Our Anniversary cruise on the Nieuw Statendam : Is the honeymoon over ?

[scubacruiserx2]

 

We booked this cruise on February 15th and it sailed on the the 24th . Unfortunately , all of the Neptune Suites were sold out but they did have our favorite aft view in a VS verandah # 5200 . This was our 10th aft view verandah  and it turned out to be , by far ,  the smallest .

 

 

 

We thought that we would try the Club Orange to receive some of the NS type of perks . After clearing security we went to the express check in where the camera wasn't working . They used our Zaandam photos from December . After dropping our bags we headed to the MDR for lunch .

 

 

 

The elevators were quite warm and with all the lights and reflective surfaces reminded me of the old toy Easy Bake Oven .

 

 

 

 

The Lobster Shack looked good so we ordered it for the next day at Half Moon Cay

 

 

Lunch at a table for 2 with a view . The service and the food was very good in the MDR and it was nice and quite .

 

 

 

 

[ski ww]

Thanks for posting the pictures. Hope you enjoyed your cruise.

[1964IceCreamLady]

Hopefully there are more postings to come!  Intrigued by title.

[cat shepard]

Welcome home?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful start.

 

I have read that all the cabins (and balconies) on this ship are smaller compared to the other ships.

[catl331]

13 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

I have read that all the cabins (and balconies) on this ship are smaller compared to the other ships.

The deck 4 VB and VF are about 10 ft deep, and our VE on deck 8 of sister ship K'dam was the standard 6 ft deep. I believe the standard VC, VD, VE, and VF on decks 5 through 8 are 6 ft deep.

Edited March 6, 2019 by catl331

[puppycanducruise]

You're off to a great start.

Looking forward to reading more about your cruise.

[scubacruiserx2]

We have been unable to upload or post photos until Photobucket starts working again .

[Krazy Kruizers]

I gave up on Photobucket when they (and still) asking me to pay for using them.

[Dismomx5]

Following along as I look forward to our anniversary trip on the Nieuw Statendam in the fall.

[scubacruiserx2]

12 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

I gave up on Photobucket when they (and still) asking me to pay for using them.

 

I don't mind paying them as long as they do their work .

[kazu]

Love the pics 🙂. 

 

Looking forward to more reports once photobucket co-operates.

[scubacruiserx2]

9 minutes ago, kazu said:

Love the pics 🙂. 

 

Looking forward to more reports once photobucket co-operates.

 

They are working now and so are we .

Edited March 7, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

After lunch we began unpacking and got a closer look at the stateroom . The door to the veranda had shims which we had never seen before .

 

 

 

When we hit some higher seas the creaking began . It was almost like being on a wooden sailboat .

 

The bath room was very shinny and filled with hard surfaces , like the shower enclosure

 

 

This was the first time on HAL that we didn't have a tub

 

 

 

The bath room has a very " live " echo chamber feel . I could hear myself breathing there , so we opened up some towels and the floor mat to deaden the din .

 

 

When I brushed my teeth after lunch and went to rinse , I noticed that the sink stopper looked like a little round convex mirror . I could see my whole head the stopper and the water coming out of my mouth . Very strange !

 

 

 Stranger still was seeing yourself sitting on the commode ( I was wearing snorts ) !

 

 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad photobucket is now co-operating for you.

 

That is a lot of "shims" around the cabin.

 

Great pictures of the bathroom.

[cat shepard]

Shims on a new ship. Perhaps that is usual, but it doesn’t sound right.

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Glad photobucket is now co-operating for you.

 

That is a lot of "shims" around the cabin.

 

Great pictures of the bathroom.

 

51 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

Shims on a new ship. Perhaps that is usual, but it doesn’t sound right.

 

We have had to shim doors before to make them plumb or help secure them , but it's usually covered by a trim board , but not between the trim as this one was .

