Caribbean trip summary (November 19th - December 3rd / Nieuw Statendam)

[robotpony]

We’re back this week after a fantastic 2 weeks in the Caribbean on the Nieuw Statendam. This was our first time on the Nieuw Statendam (previously sailed on the Koningsdam). We tried an inside cabin and rented a cabana for both weeks. We were wary about how small and dark the inside cabin would be, but it forced us to spend more time around the ship and in our cabana, and the room itself had more storage than expected.

 

This was a dream vacation for my partner and was her first trip outside of North America. Blue water and sandy beaches were her #1, and #2 as to learn more about each port. We accomplished both!

 

Highlights:

 

• Staff was fantastic; friendly, attentive, and they worked hard.
• Cabana life and service was fabulous, we’ll be doing this again in April.
• Room was surprisingly large, as we somehow got an accessible cabin.
• Food was overall better than our Alaska tour on the Koningsdam.
• Locations were great, and all excursions were enjoyable (and we enjoyed the two visits to Half Moon Cay far more than expected).
• The music walk was much better than our last cruise.
• The EXC talks and BBC/quartet shows were great.
• The dance crew was also great.
• The first comedian was good, second was much less so (comedy is a matter of taste, of course).
• We were able to avoid the elevators for the whole cruise! (clocking in at ~25 floors a day).
• OBC worked well for everything we needed it for (shareholder benefit, TA benefit, and price drop adjustment).
• The new drink receipt system slowed things down, but it did give us a chance to tip a handful of servers for great service (counting this as a plus overall). One staff member suggested that the signatures were proving helpful for resolving disputes..

 

Low points:

 

• Thanksgiving week was madness (~2900 guests, tonnes of kids), but was workable with a cabana.
• Both weeks felt understaffed, but the staff worked hard and were super friendly.
• Many customers complained about minor things in the first week. We helped a few and ignored the rest.
• In the first week we also witnessed  a number of breakdowns, an altercation, and several medical events. A lot of friction in that first week.
• Key West was replaced with Freeport, so we made it a cabana day.
• The Spa overcharged us more than $450 in the first week (so we didn’t go back). We had to return twice to have charges removed. Service was somewhere between okay and good, depending on the treatment.
• HA guaranteed flights were poorly routed with a number of changes before departure (both were redeyes, and both had 2 layovers). We may book our own flights for our next trip.

 

All of these issues were easily resolved or ignored, but it’s worth tracking where reality fell short of our expectations.

 

Food:

 

• We ate in the Lido more than we had previously, and found a lot of good food there (which surprised us, as we usually avoid buffets).
• The main dining room had much poorer service than previously, so we avoided it.
• All speciality dining was great, though Rudy’s service was a bit off.
• Nami was a good place to have a quiet embarkation day dinner (and we had lunch in our cabana).

 

• Top desserts:
  • The berry soufflé at Rudy’s was fab,
  • Pinnacle’s  key lime pie, and the creme bruleé were both amazing, and
  • The Lido’s banana crisp was weirdly great (with ice cream, of course).

 

• Other great bites:
  • Lobster Mac in the Pinnacle is still great,
  • Canaletto also surprised us, though one of our pastas was mediocre,
  • Curries in the MDR were all fantastic, and
  • The food at Half Moon Cay was much better than it deserved to be.

 

The overall experience was fantastic despite the business and chaos in that first week. We focused on soaking up the sun, island histories, and entertainment. 

 

We booked a 2024 Mexican Riviera "eclipse" cruise, combining the Black Friday and onboard booking deals. I think this is on the Zuiderdam, and we're excited to experience a smaller ship.

Edited December 7, 2022 by robotpony

[johnlcruise]

Nice review. Thank you for taking the time to report on your Most Excellent Adventure 

[vicd1969]

Glad you enjoyed the ship despite the circumstances during the first week. I’m sure the corporate suits were ecstatic about the more than full ship, but I feel sorry for the crew who had to deal with all the overcrowding issues.