Nieuw Amsterdam, October 23-30, 2021, thoughts.

[heblfm]

I am supposed to fly in to Miami and shuttle to Ft. Laud with HAL next week. Did they cancel? just not show up? I was told they start at 11:00 AM

[sambamama]

Apparently they came. The issue was I flew in Monday and was just waiting at the baggage claim. JetBlue only has one. The transfers said they began at 11. I was there from 10 to 12:15. I put my flights in, but anyone looking would see I flew in Monday and was leaving the Thursday after.They had my phone number, but no one called. JetBlue's baggage claim  is over by the international terminal. No HAL rep was anywhere in sight. I called HAL, and he told me to page HAL, but there was no place close to do that, I had a lot of luggage and I was traveling alone. You should be fine. I don't think anyone looked at the  date of my flight to see I had already arrived.

[SueMo]

After just completing a Celebrity cruise (Edge Oct 30) where no masks are required, I'm not sure how I'll feel about having to wear a mask everywhere on our upcoming HAL cruise in December.  I'm not anti mask by any means, but with the vaccine and testing requirement, is it overkill?  Celebrity has had excellent results--no covid reported on our cruise and most others.

We thought the food on Edge's Luminae to be hit or miss.  Had an excellent filet one day and inedible short ribs (a glob of fat on a bone) the next.  I am disappointed to hear that no lobster or steak is offered on HAL gala nights without an upcharge.  

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, SueMo said:

After just completing a Celebrity cruise (Edge Oct 30) where no masks are required, I'm not sure how I'll feel about having to wear a mask everywhere on our upcoming HAL cruise in December.  I'm not anti mask by any means, but with the vaccine and testing requirement, is it overkill?  Celebrity has had excellent results--no covid reported on our cruise and most others.

We thought the food on Edge's Luminae to be hit or miss.  Had an excellent filet one day and inedible short ribs (a glob of fat on a bone) the next.  I am disappointed to hear that no lobster or steak is offered on HAL gala nights without an upcharge.  

I’m the other way.  I’d feel more comfortable where the expectation is wearing a mask.  I have to do it at home so I’m kinda used to it.  I can’t say I enjoy it though 😉.

[510picker]

I’m curious if you know what time early fixed dining was in the main dining room. Thank you!

[Cruiz'nBaers]

40 minutes ago, 510picker said:

I’m curious if you know what time early fixed dining was in the main dining room. Thank you!

For us it was 5:30.

[Cruiz'nBaers]

6 hours ago, SueMo said:

After just completing a Celebrity cruise (Edge Oct 30) where no masks are required, I'm not sure how I'll feel about having to wear a mask everywhere on our upcoming HAL cruise in December.  I'm not anti mask by any means, but with the vaccine and testing requirement, is it overkill?  Celebrity has had excellent results--no covid reported on our cruise and most others.

We thought the food on Edge's Luminae to be hit or miss.  Had an excellent filet one day and inedible short ribs (a glob of fat on a bone) the next.  I am disappointed to hear that no lobster or steak is offered on HAL gala nights without an upcharge.  

It will be great to not wear a mask on our February Celebrity cruise if that is our option.  I follow whatever rules a line has; however, I am comfortable without a mask in most situations.  

[sambamama]

I am NOT comfortable in most situations. I don't find wearing a mask a hindrance.  You can still get COVID if you are vaccinated, and the very, very contagious Delta variant is out there.  I felt pretty safe on the cruise- I worked very hard to feel safe in Miami Beach.  I would not have made plans to stay as long in Miami Beach as I did (flying in the Monday before the cruise, and I left the Thursday after-but that was because Jetblue canceled my Tuesday flight, and there were none until Thursday), and you must work to stay safe in airport terminals and on the plane.  But everyone has their level of tolerance, and everyone has different risk factors for cOVID.  Me, I live alone, so there is no one to take care of me, and i am self-employed, so if I don't work, there is no income.  I have a number of risk factors as well, and my job lends itself to alot of people who are not vaccinated, and they don't always tell me, and I have to be in close contact with them.

 

That being said, it was wonderful to be on a cruise again.  WE didn't have super weather, but it was OK.  The crew all said they were so glad to be sailing again.  One benefit of the smaller passenger load is the superb service. The service in the dining room and at the Lido was amazing.  Sometimes when I sent laundry out in the morning, it came back in the afternoon (I love the laundry part of 4 star!)

[zgscl]

On 11/4/2021 at 3:38 PM, Florida_gal_50 said:

That’s what is making me think they are doing it on purpose.  If it was isolated it would be different but I’ve heard it a number of times already.  Maybe they think people won’t notice if they get charged or won’t bother standing in line at the front desk to get it rectified.

My suspicion is that it is much faster for the bartenders to charge two drinks to one check and close that out to one card than to do two separate checks. HAL needs to provide enough training/feedback to bartenders to overcome this or some restriction on the point of sale that will prohibit closing the ticket with multiple drinks at the same time. Or they need to pool the 15 per day limit and make it 30 per cabin. 

