Traveling with the Jones — Sharing Travel Discoveries

A Look at the Tamarind Restaurant Menu on Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam

by Janis on February 3, 2014

One of our favorite restaurants at sea is the Tamarind Restaurant on Holland America’s Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam cruise ships.

The menu is described as “Pan-Asian” with a meshing of foods from Southeast Asia, China and Japan.

We like this restaurant so much that we dined there three evenings during our recent 7-Day Holiday cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam, which allowed us the opportunity to try a number of different items on the menu.

Before you dine at the Tamarind, you may want to have a cocktail at the Silk Den, a quiet, romantic bar just across the hall from the Tamarind on Deck 11.

The Silk Den bar menu has some special “Pan-Asian” cocktails, sake and beers on its menu that aren’t available in other bars. Tumblers of ice keep the martinis well-chilled.

My favorite, the jalapeí±o martini, has just the right bite of spice, although the bartender can adjust to your preferences. If you have a Signature Beverage Package, these drinks are included.

Once your table is ready, your cocktail can be transferred to the Tamarind — perfect for sipping while studying the menu.

You choose a soup and an appetizer, or two appetizers, or a 6-piece appetizer portion of sushi. Then, an entree or a 12-piece portion of sushi to follow the appetizers.

This is a tough decision. So many items sound terrific, and they are.

The Thai Beef Salad is tasty with its dressing of lime, mint and chili, once you dig past the overflow of noodles on top.

The crunchy Shrimp Tempura Indochine is lightly-breaded, and comes with a small portion of the green papaya salad, which is also an excellent choice on its own.

The Trail of Spices Satay Sampler is popular, with skewers of lamb, beef, chicken and shrimp with different sauces.

See why we went back three times? The spring rolls are also excellent.

Of the soups, we like the Jewels of the Sea shrimp won ton soup the best, but would recommend skipping the soup in favor of other appetizers or sushi.

Of course, if you like sushi, that’s another appetizer option.

I choose 6 pieces of three different rolls for an appetizer.

The entree menu is divided into four sections: Water (seafood), Fire (spicy, but only as much spice as you request), Wood (cooked with wood plank or steamer) and Earth (vegetarian).

If you are a steak lover, the Wasabi and Soy Crusted Beef Tenderloin is a star of the menu. It’s a steak with a crust, leaving the meat inside tender and juicy.

Our favorite is the Penang Red Curry Coconut Chicken, designed to be spicy but can be adjusted to no spice. It’s rich, creamy, and delicious with a side of brown rice.

On the lighter side, the Scallops and Prawns with Garlic, Ginger and Chili contained the best seafood of our cruise.

If this sounds like too much food, the 12-piece sushi entree is a lighter choice. You get to choose exactly what you like from the sushi and sashimi list.

Our favorite sides in the steamed brown rice and the sake-braised oyster and shiitake mushrooms, which are perfect for sharing.

For dessert, the Tamarind Chocolate offers a bit of bittersweet chocolate contrasted with a light-but-slightly-spicy chocolate mousse.

Or, if you can’t eat Asian food without a fortune cookie, try the huge Chocolate Almond Fortune Cookie filled with a rich chocolate ganache, served with a side of ice cream.

The wasabi, green team and passion fruit sorbets are soothing if you indulged in a spicy entree.

The servers in the Tamarind are all hospitality superstars, which adds to the star-quality of the dining experience. They are always amazed at Mr. Jones’ height.

Cheers to you — we hope you enjoy the Tamarind Restaurant as much as we do.

Dining in the Tamarind for dinner requires advanced reservations and a $20 per person surcharge. For 4-star Mariners, it is $10 per person.

Or, you can dine at the Tamarind for a set menu dim sum lunch free of charge, but you must have a reservation. Be sure to make it the first day that you are on the ship.

What’s your favorite dish at the Tamarind Restaurant? Or which one do you most want to try when you dine there? Please share in comments below.

