Nieuw Amsterdam Review

4.5 / 5.0
964 reviews

For an older crowd

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam
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downingtowncruiser
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Mar 2018
Cabin: Interior Stateroom

This is a nice cruise with a good itinerary. Food was very good and the service was excellent. It is geared to an older crowd however. My 20 yr old daughter came with us and there were no activities that were suited for the younger crowd. No movie theater, no activities by the pool. We went to a few of the enrichment activities but they always led into a sales pitch for orthotics, spa services etc. The evening shows were very disappointing. Luckily we found the piano bar and spent some fun time there!

I tried to write an excursion review on their website and was unable to figure out how to do it. I sent an email and was told that the EXC staff goes on the trips to ensure the excursions were being run properly. I emailed again and instead of telling me how to review an excursion they refunded half of my money from an excursion. They knew I wasn't going to give a good review so I guess they just didn't want me to write one. So on that note, I would be hesitant to rely on the reviews they post on their EXC site regarding excursions. The excursion was a kayak trip to the bio luminescent bay in Puerto Rico. I booked this trip months before and when we got our tickets I noticed the time was 3:00. Since this was a trip that needs it to be dark in order to see the bio-luminescence I went to the EXC desk to inquire. I did not have a choice of time when I booked but they told me that another tour had been added at 6:00. I asked to be switched but was told it was full and that all of the people that had booked originally were put on the 3:00 time. He ensured me that the tour guides know what they are doing and it would be fine. We paddled out and tooled around the water waiting for it to start getting dark. As the sun started to go down they made us line up our kayaks and they threw a tarp over our heads and told us to splash the water. We tried this three times, waiting a while between each as it wasn't dark enough.Finally we had a small spark in the water and then we had to leave.As we were going back the second group was just coming and I am sure they had a wonderful experience. When I complained about this they told me that it doesn't matter if it is light or dark which is completely not true! I understand that the amount of bio-luminescence changes day to day but going out so early was clearly the wrong thing. I did also check that the moon was small before I booked as this can also make it difficult to see.This was very disappointing!! The added trip should have been the earlier one with an acknowledgment that it may be too light out to see well.

The private island is wonderful. Beautiful sand and water. Would have loved to have stayed there for a few days!

Cabin Review

Interior Stateroom

Cabin J

This was a very large cabin. A king bed with a pull down twin above it. The couch also converted to a twin bed. Two closets and a vanity with mirror. Small sectional type couch with a small coffee table. I saw other interior rooms that were much smaller. This was perfect for three or four people. Bathroom was a nice size as well.

Port Reviews

Half Moon Cay

Beautiful beach and water!! Wish we could have stayed for a couple of days!!

Grand Turk

Beatiful! Chairs are provided, no need to pay the guys trying to sell chairs. Walk down the beach a bit and you have a nice view not looking directly into the cruise ship. Bars further down the beach also have chairs for use!

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