Amsterdam
by David R. Parker
Caribbean
October 24, 1999
The Ship
This is the oldest of HAL's ships and also the smallest at 33,930 gross
tons. The Noordam, launched one year later, is virtually identical except
for some decor. I won't bore you with too many deck details, since anyone
with a brochure can see all the specifics. We were very impressed with the
cleanliness and upkeep of this boat. Crew was always painting, polishing,
cleaning, varnishing, etc. I had been concerned that the maintenance might
slip due to the announced sale of the Nieuw Amsterdam to the American Hawaii
Line at the end of the 2000 season. No cause for concern though, everything
was in great condition.
The feel of the Nieuw Amsterdam is elegant and
"proper". No glitzy neon or plastic. Lots of wood, brass, and antiques.
We very much enjoyed the feel and ambiance of the decor and furnishings. We
sailed with a full passenger complement (approx. 1200) but never felt
crowded. There were few lines and there was never a problem finding a quiet
place to sit and read. As to air conditioning, it was hit and miss. Some
parts of the ship were very cool, like the Peartree lounge, the casino, and
parts of the Lido restaurant. Others were a bit warm, like the Explorer's
lounge, Henry's bar and the Manhatten dining room. Later in the cruise the
Explorer's lounge was very cool....so it's possible that the crew was
adjusting the public room temps to try to accommodate the passenger's
comments. A lot of the older people constantly complained of areas being
too cool.
Now, about that "vibration" some have written about. This ship
(and reportedly the Noordam) definitely has a significant vibration that I
can best describe as a slow throb or bounce. In some parts of the ship you
can't even feel it, in other places it's almost comical. The worst places
were the Crow's nest lounge and the balcony of the Stuyvesant Lounge. At
times, it was hard to even read in the Crow's nest due to the bouncing. It
reminded me of sitting on my Harley Road King at idle. Seriously. Whenever
I started missing my Harley, I'd just go sit in the crow's nest and close my
eyes. Hehe. It really wasn't uncomfortable, just a bit amusing. We never
felt it at all in our cabin.
The last day at sea was the only rough one. I
was on deck (completely alone!) as we came around Grand Cayman and ran smack
into a tropical depression. It was fascinating. The sky/sea ahead looked
like a black wall, while the sun was shining behind us. I was about ready
to get in the shower anyway after snorkeling so I decided to stay put and
see what it was like. I wrapped my left arm around the center post of the
top forward deck rail and hung on to my glasses with with my right hand.
Wow. The head winds were 30 knots and we were moving at 20, so it was like
hitting a wet wall. A really wild ride. That night and the next day were
pretty rough heading around Cuba and back toward the Gulf. We slept fine
(like being in a giant cradle that is swinging gently) but Sharon was
briefly sick the next day. After throwing up a few times, she took a short
nap and then was fine. I never got sick, but had to focus to avoid it.
Just Old Folks?
Just tell most people who cruise that you are going on a HAL cruise, and you
will probably hear that it will be mostly old folks. I heard it from our
travel agent when planning this trip. Well....for the most part, it's true.
I'm 42, and my wife is "a little" older than me. I'd say the average age on
this cruise was between 65 and 70. There was one twentysomething honeymoon
couple, one (1!) child, a couple dozen couples in their 30s and 40s....and
the rest of the 1200 passengers were 50-80. The vast majority were in their
60s.
But....so what? That's a great demographic for people like us.
Obviously, if you are young and single and trolling for action, or just
interested in the view on the topless deck, you won't find much among this
crowd. But there were no noisy kids (the one was a cute little
toddler...rarely seen), and no (absolutely none) tweens or teenagers. There
were always lots of lounge chairs, deck chairs, and nothing but space
outside. The real old folks just don't spend alot of time there. We had
no problem getting the real active shore excursions we wanted (sailing,
snorkeling, etc) because they were all on bus tours. And these older folks
are great to visit with, dine with, and get to know. They are widely
traveled and well educated. And many of them are a real riot...especially
after a little bit to drink. We much prefer the older crowd for dining,
dancing, and conversation. That generation knows how to have a meaningful
conversation. I'm often afraid many my age and younger don't know how to
engage in gracious conversation that isn't just about themselves or their
interests. Give me the HAL folks any day!
