Photomikey returns: Nieuw Amsterdam Mexican Riviera Review, Mar 24-31, 2019

[photomikey]

Our family of five, grandparents (60s) in a balcony cabin, and us (2x early 40s, 1x age 9) in a Neptune Suite Aft Corner (Port side, deck 6, 6164).  This was the grandparents first cruise - we have done several over a decade or two and achieved two-star mariner status on this cruise.  We have previously cruised HAL, Norwegian, and Celebrity - our favorite is Celebrity.  We chose this cruise because it left out of San Diego (our home) and matched up exactly with our spring break from school.  We booked after final payment (which is our MO) so only had a month or two to plan.  We have done Mexican Riviera before, several times - it is an inexpensive getaway from San Diego.

 

Embarcation in San Diego was smooth - we arrived around 11 - there was a monster line to enter the terminal but it moved very quickly.  Once past security, there was virtually no line for Neptune guests (this was our first Neptune cruise!) and in fact my parents who were in a regular VA also had no line.  They had just announced general boarding (around 11:30) and suites were ready as soon as we were aboard.  We dropped carry-on luggage in the room and proceeded directly to the lido.  The lido was (as expected) chaotic on the first day - we ate at the Dive In burger restaurant, poolside, and found the service speedy and efficient.  The burgers were amazing, easily 8 out of 10 as far as the best burgers I've ever had.  The burger was easily the best thing we ate all week in taste, efficiency, and presentation.  

 

Our Neptune suite was very nice, spacious, and worth the cost upgrade.  The corner aft balcony is our favorite.  This corner aft is much smaller than those we've experienced in the past.  We later noted that the corner aft on decks 5 and 4 is notably larger (though 4 has the window washing equipment, which I'm not sure is that much of a problem).  Still though, plenty of room on the balcony for 5 people to hang out, sit, stretch, chat, eat, and never have to "squeeze past" each other - just walk around effortlessly.  Inside, the room is spacious and the living room gives room for 5 to sit, though more than 5 would be a little cramped.  The Bose speaker provided in the room was surprisingly useful.  It delivered great sound and we used it a lot.  The TV also had great sound and was a good size for the room.  The bathroom was huge by cruise ship standards and with the tub/shower combo we often utilized the dual-shower combo to get two people ready at once.  The stand up shower is just the least bit cramped and tends to get water everywhere, though if you mind it, you can control it pretty well.  The makeup room between the bathroom and the livingroom served well as an office for a few conference calls I had to take but went largely unused otherwise.  The couch was comfy and the room steward switched it back and forth from bed to couch daily.  The room was serviced twice daily although we seemed to be at the end of the list for morning service, often it didn't occur until past noon. The suite comes with fruit delivered daily and we partook in this regularly.  Our steward must have noticed that we were eating a lot of grapes, as each day the pile of grapes atop the fruit basket would be larger, until 3 or 4 days into the cruise a separate fruit basket appeared that contained nothing but grapes, piled so high they nearly wouldn't fit.  We laughed, and of course, gorged ourselves on grapes.  This was the only noticeable sign of our room steward (other than, of course, the twice daily bed making and the fresh towels) - we've noticed over the years that some stewards you don't see much of, and some, by the end of a week or two, you're lifelong friends.  This particular team would always greet us in the hallway but was overall pretty invisible and unassuming.  

 

Neptune Lounge, we didn't expect to use much, but we did - a lot.  The coffee machine in there is really great, the teas are better than those offered elsewhere, the snacks are a little more refined than lido food, and the concierge - which I wasn't sure what on Earth I would use them for - we used them a lot.  Re-make a lost key card, make a dinner reservation, find something out, etc - they would do just about anything you asked.  We really enjoyed this amenity and we'd have a hard time going without it in the future.

 

I got the unlimited internet package for the cruise and it worked as expected - slowly, but without issue.

 

We paid for the 7-day pass in the thermal suite for two - generally didn't have a problem finding a hot chair and used them daily.

 

The lido food was good - service is mostly handled by the lido attendants - there is not a lot of serving yourself.  This really seemed to help our perception of hygiene (so many fewer dirty hands everywhere) but generally slowed down service and made lines longer.  My standard breakfast is a DIY breakfast sandwich - get two pieces of bread toasted, put a piece or two of cheese on them, get two eggs over medium, slide them onto the bread, then bacon or sausage on top.  I don't really know how to say this, but I feel like my *perception* is that lines were longer (because of the full-service handling), but in reality I don't feel like it took me any longer to get my regular breakfast than usual.  The lido seemed more crowded than past experiences but even though it was generally packed, I didn't have a single instance of not being able to find a table - it was full, but turnover was quick and cleanup was efficient and even when you'd look up to see every table taken, by the time you got your food you could always find a place to sit.  Similarly, it seemed like every station had a line but you never seemed to wait for more than 3-4 people to clear and it never took more than a minute or two.