[Cruiz'nBaers]

1 hour ago, zgscl said:

My suspicion is that it is much faster for the bartenders to charge two drinks to one check and close that out to one card than to do two separate checks. HAL needs to provide enough training/feedback to bartenders to overcome this or some restriction on the point of sale that will prohibit closing the ticket with multiple drinks at the same time. Or they need to pool the 15 per day limit and make it 30 per cabin. 

Charging 30 drinks per cabin would solve the problem for us. 

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, zgscl said:

My suspicion is that it is much faster for the bartenders to charge two drinks to one check and close that out to one card than to do two separate checks. HAL needs to provide enough training/feedback to bartenders to overcome this or some restriction on the point of sale that will prohibit closing the ticket with multiple drinks at the same time. Or they need to pool the 15 per day limit and make it 30 per cabin. 

You know there is something that’s got me curious about this.  How are they even changing 2 drinks at a time.  I thought there had to be a gap, 5 or 10 minutes at least.  You can’t just say I want 2 margaritas or Caesar’s.  I don’t think they will let you.

[zgscl]

2 hours ago, Cruiz'nBaers said:

Charging 30 drinks per cabin would solve the problem for us. 

That seems like it would be the easiest solution (no idea if that would fit in their technology platforms), but as every adult needs to have the package it would then not matter who paid for what. 

[zgscl]

56 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

You know there is something that’s got me curious about this.  How are they even changing 2 drinks at a time.  I thought there had to be a gap, 5 or 10 minutes at least.  You can’t just say I want 2 margaritas or Caesar’s.  I don’t think they will let you.

I was thinking about that too. The only thing I can think of is that they open the check and ring in your drinks as you go but then when they close it out the system recognizes the time stamp of each purchase, or if the computer doesn't really care and the bartenders are supposed to enforce this. To be honest I am not sure how they know if it isn't through the computer. It used to be you had a separate card so it would be obvious when using a package but now that it is all on your cruise card it seems something should tell them not to make the second drink. I am on Koningsdam in a week and will try to make friends with a bartender and see what I can find out. 

 

Knowing HAL I really think this is more of a poor implementation/inconsistency thing than a deliberate attempt to charge people. As much as I love them, they are very inconsistent on things like this. 

[zgscl]

On 11/4/2021 at 8:33 AM, Cruiz'nBaers said:

First cruise since October 2019, we were very happy to be on a ship again, it is our preferred way to travel and vacation.  We primarily cruise HAL and Celebrity, sailing HAL since 2003, 3 star; sailing Celebrity since 2017.  
 

The ship was beautiful, we were in stateroom 5114, port side balcony.  The balcony was right above tender 14, not the best balcony we have had, still very nice.  Our room attendant did a fine job taking care of us, we didn’t make his job hard, we are neat and tidy travelers.  The ship was clean and well maintained.  The Lido pool was our favorite place to be on sea days.  The lounger situation is poor, very few loungers around the pool with many tables for 4 taking up space.  The tables were not widely used, they were in the sun, the tables under shade were busy.  More pool loungers are needed.  The same problem with chair savers not being around for hours, or saving chairs in multiple locations.  After watching chairs not being used for over 2 hours, we took them over.  No one approached us, so we were good.  Again, more loungers would have helped.  
 

Dining was fixed early seating, we had a table for 4, no one ever joined us.  Seating was very spaced out in the upper and lower dining.  Food in the main dining room was just ok.  Not a lot of variety,  poorer quality of beef and seafood, many items that used to be available on the menu are now only available for an additional charge.  No steak and lobster on either gala night, unless you were willing to pay $30, jumbo shrimp cocktail was $8.50.  Disappointing.  Food in the Lido for breakfast was pretty good for selection and taste, lunch was usually pretty good. The days when lunch seemed to be lacking we ate at the Dive In, which was good as usual.  Pinnacle Grill was disappointing, we have been fans of the Pinnacle, but, this time the quality seemed less than in the past.  Service was very good, but without the food being very good there is no point in paying extra for this experience.  We did not eat at Tamarind, Canneletto or in the dining room for lunch or breakfast.  
 

Entertainment was pretty poor.  The first night the theater had a lecture by the cruise director on the history of HA, while interesting, more for an afternoon lecture than the evening spotlight item.  One evening we attended the BBC Earth movie with live music, very nice, but again, I thought a bit lacking.  There were several nights of the dance troupe shows, they did not hold much appeal for us.  I guess the days of production shows are gone, no singers anymore.  One evening a comedian was featured in the theater, we enjoyed his show.  The double pianos were ok, but, we never felt compelled to sit and stay .  BB King group was very good.  On 2 evenings, a second comedian had a show in the BB King lounge, he was pretty good. 
 

