Western Caribbean Cruise on the Holland America Nieuw Statendam

11/5/22 to 11/12/22

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Page 1 – Embarkation, Ship
Page 2 – Ship Continued, Cabin
Page 3 - Activities, Entertainment, Ports of Call: Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Page 4 - Ports of Call: Georgetown, Grand Cayman; Bimini, Bahamas

Other -

Atrium -
The three level atrium is quite attractive. It looks different from every level and at every angle. It is interesting way to fill up the space with artistic flair.

Casino -
The casino is on deck 3 right behind the World Stage theater. They had lots of machines and game tables that were kept busy much of the cruise. Since we don’t gamble, we just passed through it many times. We were disappointed that HAL allows smoking in the casino. Some cruise lines have eliminated it.

In the center of the casino is a small atrium going down to deck 2. It is an attractive distraction from all of the gambling equipment.

When I was going around the ship taking photos of the different venues, I couldn’t find the art gallery. It was supposed to be just in front of the casino on the deck plans. I finally realized that it had been converted to a slot machine room. I should have realized it was gone since there were no art auction promos going on. A positive change in my books.

Fitness Center –
The fitness center is right at the front of the ship on deck 9. Even though I didn’t get to the fitness center on this cruise, when I do, I enjoy using the ellipticals while looking out the windows to the ocean. They had a nice selection of equipment.

Future Cruise Sales -
There is a small office on deck 3 where future cruises can be purchased. I was surprised that it wasn’t a bigger area. With it not being on the ship deck plans, people won’t know where to find it, especially since it wasn’t easy to find in the first place. I just happened to come across it.

Guest Services -
This is located on deck 3 by the Atrium. It was busy most of the time I went by. I was never able to get a photo without people standing there.

Greenhouse Spa & Salon –
Like most cruise ships, this one had a full-service spa and salon area. The price list is in the Menu section of the review. The main area was on deck 9. I was surprised at how plain the spa desk and lounge was. These areas are normally very roomy and attractive. This one was plain and cramped, but it served its purpose.

There was a small area on deck 10 that could be accessed through a circular staircase. I didn’t bother going up there for photos, since I assumed that it was mostly treatment rooms.

The relaxation area with the curved tile loungers always looks so inviting, but I prefer something softer. They also had the normal steam, spa, etc. rooms.

There was a nice salon and barber shop.

Hydro Pool -
The hydro pool is at one end of the spa area. It is in a circular shaped room with the window side at one end of the Lido Pool area. I was able to enter the area to take photos. There is an additional cost for using the hydro pool. It does look like a most enjoyable place to relax. No one was there when I was taking photos. I never went back to see if it was being used by anyone.

Internet Center -
I’m not sure what the purpose of the internet center is, since it is very small and it was not staffed when I went by. It is in a cramped office just off the deck 1 atrium. With the IT assistance being done by guest services, I guess it is just there for people that need to use a computer.

As expected, the internet service was very slow. However, when using the wonderful Navigator app it was very responsive. Obviously because the service was provided on the ship's intranet not through the world wide web. The Navigator app provided so much information. Most of the menus were on it for each days offering. It was easy to book shore excursions and the app had the digital tickets that were needed. We could book specialty dining, as well as order food from the pizza and hamburger restaurants. It had the daily program on it, so you didn’t need to carry around a sheet of paper to know what activities were available. They also had a chat app for communication. Everything worked very well. I was impressed with it. But without having an internet help desk, I am sure that many of the passengers that aren’t too technically capable missed out on its benefits.

Jogging Track -
There is a jogging track around the Lido Pool sliding dome cover. While jogging/walking you can look down to the pool. Twelve laps around is a mile.

Lido Pool -
This is the main pool for the ship. It has a sliding dome cover that allows the area to be used both in colder and rainy weather. The three hot tubs were very popular during the cruise. The padded loungers were quite comfortable.

The pool area illumination in the evening is quite attractive.

Outer Decks -
This ship has so many outdoor areas with lounge chairs for sunning in addition to those right around the pools. One of the largest ones was on deck 14 at the front of the ship. It wasn’t even shown on the deck plans. I was glad it was there since it allowed me to take photos of the Retreat from above that are shown later.

The deck 10 aft decks surround the Seaview Pool. It has tables as well as loungers. It was never crowded when I was there.

Deck 11 is the Sun Deck. There are many lounge chairs available, as well as some unusual looking exercise equipment. They also have shuffleboard courts there.

As I mentioned earlier about the Sun Bar on deck 11 aft that wasn’t being used, the large sunning deck surrounding it was also not available for use.

Photo Shop -
The photo shop is on the starboard side of deck 3 just in front of the World Stage theater. I so enjoy having screens to view photos with rather than the endless racks of photos that are used on the older ships. It also saves a lot printing, wasted paper and money.