Cabins
We booked a mini-suite (the highest category available on this ship) for
several reasons. Given the length of the cruise and the rare opportunity to
do a trip like this without our kids, we wanted "the best"...and it was a
relative bargain. This ship has few large single beds and the mini-suite
assured us of a king bed. It also comes with a sofa, chair, table,
desk/chair, huge dresser with make-up seat, mini-bar with fridge, TV,
stereo, large tub with shower, two plush HAL robes for use on board, full
breakfast in cabin if desired, and just a huge amount of storage. We
couldn't begin to use all the drawers and storage cupboards. Two of the
dresser drawers locked with a provided key. We just locked jewelry and
excess cash in a drawer and never had a problem.
The room was almost 300
square feet, which is huge. All the mini-suites are listed as "partial sea
view" due to the life boats. The view was really fine. The windows were
just about even with the top of the open life boats, allowing full view
straight out or up. The only obstruction was looking straight down. The
mini-suites on the deck below us had windows even with the bottom of the
lifeboats, giving them a good view down or straight out, but not up. Either
arrangement works, though I think our deck (the Navigation Deck) was a bit
better view. Another reason I wanted the Navigation Deck is that I could
assume (correctly) from the deck schematics that the Captain's private
quarters are on that deck near the bridge. Actually, the Hotel Manager and
the Chief Engineer's quarters were also forward on Navigation. This was
important to me because of scattered reports I'd read about plumbing/air
conditioning problems on this boat. I figured that these systems are
probably deck specific and there would be a better assurance of smooth
operation on the deck where the Captain sleeps. As I hoped, there were
never any problems with plumbing of any kind...everything worked great. And
the air conditioning was capable of keeping our cabin (number A060) in the
low 60s! My wife revolted when I'd crank it below about 70....but it was
nice knowing I'd never have to sleep hot in the Caribbean. We did hear
reports of air conditioning problems on the B deck. On the last night, we
sat next to a passenger at the evening show that said she had not had any
A/C in her cabin for the entire two weeks...the best they could do was to
bring her a large fan, which dominated her relatively small cabin. The
irony is that she is a travel agent and was really steamed...HAL will
probably regret not solving her problems. One of the couples at our dining
room table had a shower that barely worked (very low pressure) for the first
several days. Their cabin was on the Upper Promenade deck. They finally
got the public relations manager's attention and got the problem fixed. It
required opening up the wall in the shower. They had very good follow up by
the PR manager to assure they were happy. Makes me wonder about that travel
agent on B deck...
Food
In the dining room the food was spectacular. Excellent variety, taste,
presentation and quality. Some portions were small, especially the chicken
and lamb entrees...but they were happy to bring you a second serving. A
real highlight was the chilled soups the chef created. Very tasty. The
Lido was not so impressive, mostly just usual cafeteria food...but then we
ate dinner in the dining room every night anyway. The hamburger grill was
okay, but offered nothing with their burgers other than standard garnishes.
I was dying for some BBQ sauce....and it would have been nice to have been
able to get some chips or fries. As we often didn't return to the ship from
shore excursions till 3:00 PM or after, it was often our only choice for a
late lunch. One of HAL's best extras is the Lido Ice Cream bar. "Abel"
took care of me with a smile and a greeting...he even learned my name. One
day I hadn't visited him until the late night serving and he thought I'd
fallen overboard. (I love ice cream!) The varieties were a bit odd at
times, but he came up with some masterpieces. I loved the banana fudge,
cinnamon vanilla and coconut sherbet. They are all made fresh on board.
The only room service we ordered was coffee or breakfast in the morning,
depending on our excursions, and they were always delivered hot and promptly
when requested.
Service
In a word, excellent. HAL has created a corporate culture of service and
friendliness that must be the envy of the other cruise lines. The room and
dining stewards were the best. And the bar staff were welcoming even if you
weren't buying or drinking. The entertainment staff were absolutely
fantastic...though the same can't be said of all the entertainment...more on
that later. Even the ship operation people..you know, the guys you pass on
deck or in a hall that are wearing dirty coveralls or a sailor's
uniform...all would greet and smile like they really enjoyed seeing you.
It's easy to see why so many people become brand loyal to HAL. Over 70% of
our passengers were HAL alumni.
Ports/Excursions
The primary reason we chose this cruise was the number and variety of ports.
