Affiliate disclosure: I may earn a commission if you book a cruise through my link, at no additional cost to you. These commissions help support No Point Left Behind and allow me to keep creating honest, practical cruise guides based on the trips I actually take.
I still laugh when I think about calling to book my first Holland America cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam.
I remember thinking, Am I even saying the name of this ship correctly? 😂
I had never sailed Holland America before, and I'd already been warned that HAL probably wasn't going to be my thing.
"It skews older."
"You like to have fun."
"You're probably not going to like it."
Well.
Everyone was wrong.
I loved it.
Nieuw Amsterdam was my first Holland America cruise, my first casino cruise and, although I had absolutely no idea at the time, the cruise where No Point Left Behind was born.
And looking back at how many cruises I've booked since then, it's pretty crazy to realize how much started with this one trip.
Is Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam Worth It? My Quick Take
Yes. I would absolutely sail Nieuw Amsterdam again.
What surprised me most about Holland America was how well the calmer atmosphere actually fit the way I like to travel.
I like to have fun, but I also like nice things. I like sitting down for dinner. I like live music, interesting ports and being taken care of. And because I get overstimulated pretty easily, I've learned that I really appreciate having quieter places to retreat when I've had enough.
Nieuw Amsterdam gave me that balance.
I could have fun without feeling like I had to be surrounded by fun every minute of the day.
Turns out, that is very much my kind of cruise.
🚢 Thinking About a Holland America Cruise?
If Holland America sounds like your kind of cruise, you can check current sailings and pricing here:
👉 CHECK HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISES & PRICING
Already researching HAL?
👉 Explore My Holland America Cruise Hub
Already booked?
🎒 See My Holland America Packing List
How I Ended Up on My First Holland America Cruise
Even the way I ended up on Nieuw Amsterdam was very No Point Left Behind before No Point Left Behind even existed.
I got the opportunity for this cruise through a status match connected to one of my credit cards.
At the time, I wasn't trying to become a cruise expert or build some giant cruise strategy.
I was just doing what our family had already been doing for years: looking at our points, miles, credit card perks and travel opportunities and figuring out how to turn them into trips we actually wanted to take.
That story eventually became part of my No Point Left Behind origin story.
👉 Read My No Point Left Behind Origin Story
But there was another piece of the origin story that happened on this particular cruise.
And it happened in the water in Grand Cayman.
No Point Left Behind Was Born on This Cruise
One of the stops on our Nieuw Amsterdam itinerary was Grand Cayman.
I was swimming with a new friend, and somehow our conversation turned to travel.
If you know me, this should surprise absolutely no one. 😂
We started talking about points and miles, and I told her how I'd gotten this cruise through a status match that came from a credit card.
And somewhere during that conversation I told her about our family's philosophy.
Basically:
Don't leave points behind.
Use the points.
Use the miles.
Use the credits.
Use the perks.
They aren't doing anything for you just sitting there.
And somewhere out there in the water in the Cayman Islands...
No Point Left Behind was born.
There wasn't a marketing meeting.
There wasn't a branding session.
There wasn't even a website.
There was just me, standing in the Caribbean talking about the way I'd already been traveling with my family for years.
I don't think I realized at the time what that little conversation would become.
Why Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam Surprised Me
Before that cruise, I'd heard all the stereotypes about Holland America.
The biggest one?
I was going to be too young for HAL and wouldn't have enough fun.
Except everyone seemed to have overlooked one pretty important thing about me.
Yes, I like to have fun.
But I also like calm.
I like nice sit-down dinners.
I like good service.
I like interesting ports.
I like music and laughing and having a drink.
But I don't necessarily want noise and activity around me all day.
I get overstimulated pretty easily, and at this point in my life I've realized that a calmer environment isn't boring to me.
It's relaxing.
And apparently I really, really like relaxing. 😂
Nieuw Amsterdam Entertainment: AKA "Sing-Along Time"
Calmer doesn't mean we sat around staring at the ocean all night.
We had fun.
One of my favorite memories was going to the dueling piano bar.
Except Mary had her own name for it:
"Sing-along time."
😂
Honestly, she wasn't wrong.
We could go listen to music, sing along, laugh and have a fun night, and then leave and find somewhere quieter when we'd had enough.
I loved that balance.
And it's something I've continued to appreciate about Holland America as I've sailed the line more.
Nieuw Amsterdam Was Also My First Casino Cruise
Technically, Nieuw Amsterdam was my first casino cruise.
But calling what I was doing a "casino strategy" would be extremely generous.
I gambled a little.
That's pretty much it.
😂
I didn't have a plan.
I wasn't tracking anything.
And I certainly wasn't thinking about what I was doing in terms of future casino offers.
My entire Lazy Girl casino strategy came much later.
Since then, I've learned a lot more from my own casino cruising, including on Holland America, and I've now received another HAL casino offer that I used to book an upcoming cruise.
But Nieuw Amsterdam was the beginning.
I just didn't know it yet.
👉 Read My Lazy Girl Casino Cruise Strategy
Where Did Our Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Go?
Our Nieuw Amsterdam itinerary included:
Jamaica
Cozumel
Grand Cayman
It was exactly the kind of itinerary I enjoy because I could mix port days with simply enjoying the ship.
