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Welcome to part 4 of our 4-part, deck-by-deck,
comprehensive tour of the MS Nieuw Amsterdam, a Holland America Line signature class ship!
In this video, we’ll cover Decks 10 through 12.
Club HAL, Holland America’s youth activities program, is located midship on Deck 10, and
offers complimentary supervised activities for guests 3 to 17 years old.
On our cruise, kids were divided into three groups, each with their own separate space,
activities, and youth program staff.
The Kids program is for those under 6 years old.
The Tweens program is for those ages 7 to 12.
And the Teens program for those over the age of 13.
Explorations Central is a space that provides opportunities for you to learn more about
the destinations you are visiting.
It is located at the front of the ship on Deck 11 and offers expansive views of the ocean.
Referred to as EXC for short, the space features interactive touch tables showcasing port information,
maps, and travel resources.
There is a virtual bridge that showcases real-time navigational data from the ship’s bridge.
A large interactive display asks cruise passengers a new geography-based poll question every
day and plots the results.
Shore excursions can be booked at EXC and the EXC guides are available to provide information
for the ports of call.
The guides also lead informative talks and classes throughout the cruise.
On our caribbean cruise, classes were offered on basic Spanish phrases and words.
In addition to the travel information, the library section features books, board games
and puzzles for you to use during your cruise.
The area features plenty of seating for enjoying your entertainment by yourself or with others.
The Explorations Cafe serves coffee, tea, and alcoholic beverages.
The Retreat is a secluded sanctuary on Deck 11 midship that offers private cabanas for
an additional fee.
Some cabanas overlook the pool area while others overlook the sea.
The Tamarind Bar -- which is also called the Silk Den -- is located on Deck 11 midship
and can be accessed from the midship elevators.
The area features a lot of seating for relaxing and getting a great view of the ocean.
In addition to the elevators, you can also access the Tamarind Bar area via a set of
stairs on Deck 10, toward the back of the pool roof.
The Tamarind Restaurant is adjacent to the Tamarind Bar.
This additional fee restaurant features dishes from Southeast Asia, Japan and China.
Towards the back of midship on Deck 11, a net-enclosed Sports Court is available.
The court can be set up for basketball or volleyball.
Although we never saw them listed on any of the deck plans we found online or on the ship,
there are two separate sun decks on Deck 12.
One Sun Deck is located midship and can be accessed by taking the two flights of stairs
from Deck 10 near the ships funnel.
A second Sun Deck -- which also had showers
available -- is located at the front of the ship and can be accessed by taking the staircase
that leads up from the Retreat on Deck 11 and also from a staircase in the Explorations
Central area on Deck 11 forward.