In December of 2025, we sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam to the Baja Peninsula round-trip from San Diego.

This was our first time on Holland America Line, which we wanted to experience, and we were eager to visit the ports of La Paz and Loreto. 

Ship Statistics

Ship Design: Signature Class; In service since 2010; Class of Service: Premium cruise line

Capacity: Passengers: 2,122 (based on double occupancy); Crew: 929

Ship design & features

The ship features a classic, traditional cruise ship design. There are 12 decks, with a small central atrium between decks one and three. The Ocean bar on deck 3 provides a gathering spot mid-ship. The ship’s decor evokes the spirit of New York City with its chandelier of the city skyline, and contains plentiful artwork throughout, much of which celebrates both New York and the history of the Holland American cruise line.

The Lido deck (9) has two separate pools: the Lido pool, located mid-ship that is covered with a retractable roof (convenient for cool weather sailings) and the Sea View pool, located aft and reserved for passengers 18 years old and over. Both areas could get very lively at times, but we were able to peacefully enjoy the Sea View pool (surprisingly deep for a cruise ship pool at 7 feet deep), which was less crowded than the Lido pool.

I consistently used and enjoyed the Promenade Deck on deck 3, where you can walk around the entire length of the ship near the water. It made for great exercise, and also lots of time enjoying sunrises!

We especially enjoyed the very popular Crow’s Nest on Deck 11, all the way forward. This multi-purpose lounge has fabulous views and relaxing seating, but also board games and lots of puzzles set out and available. There is a bar where you can enjoy a cocktail and also get a great cappuccino in the morning. The waitstaff there were terrific.

The Crow’s Nest also includes an Art Studio. On our sailing, there were classes for watercolor painting and origami, and even a piñata-making session. We did our first-ever watercolors, which was great fun. Painting sunsets with a stunning view of the ocean and a mimosa from the Crow’s Nest bar was a great way to spend part of a sea day!

TIP: You need to sign up for these limited-space, very popular events, so watch The Daily for announcements. You do not sign up in the app, but actually need to sign a sheet that is set outside the Art Studio at specific times, listed in The Daily. And, you want to be in line to sign up before the announced time to ensure you get a space in the class.

Also, the ship has a wonderful library, with amazing and varied options that you can borrow – multiple copies were available of lots of popular titles. This is a tucked-away, quiet retreat on Deck 3 forward.

CABIN

We had selected an interior cabin, which turned out to be the most spacious one we had on any ship.  It included a desk/vanity area with seating and also a sofa, which had a small table perfect for a laptop.  The bathroom was perfectly adequate and supplied with Elemis toiletries.  There were three closet sections with adjustable shelving. Reading lights and USB ports on each side of the bed were very useful. We had enough outlets to charge our devices.

Our stateroom attendants kept the room sparkling clean and entertained us with adorable, Christmas-themed towel animals.

TIP: Use cruisedeckplans.com to find details about the square footage and room layout in order to select your stateroom.

Main dining room

Holland America is known for its great food, and we were not disappointed. The food was consistently great. Whether beef tenderloin with beer battered shrimp, salmon served on risotto, split pea soup, or seafood deviled eggs, every one of the menu items was perfectly prepared and beautifully presented.

The Main Dining Room, which is included with your cruise fare, offered a wider selection of menu items than I have seen on other premium cruise lines, and I did not have one meal that was not delicious. I will look forward to dining on Holland America in the future.

Breakfast in the Main Dining Room: Many people forget that the Main Dining Room also serves breakfast, and most often, lunch. The breakfast menu was extensive, impressive, and delicious. When our schedule allowed it, we thoroughly enjoyed breakfast in the main dining room.

BUFFET OPTIONS

When we were heading out early on an excursion, we took advantage of the plentiful offerings at the buffet. I especially enjoyed the omelette station, where I could get very specific about my choices. One morning, I treated myself to a made-to-order Nutella crepe. This was a vacation, after all!

MORE BUFFET Choices

We prefer being served in the main dining room whenever possible, but we tried to see what was available at the buffet. On Holland America, most items in the buffet are not self-serve, and this is appreciated by many guests who want to keep their dining as sanitary as possible.

