Name: Terry M. Weekly
Email: tweekly@sunline.net
Age: 52
Occupation: U.S. Army Retired
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Holland-NieuwAmsterdam
SailingDate: 10 - 21 December 1997
Itinerary: Panama Canal (partial transit)
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 89
CruiseStaff: 99
CabinAmenities: 88
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 75
CabinQuietness: 98
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 99
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 79
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 96
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 97
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 93
EntertShowLounge: 97
OverallPortsofCall: 98
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 96
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 96
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 89
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 70
OverallCruiseValue: 92
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 31 Dec 1997
Time: 12:51:54
Remote Name: 207.30.57.74
Remote User:

Comments

The Positive: - Interesting 12 day itinerary (Ft. Lauderdale, Curacao, Aruba, Cartagena, San Blass Islands, partial transit Panama Canal,
Costa Rica, Ft. Lauderdale. - Embarkation/debarkation process very efficient and well organized. - We had cabin #886 midships on the
bottom (C) deck. The cabin was very quiet and the ride smooth even in rough seas. - The cabins and public areas of the ship were well
maintained and very clean. - The food quality was excellent in all areas. We especially enjoyed the variety and quality of the food in the Lido
Restaurant for breakfast and lunch. Don't know how buffet food could get much better. - The cruise staff were very friendly, highly visible,
available and in control. - Our Cabin Steward (Rom) was the best we have experienced yet on a cruise ship. - The entertainment in all areas
of the ship was excellent. Special kudos to the Rosario Strings Quartet.

The Negative: - The ship was completely full and, as a result, often seemed crowded. In the dining room, many tables that were normally
meant for 6 were crowded up with 2 more chairs. The show lounge had insufficient seating to accomodate the crowds for the evening shows.
This resulted in many 'unpleasant exchanges' (including fighting, and believe it or not, a biting incident) over chairs. In fairness to Holland
America Line I must add that, as a whole, the people on this cruise (average age well over 70) were the most loud, rude, obnoxious, pushy,
demanding group of people I have ever encountered in my life. Many of the above problems were caused by rude, discourteous behavior by
people with little respect for others, and is not the fault of the cruise line. - Apparently a complete changeover of the dining room staff
ocurred just before this cruise. The 'growing pains' were evident. The initial very slow service in the dining room was corrected after a couple
of nights, but the breakfast and lunch service remained very slow the whole cruise. As an example, the first 2 mornings in the dining room, we
waited 25 minutes to even get a cup of coffee and menu! After that we just went to the Lido, which fortunately had very good food. Service in
the dining room also appeared to suffer from lack of dedicated bus boys. - We were somewhat disappointed in the variety and cost of shore
excursions. Examples: No rain forest tour was offered in Costa Rica. The bus tour in Cartegena was very poor quality and way overpriced. On a
Curacao snorkeling trip, we shared the snorkeling boat with people cruising on the Royal Caribbean 'Legend of the Seas'. For the same
excursion we paid $34, they paid $28. - The ship experienced some annoying maintenance problems during the cruise. Some rooms were
without air conditioning for several days at a time without being fixed. Elevators frequently were out of service. Bottom Line: For 15 years
old, the Nieuw Amsterdam is still an excellent, very clean and well maintained ship. But, because of overcrowding, it is one to be avoided
during periods when it is likely to be carrying a full load of passengers.

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