The Nieuw Amsterdam offers a wide variety of things that are designed to keep you in motion, running the gamut from classes in the Fitness center (both free and with a small fee) to classes and tournaments on the Sports Courts to nightly dancing in the Rolling Stone Lounge.
Here are some of the things you can do that will keep your blood pumping and let you enjoy that second helping of bread pudding guilt free.
Early every morning, there's a semi-organized "Walk-a-Mile" event
on HAL ships, and you'll find a lot of passengers participating. It's held outside on Deck 3 - Promenade Deck, which allows unobstructed 360°
transit around the ship at 7 AM each day. Fortunately, exactly three times around the equals one mile. When I say "semi-organized", I mean that all they
do is announce it in the daily program. The official starting point is the Ocean Bar, but there's no registration or anyone to enforce
completion of all three laps. But the direction is always counter-clockwise. Heaven help you if you try to do it in the wrong direction. If
you do, they have a lovely burial-at-sea ceremony where you can play the leading role!
Daily, the staff of the Fitness Center conduct
a variety of Exercise Classes including Tai-Chi, Abs Workouts, Stretch Classes, Yoga Classes, and Spin Classes (the last two for
a fee). You can find times, locations, and other information in the Daily program on The Navigator App or in the printed version.
The Nieuw Amsterdam boasts multiple Pickleball courts, and
equipment is available to check-out and use. You'll find free beginner's Pickleball classes conducted by the Fitness Center staff as well as more
advanced classes for a fee. The staff will also conduct Pickleball Tournaments for those of you of a competitive bent.
In the forward port side corner of the Lido Pool area (Deck 9 -
Lido Deck), you'll find Ping Pong tables. Equipment is available to use (at no charge) and at some point in the cruise, you can expect an organized
Ping Pong Tournament.
Ladder ball is played by throwing a "bolo" (two balls connected
with a rope) and trying to get them wrapped around ladder rungs. If you haven't played it before, it's a lot of fun and easy to learn. Find Ladder
Ball on the Sport Court (midships Deck 11 - Observation Deck).
Once each cruise there will be On Deck for a Cause, a 4k
charity walk. It will be held on Deck 3 - Promenade Deck and will work much like the daily Walk-a-Mile. You'll get a special T-shirt, and
Lee will match your donation.
You can also expect one or more of the Nieuw Amsterdam Dancers to offer a free
Dance Class or two (generally Line Dancing). These can be a lot of fun and those at any level of proficiency can participate. As
with other activities, this will be announced in the Daily Program.
You can also expect organized games of two traditional shipboard
activities, Shuffleboard and Cornhole. If you've never tried either, they can be a lot of fun for all ages and fitness levels.
You don't have to wait for the organized Shuffleboard and/or Cornhole events; you can obtain the equipment to pay anytime during regular sports
equipment availability hours. Consult the daily program.
If you're eager to cut a rug, you can find a Dance to
the Hits event with a DJ starting about 11:15 PM each evening in the Rolling Stone Lounge and going on into the wee
hours.