Check out these other posts on the Nieuw Amsterdam and other Holland America Line cruise ships”;

Follow us on Twitter or interact with us on Facebook.

{ 2 comments }

Is the Signature Beverage Program on Holland America Cruises A Good Deal?

by Janis on January 31, 2014

NOTE: We have a made a new updated post on our Signature Beverage Package experience from March, 2015.

On December 22nd we sailed on a 7-Day Holiday cruise to the Eastern Caribbean onboard Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam.

Being in a festive mood, and since we were sailing in the sunny Caribbean, we decided to try the Signature Beverage Program, which essentially means paying one fee for all-the-beverages-you-can-drink on the cruise, with a few key footnotes and exceptions.

The Signature Beverage Program includes all coffees and other drinks from the Explorations Cafe, sodas, bottled water, and any alcoholic beverage from any of the ships bars or dining venues that cost less than $7.oo per drink. The Signature Beverage Program costs $44.95 per day plus a 15 percent gratuity and must be purchased for the full cruise by all adults sharing a stateroom. If you have experience with buying drinks on a cruise, even coffees and sodas, you know that your bill can run up quickly. So $45/day doesn’t seem so bad.

Until you realize that this means that $361.83 per person, or $723.66 for two people will be charged to your onboard account for the 7-day cruise. With many drinks costing $6.95, you need to drink 7 of them a day to break even.

Holland America Signature Beverage Program

When you sign up, you receive a special card that you need to carry with you whenever you want to enjoy a beverage on the ship. Don’t lose it, it cannot be replaced. Nor transferred to someone else. Nor used to buy other people’s drinks.

Generally, when we cruise we mostly drink lattes, sparkling water like Perrier, and wine.

Since we bought the cards, we decided to work our way through the drink menu on this cruise to see what we liked.

The drink menu is an extensive book, with something for everyone. All of these drinks are $6.95 when made with the house liquor unless the brand is specified on the menu.

We enjoyed the fresh lime margarita on the rocks with salt poolside at the Sea View Bar.

The Tuscan Lemon Drop is unique and the Frosty Chocolate Mint Buzz is like a chocolate milk shake.

Mr. Jones enjoyed the Tanqueray 0010 Martini — it must remind him of a James Bond movie.

The Sunsicle lives up to its description of “sunshine in a glass.”

The Raspberry Sea Breeze is cool and refreshing. (It’s the drink pictured at the top of this post.)

My favorite holiday drink is on this page – the Strawberries and Bubbles — with fresh strawberries, vodka and champagne on top.

These traditional drinks are all included in the package, but only with the house liquor. If you want your Gin and Tonic made with Bombay Sapphire, that will make it over the $7 price limit. And, no, you cannot get the $7 off of the price of the more expensive drink.

This is the price of various liquors and aperitifs. Those for $6.95 or less are included in the Signature Beverage Program.

How about a Limoncello or a Drambuie? There are even a couple of ports that qualify.

All of the beers are included, as are all of the non-alcoholic drinks.

The Key Footnotes and Exceptions for the Holland America Signature Beverage Program

Of course, there were a number of rules and exceptions with this program to be aware of:

The total number of beverages served in one single day cannot exceed 15. (Still, that’s a lot — i.e. 2 lattes, 2 sodas, a glass of house wine with lunch, 3 cocktails by the pool, 2 drinks during cocktail hour, 2 glasses of house wine during dinner, an after-dinner drink during the show and 2 late-night drinks in the Northern Lights disco — it’s really tough to exceed 15 drinks.
You can only order 1 drink at a time, and they must be at least 5 minutes apart. We found this annoying as we like to have a sparkling water with our cocktail, and sip both, and we were nowhere near 15 drinks a day.
You must carry the beverage card, along with your room key to order a drink.
As mentioned earlier, it is for drinks that are priced $7.00 or less. If the drink you want is $7.50, you have to pay the full $7.50.
Wines by the glass are limited to the house wines, which is very disappointing. (All of the others are more than $7 per glass.)
The bar staff, other than those who sell you the card, don’t seem to be fans of this program, which likely indicates they aren’t getting the auto tip amount you paid up front.
Sodas, waters and in drinks from the mini-bar in your stateroom are not included.
Drinks at Half Moon Cay, Holland America’s Private Island, are not included even though they are charged to your stateroom and served by the same bar staff.

