My final installment of the cruise comes a bit later then intended because when I got home, real life hit at once. I volunteer as a Director for our Apartment Building and it seemed they all waited until “I came off the ship”. Hence a weeks delay.
This morning the ship docked at Bremerhaven just before 7 am. shortly followed by the ms Amadea also from Phoenix Reisen. There were no disembarkation announcements as everything was in the Daily Program and everybody followed those instructions. Internationally they call this “Silent Disembark” and there was also a “Express Disembark” where you roll your own suitcases of the gangway before regular disembarkation starts. I did not get the impression that this was very popular as it seemed that most guests first wanted to have breakfast. Disembarkation started from the top deck downwards at 08.30 but with only 900 guests everybody was off by 09.00 hrs. or shortly after. The only challenge we had was waiting for a taxi as we got the impression that the “taxi world” thought that disembarkation was starting at 09.00 and not at 08.30 hrs. By 09.00 long convoys of taxis were approaching the dock to deal with the growing line of waiting cruise people. We made it back to the hotel by 09.30 and after retrieving our car and saying farewell to our Dutch Friends (he drives a bit faster than I do, so we do not drive in convoy) we set off for the night ferry back to England. If all goes well, we will be home again by 10.00 hrs, tomorrow morning.

The Atrium where you come in and go out. The gangway connection is via the outside Promenade deck. The Mermaid is still from Royal Viking days, the Piano is from Phoenix and to get that piano in, they had to remove the Atrium sculpted glass pole installed by Holland America. I wonder if the company saved that one as it was a beautiful piece of art.
The Verdict.
Starting with the most important question: did we enjoy the cruise ?
Yes we did, we enjoyed it very much. Good atmosphere and traveling with fine friends made it a very positive and pleasant experience,
Would we take another one?
Maybe, if they go to a place we have never been. The “maybe” is mainly because it is such a long journey by car to Bremerhaven.
Was it worth the money?
Yes, this is a 4 star product and the cost was in line with it. 4 Star, which I measure on what is available on the buffets for choice. Which is limited compared to 5 star.
What is available for the guests to enjoy who do not go on tour and stay on board. Not much as all the cruise staff is on tour-bus-duty,
What is available in the cabin with bedding, shower amenities, linen quality, change of linen ( new bedding only once in the 7 days)
Is it worthwhile to book a suite? Yes according to my wife and I. Also my Dutch friends who upgraded after their initial booking found the cabin with separate sit and bed area very nice. Then there is a large number of amenities/gifts that come with it. Shoulder bags, logo coffee cups, logo water bottles, logo pins, logo pens, full fridge with free drinks, and nibbles, A posh box with shower amenities for him and her, The Gold / concierge Room, Two TV’s in the cabin. (including international programs), special luggage labels, champagne (by the end of the week we had had 3 of them) Attentive cabin service. Voucher for free massage, voucher for champagne breakfast. Early booking option for specialty Restaurant. We thought it was well worth the money.
What is REALLY different to other (main stream) companies.
A. No announcements in the cabin. Only announcements made are for scenic cruising. Arrival announcement Yes, only one and not in the cabin. All announcements also come over the Bow View Channel so you can just switch it on. Every German reads the daily program and is on time for whatever they are involved in. Compare that with a lot of company’s who are very irritating with announcements in the cabin such as: Fred Olsen, Saga, Celebrity etc. etc. But this was a “peaceful cruise” and if you wanted noise, you went and found it, the peace in the cabin was never disturbed.
B. Official ships tour guides on every bus, in addition to the local tour guides, It is something that company’s used to have in the “good old days”. It must be appreciated by the guests when on tour. This is not the same as we see with other company’s where they put a “crew escort” on board for a free-bie and who then sits the whole tour in a corner on the cell phone or runs off as soon as the bus stops. No these were the professional ships cruise staff, in uniform and helped the guests off the bus and supported the guests in every way needed.
C. Germans on Phoenix do not go for cocktails, they go for after dinner drinks. Thus there is no pre dinner cocktail music in the lounges until about 20.00 hrs. After dinner there is music for the rest of the evening and the lounges are full.
D. Everything starts exactly on the time indicated in the daily program. So if there is a get-to-gether or a party, guests arrive early, so everything can start exactly on time. Dining room from 18.00 – 20.00 hrs., then the serving starts at 20.00 hrs. but guests will have walked in from 19.40 hrs. or so, to find their table and to be ready for the menu.
The Glare.
If you read my cruise reviews on this site, you will see that I always have this entry. “The Glare” is something I do when I walk through the ship. I look each Officer and Crewmember straight in the face with my blue piercing eyes and then wait for the crewmember to acknowledge. The ms Amera crew were extremely good, during the whole voyage, from captain to waiters, sailors to front desk etc. etc. everybody smiled said hello or reacted in another positive way. The only one who failed (3 times) was the Ship’s doctor but he was walking around as if he was on another planet altogether anyway.
Very friendly Captain and deck officers, very friendly Hotel Manager and very friendly and capable waiters (kellners) & cabin stewards and Front Desk attendants. Nice cruise staff but we did not see them very much as they were each day out on tour and then with a maximum of 10 hrs. a day being allowed to work, there is not much time left.
Mr. Uwe Noster, the man of the Gold & Silber level / concierge was a very gregarious man and very helpful, but although he said that he had “desk hours” we were never able to find out when as the hours were not posted in the daily program and also not on his desk itself on deck 8 Atrium.

