dinner was excellent as well.

 

Dive-In and Pizza station were brilliant additions to HAL since I last cruised with them

 

Now to the Downside: Food in MDR and LIDO

 

I'll start with breakfast in Lido - never went to MDR for breakfast. Easy over eggs were consistent - bacon wasn't. Lido is okay for breakfast.

 

We ate in the MDR 3 times - 1st Gala night, Thanksgiving day and one other night after we went to the Lido for dinner, thinking how bad can it be? Having had dinner several times in Oceania's version of the Lido(The Terrace) I thought I should give it a try. It won't happen again.

 

We ran off to the MDR where I had some cold soup that tasted like melted ice cream and the braised short rib - which in my way of thinking should be fork tender and not something like a hockey puck.

 

 

 

On Gala night we had the Escargot which had all of the moisture sucked right out of it. To be fair, the waiter noticed our faces and brought another round which was better. The beef was edible.

 

 

On Thanksgiving we had turkey - the rolled kind - and I got some okay meat as well as some fat and soggy turkey skin.

 

 

The bread, throughout the cruise was not worth the calories - guess I got spoiled by Oceania bread and croissants.

 

 

Had the cheese plate a few times and it was better than I

 

remembered.

 

 

Debarkation:

 

 

It was awful once you got off the ship. 2 customs agents for over 2000 people - took over an hour to snake through the line. There was a 3rd customs agent for wheelchair and special needs and as I found out an hour later - I could have used it with my Nexus card but I would have had to wait an hour anyway because my DS and BIL don't have one.

 

 

In conclusion, would I go back? Yes, but I would plan to eat dinners - only in specialty restaurants. We had a really good time overall. HAL is good value for the money in most categories. If food isn't a great priority, I think anyone would say it's a great ship to sail on.

[RMLincoln]

Thanks for your review. We were on NA for the eastern Med itinerary and liked it, albeit with some disappointments, particularly in the buffet. I've never sailed on Oceania but it sounds like their buffet is way beyond HAL, which would be nice to experience sometime. The cabana alternative to a more expensive room sounds very interesting and something worth considering. Thanks for sharing your thought and impressions. m--

[dakrewser]

Sorry about your dining experiences. I can see you had very different opinions about MDR, Lido, Dive-in and NY Pizza than mine. One hint about the MDR I should have mentioned: listen to your steward, get his recommendations - he's seen all the plates, and heard what everyone else is saying. His approval of a dish is golden, while a shrug really means "stay away from that!"

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

We have attended many Chef Rudi's dinners (some times called Chef Table -- depends on the ship) on the Vista and Signature ships since HAL started them quite a few years ago.

And yes they do have them on 7 day cruises.

We were disappointed that we didn't have the dinner either week when we were on the Eurodam in October. They gave the reason being that so many people had free dinners coming to them either because of 5 star status, Explore4 package or the free dine-around dinners.

[cruisingxpert]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

 

We have attended many Chef Rudi's dinners (some times called Chef Table -- depends on the ship) on the Vista and Signature ships since HAL started them quite a few years ago.

 

And yes they do have them on 7 day cruises.

 

We were disappointed that we didn't have the dinner either week when we were on the Eurodam in October. They gave the reason being that so many people had free dinners coming to them either because of 5 star status, Explore4 package or the free dine-around dinners.

 

That's interesting because the person at the Pinnacle said the Signature ships - which would include the Eurodam - are doing them every week. I guess it's just the usual misinformation.

[cruisingxpert]

Sorry about your dining experiences. I can see you had very different opinions about MDR, Lido, Dive-in and NY Pizza than mine. One hint about the MDR I should have mentioned: listen to your steward, get his recommendations - he's seen all the plates, and heard what everyone else is saying. His approval of a dish is golden, while a shrug really means "stay away from that!"

 

As everyone says, food is very subjective. I had one burger from the Terrace Grill before the new Dive in and never tried another one because I thought they were so bad.

I never had a mushy center on the 3 pizzas I ordered - really liked the thin crust.

I could take or leave the dive in sauce but I did enjoy the french fries.

[Cruzin with BQ & CQ]

I think you have given a fair review. We were on the same cruise and had a very enjoyable time. BTW we were neighbors in cabin 7139 which was great. Couple of bouncy evenings, especially the last night. I had the short ribs in Caneletto early in the cruise and they were awesome! So I ordered them again in the MDR, and like you I was very disappointed. To me more like meat stones than hockey pucks, but either way not their best effort!

[cruisingxpert]

I think you have given a fair review. We were on the same cruise and had a very enjoyable time. BTW we were neighbors in cabin 7139 which was great. Couple of bouncy evenings, especially the last night. I had the short ribs in Caneletto early in the cruise and they were awesome! So I ordered them again in the MDR, and like you I was very disappointed. To me more like meat stones than hockey pucks, but either way not their best effort!

 

Thank you. The Captain pulled away from Half Moon Cay like he was an Indy race car driver:D I think I heard that he was trying to get ahead of a storm. I took a Bonine and laid down for an hour. Wasn't sure I would make it to Tamarind for my last supper. By the time I sat down at Tamarind, I felt fine. Don't know if the rocking continued at the aft but it was calm in the Tamarind.

[cruisingxpert]

"Quote" To me more like meat stones than hockey pucks, but either way not their best effort!"Quote"

 

No kidding. Never had a braised piece of meat so tough. Someone at our table ordered the pork chop which I wouldn't have thought to order - especially, looking at the dry pork roasts in the Lido. She said her pork chop was delicious.

[Cruzin with BQ & CQ]

"Quote" To me more like meat stones than hockey pucks, but either way not their best effort!"Quote"

 

No kidding. Never had a braised piece of meat so tough. Someone at our table ordered the pork chop which I wouldn't have thought to order - especially, looking at the dry pork roasts in the Lido. She said her pork chop was delicious.

 

If I had taken a piece of those short ribs to the lake I could have made it skip to make six to eight splashes :eek:LOL

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[Lizzie68]

Sorry about your dining experiences. I can see you had very different opinions about MDR, Lido, Dive-in and NY Pizza than mine. One hint about the MDR I should have mentioned: listen to your steward, get his recommendations - he's seen all the plates, and heard what everyone else is saying. His approval of a dish is golden, while a shrug really means "stay away from that!"

 

oops - wrong thread!

Edited December 8, 2015 by Lizzie68

[cruz chic]

Thx for your review. I enjoyed reading it.

[erewhon]

Thank you for reviewing your Nieuw Amsterdam cruise.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Keith