However, if you were lucky enough to book your 2014 cruise to Europe or Alaska last fall during the Explore 4 promotion, you may have qualified for a free Signature Beverage Card. If you have this promotion on your booking, you will get the benefits of this package free of charge during your cruise. (What a deal!)

Our Bottom Line on the Signature Beverage Program

While it’s nice to have an all-inclusive drink package, the price is too high for many to justify the purchase. You need to drink 7 cocktails a day (or a whole lot more sodas and coffees) to break even on the expense.

We would only consider buying the package in the future if we were on a transatlantic cruise with lots of days at sea.

If we received it as a free cruise perk, however, we would consider that to be a great value.

Have you tried the Holland America Line Signature Beverage Program? If so, what did you think? Please share in comments below.

You may want to check out these other posts on the Nieuw Amsterdam and other Holland America Line cruise ships”;

Follow us on Twitter or interact with us on Facebook.

{ 6 comments }

A Look Around Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam

by Janis on January 29, 2014

In late December, we sailed on a 7-Day Holiday cruise on Holland America Line’s newest cruise ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam.

It was our second sailing on the ship named after the Dutch settlement at the mouth of the Hudson River on the southern end of Manhattan Island established in 1624. Nieuw Amsterdam was the capital of New Netherland until 1664, when it was captured by the British and renamed New York.

The 86,000-ton Nieuw Amsterdam cruise ship, launched in 2010, celebrates the glamour and history of New York City in artwork and design elements throughout its interiors.

art- Nieuw Amsterdam Hanging from the ceiling of the 3-story atrium is a sculpture of the inverted New York skyline made from clear translucent blocks that hang upside-down. The sculpture was created by husband and wife Italian artists Gilbert Lebigre and Corinne Roger of Creazioni Lebigre & Roger.

The ship features two swimming pools. The Lido Pool is mid-ship and is enclosed under a retractable roof for swimming regardless of the weather.

The roof opens for daytime sunning and swimming. The Cabana Club, two decks above the pool, offers a private area for sunning and relaxing for those who rent the cabanas.

The Sea View pool is at the back of the ship, with the Slice pizzeria and the Sea View Bar nearby.

The Sea View pool is designated as an adults-only pool area on most cruises. The deck is the perfect spot to get some sun and watch the world sail by.

On afternoons in the Caribbean, a steel drummer often provides background music in the Sea View pool area.

The wrap-around teak deck is one of our favorite features found on all Holland America ships.

Three laps equals one mile and the views are stunning.

The deck is also where the “On Deck for a Cause” 5k fundraising walk takes place on every cruise benefiting six global charities aimed at fighting cancer. Participants donate $20 and receive a t-shirt and wrist band, and if they want, walk the 10 laps necessary to complete the 5K.

The Queen’s Lounge, located mid-ship, offers an intimate venue for entertainment and culinary classes.

The 3-level Showroom at Sea is the larger entertainment venue.

On our cruise, we enjoyed the fast-paced, noisy, audience-banging Vegas show, Recycled Percussion.

Dining Venues on the Nieuw Amsterdam

In addition to the Manhattan Dining Room, the Nieuw Amsterdam offers the Lido, the Canaletto Italian Restaurant and several other dining options.

On Deck 2 is the Pinnacle Grill, one of our favorites, is a Pacific Northwest-themed steak and seafood restaurant, with reservations required and a $29 per person extra charge. Check out some of our favorites from the recently updated menu here.

One night per cruise, the Pinnacle is transformed to “An Evening at Le Cirque“, simulating the menu, the china and the service of the famous New York City restaurant. If you go, don’t miss the lobster salad.

