We had a very enjoyable 7day cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam- Eastern Caribbean.  There were very few problems but most of them were resolved.  We found all of the cruise ship staff to be extremely friendly and caring trying to make sure everything was to our satisfaction.

We were very pleased with the embarkation to the ship.  There was a slight delay getting aboard because they did not have adequate staff to man all the people who were in wheelchairs.  I happened to be one of them on this cruise since I just recently had an accident and broke a bone in my back.  The transporter did an excellent job making sure my ride was smooth.  He took us directly to our stateroom which was a big help to me.  Our  cabin was a fully obstructed outside view.  We were very happy to see there were safety bars in the tub as well as a rubber mat.   The toilet was very difficult to flush.  There was a safe and a minibar in the cabin.  Our cabin steward made sure we had an egg-crate mattress and 2 bath robes as well as extra ice that I was going to need for my back. The refrigerator did not have a freezer.  The TV had a remote control with a sleep timer which I always appreciate having.  We did have a problem with the TV sound and after notifying our steward several people came to fix it including the Cruise Director but it eventually had to be replaced. We had breakfast delivered to our cabin daily.  The delivery person was very pleasant and timely.  Lots of food choices, however, eggs, bacon, toast, muffins and potatoes were always cold.  The coffee was always hot and delicious.  The salt shakers were always clogged.  They need to add rice to them so that they will pour readily. The blueberry muffins were the best I have ever tasted.

Finding our way around the ship was easy since the ship had a similar layout as the Eurodam which we traveled on last year.  We were surprised that they still have not taken my suggestion that on the midship elevator bank where there are 4 glass elevators and 2  or 3 conventional elevators be linked to one button activation rather than  having to run to all the different banks to press for service.  It is very difficult for a handicapped person to run in all different directions to catch an elevator. I also have a problem with claustrophobia and found myself along with 8 other cruisers in elevator #2 Aft by the Manhattan Dining Room trapped.  The doors would not open no matter what button I pushed.  I was on the right side by the buttons and did not see a phone or a red button to press in an emergency.  I started pounding on the door an fortunately someone on the outside heard me and hollered to me what to do.  On the left side of the elevator their were another set of controls and low down below the buttons was a help button (silver in color as the other buttons) and a phone inside a silver case.  Once we pressed that button the doors opened and we all escaped thanking this passenger who said he also was trapped in the same elevator that morning.  I reported the problem to the attendant in the front of the dining room. Read more