This week we go beyond the facts and figures about Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam and take a look at life onboard.
To begin, I spoke with Captain Edward G. van Zaane, the man who brought Nieuw Amsterdam into service. Captain van Zaane has been with Holland America for 30 years and has commanded some of its most notable ships, including the ocean liner Rotterdam (v), which is now a hotel/museum in its namesake city. I asked Captain van Zaane to contrast his prior commands against his latest command from a mariner’s viewpoint. In so doing, he not only highlighted the radical changes that have taken place in cruise ships during this period but gave an assessment of the current ship’s capabilities.
We also spoke about what it takes to transform “a piece of steel” into something with “a heart.” Thus, he provided some insight into his style of command.
The final topic we discussed was why people from the Netherlands are rediscovering Holland America and the line’s response. My conversation with Captain van Zaane is at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-Nieuw-Captain.html
I also spoke with Mark Zeller, who is a second generation Hotel Manager for Holland America. I asked him to speak about the type of cruise experience that passengers should expect on Nieuw Amsterdam and what makes Holland America a premium cruise experience. The interview is at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-Nieuw-HM.html
I first encountered Mr. Zeller when he was the head of culinary operations aboard the Noordam. In his role as Hotel Manager, his present responsibilities the culinary operations are within his area of responsibility. Accordingly, in putting together the dining guide to Nieuw Amsterdam, I have included his commentary on each of the dining venues onboard. The dining guide is at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-Nieuw-dining.html
One unique concept that Holland America has recently implemented onboard its ships is “Le Cirque Evening.” Once a cruise, the Pinnacle Grill specialty restaurant is transformed into a seagoing version of te famed New York City restaurant. HAL has worked with Le Cirque’s founder Sirio Maccioni and the chefs at Le Crique to give HAL passengers a concise taste of Le Cirque. This includes not only preparing menu items according to Le Cirque recipes but also presentation of the meal in Le Cirque style. My review of the Le Cirque evenings on Nieuw Amsterdam and on Zuiderdam is at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-LeCirque.html
To begin, I spoke with Captain Edward G. van Zaane, the man who brought Nieuw Amsterdam into service. Captain van Zaane has been with Holland America for 30 years and has commanded some of its most notable ships, including the ocean liner Rotterdam (v), which is now a hotel/museum in its namesake city. I asked Captain van Zaane to contrast his prior commands against his latest command from a mariner’s viewpoint. In so doing, he not only highlighted the radical changes that have taken place in cruise ships during this period but gave an assessment of the current ship’s capabilities.
We also spoke about what it takes to transform “a piece of steel” into something with “a heart.” Thus, he provided some insight into his style of command.
The final topic we discussed was why people from the Netherlands are rediscovering Holland America and the line’s response. My conversation with Captain van Zaane is at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-Nieuw-Captain.html
I also spoke with Mark Zeller, who is a second generation Hotel Manager for Holland America. I asked him to speak about the type of cruise experience that passengers should expect on Nieuw Amsterdam and what makes Holland America a premium cruise experience. The interview is at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-Nieuw-HM.html
I first encountered Mr. Zeller when he was the head of culinary operations aboard the Noordam. In his role as Hotel Manager, his present responsibilities the culinary operations are within his area of responsibility. Accordingly, in putting together the dining guide to Nieuw Amsterdam, I have included his commentary on each of the dining venues onboard. The dining guide is at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-Nieuw-dining.html
One unique concept that Holland America has recently implemented onboard its ships is “Le Cirque Evening.” Once a cruise, the Pinnacle Grill specialty restaurant is transformed into a seagoing version of te famed New York City restaurant. HAL has worked with Le Cirque’s founder Sirio Maccioni and the chefs at Le Crique to give HAL passengers a concise taste of Le Cirque. This includes not only preparing menu items according to Le Cirque recipes but also presentation of the meal in Le Cirque style. My review of the Le Cirque evenings on Nieuw Amsterdam and on Zuiderdam is at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-LeCirque.html
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