Holland America's Nieuw Statendam- My Top 5

Last month, Will and I had the opportunity to sail on the Nieuw Statendam over Christmas. We had a fantastic time, along with our grown children.  Here are some of my favorite things about this ship (in no particular order!)

#1 - The Crow's Nest

Located at the front of the ship, the Crow's Nest houses an art studio for guests to create, a great coffee area/bar, floor-to-ceiling windows for perfect views, and loads of board games and puzzles!  We spent quite a bit of time here, especially in the afternoons and evenings. 

#2 -The Music Walk

Featuring B.B. King's Blues Club, Billboard Onboard (a piano bar), and the Rolling Stones Lounge, there is live music for everyone.  Our son especially loves this part of the ship and could spend every evening here bouncing around to the different venues, enjoying the different styles of music. And this Billboard Onboard had two piano players!

#3 The Library

Holland America has some of the most amazing libraries at sea, and this one did not disappoint!  We found it on the first day, and our kids were all into having a book club at sea!  With different genres to choose from and multiple copies of each book, Holland makes this easy! 

There's also a book exchange section where guests can swap a book they brought for a book left by another guest.   Our family finished the first book so quickly that my daughter and I ended up reading a second book.  

#4 - The Promenade

Holland America ships feature a fantastic promenade deck, perfect for walking and burning off some calories.  They are typically nice and shady with great views, especially out the back.  On the sides, you're blocked with the lifeboats, but you can still peek out for oceanviews and the sound of the waves crashing. 

#5 Chef David Burke's Candied Bacon at the Pinnacle Grill

Using our Have it All Specialty dining credit, we ate at the Pinnacle Grill, and one of their appetizers is candied maple bacon.  There are no words to describe how delicious this bacon is!!  Thankfully, Holland America published the recipe, which you can find here... https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/whats-new/candied-maple-bacon-recipe/  (I found this today, so haven't tried it, but will soon!). 

Of course,e the rest of the meal is delicious too.  I always love a great steak, and they serve creme brulee, which is one of my favorite desserts, and a special Baked Alaska, which is one of Will's favorites. 

Honorable mentions

Will and I splurged for Christmas and booked the Neptune Suite.  This should definitely be on the Top 5, but I know such a splurge isn't always possible, so I'm putting it here.  The room itself was amazing, with lots of space, a great desk if you need to catch up on work, and tons of storage. 

The bathroom might be the best I've seen on a ship, with a tub and shower and upgraded Marie Stella Maris products that I'm absolutely going to have to order to have at home! But my favorite part was the huge balcony.  We played cards at the table for several days, and overall just enjoyed the gorgeous weather in comfort.

We loved having the Neptune Lounge nearby for quick snacks and an easy place to grab soda, water, or juice.  We also loved the priority embarkation, especially with the tenders, as we had two tender ports on our itinerary. 

Watching the football games on the pool deck- With most of our family being NFL fans, and there being extra games during the week we sailed, we loved watching the games out on the pool deck. 

The buffet was close by for snacks, as well as the New York Pizza station that had late-night snacks such as pretzels and popcorn (and pizza!). They also offered movies on the big screen.

Our itinerary- Our first stop was Half Moon Cay, which is owned by the cruise line company in the Bahamas.  This has perfect white powder sand, the gorgeous blue water the Caribbean is known for, an island BBQ, and shallow waters perfect even for non-swimmers.

Next, we went to Jamaica, where we did a rafting excursion down the Martha Brae river.  The drive was about 90 minutes each way, but the time on the river was great! We also went to Grand Cayman (our first time where it's worked out as sometimes this port gets cancelled), and we independently went to the Cayman Turtle Centre, which was amazing.

Our last stop was in Cozumel, but it was Christmas Day, so we opted instead to stay on the ship. 

Check out our photo gallery at https://magnifiedvacations.smugmug.com/Holland-America-Nieuw-Statendam