The only change was the substitution of Dominica for Guadeloupe. There were
political demonstrations and labor strikes in Guadeloupe so we called on
Dominica instead. Everyone was very happy with the change. Those that had
been to Guadeloupe before had nothing good to say about it, and Dominica was
a treat. More "third world" than most of the Caribbean, it is a lush and
beautiful island. They clearly were not as accustomed to cruise ships and
we were able to see more of the "backside" of Caribbean life.
But first, we hit San Juan, Puerto Rico after two sea days. We spent the
day walking San Juan's old town on our own. We took the free trolley from
near the docks to the fort of San Cristobal. We leisurely toured the fort
and enjoyed the incredible view from it's ramparts. We then walked the mile
or two along the sea wall to the fort of El Morro. We spent over an hour
just climbing around this magnificent place. We fell into a Park Service
tour and learned a great deal about it's history. From there we walked all
through old town, stopping to visit the San Juan Cathedral where Ponce de
Leon is at rest and then leisurely walked and shopped back to the ship. It'
s all a down hill walk from El Morro. For those who can walk and aren't
intimidated by foreign places, this is a great place to skip the excursions
and set out on your own.
Next was St. John/St. Thomas. The ship stops at St. John at 7:00 am and
allows off those who have excursions there, then proceeds to St Thomas to
dock at about 9:00 am. You are not allowed off at St. John without an
excursion ticket since transportation to shore is by special ferry. We
wanted off at St. John to be on our own for swimming and snorkeling and did
not want a restrictive excursion. Thankfully, they offer an $8 per person
"Ferry Transfer" on the excursion form that basically just drops you off at
St. John. You are on you own from there. Perfect for us, so that's what we
did. We shared a taxi to Trunk Bay, (there are rows of taxi trucks
everywhere we went...cheap and easy) and were in the water by 7:30! We
brought our own mask/fins/snorkel, but they are available to rent at trunk
bay. This is the place with the underwater snorkel trail and is a nice easy
snorkel for beginners. The facilities there are great, with fresh water
showers, rest rooms, snacks and a small store. There is also lots of shade,
with rows of trees right up to the white sand. Perfect for those of us that
burn easy. We had intended to move on over to Cinnamon Bay next, but it
was so perfect at Trunk, we just stayed most of the day. In the afternoon,
we taxied back to the ferry terminal where we arrived and bought tickets for
the 45 minute ferry trip over to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas to rejoin the
ship. The ferry was $6 or $8 each...I forget....but very reasonable. It
runs about every hour and the taxi drivers know it's schedule by heart. The
ferry drops you off right in the heart of Charlotte Amalie's waterfront
market place. It's about a $2 taxi to the cruise ship dock after you've had
your fill of shopping. The hair braiders kept after me...wanting to do my
hair or my beard, or both. Thankfully my wife put an end to that before I
could be seriously tempted. We had a full day at one of the best beaches in
the world, swimming, snorkeling, and snoozing, a delightful ferry ride, and
plenty of shopping....and it cost a total of about $25. And we went at our
own pace. A real bargain. It was kind of sad when the cruise ship
excursions hit Trunk Bay, all of a sudden about 100 people would show up
with day-glow stickers on their shirts and were constantly looking at their
watches or asking us the time because they only had about an hour. Much
better to just do this one on your own if you desire beach time or
snorkeling. The ship offers 17 excursions here that would cover most any
other plans.
Though the change to Dominica was done at the last minute (literally the
afternoon before) they came up with two excellent excursions. This is a
rustic and backward island that lends itself to an organized excursion,
though there were many taxi/tour drivers aggressively looking for business.
Two even got in a fight near the dock. If you are comfortable dealing with
very assertive locals, you could certainly save money dealing direct. It's
a British Commonwealth Windward Island, so language is not a problem. This
island reminded me the most of parts of Hawaii. Very mountainous with many
streams, rivers, and waterfalls. It was without a doubt the most beautiful
of all the islands we visited. We took a tour into the mountains and
visited the Emerald Pool and Falls which were spectacular. It involved a
moderately demanding walk down a rainforest canyon and back up on a well
groomed trail. Any who wanted to could swim in the pool under the
falls...most of us just scampered around on the rocks posing for pictures.
