Travel Maven blog

Cruising on Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam

 
Tai chi for Nieuw Amsterdam passengers at Half Moon Cay

On a recent one-week voyage on Holland America’s newest ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam, one policy I especially appreciated was the effort to get me onto the vessel as soon as possible on getaway day and not to rush me off the ship at the end of my cruise.

The key was the ship's attitude toward passenger comfort during the hectic Sunday turn-around. Once a week through March, the Nieuw Amsterdam dumped off 2,100 passengers in Fort Lauderdale after breakfast and picked up a different 2,100 for lunch – not an easy task.

On some ships, cruise passengers feel delayed on the inbound day, rushed on the outbound. But despite the size of the ship, the crew on Nieuw Amsterdam did a terrific job. Some passengers on my cruise boarded as early as 11:30 a.m., and most cabins were ready by 1 p.m. A week later, at journey’s end, a few passengers were still hanging around, chatting and drinking coffee at 9 a.m. That’s an impressive turn-around for a major cruise ship.

Disney Dream cruising with a turtle, a duck, and a celebrated rat

I spoke with a sea turtle, rode a fast duck and ate at a gourmet restaurant that celebrates the culinary skills of a gutter rat.

Encounters with these vacation animals seem rather natural on the new 4,000-passenger Disney Dream, which began cruising out of Florida to the Bahamas in January.

Typical of a Disney product, the Dream is a ship like no other.

It promises interactive, animated, imaginative vacations at sea from Port Canaveral, about an hour’s drive east of Disney World.