As a duo of dueling piano folks blast out the last bouncing bars of Satisfaction, a rock five-some on the other side of the aisle immediately launches into a high-energy set of their own. There’s not a beat lost in the swap between a Billboard Onboard show and one in the Rolling Stone Rock Room because they’re both part of the Music Walk, one of the best innovations on Holland America Lines’ Nieuw Statendam.
The newly launched ship is the heir to a long-running dynasty. It’s is the sixth ship Holland America has launched with the name Statendam in a family that goes back to 1898. There are still the teak decks, whimsical artwork and personal service that please Holland America regulars. But this is a ship that looks to the future and there are features that are unique, even in comparison to her nearly identical sister ship Koningsdam.
Here’s a first look on a Caribbean cruise from Fort Lauderdale at innovations that are unique to Nieuw Statendam, but are likely destined to be added to other -dam ships in HAL’s fleet in the near future:
1) Rocking on the Music Walk
They’ve packed even more into the music zone that’s unique to Holland America. The Rolling Stone Rock Room features a fabulous band who are having a heckofa-lot of fun playing in a setting where everyone gets a stage-side seat. The hits of the Stones definitely, (although the club’s named for the magazine not the group) but they kick out the jams on just about any song that ever hit the charts.
All this alternates with the Billboard Onboard club on the other side of the Music Walk. Further up the walk, Lincoln Center Stage has concerts before dinner on a separate stage that transforms later in the evening into B.B. King’s Blues Club, with a cast straight outta Chicago, Memphis and Harlem that always has everyone up and dancing.
2) What rhymes with Club Orange?
Instead of the traditional Culinary Arts Center, Nieuw Statendam has introduced the new Club Orange specialty restaurant. It’s complimentary for suite-class passengers and other guests can join the club for $50 a person a day. The Club Orange dining room is open for breakfast and dinner with menus that are similar to the main dining room, but include a couple of daily specials and welcome touches like complimentary mimosas in the morning. Other perks include priority boarding and tendering, a dedicated concierge and enhanced stateroom dining options.
3) The Lido goes to Market
To eliminate crowding, the buffet zone on Nieuw Statendam is divided into a series of separate serving stations, each with a different theme. For instance, there’s Homestead, with roasts, fish and sides; Distant Lands with sushi, wok specialties, curries and noodle dishes; and Sweet Spot for desserts and ice cream. We’ll be checking out the possibilities on our week-long Caribbean cruise.
4) New ways to expand your knowledge
Tucked away on a corner of Deck 2 is Microsoft Studio, a vast classroom equipped with the latest big -screen monitors and computers loaded with Windows 10. Trainers run complimentary skill building sessions in graphics, video and photo editing classes throughout the day when the ship is at sea.
And in the deck 12 Observation Lounge the interactive tables of EXC Explorations Central & Café let you track your course and explore in detail the activities you can do on excursions in ports anywhere in the world. The expansive learning zone takes over the space occupied by Crow’s Nest on other HAL ships, but of course it still features a traditional library of books.
5) O! Oprah is the godmother
The ship’s official naming ceremony took place in Fort Lauderdale on February 2, 2019, with nearly a million watching on-line as Oprah Winfrey added cruise ship godmother to her long list of titles.The ceremony came at the end of a sold-out three-day “Girl’s Getaway” cruise on the ship.
In April 2019, Nieuw Statendam repositions to Europe for a summer season of northern Europe, Baltic and Iceland itineraries out of Amsterdam. In September, the ship heads to the Mediterranean for cruises from Civitavecchia, the port for Rome. Nieuw Statendam will return to the Caribbean in October, 2019.
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