Shore excursions did not interest us, we have been to most ports in the Caribbean, we got off the ship in each port, but usually returned after a short stay on shore and enjoying time on the ship.  We did go ashore on Half Moon Cay for most of the day, lovely as always, the barbecue lunch was adequate.  We had an included shore excursion, we bought the have it all option, we used it in Cozumel.  We went on a break break with open bar and lunch on Passion Island.  The drinks were awful, rum punch was made using flavored syrup, looked like Kool Aid,  margaritas were similar, the beer was ok.  The Mexican style lunch was awful, thankfully, we had options available to us when we got back on the ship.  Key West was canceled and replaced with Costa Maya.  We were disappointed, but, understand that can happen.  
 

Since we had the have it all package, we were able to enjoy a variety of drinks from cappuccino, bottled water, soft drinks, beer and cocktails.  HAL has a wonderful variety of cocktails and beers available for the Signature Beverage package, but, sometimes the bartenders put both of our drinks on one card, resulting in running over the limit of 15 drinks one day.  A trip to the customer relations desk resolved the problem, just be aware that this can happen and make sure that the bartender uses both cards, they should know better.  
 

The staff is the same wonderful, attentive, friendly staff that we have always enjoyed.  There were several staff members that we met on previous cruises, they remembered us and seemed as happy to see us as we were to see them.  
 

Embarkation and disembarking were quick and easy.  We arrived about 45 minutes before our assigned time, fully expecting to sit outside and wait.  We were ushered in and on the ship in just minutes.  Leaving the ship was easy, too. We had a 1PM flight so opted for a late time.  As a lot of people were already off the ship, finding our luggage and a taxi were quick. 
 

All in all, this was a nice getaway.  We hope that some of the things taken away will return once things get closer to normal.  We are booked on the July 2022 Voyage of the Vikings, and, have some concerns about traveling on HAL for 35 days.  The lack of evening entertainment and the lower standards for food in the dining room in the evening have us a bit worried.  We still have quite a bit of time before final payment to make our decision.  We are booked on Celebrity for a 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise in late February, it should be interesting to make the comparison and see how Celebrity is doing things post pandemic. 
 

Thank you for reading.

Thank you so much for your review - the good, the bad and the ugly! Honest reviews are so important so we can all make informed choices. The HAL entertainment issue has been a long term problem for the line. If you like the Step One Dance Company (I don't), then you are in better shape. The music walk is great but it doesn't replace the production shows IMO, and please don't get me started on the BBC Earth documentary. Love the EXC talks, but I think they should all be in addition to and not instead of evening entertainment. I agree wholeheartedly with your comments on the MDR. I am doing 6 nights out of 7 in the specialty dining venues on my next cruise and will see how that goes. I hope they make improvements in these areas over the next few months. I saw on the panama canal cruise they did steak & lobster on one of the gala nights. Hopefully this will come back to the shorter cruises eventually. I hope you will share your side by side comparison of Celebrity after your cruise in Feb. I have heard a lot of good things but I haven't quite been pushed enough to make a switch (yet). 

[Cruiz'nBaers]

9 hours ago, zgscl said:

Thank you so much for your review - the good, the bad and the ugly! Honest reviews are so important so we can all make informed choices. The HAL entertainment issue has been a long term problem for the line. If you like the Step One Dance Company (I don't), then you are in better shape. The music walk is great but it doesn't replace the production shows IMO, and please don't get me started on the BBC Earth documentary. Love the EXC talks, but I think they should all be in addition to and not instead of evening entertainment. I agree wholeheartedly with your comments on the MDR. I am doing 6 nights out of 7 in the specialty dining venues on my next cruise and will see how that goes. I hope they make improvements in these areas over the next few months. I saw on the panama canal cruise they did steak & lobster on one of the gala nights. Hopefully this will come back to the shorter cruises eventually. I hope you will share your side by side comparison of Celebrity after your cruise in Feb. I have heard a lot of good things but I haven't quite been pushed enough to make a switch (yet). 

We are going on the Voyage of the Vikings in July 2022 and will see if they step up their game for the longer cruises.  The last long cruise we went on with HAL was the 23 day Panama Canal cruise in April 2018 pre pandemic.  The food and entertainment on that cruise were both outstanding.  The food in the dining room was so good we did not feel the need to eat in the Pinnacle Grill.  We shall see.

[zgscl]

37 minutes ago, Cruiz'nBaers said:

We are going on the Voyage of the Vikings in July 2022 and will see if they step up their game for the longer cruises.  The last long cruise we went on with HAL was the 23 day Panama Canal cruise in April 2018 pre pandemic.  The food and entertainment on that cruise were both outstanding.  The food in the dining room was so good we did not feel the need to eat in the Pinnacle Grill.  We shall see.

Finger crossed! I saw a recent post from the Nieuw Amsterdam's Panama Canal cruise that the 4th Gala night offered steak and lobster on the main menu. I don't remember reading anything about entertainment one way or the other, but that is probably a good sign.