Holland America is the Mega Ship Antidote
Teak decks, live music, and Morimoto on board make for a tranquil week at sea
There’s something romantic about that first moment you embark on a ship or watch land get smaller and smaller while the ocean breeze tousles your hair.
I love walking on the promenade deck in the morning, a coffee in my hand. I love dressing for dinner in the dining room. I enjoy watching a slightly cheesy Broadway review or listening to a singer playing the best of Billy Joel.
In short — I adore classic cruising — and my recent cruise aboard Holland America Line’s (HAL) Nieuw Amsterdam was all that - with some modern touches and surprises.
One of HAL’s signature class ships, the Nieuw Amsterdam holds slightly more than 2,100 guests (about a quarter of the largest cruise ship’s capacity). Voyaging with her, you’ll find no rock walls, no water slides, and no shopping mall at sea. There are no amusement park rides, and no musical extravaganzas. Instead, you’ll find a midsized ship that offers fine dining, live music, and a touch of romance.
Though she’s small, I never felt crowded, nor did I wait for a meal, a cocktail, or a snack on the Nieuw Amsterdam. She was built in 2010, and refurbished in 2017 and, while she’s not the newest gal at sea, she’s an elegant choice.
The staterooms aren’t flashy — there’s no neon sign blinking “Sweet Dreams” or anything else Instagram-worthy. But the bed is comfortable and the bathroom extra roomy and boating a real bathtub should you want to soak at sea. And, if you aren’t enchanted by the afternoon appearance of a towel animal holding a small chocolate, you have no soul. One evening, I was greeted by a French Bulldog in towel form that gave me a frisson of longing for my own Frenchie back home with the dog sitter. My heart, as expected, was instantly melted.
It’s those touches of service and surprise that make HAL shine. The cruise line excels in the small details that charm and delight. You’ll spot fresh flowers nearly everywhere from the salons to the dining rooms and friendly greetings.
The teak promenade deck was tended to and polished every morning as I took a three-mile walk between enjoying coffee in my stateroom and breakfast. I even loved how security personnel would walk along the deck each morning with what looked to be a pink towel fastened to a ball on a stick to wipe the salt water off the security cameras.
Speaking of food — Holland America is known for the quality of its fare. Not a fan of buffets, I opted to dine at either a specialty restaurant or the main dining room each night.
At the main dining room, I ordered a surf and turf that was far superior to other cruise meals I’ve experienced in the past. At Tamarind (an upcharge Asian restaurant), a chicken curry had a surprising bit of spice to it (cruise ships are known for offering, well, bland food for the most part). Morimoto at Sea, a partnership with the Iron Chef, was another winner (and another upcharge). Honestly, the dining room fare met or exceeded the quality of the specialty restaurants and I ate there frequently.
If you want to splurge on one “add-on” dinner, I would suggest the ship’s Pinnacle Grill, though. This white tablecloth experience offered a delicious formal meal with optional wine pairings that channeled what it must have been like to board a vessel bound for England from New York the same way that Deborah Kerr did in An Affair to Remember.
The entire food and beverage operation — including a dessert extravaganza called “Cake Me Away”, in which the pastry chefs present several dozen extravagant cakes, is thanks to the capable hands of Food and Beverage Director, Maybelle Baijens. With more than two decades working for HAL, Baijens worked herself up in the ranks from a guest relations manager to the highest-ranking female currently on the ship. If you cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam, you’ll surely run into her several times. I ran into the ever-lovely director everywhere from the galley tour to the dining room to the bar crawl held several times per voyage. If you like your sea voyage with a touch of romance, Baijens is married to the ship’s Captain, Johannes Baijens, by the way.
Although the ship has dozens of bars that are certainly serviceable for a poolside pina colada, if you’re seeking out a well-made cocktail make haste to the Ocean Bar on Deck 3 where the bartenders are well versed in a dry martini or a smoked old-fashioned. If you’re looking for a little peace and quiet, the Crow’s Nest offers coffee drinks and a full bar at the very tip-top of the ship.
No matter which bar you frequent, the one thing you’ll notice is exceptional service. I collect tiki mugs and noticed that there was a tiki mug on display in the buffet area. I asked my bartender for one, and he disappeared for about 15 minutes. I thought he had forgotten about me, when he returned, triumphant, with his trophy! He had scoured several bars to find one of the last tiki mugs on the ship. Pro tip: If you want a tiki mug souvenir, don’t wait until the last evening to request one.
In keeping with its distinct slant on culinary pleasures, HAL offers many curated food and beverage-centric shore excursions. I took food tours in both Old San Juan and St. Thomas. Both tour guides were extremely knowledgeable about both the food and history of each island with the San Juan tour also offering a mojito-making class during the tour. My San Juan guide also made a special detour during the tour so I could visit Parque de Las Palomas to feed the pigeons.
If you’re looking to dance the night away in a nightclub setting, HAL might not be for you. The ship is known more for live music than DJs, but the house bands at the Rolling Stone Lounge were pretty fantastic and after a long day at port or sunbathing, midnight seemed like a reasonable hour to stop the frivolities and head to the cabin. The ship also offers live classical music, mostly before dinner. If you are a night owl, the casino (and its bar) are open until the wee hours.
Of course, between the nightly trivia sessions, a dueling piano lounge, pickleball lessons, several pools, and shows, you really won’t be bored — though make sure to go out on deck at least once a night to simply breathe in the ocean air and count the stars. When all is said and done, that’s the priceless experience that makes cruising so magical.