A Christmas to Remember

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A Christmas to Remember
Reviewed By: Swann, Jindabyne NSW AUSTRALIA on 16th Jun 2009
Cruise Line: Holland America Cruises	Times cruised before: 10+
Cruise Ship: Ms Amsterdam	Sailed: October, 2008
Destination: South America	Age: 46-55

My husband & I did a back to back cruise in November/December 2008 on board the beautiful MS Amsterdam - a Holland America Line ship. We cruised the first 22 day sector from San Diego in California to Valparaiso in Chile which took in several ports in Mexico, Panama City, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Peru, Equador and several ports in Chile. The second sector of the cruise was 20 days from Valparaiso to Rio De Janiero and took in the Chilean Fjords ( Breathtakingly beautiful), Ushuaia and we spent 4 days cruising in Antarctica (including Christmas Day), Stanley in the Falkland Islands ( a penguin experience never to be missed) Buenos Aires, Montevideo and finally Rio de Janiero. The ports of call were wonderful. There were many shore excursions on offer but often we took a taxi and did our own thing. The ship was very spacious with only 1380 to a 61,000 tonne ship, the food was quite good (buffet is not self service - the crew actually put your selections on the plate for you which I didn't like) but variety was quite good. Night time dining you had the option of set seat dining or open seating which I think is brilliant. Formal nights were quite dressy affairs which we really enjoy but if you didn't feel like dressing up you didn't have to and you could eat at the buffet instead ( the nighttime menu in the dining room is the same menu as the buffet) The ship feels like a 'graceful old lady' - not at all tired. Crew were very friendly, entertainment on the whole was quite exceptional. Cabin size was good. We had an outside cabin on Promenade deck (slightly obstructed view) and was midships. Bathroom had shower over the bath which is excellent. Plenty of activities on board. The Pinnacle grill was excellent.(alternate dining) We dined here about 7 or 8 times as we were on the ship for 42 days in total. At the end of our cruise we were very tempted to stay onboard and cruise back to Valparaiso ( Couldn't change flights etc . to fit in with the ships arrival in Valparaiso) This would have to be one of the most memorable cruises we have ever done ( we have cruised on many different cruiselines) with the highlight being Christmas in Antarctica and the wonderful new friends we have made. The service on board from the crew was very very good and although I feel the food could be of a more international variety, a four star rating does not become this ship. She really is worth at least 4 1/2 stars. We would totally recommend Holland America Line. G & J Swann Sydney AUSTRALIA
Quality of Food
Buffet breakfast & Lunch. Ala Carte dining or Alternate dining
Entertainment
Broadway style shows by the ships entertainers were above usual standard. A Mexican Guitarist was excellent as was an Australian entertainer called Glenn Amer. I'm not fussed on Comedians so we didn't go to these types of shows. Classical trio were excellent
Shore Excursions
Imberra Indian village in Panama was very good as was the Petrohue rapids & Orsono volcano tour in Puerto Montt Chile but the best of all was the penguin tour to Volunteer Point in the Falkland Islands.
Staff
Gina in the explorations cafe. Always remember our names ( as do most of the crew) knew exactly what we would order and always had some pastries saved for us. We used to have our morning coffee at around 11.30 and they used to take the breakfast pastries away at 10.30 and replace them with savouries.
Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities
There were plenty of activies to do if you were interested but we didn't ususlly partake.
Cabins
Cabin was excellent and everything we could have needed was there.
Overall Rating