And that brings me to another lesson this cruise helped teach me.
Do You Have to Get Off the Cruise Ship in Every Port?
Absolutely not.
I didn't even get off the ship in Jamaica.
I'd been before, and I personally didn't feel comfortable getting off the ship on this particular trip.
So I stayed onboard.
And you know what?
I had a fantastic day.
There was a point in my traveling life when I probably would have forced myself to get off.
We're here. We need to see something! We need to do something! We paid to come here!
Not anymore.
Sometimes one of the best port days is a nearly empty ship.
That experience helped me realize something I've carried into the way I travel now:
You don't have to do everything just because you can.
There is no prize for coming home exhausted.
Very Lazy Girl Approved. 😂
🚢 Planning Your Cruise Port Days?
Our Nieuw Amsterdam itinerary included Half Moon Cay, Jamaica, Cozumel and Grand Cayman, and one thing I’ve learned from cruising more often is that shore excursions can add up fast.
I have a full guide on how I book cruise excursions, what I look for before booking, and the ways I try to save money without sacrificing the experiences I actually want.
👉 How I Book Shore Excursions & Save Money
Why Nieuw Amsterdam Changed the Way I Think About Cruising
This may be the biggest thing I took away from that first Holland America cruise.
For years, we'd done some really adventurous trips.
And I still love adventure.
But after years of planning trips, figuring out transportation, changing hotels, packing and unpacking and making approximately 7,492 decisions...
Being taken care of felt really good.
Someone else makes dinner.
Someone else cleans up.
Someone else gets me to the next destination.
I unpack once.
I wake up somewhere new.
If I want an adventure, I get off the ship.
If I want a quiet day, I don't.
Apparently I had entered my Lazy Girl cruise era without realizing it.
And I'm completely okay with that.
I don't think I've become less adventurous.
I've just realized that I don't need every trip to feel like work.
Cruising gives me adventure without requiring me to manage every little piece of it.
At this point in my life, that's pretty fabulous.
Would I Cruise Holland America Again?
Considering I'm now actively trying to squeeze more Holland America sailings onto my calendar, I think we can safely call that a yes. 😂
Since Nieuw Amsterdam, I've also sailed Eurodam and Zuiderdam.
Each experience has been a little different, and I've liked each ship for different reasons.
And now I've got another Holland America sailing coming up in February, this time returning to a ship I've already sailed.
That's probably the funniest part of this entire story.
I boarded my first Holland America cruise wondering if I could pronounce Nieuw Amsterdam.
Now I'm trying to figure out how many HAL cruises I can fit on my calendar.
Things escalated quickly. 😂
👉 See All of My Holland America Cruise Guides
Who Do I Think Would Like Holland America?
Based on my own experience, I wouldn't automatically dismiss Holland America because someone tells you it's "too old" or "too quiet."
That's exactly the advice I received.
And it turned out to be completely wrong for me.
I think the better question is:
What do you actually want from your vacation?
I like fun.
I also like being able to escape from the fun.
I like a nice dinner followed by live music.
I like an interesting port followed by an afternoon doing absolutely nothing.
I like laughing and having drinks with friends.
I also like being able to find somewhere quiet when my brain says, Okay, we've had enough people for today.
Holland America fits that version of travel surprisingly well for me.
And I probably never would have figured it out if I'd listened to everyone telling me it wasn't going to be my thing.
🎒 What Should You Pack for a Holland America Cruise?
If you've already booked your HAL cruise, I've put together my Holland America packing list based on what I actually pack and use when I cruise.
👉 [SEE MY HOLLAND AMERICA PACKING LIST]
🌴 Holland America Cruise Essentials
My goal isn't to convince you that you need 87 Amazon gadgets to survive a cruise.
It's to bring the things that actually make my trip easier and leave the rest at home.
That's much more my style.
🚢 Ready to Book a Holland America Cruise?
If you're considering trying Holland America for yourself, you can check current itineraries, ships and cruise pricing here:
👉 CHECK CURRENT HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISES
Affiliate disclosure: I may earn a commission if you book through my link, at no additional cost to you. I only share and recommend travel experiences, products and services that I personally use, love or would confidently recommend to my own family.
Not quite ready?
Start here instead:
👉 My Complete Holland America Cruise Hub
That's where I've gathered my Holland America ship reviews, dining experiences, packing tips, spa reviews, casino experiences, Canada & New England guides and the different ways I've booked my trips.
About the Author
Hi, I'm Julie Davis, the travel-obsessed, iced-coffee-powered human behind NoPointLeftBehind.net.
I share how I actually travel using points, miles, credit card perks, cruise deals, casino offers and a healthy amount of deal stacking. I don't believe every trip needs to be the cheapest possible trip or every redemption needs to win some imaginary points-and-miles math competition.
I save where it doesn't matter to me so I have room to spend where it does.
Cruising has become a huge part of how I travel at this stage of my life, and everything you read here comes back to the same idea: real trips, real costs, real experiences and what I'd actually do again.
You can find more of my Holland America experiences in my Holland America Cruise Hub, or come hang out with me in my Facebook travel community.
No Point Left Behind
Travel smarter. Spend where it matters. Make every trip count.