[AncientWanderer]

It's interesting to hear the OP's comments about the many shiny/reflective surfaces onboard this ship.  I suffer from glare-triggered migraine, and this kind of decor is a deal-breaker for me.  I know how to "look away" when potential triggers come into view, but really avoid places that are predominantly reflective.  Just the elevators alone would make a cruise on this ship hell week for me.  I'm sad to learn this about the Nieuw Statendam.

 

😥

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, AncientWanderer said:

It's interesting to hear the OP's comments about the many shiny/reflective surfaces onboard this ship.  I suffer from glare-triggered migraine, and this kind of decor is a deal-breaker for me.  I know how to "look away" when potential triggers come into view, but really avoid places that are predominantly reflective.  Just the elevators alone would make a cruise on this ship hell week for me.  I'm sad to learn this about the Nieuw Statendam.

 

😥

 

We are sorry to hear that you have those headaches . The NS would probably not be the best ship for you .

[iflyrc5]

4 hours ago, AncientWanderer said:

It's interesting to hear the OP's comments about the many shiny/reflective surfaces onboard this ship.  I suffer from glare-triggered migraine, and this kind of decor is a deal-breaker for me.  I know how to "look away" when potential triggers come into view, but really avoid places that are predominantly reflective.  Just the elevators alone would make a cruise on this ship hell week for me.  I'm sad to learn this about the Nieuw Statendam.

 

😥

FYI - the Koningsdam is the same with respect to elevators and bathroom.

[scubacruiserx2]

After unpacking we took a walk around before the safety drill

 

 

Club Orange exteriors

 

 

 

Club Orange interior

 

 

and art work

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shipshapertoo]

5 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 

We have had to shim doors before to make them plumb or help secure them , but it's usually covered by a trim board , but not between the trim as this one was .

I was on the Maasdam last summer and my inside cabin had those shims. It didn't help though and the cabin creaked. Was specially annoying at night while I was trying to sleep. I complained ( a lot), they offered me earplugs. I continued to complain, earplugs didnt help, and i finally got moved to another inside cabin on another deck. Problem solved, no more creaking. I have cabin vs5204 on the Nieuw Statendam booked for a next Winter b2b sailing. Is there any way to find out if that cabin (which is next to yours) is having problems with creaking and what HAL is doing to solve creaking problems. Maasdam is an older ship so I would almost expect some noise, creaking issues but not on a brand new ship. I would appreciate anything you can find out. I dont want to spend 2 weeks with issue. Thanks.

 

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, shipshapertoo said:

I was on the Maasdam last summer and my inside cabin had those shims. It didn't help though and the cabin creaked. Was specially annoying at night while I was trying to sleep. I complained ( a lot), they offered me earplugs. I continued to complain, earplugs didnt help, and i finally got moved to another inside cabin on another deck. Problem solved, no more creaking. I have cabin vs5204 on the Nieuw Statendam booked for a next Winter b2b sailing. Is there any way to find out if that cabin (which is next to yours) is having problems with creaking and what HAL is doing to solve creaking problems. Maasdam is an older ship so I would almost expect some noise, creaking issues but not on a brand new ship. I would appreciate anything you can find out. I dont want to spend 2 weeks with issue. Thanks.

 

 

Sorry about that . As this point we can't ask the neighbors in 5204 if they also had the creaking a few nights like we did . However there was another issue between our common wall which was the sound of dripping and or running water . We didn't hear it until things got quite on the 1st evening . After that it seemed to be more or less continuous .

Perhaps someone who has stayed in 5204 will share their experience.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I really don't like the looks of the new Club Orange that is available for the Neptune Suites and Pinnacle Suite.  Chairs look terrible.  JMO

 

We prefer the Pinnacle where you can look out and watch the world go by.

 

HMM -- even the art work doesn't appeal to us.  I guess we are just a bunch of old people.

[BJzink]

On 3/6/2019 at 11:32 AM, ski ww said:

Thanks for posting the pictures. Hope you enjoyed your cruise.

That veranda is TINY!  Not sure how you could enjoy breakfast out there?