The Crowsnest, or Panorama Lounge. The only lounge completely left as is from the Royal Viking Days.
Other Compliments.
*The “Schone Ausflugge” lunch on the first and last day on the top deck midships. Apart from the free beer, it was just very nice to be present and enjoy it. Regardless of nationality and background. Holland America has the “orange party” but they tend to cut if off after a few songs but here it just went on………… ………………………….Wunderbar.
*Tea in the afternoon. Much better than expected on a German ship and a lot of guests did partake in it.
*Real ships escorts on the coaches. Much appreciated by those on tours.
*Maintenance. For a 37 year old ship the ms Amera looked very good. As was with Holland America keeping the underside of the balconies up to standard was a battle that one could not win, but the old Lady looked very good, both inside and outside. And it seemed that the crew were genuinely proud of her.
*Duo in the Piano Lounge, very good and enjoyable.
*Service in the dining room and lounges, quick, friendly and always with a smile (and automatically a jar of peanuts) .
*Cabin service for our section (10 suite cabins) very good and un-obtrusive..
*Gold Room, very nice for snacks and coffee drinks if you used it. It was under used, so I would not be amazed if Phoenix takes it away. Before Hal it used to be the Staff Captains cabin but if it stays it is a very nice perk.
* Very reasonable bar prices and a very good wine list

There was a promotion for a drink or cocktail every day. A pint of Guinness for Euro 4.20 / 3.64 pounds / 4.89 US is not bad at all
Points for improvement:
*Get better cast shows and have them choreographed by somebody who knows how to do that. This was awful. Full Stop.’
The backing music (click- track) was too thin and needed padding out and the lighting was from a bygone era. The spotlights on the side of the sound booth were not used while with HAL they formed an integral part of the show.
The cast (no doubt talented) were not good enough. It was a pity that the talented trapeze girl had to work in this show set-up and in a show lounge with such a low ceiling. If somebody from Phoenix reads this, then please look on U-tube and you will be able to see what can be done with such a small stage as Holland America managed it.
*Tender service. It ran extremely well with no delays but antics of some of the drivers…. e.g lack of docking experience…… could be dangerous during windy weather.
*It would help if what is included in the “Gold service” or “Silber service” would be completely listed. There is some under the cabins specifications when you book, there is some that we found out when googling a travel agent site and some we only found out when we got there.
*Same for the suite cabin amenities. Nowhere does it say that you get slippers in the cabin or umbrella’s so we brought them with us,
*Maybe an ice bucket in the cabin for the suites” Our steward found a way around it, but with a double suite, it should be a standard thing.
Can a non German speaker survive?
YES, all the crew speak English and often better than their German. English menus are available in the Dining room, and with Google Translate it is not difficult to translate the German Daily Program. The only thing you have to get used to, is that the cruise is driven by the Daily Program and that there are no reminders for those who do not read programs, or expect to be reminded by announcements. Phoenix really expects that as you have a brain that you use it. I loved that part of the operation as I hate interfering announcements.
During my posts, there is always more texta than photos. My Dutch firends have also a blog running for the friends back home when they are travelling. that has more photos than (dutch) text. This is the link:
https://www.polarsteps.com/RuudvanD/18239437-bremerhaven-en-cruise-amera-naar-noorwegen?s=ea486edc-5129-47a0-a9ae-e71c3a170923
A very nice touch was the thank you letter, see below, we received 7 days after the end of the cruise, something I have not seen any other companies do, apart from trying to have you book another cruise. This felt quite personal as the Captain and Cruise Director laid the link between the ship and the guest, instead of just some vague general / letter / email from somebody in the head office.
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