Another favorite is the pan-Asian Tamarind restaurant located mid-ship on Deck 11, across from the romantic Silk Den bar. The cuisine covers a variety of Asian styles and includes sushi.

On Deck 11, the Crow’s Nest offers the ideal indoor location to view the scenery, such as sailing out of Fort Lauderdale.

The bar in the Crow’s Nest features complimentary hot appetizers each evening during pre-dinner cocktails, while the Exploration’s Café offers coffees and pastries surrounded by a library filled with New York Times bestsellers for reading on sea days.

Mid-ship on Deck 3, the Ocean’s Bar offers live music for those looking to dance the night away. It was also the location of our favorite bartender on the ship.

Have you sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam? What’s your favorite spot on the ship? Please share in comments below.

You may want to check out these other posts on the Nieuw Amsterdam and other Holland America Line cruise ships…

Follow us on Twitter or interact with us on Facebook.

{ 4 comments }

A Peek at Holland America’s New Pinnacle Grill Menu

by Janis on January 27, 2014

One of our favorite things to do while cruising on Holland America Line is to dine at the Pinnacle Grill specialty restaurant. After several years without a change, the menu at the Pacific Northwest-themed steak and seafood restaurant was recently updated fleet wide, starting with our December 22 Holiday cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

Like many loyal Holland America guests, we were concerned when we heard about the new menu changes.

Gone were favorites Steak Diane, the Caesar salad that was tossed table side, and the lobster tails.

Also the beef supplier changed from Sterling Silver beef to Double R Ranch Steaks, from Washington State.

We are happy to report that the 7 ounce Petite Filet Mignon, here with horseradish-mustard sauce is as delicious as ever.

An updated version of a Caesar Salad is served on a parmesan cheese wafer. It’s a little different to cut up, but is still appealing.

West coast style seafood cioppino is one of the new seafood entree selections. It includes clams, mussels, shrimp, halibut and Alaskan crab in a tomato broth.

The new shareable sides of fresh vegetables are another positive addition to the menu. Rather than choosing, they bring you a selection of the evening. The wilted spinach, baby carrots, grilled asparagus and sauted mushrooms were perfect with our filling steaks.

We find the wine list limited, so we like to bring along a bottle of our favorite California Zinfandel, Rafanelli. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the wine list offered a Leonetti Cabernet Sauvignon from Walla Walla, but it was not in stock during our cruise.

A few things have not changed about the Pinnacle Grill dining experience.

The dessert menu has stayed the same. It’s a tough choice between the Chocolate Volcano Cake, the Pinnacle Creme Brulee (with 3 flavors in the same dessert), the Creamy Raspberry Cheesecake or the Not-So-Classic Baked Alaskan.

Another reason to love the Pinnacle Grill is the gracious service that makes for an enjoyable dining experience. This hasn’t changed as our waiters Hadi and Chris were fabulous.

Plus, the dining venue is beautiful and romantic, especially in the Pinnacle Grill on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

Along with the menu changes, the price increased from $25 per person to $29 per person to dine in the Pinnacle Grill. 3-Star Mariners receive a 25 percent discount. 4-star Mariners receive a 50 percent discount and 5-star Mariners (those who have sailed on Holland America for 500 or more days) receive two complimentary dinners in the Pinnacle Grill during each cruise.

Many Holland America guests who booked their 2014 cruise in an ocean-view, verandah or suite accomodation under the Explore 4 promotion during the Fall of 2013 will receive a complimentary Pinnacle Grill dinner. Others often receive a night at the Pinnacle Grill from their travel agent.

If you love great food, superior service and an intimate dining venue, you will enjoy a night of dining at the Pinnacle Grill.

What’s your favorite dish in the Pinnacle Grill? Is it still on the new menu? Please share in comments below.

You may be interested in these other posts on cruising with Holland America Line:

Another past visit to the Pinnacle Grill on the Veendam

Follow us on Twitter or interact with us on Facebook

{ 6 comments }