There are a great many places to just relax and perhaps enjoy a favorite beverage on the Nieuw Amsterdam. In fact (not counting restaurants and stages), there are nine of them.
Choose an option below to get more information on each of the Nieuw Amsterdam bars and lounges including photos and (usually) menus.
We begin with the Standard Holland America Bar Menu. In addition to the bar-specific menus, you can order anything on the Standard Bar Menu at any Nieuw Amsterdam bar or lounge.
Click on a menu page to see a gallery of larger images.
The Casino Bar
(forward port side Deck 2 - Lower Promenade Deck) exists principally to supply Casino patrons with an ongoing supply of
beverages. To see photos of the Casino Bar on the Nieuw Amsterdam and its drinks menu, click the button.
The Pinnacle
Bar (midships starboard side Deck 2 - Lower Promenade Deck) is, unsurprisingly, adjacent to the Pinnacle Grill, so it can be a good
place to have a drink before dining there, but you don't need to be having dinner there to spend some time here. To see photos and the menu, click the
button.
The
Explorer’s Lounge (aft starboard side Deck 2 - Lower Promenade Deck) is a favorite spot of mine to relax and enjoy a
beverage. Until recently, this was the site of Lincoln Center Stage, a dedicated space for the performance of classical music by a string
quartet. However, Holland America has restructured its musical offerings, and Lincoln Center Stage is no more, despite its high popularity among HAL
guests. To see all we know about the Explorer's Lounge, click the button.
Ocean Bar
(midships Deck 3 - Promenade Deck) has always been a particularly favorite spot for pre-dinner gathering and socializing. This is partly because of
its central location and proximity to The Dining Room, but also because of the complementary hors d'hourves each evening and the dancing.
I've never been a dancer, but it's amazing to watch the very skilled and talented dancers, many of whom come on the cruise just for the opportunity of
dancing in Ocean Bar each evening. To see photos of Ocean Bar on the Nieuw Amsterdam and their drinks menu, click the button.
Unlike many of the bars and
lounges on the Nieuw Amsterdam, Lido Bar (forward port Deck 9 - Lido Deck) is less a spot for gathering (and drinking, of course), than a
spot for the bartender who makes all the drinks ordered through the waiters who service all the cruisers relaxing by the Lido Pool or eating
in Dive In or the Lido Market. To see photos and the drinks menu, click the button.
Rather like Lido
Bar, Sea View Bar (aft starboard Deck 9 - Lido Deck) is less a gathering spot for passengers than a supply depot for the waiters
circulating around the Sea View Pool. On a pleasant day, it's a lovely spot to sip a drink and watch the people enjoying the pool and
the surrounding ocean. Be warned though, it's also a gathering spot for smokers. To see photos and the menu, click the button.
The Crow’s
Nest (forward Deck 11 - Observation Deck via forward elevators only) has always been a favorite spot of mine. There is a row
of extremely comfortable chairs with matching ottomans just in front of the bank of windows facing the prow of the Nieuw Amsterdam. And it's a good bet
that you'll find me in the middle of any given day with my feet propped up and a book in my hands, reading and watching the ocean ahead of us as we head
through the sea. Life is good. To see photos of other people doing the same thing along with The Crow's Nest menu, click the button.
The Tamarind
Bar (midships Deck 11 - Observation Deck via midships elevators only) replaced the larger Silk Den Bar (which occupied the space now
used by Morimoto by Sea. While the Tamarind Bar may be smaller, it's still an excellent spot for a pre-dinner drink if you're dining at
Tamarind. In the daytime, it offers great views of the back of the ship and the ocean beyond, and it shares the Asian ambience of
Tamarind and Morimoto by Sea. To see photos and its "Light Bites" bar menu, click the button.
If you're after a
drink while watching a musical or other performances, waiters are available at World Stage and both Billboard Onboard
and the Rolling Stone Lounge are bars as well as musical stages. To link to the pages describing them, click the button.
Beverages of
all sorts are, of course available at each of the Nieuw Amsterdam's Restaurants. To link to the restaurants, click the button.
Finally we have
one last spot to mention, the Neptune Lounge (midships Deck 7 - Rotterdam Deck). Sorry to those of you in Signature Suites, but the
Neptune Lounge is only accessible to those in Neptune and Pinnacle Suites. In addition to coffee, tea and cocoa avalable all the
time, it also has continental breakfast available in the morning hours, salads and other small plates on ice during the day, and desserts in the evening
hours. It has a small library, a television, and plenty of comfortable seating to relax and talk. Best of all there's a concierge at your service, so
anything you'd need to stand in line for at Guest Services can be accomplished by speaking to or phoning the concierge. To see photos
of the Neptune Lounge, click the button.