Dive-In Burgers And Fries

I had read and watched videos about Dive-In, a place for smash burgers, hot dogs, and fries located by the pool on the Lido deck. We made a point to skip the main dining room for lunch and try the burgers and fries (this may have been on a day when we had a shrimp taco in port first, oops). I had the Cannonball, and it was terrific. Even if you are not lounging on the pool deck, I think it’s worth making a plan to get one of these, for sure. There are also vegetarian and bun-free options. And goodness, the fries were delicious – hot and so crispy! I had mine with the Dive-In sauce – highly recommend!

NEW YORK PIZZA

I had read about the made-to-order pizza on the Lido Deck, and after seeing others enjoying that, we made a point one day to try the Bronx pizza. There was also ready-to-go cheese or pepperoni pizza available by small slices if you want a quick snack.

PORT: CABO SAN LUCAS

Our first port of call on the Baja Peninsula was Cabo San Lucas. We had visited Cabo before, and opted this time to do a simple sailing out to view El Arco, a dramatic feature of the landscape. It was a great way to see this spectacular rock formation rising up from the waters where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez.

PORT: LA PAZ (PICHILINGUE)

Our next port was north of Cabo on the Baja Peninsula at La Paz, although the ship docked at Pichilingue, about 20 miles away. This was not a problem for us as we had purchased a shore excursion through the cruise line. There was a public bus available for those who had opted for independent exploration that cost $10 for a round-trip ticket.

La Paz, the capital of Baja California Sur, is known for gorgeous beaches and rich marine life, with a commitment to the preservation of the environment and opportunities for adventure. It’s a world apart from the bustling hyper-commercial port and (massive? overrun?) resorts of Cabo further south. This article in the New York Times provides a great overview of the area and why it is so worth a visit. We were interested in learning more about the history of the area, and our tour allowed for that. The first stop on our tour was the Regional Museum of Anthropology and History. Our knowledgeable guide, who had a strong background in history, walked us through the exhibits. A highlight for me was the exhibit showing early inhabitants at the time of the last Ice Age, when the land here was actually lush and green. (It’s fascinating to think about the changes to the topography and climate). I was also captivated by the replicas of ancient cave paintings from 17,000 years ago. Exhibits show the arrival of Hernán Cortés, and later efforts to build missions beginning on the Baja Peninsula. Finally, you can see exhibits relating the efforts to establish Mexican independence, in which La Paz played a critical role.

From our visit to the Museum, we were taken to the Cathedral of Our Lady of La Paz, with a stop at the Jardin Velasco and the Kiosk across the street.

Finally, we had free time to explore the waterfront and walk on the Malecón. Our guide had spoken with enthusiasm about a particular seafood restaurant, and so after enjoying the beach and the sculptures there (including one representing the signature pearl of La Paz), we sat by a grill with a view of the water and enjoyed a fresh, tasty shrimp taco that we still talk about!

We are more than glad that this cruise included a long day to explore La Paz, and look forward to future visits. You can read more about La Paz here. Next time I am in La Paz, I will make sure to schedule (yes, a reservation is required) a visit to Playa Balandra. In fact, I may plan a trip for that very purpose!

PORT: Loreto

Our final port was Loreto. We selected a sailing to Coronado Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The sailing was memorable, with marlins and many dolphins swimming around us, and a chance to see (and hear!) a colony of sea lions. Our stop on the island was at a white sand beach, from which we could explore. The island was a volcano at one point, and a guided tour of the island revealed lava remnants lying beside ancient coral reef. From the beach, we enjoyed observing the shallow waters for fish, and I saw at least six different kinds.

After our visit to Coronado Island, we visited the town of Loreto, much smaller and even more charming than La Paz. The church there is the oldest of the missions built by Jesuits, dating from 1697. We enjoyed strolling down a lovely, tree-lined and tree-shaded walkway lined with restaurants and shops. I absolutely plan to return to Loreto for a longer stay.

