Sailing into the New Year

Last year, my family and I were fortunate enough to ring in the New Year in warm and sunny Jamaica at Breezes in Runaway Bay. This year, we escaped the blizzard and sailed into 2011 on Holland America’s Western Caribbean sailing on its newest ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam.

The Nieuw Amsterdam is the latest edition to Holland America’s signature of excellence vessels offering a state-of-the art Culinary Arts Center, the first complimentary digital program at sea, and a whole host of special spa, fitness and wellness events. While it is not in the five-tar class of the smaller and more intimate Yachts of the Seaborne, the Silversea or the Regent cruise line, the four star Nieuw Amsterdam and staff of the Holland America does an excellent job of providing many amenities and programs for guests of all ages.

Our sailing began in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and our itinerary included stops in Belize, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, and Key West, Florida and back to Fort Lauderdale. Unfortunately, the weather did affect us as high winds and rough seas prevented us from stopping at three of our original planned destinations of Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, Turks and Cacois and Costa Maya, Mexico.

Nevertheless, we did enjoy visiting the various designations and the lovely view of the clear blue sea and bright sunny sky from the verandas of our very comfortable staterooms. It certainly beat looking at the mound of snow back at home and my son-in-law; Dr. Stuart Wasser’s worrying about how he was going to clear the driveway.

My daughter, Jill Abramson-Wasser and I did not miss the kitchen as we all enjoyed an excellent assortment of culinary delights in the ship’s restaurants, the informal Lido Deck, The newest Pan Asian Tamarind Restaurant, the Pinnacle Grill and night at Le Cirque and the Italian favorite, Cannalletto’s.

While the offerings were very diverse from a crispy and succulent duck, an excellent array of sushi and sashimi at the Tamarind to the good old reliable pizza and hamburger, I enjoyed what I thought was a Jewish tom, like my mother used to make, in the seasonings and the preparation. I was also very impressed with the selection and quality of meats, particularly at the night at Le Cirque at the Pinnacle Grill. We had an outstanding rack of lamb that now make it very difficult for us to have lamp chops again because anything else would be a letdown.

Bradley, a pre-med student and music aficionado at the University of Rochester, took a break from bass playing and took part in the nightly poolside offering of lessons on the steel drums. The instructor, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, explained that the steel drums were a form of entertainment for the slaves. He also explained the different types and price range.

Speaking of music, there was a wide variety of musical entertainment aboard. For the classical music lovers, there was the Adagio String quartet that performed twice each evening in the Explorer’s Lounge. We were most impressed with, and apparently so were most other passengers, as it was filled to capacity every night, the nightly performance by the piano man, David Searing in the Piano Bar.

He superbly performed a wide range of music from Elvis Presley, Sinatra, show tunes, etc. One guest requested a sampling of Barry Manilow tunes that Searing performed perfectly. David has just joined the staff of Holland America and is an excellent addition. He told me that he started playing piano at age 3 and is completely self-taught. He is from Destin, Fla. and was previously performing nightly there until the town and venue hit hard times because of the oil spill.

Maris couldn’t wait to participate in the teen program in the Loft at Club Hal. They had a wide range of activities including movies, popcorn (Maris’ favorite), scavenger hunts, sports night, dodge ball in the dark, casino night (card games and fake money) and a Nieuw Amsterdam prom for New Year’s Eve. I think Maris’ favorite was casino night as she came away with a fistful of “fake” money! She had more success than Jill and I did in the real casino.

This was first cruise for my son-in-law Stuart and grandson Bradley and was definitely a welcome respite for all of us. My next column will focus on more of the on shore activities, cuisine and New Year’s celebration.

Copyright Marcia Abramson

Email: mascribe@aol.com