Known for their delightful fleet of ships which have a range of unique musical venues, Holland America Line is much-loved for its Dutch heritage and super-hospitable American customer service.
Cruise.co.uk specialist consultant, Anne Eaves, got to experience the joy of cruising with the friendly Holland America Line for herself, and in this blog describes her experience onboard the cruise line’s modern ship Nieuw Statendam, during a five-night sailing…
In September, fellow specialist cruise consultant, Teresa Esberger, and I were lucky enough to sail on Holland America Line’s Nieuw Statendam for five nights. This is the second Pinnacle-class ship in the fleet launched in 2018 after Koningsdam, which was launched in 2016, and Rotterdam which was launched in 2021.
We joined the ship in Lisbon and called at Cadiz and Barcelona before disembarking in Civitavecchia. We had a Verandah Cabin on Deck 6, cabin 6009. The cabin had plenty of storage space, twin beds and a small sofa.
The bathroom had a large walk-in shower that went from wall to wall. Although the cabin wasn’t as large as other balcony cabins I’ve had on other ships.
There were 19 agents onboard, including Teresa and I, and the trip was hosted by the lovely Serena from Holland America Line. We purchased the All In Package for £40.00 per night which included drinks up to $11.00, one speciality dining experience and $100 shore excursion credit.
The food in the main dining room was excellent, with plenty of choice. Teresa and I chose to book Canaletto and the Pinnacle Grill for our speciality dining experiences, so we had a romantic dinner for two on the Friday evening!
I had the Braised Steak with Gnocci that just melted in your mouth, and Tiramisu for dessert which was to die for, and I don’t even like coffee!
On our last evening, we dined in Pinnacle Grill with some of the other agents and the food was outstanding. I had the Filet Mignon followed by Keylime Cheesecake. There are three other speciality restaurants onboard, Tamarind which is Pan Asian cuisine, Nami Sushi and Rudi’s Sel de Mer which is a French Seafood Brasserie.
The buffet, Lido Market, was one of the largest buffets I’ve seen on a ship of this size and the tables are laid in the buffet like a proper restaurant. Dive In was the Burgers and Hot Dog station which was a great alternative to the Buffet for a bite to eat during the day.
The dress code on board was really casual, even in the evenings. We did have a formal evening, which most of our group made the effort, but that can’t be said for the rest of the ship.
The entertainment was all based around the Music Walk – The Rolling Stone Rock Room, BB Kings Blues Club and Billboard Onboard.
The Rolling Stone Rock Room featured an excellent Rock Band, and the BB Kings Blues Club which also had a great band playing live music with different themes and genres every night. Billboard Onboard features quizzes and also a male and female piano duo who took requests and put their own twist on the songs.
There was also the theatre which had a couple of productions on. We also had a Cocktail Masterclass and some of the group made the three cocktails for us, which we thoroughly enjoyed drinking afterwards!
On our last day onboard we were also lucky to be given a tour of the Bridge by the Staff Captain which was amazing. We did get a chance to look at one of the Neptune Suites onboard too, which was lovely, but unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the ocean view and single cabin as someone had shut the door!
There is a children’s club onboard that caters for 3-17-year-olds but this was only limited opening times as there were only a few children onboard. In the holidays they do have a full programme for children.
Overall – this was a great trip and I wouldn’t hesitate to Cruise with Holland America Line again!