Large fresh water crabs could be seen without effort. There was an off and
on light rain, but you couldn't even feel it under the huge canopy of the
rainforest.
We went next to a local mountain meeting hall where a group of
local women did a charming music/dance production. It was rustic in every
way....and the rum punch was strong enough to start your car. Next stop was
a botanical garden and then a scenic overlook called Morne Bruce which is
near their President's residence above Roseau. We returned to the dock,
which is right at the heart of their downtown area, and set out on foot to
walk the area. Though the taxi drivers were rather aggressive, the local
people and merchants were very friendly and seemed thrilled we were there.
It didn't look like they get many cruise ships. Lots of little stalls and
marketplaces near the ship. Also plenty of opportunity to sample the local
"ganga" as I found out. If a local comes on just a little too friendly, he'
s probably looking to sell some of his "reeely good ganga, mon". The local
that approached me was still very friendly and solicitous even after his
proposition was declined. There was a local festival going on celebrating
the 21st anniversary of their independence from Britain and most everyone
was dressed to party and looking for a good time on this Friday night. We
ventured several blocks into Roseau (though it made my wife a bit nervous)
to visit the local cathedral that looked very impressive from the ship. We
entered through a side door and marveled at the simplistic beauty of this
church. After noticing that they were setting up for a funeral, we slipped
out and worked our way back to the ship. As we walked these narrow twisting
streets, the locals were hanging out everywhere with much talk and laughter.
We could smell strange and wonderful aromas coming from the many little
kitchens that were busy preparing for the parties. It was a wonderful
visit. It is certainly one of the more African influenced islands and
seemed quite a bit more "foreign" than any of the other ports on this trip.
I was amused later to observe a local man climb the seawall right next to
the dock, strip naked, swim around bathing, climb onto the rocks next to the
dock, dry off and redress. He then climbed back over the wall and joined
the other party goers. I guess he just wasn't as fresh as he wanted to be
for the night ahead. Nobody paid him any attention.
The absolute best sail/snorkel excursion we took was at Bridgetown Barbados.
If you book only one of these type excursions....take this one. After a
short shuttle bus ride within the port area, we boarded a huge 60' sailing
catamaran that was shining clean and well maintained. On boarding, I
commented to my wife that I sure hoped they'd really sail this thing and not
just motorsail...I was not disappointed. We had a gentle sail downwind to a
beautiful beach/snorkel site. The entire crew was friendly and solicitous
of our every need. When a group of passengers in the water were in need of
more rum drinks, they began to bring pitchers out to the them. And not just
rum punch...they were creating some beautiful custom rum drinks. Rum must
be very inexpensive in Barbados because they sure were generous with it. We
had a blast snorkeling and then slipped out of the bay to sail and eat
lunch. It was a fantastic fully catered hot lunch with fish, BBQ chicken,
rice, salad, bread, dessert, ...more food than we could possibly eat. Very
hot and tasty. And then we sailed....really sailed! There were strong
trade winds blowing, but they rolled out all the jib and only put one reef
in the mainsail. We were close reaching at breakneck speed and were taking
spray and frequent waves clear back to the mast. Anyone wanting to stay dry
could certainly stay in the cockpit/cabin seating area, but many of us chose
to set out on the forward hulls or the trampoline connecting them....and we
had a great thrill ride. Very wet, very fun. This crew was great, the boat
was wonderful and the water was perfect. Easily the best excursion we took.
It's listed in the HAL excursion planner as "Beach Sail & Snorkel, 5 hours,
Catamaran sail, beach, snorkel, lunch, drinks, $79, 125-0601"
Castries, St. Lucia was easily the worst of these type of excursions.
Absolutely beautiful island though. There is a mini-mall of sorts right
next to the dock with many different stores for shopping. One shop even had
a life-size wicker Harley. Entirely made from wicker. Amazing. Anyway,
this sail/swim/plantation excursion was quite a contrast to the one in
Barbados. The crew were not very friendly, mostly just stayed back by the
wheel and ignored us. This was a 5� hour excursion from the docks at
Castries around the island to Soufriere, where the ship would meet us and
pick us up by tender. The catamaran crew never turned off the engine and
just motorsailed the entire time. We did circle in through the hurricane
hole of Marigot Bay which was fascinating, and the view of the twin Pitons
near Soufriere were magnificent. What was described as a "brief swim stop"
at Anse Cochon cove mid-trip turned out to be 1� hours due to the crew
motorsailing quickly instead of sailing slowly along the coast. No
snorkeling equipment was provided, but I had brought my mask and snorkel for
the "brief swim stop" so I asked the crew about the snorkeling prospects.
