Nieuw Amsterdam 12/23-12/30

[Sunshineliving]

Happy New Year everyone! We arrived home yesterday after our wonderful cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam. This was our 1st cruise since New Year 2020, our 3rd time on NA and 4th cruise overall.

 

We arrived at Ft. Lauderdale on 22nd after driving 4 hours. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on 17th. The room was clean and parking was easy. We left the hotel at 10:50 am with a boarding time of 1:20pm hoping they would not make us wait until then. We drove to the port using the entrance on Eisenhower, a short line to get in. 

 

We dropped off the couple we were traveling with and our check bag at pier 26. Found a parking spot on the 4th floor and walked down to the pier. We walked in and waited a few minutes to check in. They explained that our boarding pass wouldn’t scan because of the computer. We tried the Navigation app and that didn’t work. So he printed the boarding pass and checked our documents and off we went to security. Then to get our passports checked, which they scan with a tablet and got our picture taken. We went to the waiting area and there was an announcement that they would start boarding in 5 minutes. After about 10 minutes our group was called to board. Off we went and after our picture was taken we walked on board to our stateroom, which we upgraded from the offer they sent, and our keys were outside the door.

 

We stayed in 7079, a beautiful room with a bigger balcony. This was our first time staying in a suite. I liked the extra room in the bathroom and room. It did not make me feel like I have to book a suite every time, but if an offer comes my way again, it will be hard to say no. We unpacked our carry-ons and were off to The Retreat by noon and ordered lunch at the Dive In through the app. 

 

The app was easy to use for ordering food, looking at the menus for dinner, checking the Where and When, then adding the activities that you want to attend. I still used the paper Where and When, but the app was easy to use.

Edited December 31, 2021 by Sunshineliving
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[Sunshineliving]

Food

We ordered food from the Dive In four times, switching between hotdogs and cheeseburgers. I had the naked fries, which are my favorite, my husband had the buffalo fries and enjoyed them. The other days we ordered food from the Lido for lunch. The turkey sandwich and baked chicken were very good. 

 

Dinner the first night we ate at Tamarind. We made the reservation online for 5 pm. We were the only ones in there for 20 minutes and then two more tables came in. This was our first time eating here and will not be our last. The food was amazing! I had the Chinese Five Spice Baby Back Ribs, Mongolian Barbecue Lamb Chops, Yuzu Cheesecake and a Birthday cake. My husband had Tom Khakai, Panang Red Curry Coconut, and the Cheesecake. The serving sizes were perfect, not too much and just enough. 

 

Christmas Eve we went to the dining room at 5:30. We were welcomed with sparkling wine because it was our first night dining there. We used the Orange Club seating and were seated right away with a few other tables. Erick was a wonderful wait and entertaining. 

We had Caesar Salad, Crab Cakes, Striploin Beef, Lemon Glazed Market Seafood and Lemon Shrimp Scampi, Fruit Pavlova and Chocolate Yule Log.  Everything was very good.

 

Christmas dinner we ordered from the dining room and had it delivered to the room and ate on the verandah. We had Watermelon and Feta, Coconut Crusted Scallops, Slow Roasted Turkey, Honey Mustard Glazed Ham, Santa Snowman, and Mango Terrine. Menus here (not my site):https://profcruise.com/holland-americas-2021-christmas-and-new-years-menus/

 

The other nights we went to the Lido and NY Pizza. All good food and okay service. I will go back to Tamarind on our next cruise in March.

[Sunshineliving]

Entertainment:

 

We usually like to hang out at the Billboard On Board and got there early to get seats. Brady was entertaining, but Caroline… I did not go back as often as we have on other cruises. 

 

We went to the casino a couple of nights and won on slots one night and not the others. Did not do well at Blackjack either. We never go to the casino to win, but for entertainment. It was nice that there was no smoking. Did get reminded twice about wearing our masks, one time was when I was raising my drink to take a drink.  

 

We went to a couple of Team Trivia at the Ocean Bar. They are as fun as you make them. No trading papers with people, which I was happy about.

 

We went to the BB Kings for the Music Trivia, the game show Secret Identities, Majority Rules, and comedians Bud and Dino. Everything is good as you make it. I like the bar there, but wish it had more seats. 

 

One night we did our own bar hop. Bartenders will not tell you how many drinks you have had, they tell you to go to Guest Services. In the past they did tell us how many we had or did the slips (which I understand why they are not doing the slips). I used paper and pen to record how many we had. I think you should be able to  see how much on the app. Just an idea. 

 

[Sunshineliving]

The Retreat

 

The Retreat is one of my favorite spots on the ship. I check to see if a cabana is available before paying any deposit for a cruise. We tried for a family one, but they were booked, so we booked two because we were traveling with another couple. Avery and Wency were amazing. They went beyond what they needed to do for the week. They brought us drinks, lunch, and snacks. They were very attentive and worked hard to make sure everyone was happy. 

 

Disembarkment:

 

We had breakfast from the Lido at 6:30 am. Waited for the call that we could leave. We left our room at 7:25 am and we left the parking garage at 7:47 am.

[tompeter]

Great report, thanks!

 

[12cruise2]

Thank you so much for the report.  We were on the NA on and off for 9 weeks from 9/1/21, and we really enjoyed all of it--the crew, the ship and all the ports, including the many new ones that had been substituted in place of the published ports.  I really enjoy reading others stories.