More about Life on Board

First, I want to say that everywhere, the service from the ship’s crew was outstanding. The reputation that Holland America has earned for excellent service is well-deserved. Whether the bar staff or the buffet staff, or our stateroom attendants, each crew member was welcoming and attentive with their service.

We enjoyed having three sea days to relax on board. I spent a lot of time on the Promenade deck, and early on in the week we purchased a week-long pass for the Thermal Suite. The hydrotherapy pool with its massage jet, the saunas, and the heated loungers were put to good use every day to get us into relaxation mode.

I loved that Holland America provides engaging, educational lectures in the Main Stage Theatre. We attended one on the history of the Mayan people, one that gave us a very informative overview of the ports that we were going to visit, and one with tips for photography.

I already mentioned the Crow’s Nest lounge, where we enjoyed a couple of watercolor classes. I would be remiss if we did not also point out one favorite spot: the Tamarind Bar with fabulous cocktails and amazing sunset views.

ENTERTAINMENT – Hits and A Miss

Live entertainment is a priority for us when we cruise, but we knew that Holland America focuses more on high-quality live music than on stage productions. We also love live music, and were looking forward to that.

Unfortunately, the entertainment on this cruise fell short. From the first night, there was illness among the band that performs in the Rolling Stone lounge (the main music venue on this ship), and over the course of the week, when band members became sick, most of their scheduled sets were not performed. Once, a DJ was called in, and on subsequent nights, all show offerings were cancelled. There was some terrific talent in the shows we did see.

However, with limited venues for live music, when a major one goes missing, there is simply not enough evening entertainment. Some of the World Stage shows were great fun, especially the featured soloist, who did two separate evening shows. I expect that we had some bad luck on our sailing (and of course, I don’t want band members who are ill forced to perform!), but I know that if we had more entertainment, we would have had an even better experience.

Entertainment WIN: One highlight of the nightlife on the cruise was Orange Night. Orange is the color of Dutch royalty, and Orange Night celebrates Dutch culture with a special dining menu and a party on the Lido deck. Because I had watched this great video by Fraser at Sea, we decided to join the barhop that night, and it was indeed great fun. Our guide had contests for each bar we visited, and the laughs are still a highlight of the cruise.

NIGGLES

There are a couple of areas where the cruise and the ship could have been improved. The ship does have some maintenance issues. While everything in our cabin was fully functional, we regularly encountered active leaks throughout the ship. One day we actually stepped into soaking wet carpet in the Tamarind bar. Every day, we encountered buckets set out to catch leaking water, fans to dry out carpets, and the strong smell of mildew. I am hoping that these issues can be addressed in the future.

Also, – and this is definitely a San Diego port issue, not a Holland America one – disembarkation was complicated. Embarkation had been handled very well, and we did not anticipate anything different for disembarking. Toward the end of the cruise, we received written notification in our cabins that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol would be boarding the ship to check our documents. This was our 11th cruise, and we had always disembarked the ship and then gone through customs at the port terminal. We had a morning flight out of San Diego and had planned to get off the ship at the earliest opportunity and carry our own luggage. With tags from Guest Services, we got in line very early and all worked out fine; we made our flight on time. I can only imagine that the Port of San Diego does not have adequate facilities to handle this procedure on disembarkation, which is why this procedure was used. I will be aware on future cruises to see whether additional ports use this procedure. It was stressful, and we learned that multiple past experiences may not always be reliable for planning our disembarkation.

I have already mentioned that the main live music venue was lacking performers or even closed. This was a disappointment, and yet I believe that this was an exception, and not the norm. I would hope for more consistent live music offerings on future cruises.

FINAL THOUGHTS

We had a lovely cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We would cruise on Holland America again, especially on an attractive itinerary like this one. I know better what to expect in terms of entertainment offerings, and I would likely seek out a Pinnacle-class ship next time, since those ships have additional music venues.

The food and the service throughout the ship were outstanding. The lovely art classes were engaging, and the Crow’s Nest was a lovely lounge. The Tamarind bar was an amazing sunset factory with exquisite cocktails. Yeah, I would go on Holland America again.

How about you? Have you sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam? Are you considering a Baja Peninsula cruise? What thoughts or comments do you have? I would love to hear from you.