The software worked quite nicely. You tap the screen to awaken it and then tap your key card where directed. Through facial recognition, all the photos we were in showed up on the screen. They put little squares all over the photos, so you couldn’t easily copy them, plus the resolution wasn’t that great for determining the quality of the photo. I did get several photos of a strange couple in our grouping, but it was easy to delete them.

Trying to order a photo was a bit challenging, but they had some very helpful staff members walking around helping everyone. I was also very impressed at how you could see and order your photos through your mobile phone Navigator app. It is a much more efficient way to deal with passenger photos.

Promenade –
HAL is one of the few cruise lines that still has promenade decks that go totally around the ship. Unlike on HAL’s other ship classes, it is now mainly for lifeboat access, since it is narrower, and they don’t put out lounge chairs as in the past. It still makes for a great walking track and wasn’t crowded. Plus it is interesting to see the mechanics of the lifeboat systems that are normally hidden from view.

Being on deck 3, there is a great view of the wake from the back of the ship.

The Retreat -
This is an extra cost private area at the front of the ship on deck 12 just behind Explorations Central/Crow’s Nest for cabanas. In order to enter the Retreat, you have to pay for the privilege. I was only able to take photos of the cabanas themselves from just outside the gate. I was fortunately able to get other shots of the area from above on deck 14.

Below is the pricing for the cabanas. There didn't seem to be too many cabanas being used when I went by.

Seaview Pool -
This pool is located in a large area on deck 9 at the back of the ship. If I was a sun worshipper and wanted to lay out by a pool, this is the one I would hang out at. There are a lot more loungers and a higher percent of area open to the sun’s rays.

The covered area around the pool is much wider than for the Lido Pool for those that prefer a shaded area.

Shops -
All the shops are on decks 2 and 3 across from both levels of the BB King theater. On deck 2 they are all next to each other in one line.

On deck 3 there are two sections of stores. The stores had nice things for sale and lots of souvenirs. They seemed to be getting a lot of lookers.

Sport Court -
Located on deck 10 midship next to the jogging track is a first-class sports area. They can play tennis, basketball, soccer and pickle ball. It is a windy area, but is totally enclosed with netting to keep stray balls out of the sea.

The Studio -
This room used to be the Microsoft Studio, but is now used for various things. When I went by, it was being used as an artist class. It is a nice large room that is perfect for a these types of programs.

Meeting Rooms –
On deck 1 next to the atrium, there are three multi-purpose meeting rooms.

Half Moon Meeting Room

Hudson Meeting Room

Stuyvesant Meeting Room

Miscellaneous -
The elevator lobbies had some interesting artwork. I should have stopped on each floor to take more photos, but I didn’t.

On the day before disembarkation, scales to weight luggage were put out in the elevator lobby. I thought that was a brilliant idea for those that were flying home.

There are many comfortable sitting areas on the ship. The one below was on deck 2 across from Club Orange. It was quite popular and the seats very comfortable.

Cabin

I haven’t normally cruised in the nice suites on a ship, but for this cruise I really wanted to experience a Neptune Suite. With it being a 7-day Caribbean cruise, which I have done many times, this cruise was to experience the ship. What better way than with a Neptune Suite. With a 380 sq ft cabin and 136 sq ft verandah it was a very large comfortable space.

They had one US electric outlet and USB-A plug in on each side of the bed. There were other outlets on the desk nearby that also had a European electric outlet. There were many other outlets around the room.

There was a nice sitting area with a long sofa bed.

There was so much storage space. They had a large double closet and drawers and cabinets all over.

We were able to put our large suitcases under the bed. When doing that, I realized that there were two slide out drawers at the end of the bed also.

We loved the large window over the vanity desk area. For some reason I didn’t take a photo of the open vanity with the lighted mirror for putting on makeup. On one side of the desk area there was a Bose Bluetooth speaker, which was very handy for playing music from my iPhone.

Above the refrigerator compartment there a Nespresso machine. We used it once and it was nice to have it for sitting on the verandah. We usually just wait for coffee until we have breakfast.

The bathroom was large with a whirlpool tub that we didn’t use.

We loved the large shower with the multiple heads and sitting area.

We had a wonderful Stateroom Attendant, Nyoman, from Bali. His assitant was Batchi, but I wasn't able to get his photo.

The veranda was large and comfortable with the two loungers and four chairs along with a small table.

These are the views from the veranda.

The main complaint I had about the cabin was with the TV channel selection. I normally don’t watch much TV when on a cruise, but with a hurricane approaching our home, I would have liked to be able to watch the Weather Channel. The only had 11 channels, which left a lot to be desired.