They instructed me not to go beyond the point at the north end of the bay
due to the strong currents, but said the cliffs short of the point were good
to snorkel. I did not bring my fins and lived to regret it. Not wanting to
just set around on the beach for 1� hours, I set off to snorkel. Swimming
and snorkeling along the cliffs was delightful and I soon found myself near
the point a considerable distance from the beach. I didn't think it was a
problem since I hadn't gone around the point and it was an easy swim getting
there....come to find out, it was an easy swim because of that current. As
I began to work my way back, I had a very hard time. Having usually worn
fins when diving/snorkeling, I had neglected to realize how very hard it is
to power against a current without them. Bare human feet are just pitiful
against a strong current. I pumped like a crazy man for about 30 minutes to
finally make it back. Was just a little scary. In doing so, I ended up
straining or pulling some tendons in my left lower leg that I felt for days.
After arriving at Soufriere, we boarded buses for a visit to the Morne
Coubaril Estate plantation. Very interesting despite the seemingly bored
tour guides. Beautiful island, but not as friendly people. Very aggressive
vendors, some very young, meet you at the dock at Soufriere and you have to
almost beat them away with a stick. Too bad.
Next was Porlamar, Isla De Margarita, Venezuela. We skipped the excursions
and taxied into town to shop. Pearls are a big item here and are great
values. The people are very friendly and dollars widely accepted. This is
a great place to find good souvenirs for the kids, lots of Indian
handicrafts. We even found the Harley dealer and got a couple of his
tee-shirts. Very cool. The Hilton is right next to the tender dock (the
only thing near the tender dock) and new and very nice. It's a great place
to make phone calls back to the States. Few excursions were offered here,
but it's a great place to just explore on you own. Porlamar has the feel of
a boomtown that is growing very fast. A wonderful stop.
Next was Kralendijk, Bonaire. It and Aruba are in the Netherlands Antilles
and were simply charming. I loved Bonaire. It was like a little Dutch
village transplanted to the coast of South America. Very friendly people,
easy, no-hassle shopping, and some of the best diving and snorkeling in the
world. We took the "no name" beach snorkel transfer excursion which offered
great snorkeling in crystal clear water. But, as we discovered, this beach
is on a barrier island (no facilities) near the harbor and is easily and
cheaply reached by water taxis that are near the ship. We paid $39 each for
about a 10 minute ferry to the beach. Skipping the ship excursion and doing
it on your own would be much cheaper...though of course you'd need your own
gear. The folks I really felt sorry for were those who bought the "Samur
sail & snorkel" excursion. They paid $69 each to ride an old Chinese junk
the same distance and to snorkel the same beach. On another subject, my
left leg was now miserable after battling the current in St. Lucia and
walking alot in Porlamar. We asked in Bonaire for a pharmacy to try to find
an over the counter pain killer and anti-inflammatory called Actron that has
been effective for me in the past. Tylenol and Excedrin had been useless.
There was a wonderful pharmacy nearby with an English speaking pharmacist.
She was not familiar with Actron and we didn't know it's active ingredient,
but she patiently described several different options. On her advice we
bought a Swiss drug called Voltaren that we found out later was prescription
only in the States. (we saw other perscription drugs, including codeine,
available over the counter here) It was very inexpensive, and very
effective. We'd only bought 10 tablets and needed more at Grand Caymen a
couple of days later, and once again found a nearby pharmacy who gladly sold
us as much as we wanted (a British equivalent to the Swiss drug) for a very
reasonable price. We paid about $8 for 20 tablets, but discovered after we
got to the ship that he had mistakenly given us more than 30 tablets. These
were just as effective. Anyone on expensive medication ought to consider
checking some of the local pharmacies in these islands...might be able to
save a great deal.
Oranjestad, Aruba was a bigger, more commercial Bonaire. We did another
catamaran sail and snorkel (just can't get enough) and it was delightful.