 

We had pinnacle for breakfast once, and were turned away on a second attempt later in the week because we'd taken my parents and it's suite guests only.  We retreated to the regular restaurant to find the identical breakfast menu there.  I feel like I try sit-down breakfast once or twice each cruise and always find I like the lido better.  We returned to the lido after that.

 

The sit-down restaurant food seems to have taken a significant decline in recent years - the china they used to use is now relegated to the Neptune Lounge, and they just use regular dishes in the dining room.  The food was good (though uninspired).  They did seem to be enforcing the "2nd entree $10" rule, but I am not a two entree guy, so it didn't bother me.  I did order an appetizer, a soup, a salad, an entree, and a desert every night without issue.  I did turn away a main dish one night (wasn't to my liking) and had it replaced with something else without question or charge.  The lighting in the dining room (I'm sorry to nitpick something so basic, but it really is a core thing) was downright bad.  The fluorescent lighting makes it look like the inside of a k-mart and only accentuates the declining food presentation.  Our stewards were pretty good and quite friendly.  "Smart casual" is now basically "don't wear flip flops", there are lots of jeans, t-shirts, etc.  "Gala night" is now "anything with a collar" and cargo pants and a polo shirt was not uncommon... for *gala* night.  Those of you who've followed my reviews for a decade (I assume you're a small crowd) will now have witnessed my full transit from "why do I have to bring a tuxedo" in my 20s, to "seriously, cargo pants and a polo shirt on gala night?" in my 40s.  

 

It's a spring break cruise and there were 300+ kids on board.  There are a LOT of kids and a LOT of families and it showed.  Kids club sometimes feels like it has a lot of individual attention, but this cruise it felt like they were trying to just keep it all under control.  There were regularly 20-40 kids in the tween club - three sessions per day.  Again, sometimes it feels like the kids club staff and I become family by the end of a cruise, but generally speaking this time around, I hardly knew their names, they hardly knew mine.  My daughter seemed to enjoy it and kept going back, so there's that!

 

There was room to spare at the string quintet performances but the magic show was standing room only.  The America's Test Kitchen was packed every performance (and I really enjoyed it).  BB King's Lounge was hopping - there was a male lead vocalist who ROCKED the house. The dueling piano bar seemed to satisfy the older crowd with standards but had a hard time getting a vibe going.  Trivia was offered a couple times a day but you grade your own paper and it just didn't feel very competitive.  None of the bars were really very full and they didn't develop that "regular crowd" feeling that some cruises have.  

 

Mexican Riviera hasn't changed in 20 years.  Cabo still has the glass bottom boats and they're still $10/head.  We got a good one and had a great tour.  Mazatlan we took a taxi into the historic district and walked around.  Puerto Vallarta we took a taxi to the Malecon and walked around.  It was nice being in Puerto Vallarta until late (11pm).  

 

HAL was my first cruise line and for many years was my favorite, until we found X.  We still enjoy HAL but as an upper-crust line it seems to be slipping.  We would happily cruise HAL again if our dates lines up, but we wouldn't seek them out.  7/10 overall.

Edited March 31, 2019 by photomikey

[portofrome]

Thanks for your great review!

[azrose]

Thank you for the review.  I'm on her on the 14th for the Mexica Riviera also!  It's been a few years since I cruised HAL....so I am excited to be back 😀

[lstrong]

Thank you for your detailed review!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

 

Yes, HAL is slipping.  Many of us who have sailed on her ships over the years have seen the changes -- some good and some not so good.

 

Glad you enjoyed your spring break.

[twincheryl]

15 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

 

Yes, HAL is slipping.  Many of us who have sailed on her ships over the years have seen the changes -- some good and some not so good.

 

Glad you enjoyed your spring break.

Celebrity is our favorite as well... but we're on Nieux Amsterdam on 4/21 just because we are also from San Diego and we avoid flying during the Spring Break time period.  It's funny... on the Celebrity board, people say the same thing... they are slipping and not nearly like the "old days".  We just started cruising a lot 10 years ago, so don't see much change... mainly just the difference in how things "feel" between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean or Holland America and Carnival.  

[Bemidji Ty]

Thanks.  On her next week.  Our first HAL cruise.

 

Cheers

[cruzin4us]

I'm on her in in 7 days and I appreciate your review......Just curious tho PhotoMikey......Where's the Photo's????  

[SilvertoGold]

Very, very readable post!  Most enjoyable, with a great overall picture of the experience.  Had a good giggle at your 20s to 40s change of attitude re Gala Night!

[erewhon]

Thank you for reviewing your cruise.