It was a 55' catamaran, not as nice as in Barbados, but the people were
great. They kept the rum flowing, with lots of music and dancing. They
anchored at Arashi, near the west point of the island and the water and fish
were spectacular. After returning to the ship and cleaning up a little, we
walked the waterfront shopping area. Lots of western influence here. You'
ll find American franchises and even a Carlos n' Charlies saloon &
restaurant.
The next day was a sea day, which we greatly appreciated. It was great to
just relax, read, and mix without an excursion or port. The last stop was
George Town, Grand Cayman. Some of the most spectacular water yet. We did
the Atlantis submarine in the morning. There are Atlantis submarines
operating in St. Thomas, Barbados, Aruba and Grand Cayman. We had heard
that Grand Cayman was the best, and we very much enjoyed it. These are real
submarines, not semi-submersibles or glass bottom boats. It's over 60' long
and costs over 3 million dollars. We dove to over 100' down the Cayman wall
which goes on to drop about 6,000 feet. The dive lasted 45 minutes, and
they hover the sub right up to the wall, close enough to reach out and touch
it, if there were no windows. We saw two huge sea turtles, several large
stingrays, and thousands of fish and eels. Spectacular. Worth every penny.
After the sub, we did a little shopping and then joined our last excursion,
a reef snorkel trip. This was a dive boat that took us to two dive sites
nearby. First was the wreck of the Cali, a freighter hauling rice that
began to take on water....and proceeded to burst and sink as the rice
expanded. Great snorkeling. It was near enough to the surface (maybe 15-20
' feet down) to dive down and climb around a little. Very cool. Lots of
fish, including 4-5' long fish that look like sharks...though they aren't.
I forget their names. They were very docile and let you swim all around
them. One of the smaller fish did nibble at my fingers once....didn't hurt,
but it sure startled me. It's easy to pet most of the bigger fish, even if
you aren't trying to. After the Cali wreck, we motored over to a natural
reef which had more coral and vegetation than had grown on the Cali. The
crew of the dive boat was great. They swam with us, dove into some of the
caves to chase out fish, and even caught a few small fish by hand. We had a
sea turtle swim right through us as well. Wonderful.
Entertainment
The ships performers, three young men and four young ladies, were absolutely
fantastic. Incredible dancing and singing. The only problem was they only
performed four times in 14 days. The other evening entertainment was
mediocre at best. There was a banjo player (!?), a "silent comedian" that
belonged at a child's party, a ventriloquist, a pianist, two other
comedians, one of which was average, the other one, Frank Berry, did three
performances, two of which were the evening show and virtually every bit of
his material was old recycled stuff that I'd heard or read numerous times
before from different sources. I expected more quality from HAL. They
would have done better to just stick with their own singing/dancing cast.
In addition to the shows, there was usually the Rosario Strings in the
Explorer's lounge in the evenings, (my favorite) a dance band in the Hudson
lounge, a pianist in the Crow's nest, and DJ music in the Peartree. There
was also frequent live music at pool side on the Lido deck. Strangely, they
did not have a Caribbean steel band. For Halloween, many of us and most of
the cruise staff dressed up for dinner and then enjoyed a party in the
Peartree lounge. I took a huge Viking helmet with horns, complete with
braids, that looked like real metal and horn, though it was made of rubber.
Made a big hit in the Manhatten dining room. For the rest of the cruise,
crew and passengers would ask me about it. Sharon was fetching as a French
maid...though she was constantly worried someone would put her to work.
There were some really great costumes. My favorite was a pirate that looked
fantastic. The Princess theatre was showing two movies a day at four
different times. We only watched one movie, Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn in
the remake of The Out Of Towners. Popcorn was served before each show and
the theatre was very comfortable. Other movies were also available in the
cabins...but we never watched any....always something better to do. Of
course there is a Casino and frequent bingo games, but since we aren't
gamblers, I've nothing much to say about them.
Conclusion
I wouldn't hesitate to go around the world on HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam. It
feels like a ship instead of a Vegas hotel and is an elegant and comfortable
home away from home. HAL's service and standards make the entire experience
satisfying. It's definitely not for someone looking for a "spring break" or
"animal house" kind of party, but for everyone else, it's great. We made
several friendships that we expect to continue long after returning home.
If you have any specific questions, please e-mail me. I'd be happy to
answer any questions I can.
